ACL - Preshow event and Day One

[Photos - all days]
Friday was a lot of fun - probably the best entire ACL day we've had for years. First of all, the temperature was cool - only got up to around 85° - what a world of difference from being 15-20° hotter. Wow.

Got up really early and was at Threadgill's for the HAAM benefit by 7:00AM, where we saw Low Anthem, The Greencards, Sara Watkins with David Garza, Todd Snider and more. Admission was $5 for the charity and included a coffee and breakfast taco.
Very, very nice!

Miles and Miles of Zilker
Rode the city bus to ACL (not the free shuttle) which worked out great. I had forgotten about the "no food" prohibition and fixed a peanut butter sandwich. The security guy looked in our pack, pointed at it and declared "SANDWICH," so we exited the line and snuck off nearby to try and hide it deep in the pack. Went through the line again, where security asked MrB to pull some stuff out of his pack. First thing he pulled out (accidentally) was the damned sandwich, so it got tossed in the trash can, still in its ziploc bag... grrrrr... I hate to throw away food when it could at least feed a grackle, or even a homeless person.

Well, as it turned out, we didn't need sandwiches or even the water we brought, because we were soon to find out that our Guest Passes included access to backstage and hospitality! Believe me, this is the way to go if at all possible! Here's a stageview shot of Sara Watkins, her brother Sean Watkins (both ex-Nickel Creek) and John Paul Jones (ex-Led Zeppelin). JPJ is on mandolin.

A couple of the stages (and the main backstage area) offered beer, other beverages, snacks, swag, shade, tables and chairs, TV (for football or Guitar Hero). Several offered stageside viewing, which is a very cool way to watch a band. After Sara, we went over to one of the main stages to watch The Avett Brothers (pronounced with a long A). I didn't know much about them, but they are catching fire right now. They put on an excellent show and we really enjoyed it. Not sure how I would characterize their music, pretty spread out over genres.

After Avett Bros we milled around, went backstage for a tasty beverage. Chatted a few minutes with fiddler-singer-songwriters Sara Watkins and Eamon McLoughlin (Greencards)... his band is my client and the ones who got us in, along with their management (who also happen to be the people who put on the festival). The Greencards put on a great show right around sundown, which we watched from the front of the stage. [I will have a slideshow up from the whole festival. Watch this post, or the one following.] After The Greencards, we dashed backstage for some quick goodbyes (we will not see them again until sometime next year), and went over to finish up the day with Reckless Kelly, a damn good roots rock band from Austin, Texas.

Raining at Sunset

5 minutes of rain yesterday at sunset, and today at sunset there was more, just light rain but it's been so rare. Temperature went down into the 80s at twilight. The toad in the front yard came out to enjoy the moisture. We need so much more rain.

This is "Raining at Sunset" by the Punch Brothers with Chris Thile.

Punch, Brothers, Punch!

Sunday was our big concert splurge day, because the Punch Brothers were in town for 2 shows at the Cactus. Punch Brothers is Chris Thile's post-Nickel Creek band, and he is without a doubt, the band leader, but all the players are exceptional. Thile's fans are passionately devoted to his music, it's really more in the category of worship, and I am one of those nutty fans (MrB is too. He's just not a fanboy, that's all, doesn't want to go early and hang around late looking for autographs and/or conversation).

I wasn't sure how early the lines would form, so I got there waaay too early. MrB hates that, it drives him nuts, but we just have to work through that situation each time. I am a chronic early bird because of pre-show anxiety... I'd rather just be there and be first in line and have it done. And it was. During soundcheck I thought we were alone in an area of students working on lessons and doing their best to ignore the mandolin - then one came out of the woodwork with a squeeeel OMG IT'S CHRIS THEEELEEE!!! He's my HEEERO!!! OK. The line starts behind me.* :-)

I really do enjoy being around Nickel Creek fans. They are super-nice and nobody cares how old or young you are, or at least they don't show it if they do. Most of my pics were blurred, including these, but flash was out, and the camera blurs in the dark without flash.

Here's a Youtube of this band doing one of Chris's from a few years back. Gorgeous.

