Drove up to
Austin and to Auditorium Shores (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditorium_Shores)
on Friday to attend my first multiday festival! While I was standing in line at
will call with the hot sun beating down on me in the 60 degree weather my heart
was beating to the sounds of the Thermals. I looked around at the bicycles and
the people, the smart cars and the city’s skyline wishing I had someone to
share it with. Despite the fact no one could go with me, I wouldn’t have missed
this for the world! After a minor hiccup of not being on the will call list, I made
it through the gate, 3-day pass on my wrist (I have to sleep and shower in this
thing for two more days, gross!). By the time I got thought the gate they were bringing Black Joe Lewis and the
Honeybears (http://www.blackjoelewis.com) on the stage. It’s a pretty neat set up. Each of the stage areas has two stages so the band get swapped out very quickly. I walked around for a little while and looked at the tents until I found the merch area. Of course I had to pick up a Black Joe Lewis tee to add to my collection!
Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears
Went up toward the stage and watched one my favorite bands play. They rocked a lot of
the new songs off their latest album Scandalous and some of the classics. I was
able to make my way up to the front because they still aren’t as popular as I would
like to see. They have a small following in their native Austin, but they are
making their way out. A few months ago they were on David Letterman (see previous post for clip) As I was watching
them I thought I saw a familiar face behind them on stage, it looked a lot like Ryan Gosling…and apparently it was. As much as I’m glad to see someone well known watching one of my favorite bands, I was disappointed by his obvious
disinterest in them…move off the stage dude if you don’t like it rather than hanging the black cloud over the fun.
Okkervil River
After Black Joe Lewis the stage switched over to Okkervil River
(http://www.okkervilriver.com). I walked around some more while they played. They
seemed to play a very long set, and joked that their set up was eating into
their stage time. I walked a way for a little while and by the time I got back
Okkevil River was still playing (see next paragraph for walk about). I’ve heard
them before and they played a really great set. They had a little bit of a Quiet Company action going.
Walk about
I wanted to see the other stages. The yellow stage is for the spoken word business (comedians
etc.) and the Blue stage is for a bit more hip hop/DJ music. That area had some
ramps for skaters and BMX. They also had Hey Cupcake
(http://www.heycupcake.com), yummy! I noticed something as I was walking, a lot
of people with bandanas on their faces…there is A LOT of dust. There was dust
everywhere! I coughed a lung up on my way home because it had settled in my
mouth and nose. Ok, back to the fest, the Black stage is in the far side of the
fest and has metal! Didn’t hang out down there for very long, all the goth kind
of scared me and I was looking a bit more alt than metal. I walked around some
more as the sun sets, grabbed a brownie from Tiff’s treats (http://www.tiffstreats.com)
and waited for Black Joe Lewis to get set up to autograph (had tee in hand,
wish I had my vinyl!) They were delightful to meet and signed my tee. They are
sooooo cute and friendly! If I were more bold I would have hung out, but I had
meet my boldness quotient by going to the show on my own.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
I walked around a bit more and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (http://www.clapyourhandssayyeah.com)
came up on stage. I had not heard them before. They have a bit of a Bob Dylan
sound to them but with drums and piano. They were interesting. Not something I would
normally drive up and just see. They had a song were Satan was said like 20
times in a row. I’m sure there was a point to it…I just missed it. I was
standing in front of the stage waiting for Passion Pit to start!
At this point I was tired and getting a head ache, either from the not eating or the dust or
both. I wasn’t going to hang for Passion Pits whole show, or was I? Crowd was
closing in on me. I was fairly close to the front of the stage…well, here it is.
Passion Pit
Passion Pit (http://www.passionpitmusic.com) were
the headliners for the Orange stage. I was predisposed to like them from what I
had heard. They are a little Jack Mannequin meets Jimmy Eat World. They rocked
that stage! The sound was amazing and they were polished! There sound was practiced
but not rehearsed. The lead singer Michael Angelakos was running around
the stage singing to and with the crowd. The crowd was jumping (even I was
jumping). It was a great show and I would totally drive to see them perform
again, maybe a more intimate venue though. They played at Stubbs (http://stubbsaustin.com) a while ago, would
go see them there.
Now, I’m getting ready to head out to Day 2 of FFF 6! Can’t
wait!
samusicgeek 