It's Never Too Early To Start Thinking About Summer Music Festivals

I've hear rumors of particular bands being booked for C3's twin titans of summer kid-friendly music festivals, Kidzapalooza and Austin Kiddie Limits, and some of those rumors would appear to be inching toward the realm of reality.

Austin Kiddie Limits has posted some new tracks on its Myspace page. New to the page are The Jimmies, Buck Howdy, Uncle Rock, and Mr. RAY. These artists would all appear to be on the bill for AKL, set for September 26 through 28. (Buck Howdy already has AKL dates on his live calendar.) And The Jimmies have a Kidzapalooza date set on their calendar. (Kidzapalooza is set for August 1 through 3.)

These aren't all the bands I've heard rumors of, so more will be announced at some point, to be sure. But, hey, it's only February -- ACL is 7 months away, after all. Now you can plan your summer 2008 road trips accordingly.

ACL Fest (Austin Kiddie Limits) 2007: Let's Review

Y'know, when you're trying to blog a day sequentially in less time than you really need, you don't really get a chance to add all the random thoughts and memories that you'll end up leaving with. So here are some random memories and thoughts from Austin City Limits Music Festival 2007:

-- I am definitely not the first person to say this, but having a music festival in September in Austin is insane, unless it's part of some massive dehydration campaign on the part of a megalomaniacal evil person bent on taking over Texas. The heat and humidity is ridiculous. Or maybe I've just spent too long in Phoenix, where the heat is beyond ridiculous but the humidity is, well, not.
-- Having said that, this is a primo-organized festival. Shows started (and ended) when they were supposed to, port-a-potties were numerous, and the sound was functional. If people decide to go to a festival based on who's performing, they decide to go back (the next day or the next year) based on all the little (and big) stuff that doesn't have anything to do with the acts. Austin City Limits Festival is worth going back to.
-- Everything I said about the organization of a festival and its importance goes double for a kids show, and Austin Kiddie Limits met that higher standard. There were lots of activities for the kids to do or watch between the sets, so that staying within the grounds for 4 hours wasn't nearly as daunting as I would've expected. Best thing: cheap, healthy snacks (cheaper and healthier than in the main food court, which really wasn't bad). 2nd best thing: the shade structure over the audience area. Awesome. Worst thing: running through the sound for the b-boy and salsa lessons through the main speakers. Since the dance stage was far away from the music stage, it meant that sitting down in the audience between sets meant enduring sound that was way too loud for me, let alone the kids. Having a conversation there was a near-impossibility. Next year -- get those dancers (who were pretty awesome) their own PA.
-- Favorite set, kids' division: the Sippy Cups -- if only because the crowd on Saturday was the largest and their set really played to the kids.
-- I loved the touch of playing the "Chariots of Fire" theme and music from "Star Wars" when the gates opened up at 11 AM each day. As I'd snuck in just before then through the press gate, I got to see some of the crowds stream through. Let me tell you, those Dylan fans Sunday morning were hauling their butts to grab a primo spot stage-front, cheered on by the beer vendors close to the entrance...
-- Favorite set, adult division: Crowded House -- it reminded me just how much great music can stay with you over the years and move you emotionally 15 years or more after you first heard the music. It was the set which I felt how selfish it would have been to have Miss Mary Mack with me the entire day, and indeed, I saw very few kids hanging out there.
-- As I stood in the world's longest line waiting for the shuttle buses to leave Friday night (a line which took me about a half hour to negotiate, and I was walking for most of that time), I was amused by how silent the crowd around me was during the Killers' set... except when they played songs from Hot Fuss. Then we all sang along...
-- Other random concert memories: The lead singer for the Kaiser Chiefs successfuly negotiating a climb up and down 30 feet of scaffolding, then tripping running across the stage and twisting his ankle; M.I.A. encouraging the crowd to rush the stage during her set (then being unable to continue until the stage got cleared); the fury of LCD Soundsystem's drummer and guitarist at the end of "Daft Punk is Playing at My House."
-- Man, I wish one of these things would make their way to Phoenix...
-- Finally, thanks to Tor with C3 and Brittany with Fresh & Clean Media for their assistance in attending and reviewing this festival.