We did see lots of friends and acquaintances there, lots of them musicians. Dennis Ludiker and Noah Jeffries (South Austin Jug Band/MiLkDrive) were at 1st show, then they had a MiLkDrive gig to play so they couldn't stay. Warren Hood (Waybacks) sat next to us for 2nd show. He just had his big solo CD release the night before. Sarah Jarosz and her family were there too, and as I kind of expected, she was called up to the stage for the last two numbers. Sarah is a senior in High School, just signed with Sugar Hill Records, and has an upcoming gig opening for Tim O'Brien. How about that? I did record one of the numbers, and that is her Dad taking pictures in it. I hope they turned out better than mine.

After the shows, we did hang around. It was very laid-back, we knew quite a few people there (including Punch guitar player Chris Eldridge) and it felt more like backstage than meet and greet -- so I got to chat with him and also Thile, who was saying what a special city this is to play in because people are actually listening and understand the music (I am paraphrasing). I joked and said "I'll bet you say that to all the cities" but he really meant it. Then he introduced me to Sarah's mom and dad (because we were all in the same conversation) but I said we were old friends, and that we met several years ago waiting in line for Nickel Creek! {true}

I am still buzzing, and it's the only thing getting me through this week, which consists of working day and night, and not much else. Guess I should try and get some sleep now.

Punch, Brothers, Punch -- a short story by Mark Twain

*quote from Tom Petty's character "Lucky" on King of the Hill

Onward through the fog

Here's your soundtrack. This is a beautiful instrumental song by MiLkDrive, (very Nickel Creeky).

The guitar player (Noah) said he wrote it for his mother in Idaho (called "Kay's Tune"). That's pretty sweet, and *almost* makes me wish I'd had a kid who would grow up to be this guy -- but what really would have happened is my kid would end up like Rush Limbaugh or Ted Nugent. I'll never know and don't want to know.

Anyway, MiLkDrive really loved their poster I did for them [VIEW]. I knew they really liked it, but it was even better. It was unanimously declared to be "Badass", and I say they are badass too.

Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market in Sunset Valley to stock up on Buddha's Brew Kombucha (so much better than ones you'll find even in the health grocery. Lots of people bring their pets, and this man had a beautiful python, said it was a full grown, New Zealand variety.

 I love snakes (non-venomous) and I got to meet this one. Here I am in full crazy-cat-lady gear, getting acquainted with a big snake.

I am going on 12 days of being pretty sick from the sinus infection, and today is the first improvement I've seen, the first day I haven't felt like a zombie (bad cough, congestion, fever, sore throat, almost no sleep at all, and exhausted). I got maybe 5 hours of sleep last night (IN A ROW), and the cough was better through the night. Don't want to get cocky though, because these things can fool you, they come and go, and come back. I am still congested and planning on still keeping it pretty low-key. Will skip Del Castillo on Thursday (not rested enough for that show) and wait for Sunday and the Punch Brothers at the Cactus. Very psyched for that, and need to be fit for it. It's Chris Thile, ex-Nickel Creek, and his band.


Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Texas Music

Here's one for MandoMama

This is from Mandolin Mayhem, the benefit show (for Juvenile Diabetes) that happened on Sunday. Some of the best players you will hear anywhere, and all mandolins! It was wonderful. If you want to see more, I took one more video: check it out here.

My love for mandolin, this is all Chris Thile's fault. I don't play, so I'm just a fangirl and enabler (good term, MM). Kym asked if I thought it was too many mandolins at once, and I said I couldn't imagine there being too many mandolins. Thinking about that later, I do think I've seen too many guitars on stage at once. I think that's because electric guitar players (even when they play acoustic) seem to be more likely to be all about their own solos and less about playing WITH the others... so more is not better in that case. One or two is great. Five can be overwhelming and muddy. Players with a bluegrass background seem to be used to the handoffs and sharing the spotlight. Does that make sense?

Anyway, this is the second annual Mandolin Mayhem and now one of my favorite recurring events in Austin.

Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Texas Music

Nickel Creek, Farewell (For Now)

Listen in the background: Full concert streamed via NPR -- Live from Washington D.C.

The big event this weekend was the Nickel Creek show at Stubb's. My favorite band since early 2001. Last summer they issued an announcement that the band would break up at the end of 2007, so here it is. They had just 3 shows to do after Stubb's -- 2 at the Ryman in Nashville. For the breakup they went with a scheduled demolition instead of letting attrition wear them down -- possibly postponing the inevitable for years -- hanging on for way too long like those last seasons of The X-Files. I was really bummed about it at first, and although I still feel sad, I can see that it's necessary. These guys have been in a band together since a couple of them were 8 and the other 12. They spent 18 years in that band... they've grown up and are growing out. It happens.

