ACL Roundup

So why am I posting a low-res image of dreamboats to start my first post back from a long hiatus? Why, that's my friend's (and coworker's!) band The Bubbles, a local Austin act whose sound immediately harkens another Austin group that blew up a few years ago at SXSW - Voxtrot - with a blend of spazzy-rhythms and adorable pop. I hate use the word adorable, but look at those guys.

I had the privilege of finally checking out their live show last Wednesday, as they were one of the five-finalists at the Sound and the Jury/Austin City Limits play-in festival at the makeshift Dell Lounge at Antone's. (Think Showtime at the Apollo meets Battle of the Bands meets a chance for a local-act to open for Dr. Dog at ACL. Pretty rad.)

And they did not disappoint. However, despite the supposed criterion of originality of performance and stage presence as major factors for entry, our heroes fell victims to performing behind Feist and Ben Folds crowd-pleasers, and did not place into the promised land. That gift was given to The Bright Light Social Hour, who admittedly - despite my predisposed bias for being Bubblicious - I also enjoyed very much. Although they're an Austin act [obviously] I thought some songs had a mashup DC sound that reminded me of the upbeat dance rhythms of Q and Not U, while others had windup progressive rock stylings a la The Mars Volta. Does that make any sense? At all? Well, it rocked. Grooved/danced out to it heartily.

From there, it was onto ACL. Did I overpay for my weekend pass? Absolutely. Was it muddy? Yes. But it was all worth it, and normally I'm not much a fan of the short-set, overcrowded outdoor festival variety. [SXSW and CMJ are my jam.]

Friday was the highlight: Phoenix and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs? On the same day? Thrilled. And for those who were torn which stage to venture to - i.e., choosing between Kings and Leon and Karen O - stop it. Either way, you were probably entertained. (Although this was a relatively easy decision for me to make. Just sayin'.)

Saturday brought rain, Bon Iver, and Grizzly Bear. Sunday was mudfest, and the dirty setting was perfect for - wait for it! - Dirty Projectors. I decided to close the festival out with the messy, shitshow of a danceparty that was Girl Talk before bouncing to the nostalgic sounds of Pearl Jam playing in the distance. That's right; I left during the immortal Eddie Vedder's set. Feel feel to scoff at me now, and shame my entries of wonderful throwback-emo sounds that I will continue to make more posts about.

[Next week: The Gloria Record]