ACL Fest (Austin Kiddie Limits) 2007: Day 3 Report

You know, by the time you've been listening to music for about 20 hours in a 36-hour period, your focus tends to wander. Yeah, yeah, drums. Yo La Tengo, sure. Where the heck is that water bottle?

But I came here to Austin with a job to do and I'm going to do it. After all, I'm a professional.

Actually, no, I'm not.

But I'm here.

In any case, Day 3 here at the Austin Kiddie Limits stage and I'm without Miss Mary Mack, who slept in until 9 AM this morning and is relaxing back at the (metaphorical) ranch with her grandma. After filing my Day 2 report at the press tent, I dashed over to the stage, just in time to catch We Go To 11... pose for pictures. Sorry, guys, maybe next time.

Anyway, now I'm liveblogging the Farmer Jason set. I suppose "liveblogging" is probably stretching it, seeing as the stage isn't wireless-enabled I won't post this until Monday morning. But, yeah, I'm at the Austin Kiddie Limits stage without a kid and with a laptop on top of, uh, my lap.

I am such a geek.

Jason is doing some of the songs he did yesterday, some new stuff. He did perform "Forest Rhymes" again -- he was given the challenge of rhyming "triceratops" in the song, which really didn't work at all, and was not, as far as I'm aware, not really a forest animal. But, hey, the crowd seemed to appreciate it.

The sounds of Yo La Tengo are drifting over, and I wouldn't mind walking over to see them, but I'm waiting to catch a brief interview with Farmer Jason. And I don't want to miss the Jellydots. So hear I stay.

... So, after a brief interview with Jason, I head back to the front of the stage just in time to see Doug Snyder and the rest of the Jellydots walk on stage. There's a sizable crowd there, many of whom appear familiar with Doug. They turn in "Hey You Kids!," "Mister Gloom," and some other song I don't remember because I stopped actual notes yesterday afternoon (oh, wait, it was "Race Cars Go!," which ends with a tiniest bit of guitar shredding). They also played a new track, "Sunshine," which will be on their forthcoming CD, which Doug mentioned as having a Nov. 25th release date. As they launched into "San Diego," another new track, I took my leave and headed back to the shuttle bus.

OK, I wanted to catch one song from the Broken West. They led off with "So It Goes." Great song, especially live. So now there are two sets I really want to see that I'm having to miss.

So now I'm, yes, liveblogging from the shuttle bus. Talk about devoted. (That, and talk about how little time I'm going to have to blog this when I get back after escaping from household and most parental duties for 4 days.)

In reading (and writing) these posts, I've noticed just how... sequential these daily recaps have been. I heard this band, then did this, then collapsed from the heat. I'll have one more post soon with random thoughts and memories from the Festival.

I'll also have a recap of the Family Music Meltdown, so stay tuned.

ACL Fest (Austin Kiddie Limits) 2007: Day 2 Report

OK. It's 11:15 AM Sunday, and I'm in the press tent. I am -- of course -- sweating like a really sweaty dog. The kid-band We Go To 11 start in about 15 minutes, and I'm probably about a 14-minute walk from the AKL stage, so, uh, I'm going to be brief. (Well, probably not, but briefer than I otherwise would be.)

Miss Mary Mack and I had a leisurely morning on Saturday. Since the Bummkinn Band and Jambo were playing the first two sets on Saturday and we'd seen 'em on Friday, we took a pass. (The fact that we'd be watching music until 9 PM thanks to the Family Music Meltdown also, uh, played a role in the decision here.) So we got to the Austin Kiddie Limits stage a little into the Sippy Cups' first set of the day.

