All About the Atmosphere

Atmosphere can either make or break a show. Don't believe me? Maybe you should have seen Delta Spirit and Dr. Dog at the Parish in Austin. Being hot and unable to breathe at a show? Not fun. (Ok, festivals excluded- simply because it's expected). I have been following Dr. Dog since the summer of 2007, shortly after their release of "We All Belong," and I had the chance to see them at Siren Fest when I lived in NYC for the summer. The atmosphere was perfect. Dr. Dog was great. At 2007's ACL I was able to see them a second time when they were a sudden addition to the festival's lineup. Again, a great show (and breathing, even in Austin's insane heat, was possible). At the Parish I was really excited to hear Dr. Dog's new stuff, but the heat forced me to do something I've done only once before in my life- leave early. Maybe if the Beatles came back for a reunion tour I would have suffered through it, but that level of discomfort is rarely worth seeing a show.

I've already seen Delta Spirit since (at this year's ACL), and I'm sure Dr. Dog will be back in Austin again.

I Judge People by Their Musical Taste

A typical question I ask within the first 30 minutes of meeting someone...
"What are your top 3 bands?"

A recent answer...
Guy: One Republic (Pop, but pop I enjoy. Wonder what else he's got in store)
Guy: Dave Matthews (Solid band- great live act. It's getting better...)
Guy: Nickelback (Stomach dropped)

Please visit: http://www.thewebshite.net/nickelback.htm

Foreign Records

The coolest European (or anywhere for that matter) souvenirs I've been given:

Vinyl Recordings of:
"Flight of the Conchords" by Flight of the Conchords
"Gold" by Ryan Adams
"Being There" by Wilco
"You'd Better Look Out Below" by Arcade Fire
"Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd

American Bang

I stumbled upon American Bang today and listened to the four songs they had on MySpace.

Songs:
Move to the Music
Traffic
The Stones
Jeepster (T Rex cover)

American Bang, of the self-described "southern-fried garage-rock" genre, remind me of a mix between Kings of Leon and Jet. This is one of the many shows I'm looking forward to at ACL in September.

SXSW Recap: Part Two

Guest Appearance by Ben Harper.

Rumors started to circulate: Ben Harper would be sitting in on Tom Freund's set Thursday night. Thursday night before work, we were at The Tap Room listening to Sixpence None the Richer (who were playing their first show in five years) when a fellow volunteer confirmed the rumor-- Ben Harper was doing a sound check at Pangaea. We left quickly and were fortunate to catch the back half of the sound check.

Ben, who produced Tom's soon-to-be-released album, played slide guitar through the whole set.

Afterwards, I was determined to meet Ben. Amy was too... so she walked over with me.

Actual conversation:
Me: Sorry to interrupt, but it was a pleasure to hear you tonight.
Ben: Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I'm Ben. (Extends hand to me and Amy. We all shake hands.)
Me: Nice to meet you. It was great to hear you again-- I haven't heard you live since high school.
Tom: When was that? Last Year? (We all laugh.)
Me: Back in 2004 when you toured with Jack Johnson.
Ben: Thanks for helping out. It means a lot.

We then proceeded to carry out Ben and Tom's guitars downstairs, where they were loaded up.

National Record Store Day

We were fortunate to be in Austin for National Record Store Day. After a quick lunch at Whole Foods we headed across the street to Waterloo Records. There were boxes filled with records outside- 2 for $1. Instead of sifting through the boxes searching for a gem, we went into Waterloo and opted to purchase at least one vinyl to celebrate.

My choices:
Son Volt-- Straightaways
Whiskeytown-- Strangers Almanac
John Mayer-- Continuum

Amy's choices:
The Strokes-- Is This It
The Arcade Fire-- Funeral

SXSW Recap: Part One

It would be difficult to sum up my entire SXSW experience in one post, so this will be the first of several posts.

Amy, JC, Ben and I had the pleasure of working at Pangaea, a club that recently opened in Austin. We lucked out with a great stage manager, club managers and crew... oh yeah, and MUSIC.

Pangaea Line-up:

Wednesday Night:
Bruce Robison
Bonnie Bramlett
Daniel Lanois
Blue Mountain
The Felice Brothers

Thursday Night:
Richard Julian
Salvador Santana Band
Tom Freund
Brett Dennen
Men
Perry Farrell

Friday Night:
The Airborne Toxic Event
Christopher Denny
Jon Foreman
Nicole Atkins
The Vines
Robyn

Saturday Night:
Planningtorock
Jacques Renault & Justin Miller
Still Going
Holy Ghost!
Digitalism

Of the above bands, the only two I knew off the top of my head were The Vines (my dad bought me their CD my senior year of high school) and Robyn (think: "Show Me Love," circa 1997). Upon further investigation I also knew Perry Farrell (lead singer of Jane's Addiction), Jon Foreman (lead singer of Switchfoot), Nicole Atkins (singer-songwriter from NYC), and Salvador Santana (son of Carlos Santana). I knew I'd be in for a treat.