Austin City Limits 2013

Once again, Jason and I were given free wristbands to ACL - this time free VIP wristbands!  As VIPs we were granted access to the VIP Grove.  I like to refer to it as the "secret garden" because that's what it felt like to me.  It was a bit annoying being surrounded by filthy rich people who are used to getting this kind of treatment on a daily basis, but it was still fun, and I felt super grateful to be there getting FREE food and FREE drinks and air-conditioned restrooms and seating in one of the few shady areas of Zilker Park.  It was a sweet escape from the hot sun and sea of sweaty bodies wandering around from stage to stage.  In the VIP Grove, each day between 3:30 and 5:30 there were free "happy hour" tastings from some of the best chefs in Central Texas.  I tried some samples from Jason Dady, Lucy's Fried Chicken and Cafe Mueller.  In addition to the daily chef tastings, Central Market catered lunch and dinner!  On Friday, we ate lunch there (gourmet sandwiches, bacon & bleu cheese potato salad), and we partook in the dinner spread on both Saturday (veggie tortellini, chicken penne pasta) and Sunday (barbeque).  All of the food was delicious, and all of the drinks were served perfectly strong in the VIP Grove.  I can't forget to mention the unlimited amounts of free Topo Chico, Sweet Leaf Tea, Red Bull, Boxed Water and Coconut Water.  Pretty awesome..

Enough with the special treatment details and onto the music.  Oh, the music!  The core reason I go to so many of these blown-up, over-the-top hipster affairs in the first place.  Friday, we unexpectedly had to leave the festival early, but we got there early and managed to see FIDLAR, Savages, Electric Six, The Blind Boys of Alabama and The Black Angels.  My favorite show of the day was actually Detroit-based Electric Six, who I had never even heard of prior to the festival.  One of Jason's friends, who is from Detroit, met up with us, and Electric Six was pretty much the only band he really wanted to see, so we decided to join him, and I am so glad we did!  They were so much fun!  Their music is a crazy amazing blend of garage rock, disco, dance, punk and metal, and they put on quite a funky performance.

On Saturday we went later in the day to see Portugal.The Man, The Joy Formidable, Wilco, Kendrick Lamar and, finally, THE CURE!!  Hands down, my Saturday favorite was The Cure.  DUH.  I have been a lifelong fan of those guys, and they put on a flawless show.  We stayed for the whole thing because I was so drawn in and it would have been an absolute crime to walk out early.  They played nearly all of their popular hits, some new stuff and finished with "Boys Don't Cry."  Perfection.

Sunday was the most relaxed day.  I worked until 3 p.m. and then headed to the festival to meet up with Jason and see Franz Ferdinand, Tame Impala and Atoms For Peace.  I had already seen Tame Impala live, and while they continue to be one of my favorite live shows, I have to say Atoms For Peace won my heart that day.  I hadn't really listened to them much before, but you can bet I will now!  Thom Yorke and Flea make a great musical match.

Yet again, ACL blew me away, and into outer space.  It's such a magical, fun-filled experience that I look forward to every year.  This was my fifth time to attend ACL, and it better not have been my last!  I'm already excited to hear who will be playing it in 2014 because my brother Kaleb will be living up here by then, and I plan to buy him a wristband for his first plunge.

FIDLAR

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar

The Cure

The Cure

Tame Impala

Atoms For Peace

Austin Psych Fest 2013

Yesterday Jason and I went to one of our city's many music festivals, Austin Psych Fest.  This is the sixth (and the best) year the Reverberation Appreciation Society has put together this niche music festival for lovers of all things psychedelic.  Psych Fest started out relatively small and has taken place at a variety of venues including the old Austin Power Plant and the new, larger Emo's location on East Riverside.  This year the people in charge anticipated even greater crowds than years before so this year the festival is taking place out in a rural area, near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, known as Carson Creek Ranch.  I said "taking" place because it's actually a three-day-long festival; we chose to just attend on Friday due to the high cost of tickets.  

Luckily, most of the bands we were interested in seeing were scheduled to play their sets on Friday!  We got to see my favorite garage rockers from Mississippi - Bass Drum of Death as well as Warpaint, The Soft Moon and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, among a few others we managed to catch in between.  

Aside from the awful humidity, it was a really fun experience.  It never felt too crowded, which is always a good thing because live shows, especially festivals, can be a little overwhelming at times for a worrier such as myself.  There was a lovely breeze the whole day/night, there were areas to relax and catch our breath and there was a delicious variety of food trucks.  I ordered and demolished a Mac N' Cheese BLT with sweet potato fries from the Whole Foods truck, and Jason and I shared a Flying Pig donut (a masterpiece topped with maple icing & bacon pieces) from Gourdough's later on in the evening.  

Assuming the lineup is as good as it was this year in the coming years, I'm sure we'll give Austin Psych Fest another go!  I absolutely love living in a city that is so welcoming and supportive of music genres of all kinds and believes in celebrating live music year-round.  Keep it coming, Austin!

The Elevation Stage

Bass Drum of Death

Warpaint

The Soft Moon

SXSW & Other Happenings

So sorry for no posts the past two weeks!  I guess I've been busy, huh?  Let's see, what to fill you in on...