The Sippys had the most impressive stage setup of the day. Banners on the side and bright day-glo costumes to rival Bjork's for long-distance visibility. The crowd was definitely bigger today than on Friday. Must be something about that whole school is on Friday thing. Their first set was mostly covers, finishing with their reworking of "I Wanna Be Sedated," changed into "I Wanna Be Elated." Can you call it a mosh pit if nobody's actually bouncing off one another, just bouncing up and down?
For their second set, the Sippys mostly did their original songs off their latest album. The band sounded really good, but I need to highlight the Sippy Whose Name Escapes Me who does all the juggling, unicycle riding, costume-wearing, and rhythmic gymastic flag-waving. The Sippys sound good on disk, but their live show has a visual component that makes it lots of fun to see. By this time, the crowd had definitely grown even further, including a fair number of young PWOKs, or, as lead singer Sippy Paul defined them, "People Without Kids." They seemed to be on the youngish side, as if they weren't too far removed from the Sippys' target demographic. And they were to be disappointed as Austin Kiddie Limits producer and MC Tor Hyams had to make no less than 3 announcements telling them that Ben Kweller, scheduled to the special guest, had a sore throat and had to cancel.

The 3:30 set was from Farmer Jason, who rocked the crowd solo-style. Jason, "twin brother" of Jason Ringenberg from Jason and the Scorchers, was probably the most interactive of the performers, turning his "Forest Rhymes" into a 20-minute song where the kids were encouraged to tell him animals (in secret) he then turned into a rhyme (where kids have to guess the animal. Yes, he did indeed have to use the word "peyote" as the key rhyme for "coyote." (After that marathon song, he played an old Jason and the Scorchers song as penance for making the adults sit through a 20-minute-long song.)

Andrea Echeverri came up and played a guest set at the end of Farmer Jason's set (bringing along a good 100 fans to hear some Colombian folksongs, but by that time Miss Mary Mack had had enough of the heat and humidity, which, believe it or not, was even worse than the day before. And we had a Family Music Meltdown to get to.

Gotta run. More music to hear today (including the Jellydots!), then a drive back to Dallas and a flight home and a wife and son to reconnect with...

ACL Fest (Austin Kiddie Limits) 2007: Day 1 Report

"I love the Austin Kiddie Limits -- that's great. It's because nobody in the audience is reading the blogs saying, 'That guy is over.' They're either crying and asking mommy to go home or they love it." -- James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem at Austin City Limits Festival 2007

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'll spare you the rest of the story about "Day 0" -- the flight to Dallas was fine, and although I was overly optimistic about getting out of the Fort Worth area ahead of the rush hour traffic, it was an uneventful drive through central Texas. Really, it was stuff that makes for poor website reading and I don't have the time.

So the next morning, Miss Mary Mack (yes, that's the name I'm giving her, thanks to loyal reader Katy for the suggestion -- she loves that song) and I got in the car and drove to downtown Austin. We got there around 10:30, boarded the shuttle bus and took the long, slow drive to Zilker Park.

After securing my pass, we went in a side gate for press and others, thereby passing the crowds here, which, I didn't realize at the time, were waiting for an 11 AM entrance. We got inside, then all of a sudden I heard the theme music for "Chariots of Fire" and the gates opened up and people started streaming in. Nice touch.

After wandering around a bit (a common theme for the day), we headed on over to the Austin Kiddie Limits stage to catch the first act of the day: Sara Hickman.
I think we actually missed a couple songs, because we came in while some dad was doing his best Bob Dylan "Subterranean Homesick Blues" video impersonation, going through sing-along cards. Hickman then brought some teenagers called the Super Pal Universe (click on the link to learn more) as a backing band. They ripped through a song called "You & Me" which made me wonder if I shouldn't have brought earplugs (to the Austin Kiddie Limits stage!). She played "Red Wagon" (which she covered on Big Kid), then left the stage for Super Pal Universe to play a couple songs.

