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.

Now Hear This: The Jellydots - "San Diego"

The other day, I posted a video of the Jellydots performing a new cut, "San Diego," as part of the Tricycle Music Fest in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Well, the finished version of The Jellydots' "San Diego" is now available as a free download from their Myspace page. It'll be on their upcoming release Changing Skies, which is, according to the page, "almost done!" (Interjection Doug's.)

I think you'll find it a valuable addition to our modern lifestyle. Or, at the very least, your family's mp3 collection.

New Music from the Jellydots: "San Diego"

The Jellydots traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina about a month ago to perform at the Tricycle Music Fest. In addition to performing a special version of their hit "Bicycle" (take a wild guess at how they modified it and watch here to see if you guessed correctly), they debuted a song from their upcoming album.

Musically, it's got a sunny, late-California afternoon sort-of vibe. It's sort of hard to make out the lyrics in the muddy audio mix, but the chorus is pretty clear:

"Why don't we go to San Diego? / We can sign up this year / Why don't we go to San Diego? / I'm gonna pack up my gear."

The song seems pretty relatable to kids, but considering the line midway through - "It gets so hot in Texas" - it seems like this is a case of real (adult) life inspiring the song, as Jellydots main man Doug Snyder recently moved from Austin to here in Phoenix. Now, ordinarily I might cry foul ("Hey, where's the song about Phoenix?"), but I gotta tell you, "Phoenix" is not nearly as easy to stick in a chorus as "San Diego."

"Why don't we fix transportation in Phoenix?"
"Why do I get neck cricks looking at houses in Phoenix?"

So Doug gets a pass.

Anyway, enjoy.

Reminder: Saturday Sing-Along With Doug Snyder

If you live in the Phoenix area, don't forget that Doug Snyder, main man of the Jellydots, will be playing a free Saturday Sing-Along at Stinkweeds this Saturday, June 9, starting at 10 AM.

(If you don't live in the Phoenix area, well, I can't help you then. Make your own Saturday music experience. Do Breakfast with Enzo Garcia in San Francisco. Or go to Baby Loves Disco in LA. Or listen to Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child or Greasy Kid Stuff. Or just sing and dance in the comfort of your own home. Whatever.)

Doug's relocated here to Phoenix, so if you're in the area, this is a great chance to meet him. (And, if you or your kids have a hankerin' to learn guitar, to schedule a lesson.)

Stinkweeds, located at Central and Camelback, will be opening up at 10 AM for this, and the weather looks like it'll be tolerable. (Whoo-hoo! Tolerable!) Come early, 'cuz based on the attendance last time, I think it'll be pretty packed.

Look for me -- I'll be the guy with the lime-green uke.

Notes On Playing Kids Music Live

[Read to the very end to find out a cool announcement about a Phoenix-area show.]

Unlike some of my Offsprung colleagues (Dr. Flea, Erica Perl, do stop by), I'm an amateur practitioner of music, kids' or otherwise. I enjoy playing, but my audiences are rarely any larger than the 3 other members of my immediate family.

So, remember the Singalong Saturday that my local record store, Stinkweeds, was going to host with my help? (Humor me and say yes.)

Yeah, it was lots of fun. Lots of people -- maybe 40 -- for something that was publicized at close to the last minute. I brought some rhythm instruments (shakers, Casio drum machines... OK, no drum machines). The weather cooperated -- wonderfully mild.

And the music? Well, it can be viewed in one of two ways.
1) Dario's Magic Bus was a nifty little trio of Dario on guitar and Jason and Justin playing upright bass and a single-drum drum set.
2) I played, too.

That's right. In the corner stood me and my lime green Dan Zanes ukelele, playing along with "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Old MacDonald," and the like.

There's just an itsy bitsy problem.

My current chordal knowledge on the uke is limited to 5, maybe 6 chords, much less if I don't have my chord book in front of me.

And so, if the band wasn't playing in the key of the chords I was familiar with, I was forced to strum idly with a silly grin on my face. Which is a not uncommon expression for me, but typically I'm not looking that way in front of three dozen strangers.

I really don't mind improvising, but if I were going to do that, I'd much rather pull out my violin, where my ability to transpose is crudely competent.

But when I'm asked to lead the crowd in "Pay Me My Money Down" (Dario, while very cool, didn't have a setlist long enough for the full hour) it's, well, a lot harder than you'd think.

It's not just skill in playing music, there's a definite art in working the crowd, and one that I've got a lot to learn about.

That's why I'm very excited that Stinkweeds will have the Jellydots' Doug Snyder at their next Singalong Saturday, on June 9th at 10 AM. It'll be the last Singalong before the summer break, so come early as I think this free event will be even more popular than the first one.

Don't worry, the owner and I are already thinking about events for the fall. And, as far as I'm aware, I'm not on that calendar of events.

By the way, Doug's now living in Phoenix, and so if you or your kids are lookin' for guitar lessons (you've always wanted to learn how to play "Bicycle," right?), drop him a line through his website.