TNG Does Gay-CL: Day 1

Stephanie and Amy were pissed at me for this.

Two weeks ago, Michael and I returned from a 6 day visit to Austin, Tx. While three days of the trip were spent exploring the city and eating more tacos than any Jew that came before me, the main purpose was to cover the Austin City Limits music festival for TNG.

ACL took place in a giant field with 8 stages. One of them was solely for kids and several were dedicated to country or folk music. I largely avoided these. That left four or five stages, all at different ends of the park, often playing two bands interesting bands at the same time. Luckily, Between my frantic sprints from stage to stage, my near-constant expectoration of errant dust and"cool-off" hours in the press tent to prevent heatstroke I actually managed to see some good music.

Below the fold, I have handed out "Best of" awards to all the artists I saw on my first day of the festival including Hot Chip, Jenny Lewis, Jamie Lidell and David Byrne. You can also check out my "ACL: Day 1" Mixtape.

Stay tuned for coverage of days two and three as well. I'll explain all about the Tegan and Sara picture.

Day One:

1. Best Band for Wishing You Were Stoned: Yeasayer


Ben once described this Baltimore-by-way-of-Brooklyn quartet as "Fleetwood Mac and Queen meeting in India then making a baby on the back of an elephant." That's fairly apt. The band boasted a combination of complicated harmonies, middle-eastern musical instruments and men with pigtails that makes me want to scrape a stranger's bong for spare resin.

Check 'em Out at the 6th and I Historic Synagogue, Dec. 3.

2. Best Band For Inaptly Hitting On: What Made Milwaukee Famous

I chose to see Yeasayer over WMMF, a group I knew only by name and positive reputation. Two hours later, I approached a table of cute guys in the press tent and asked if they were in a band. They told me "We're What Made Milwaukee Famous" and the only truthful reply I could muster up was "Oh." But they were cute....

3. Best Band for Telescope Owners: Vampire Weekend

Like everyone, ever, I love Vampire Weekend. And like everyone I was excited to see them play at ACL. But unlike everyone I didn't have the foresight to arrive at their set early and was forced to watch them from what seemed like a mile away. But the quality soundsystem and helpful video monitors assured me that they were, in fact, there.

Check 'em out at two more-or-less sold out shows at the 9:30 Club on Dec. 2nd and 3rd.

4. Best Perverted Homage to Kelis: Louis XIV

After folding up my opera glasses and giving up on Vampire Weekend, I headed over to a smaller stage to check out Louis XIV. The band sounded like the White Stripes and looked like pirates, but had one really memorable song. Their "Pledge of Allegiance" caught my ear for its chorus of "milkshake, milkshake, I love to make you sweat." Upon looking up the lyrics, though, I found out its actually a overt ode to hetero BDSM.

5. Best Artist for Giving Me a Boner: Jamie Lidell

I skipped the British Blue-eyed soulman's last DC show to see Judy Gold and so made a point of checking him out at ACL. I learned a couple things: "Another Day" is a great song, a British accent sounds even cuter over a microphone and a man always look better with a couple days' stubble. A combination of the three left me with my hands stuffed in my pockets for close to 40 minutes.





6. Best Absence of Zooey Deschanel: M. Ward

I've only ever heard guitar maestro M. Ward mentioned in relation to his recent "She and Him" collaboration with Weeds actress Zooey Deschanel. The prospect of singing movie stars generally makes me nervous. I was relieved to have my first M. experience be a solo one.

7. Best Borat Impression: Gogol Bordello

The "Borat" movie ruined so many things for so many people — Kazakhstan, anti-semitism and the phrase "It's nice", for example — but the worst was tainting my enjoyment of "gypsy-core" powerhouse Gogol Bordello. Their show was just as crazy as I'd heard — replete with 9-piece band and two dancers — but something about the lead singer's vocal patterns and facial hair turned each of their wonderful compositions into "Throw The Jew Down The Well."

Check 'em out at the 9:30 Club on Jan. 1 and 2 of next year.

8. Best Reason to Go "Awwwww....:" Mates of State

No matter how furious the husband/wife duo Mates of State may play their drums and keyboards, no matter how deftly they handle their vocals, seeing a married couple together on stage always gives me a bad case of the hallmarks. (See also Dean and Britta.)

Check 'em Out at the Black Cat on Nov. 11.

9. Best Artist I Skipped Because She Kind of Bores Me: Jenny Lewis

I've tried so hard to love Jenny Lewis like everyone else does. It just hasn't worked. I walked out of the June Rilo Kiley show halfway through (largely because I only know three of their songs) and decided to opt away from her Austin set as well. I know people who swear by her solo work but I still haven't heard anything that floored me. So instead I went to see Hot Chip and threw Silver Lining on repeat when I got back home.

10. Best Frontman: Hot Chip

"Though she be but small, she is fierce."

Usually the province diminutive girls' senior yearbook page, that Shakespeare quote could also apply to Hot Chip's lead vocalist Alexis Taylor. The rock equivalent of Marge Simpson's suitor Artie Ziff, Taylor looks like a virgin but rocks like he has trebleclefs for pubic hair. Anyone capable of juggling vocals, guitar, drums and keyboards for the better part of an hour is going to make their shows a memorable experience. (Their song Hold On also wins the award for best live version of an already-awesome song.)

11. Best Reason for Lou Reed to Shove It Up His Ass: David Byrne

My experience seeing Lou Reed play in the spring left me convinced that all still-touring legends look like reconstituted corpses and perform like they have somewhere better to be. Luckily, David Byrne helped me believe again. He performed a set that was an even mix of Talking Heads classics and new selections from his latest solo album with Brian Eno (though Mr. Eno was not present.)

There were several wonderful things about this show. His inclusion of backup singers, dancers and precise choreography was a well-appreciated nod to "Stop Making Sense" nerds like myself. It's always great when older musicians don't shun the songs that make them famous. The best part, though, was the utter devotion of the crowd. The excitement at hearing songs like Life During Wartime and The Great Curve in person was visible on certain audience member's faces. Personally, I can die happy after a performance of Once In A Lifetime left 10,000 fans screaming "MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?" in unison. TNG