After the set, we wandered the Austin Kiddie Limits area, which definitely had its attractions. At various points in the 30-minute gaps between sets in the afternoon, we: colored a bag, bought the cheapest food at the festival, painted a tile, watched breakdancers, and played with beach balls. (In case you're wondering, you can't get into that part of the area without a kid, which made me sad as I'd've loved to get another liter of that Gatorade stuff they were selling.)

Oh, and we sweated. Goodness gracious we sweated. You spend long enough in Phoenix, and you forget just how miserable 90 degrees can be when it's paired with, oh, 167% humidity. There was a shade structure in front of the stage, which helped, but you can't shade humidity.

Next up: the Bummkinn Band out of LA (though their lead singer Kimber Breaux was born and raised in Texas). Their set of country music went down well. They had a lot of uptempo songs that I wasn't familiar with, and it turns out the reason I wasn't familiar with many of them was because I hadn't heard most of them -- they're going to be releasing a new album this fall. I liked "Swing Set" (a broken heart song for the elementary school set) and "Crab Bit My Toe," which sound more like Southern rock than country. (It was my daughter's favorite set of the afternoon.)

The next act was Jambo, a bluesy folk rock band from LA. I was really only familiar with the name, not the music, so it was nice for me to actually hear someone new (which is, after all, part of the point of these festivals). They've got a new album, Lucy's Parade, coming out very soon, and I'm curious to hear how the tunes sound on disk. Live, they were fun. (That's Austin Kiddie Limits producer Tor Hyams on keys.)

The final act we saw at the stage was Daddy-A-Go-Go from Atlanta, who brought his touring band -- his two teenage boys and another kid he used coach soccer on drums. They have a loose, classic rock sound, and I liked the opportunity to hear songs from his four albums prior to his most recent one. Of course, because they're teenagers, they're also more likely to want to rock out, so they covered Kings of Leon and Chuck Berry, too.

I wish I could say we saw more than just a few minutes of Big Sam's Funky Nation (the afternoon's special guest, who turned in a great New Orleans-styled version of "Hokey Pokey") or Paul Green's School of Rock All-Stars, but I needed to get Miss Mary Mack (who held up remarkably well throughout the afternoon) to the pick-up/drop-off point, where a family friend would pick her up and get her back to my mom's house.

After taking care of that, and waiting for a while to get back in while the security personnel to give us the go-ahead to enter the grounds again after a fire temporarily disrupted the festival (meaning, they wanted to keep the roads clear for the emergency vehicles), it was my turn.

And all I can say is that if these festivals had existed when I was in college, or single, or living someplace where music happens a lot, I'd've spent a lot of time at these things.

Crowded House was great -- live, they bulked up the sound -- 2 minutes into "Mean To Me," I was wondering why in the world I ever got rid of their self-titled debut.

LCD Soundsystem rawked. You wouldn't think a dance punk act would rock, but they do. The drummer and guitar player played furiously, and the end to their slightly-speeded up "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House," was just intense.

I only caught half their set, unfortunately, because the one adult band I absolutely had to see was Spoon, and they were at the other end of the park. Off I tramped, got a decent place reasonably close, and finally saw the band live. They might be my favorite band right now. They're not much for crowd jibber-jabber (Neil Finn and James Murphy were much better), but the band sounded tight and they brought out horns... Great 16-song set.

Those three sets were great, and I'm really glad Miss Mary Mack wasn't there -- she'd have hated the crowds and the distances and the fact that the music didn't speak to her. She can watch me jam to Spoon at home.

I saw part of The Gotan Project and Bjork sets, but by that time, my mind was fried. I had the longest line I have ever been in ahead of me (for the shuttle buses), and sleep to catch.

And I would love to write more, but I need to have some lunch and get back to the park for Day 2 (and the Family Music Meltdown)... Let's be careful out there...