Well, work has been crazy busy!  The Austin hotel industry takes a hard, yet prosperous punch during the South By Southwest Interactive, Film and Music Festival.  Things are slowly getting back to normal - at least for March.  Late winter/spring is always the time busiest for us.  Lots of conferences, weddings, family vacations, romantic getaways, SXSW and various smaller festivals such as Psych Fest, Reggae Fest and Eeyore's Birthday.

I actually got to go downtown and experience the music portion of SXSW for a couple of days last week.  Unfortunately I had no celebrity sightings!  I was so disappointed considering I was reading and hearing of all these amazing celebs invading the city - IAN SOMERHALDER!!, Justin Timberlake, Alexander Skarsgard, Paul Rudd, Anna Kendrick, Usher, Prince, Shaq, Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, the dude that plays Lip on Shameless and many more.  I did get to see some amazing live and FREE shows though including Brendan Benson, The Thermals, The Joy Formidable, Today Is The Day and Jason's cousin's band, The Longshots.  I walked all over the city and got some pretty gnarly blisters on my heels thanks to my combat boots.  At one point, Jason and I were eating and walking in one synchronized act across the city as fast as we could to catch some performances at the Brooklyn Vegan Day Party.  It was draining, crowded and a little annoying at times, but even still, much fun was had.  It brought back memories of the time me, Heather, Taylor and Jessica talked Heather's mom into taking us to Austin for SXSW back in 2006.  We got into every single show we wanted to with only a few lines to wait in, and we were only 17!  It was such a blast and definitely makes for some of my fondest looks back into the past.

I finally caught up on The Vampire Diaries and watched my first live episode last Thursday.  It makes me sad that I have to wait a whole week to see what happens next!  I'm so used to being able to just move right on to the next episode.  However, it does kind of make Thursday nights a treat for me.  :)

My dad and Rebecca are coming up to spend some time with Jason and I on Thursday and Friday so I'm definitely looking forward to that!  I don't think I've seen them since Christmas which is ludicrous.

If you've never been to SXSW, I encourage you to check out some of these pictures to give you an idea of what goes on: SPIN's Best Live SXSW Photos

Until next time, friends.

xoxo

Music Haps Making Me Happy

1.  Jason Lytle's Dept. Of Disappearance.  Yeah, I know this album came out last October, but thanks to Austin's new public radio station, KUTX 98.9, I discovered and fell in love with it.  Jason Lytle is pretty much a songwriting genius that has been making music since the early 90s with critically acclaimed group Grandaddy.  The band went to great lengths to try to break through into mainstream muck, but never quite got there so they gave up in 2006.  However, much to my avail, Lytle has continued making music and recording albums so the beauty of his somewhat unconventional sound powers on.

Photo credit Pitchfork.com

2.  Jenny Lewis scoring Very Good Girls.  Jenny Lewis is a timeless beauty with an uncanny ability to write the most relatable songs and belt them out in a way you wouldn't think possible for such a tiny little woman.  She's amazingly talented and gracefully blossoms with each project she takes on throughout the years.  Her latest project involves scoring a new film that just showed at Sundance called Very Good Girls starring Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen. I can't wait to see it!

Photo credit zimbio.com

3.  SXSW 2013.  It's that magical time of year again...when all the professional hipsters that wished they lived in Austin come visit for a week and a half and leave our beautiful, clean city without so much as a morning-after breakfast or a kiss goodbye.  That was a tad dramatic, but slightly true.  People from all over the world invade Austin and treat it like their personal playground whilst the locals moan and groan about the worsening traffic and downtown congestion.  All of the negative stuff aside, it can be a relatively eventful and fun week if you know how to play it.  Which means don't spend your life savings on a badge or wristband when you can get into plenty of awesome shows and "unofficial" parties for free during the day.  I had to work everyday of the music part of the festival last year so I didn't get to join Jason downtown and partake in some excellent day-drinking, free food, free beverages, free sunglasses and t-shirts and whatever else goes at those events.  Hopefully things work out differently this year and I'm able to get at least one of those days off.  Click here for more info.

Photo credit visual.ly

4.  Two Upcoming Shows at Stubb's.  We are going to see Tame Impala at the end of this month and Grizzly Bear in April!!  Two of my favorite bands, neither of which I have seen before.  So much wonderful live music heading our way makes me one happy girl  :)

5.  Austin Psych Fest.  We have also already purchased tickets for the first day of Austin Psych Fest, which is only growing larger with each year.  This will be the sixth (and the best) one so far.  It's going to take place in late April at Carson Creek Ranch over off of 71 East right on the river, and there are available campgrounds over there for people who refuse to let go of the party.  We, however, will be driving the ten minute drive back to our comfy bed that night.  No camping for us at a music festival ever again.  Not after the "pee foot" incident of Coachella 2010.  No sir.  I am super psyched (hehe) for the performances though.  This will be our third time to see Bass Drum of Death and our first time in the presence of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (!!!!!!), The Soft Moon and Warpaint.  

I am simply overwhelmed.  Music-lovers bliss, my friends.  Pure, unadulterated bliss.

xoxo