It was a fantastic show, and one of the highlights was that our young friend Sarah Jarosz was called up onto the stage during the last encore (she was in the crowd and had to be lifted up over the rail to the stage), so that she even got to take the final final bow with the band!! We met her and her parents waiting in the Nickel Creek line a few years ago. Her dad told us later that although she has shared the stage with Chris Thile a lot (along with every other mandolin god you can think of and a few fiddle, guitar, and songwriter gods as well -- see the pics on her MySpace at the link) (I took one of those shots!), she had never gotten to play on stage with Nickel Creek before. It was AWESOME! I think she is about 16 by now, maybe 17? Not sure. They are really nice people. In fact, all the NC hard-core fans I've met are extremely nice folks. Most of the ones we've met are also musicians. Maybe being in Austin has something to do with that (seems like most people I meet are either musicians or photographers... guitar-playing photographers)

NC has called this last tour "Farewell (For Now)", and I really hope that if they ever do get back together as a band for touring or recording, it will be because of the music, and not just because they need money. I realize that it's a livelihood and everybody's gotta make a living and all, but as sad as the breakup is -- if they get back together just for money and not passion for the music, that situation will be a lot sadder.

Tags: Nickel Creek - Austin

Nickel Creek moving on

We drove down to San Antonio (actually, the tiny nearby town of Helotes, TX) to see Nickel Creek on the Farewell Tour. Very bittersweet, they are our favorite band. They made their first record together when the youngest two were just 8 years old, and have been touring and recording as a band for ~18 years. It's easy to understand why they need to move on in order to grow. They are like an old married couple whose brother has always lived with them. Their stage banter was definitely unhinged with hilarious, joking jabs at each other... in fun, but the underlying tension was there and for this tour they are not hiding it on stage. [POSTSCRIPT: I should add that nobody in the band has ever been married to, or romantically linked to any other band member. The Watkinses are brother and sister. The "old married couple" analogy just refers to relationships of people who have been together for a long, long time.]
Their audience is predominately very young, and very devoted... will a few sprinkles of us older, parent or grandparent-aged very devoted folks. Seems like most of them are players, and many were inspired to play by this very band. I have to say that this is the first concert I've ever attended where I didn't notice anyone being drunk or otherwise inebriated... but everyone had a fantastic time. Yes, I know lots of them were too young to drink... that doesn't explain it... it's just that the crowd was not there for the PURPOSE of drinking. It was all about the adoration of the band and their music.

Links: [Nickel Creek Website] and better for listening: [Creek on MySpace] [Chris Thile on MySpace] [Sara Watkins on MySpace] [Sean Watkins on MySpace]

Tags: Music - Nickel Creek - mandolin - fiddle - guitar

I Heart You

They talk about those "Hallmark" holidays, the ones made up not only to sell cards but to sell MUCH more stuff... and so there it is. Another day where you can't measure up and can't do anything right. Both sexes (and/or parties) are victims of the retail pressure -- you'd better not show your face unless it's behind a dozen roses or a rock that costs a month's pay. I gave up on this "holiday" about 15 years ago when I discovered that my sweetie was even less sentimental about this stuff than I was.

It was before we were married. We went down to Cancun for a 4-day stay that included Valentine's Day. Our hotel was just gorgeous and there was a perfect beach view, great weather, great food, fresh-squeezed orange juice and breakfast every day by the water with our feet in the sand, brushing our teeth with beer (you can't be too careful!). When the day arrived, we exchanged cards, as we always do, by placing them where the other one will find it first thing in the morning like it magically appeared. The trouble we had on this particular occasion happened because he found my card, read it, and placed it prominently in the trash can. After the yelling subsided, mostly mine, it was determined by him that the card had served its purpose and did not need to be kept. Following that declaration, I went over some of the finer points about how the minimum level of politeness would require that you at least pretend that you are going to keep it long enough to dispose of it out of the person's sight... assuming you like the person, that is. [sigh] Well, we endured that and a whole lot more, much bigger challenges to a relationship, and seems to me that we are getting to the important stuff now. Whatever love may be, I am convinced in my heart that it's not the same as romance. It's dusty and gritty and frayed. All that candy and jewelry is meaningless. Don't take my word for it though. I'm as confused as everyone else.

I will leave you with one of my favorite players, Chris Thile, playing his composition "Song For a Young Queen"* with his new post-Nickel Creek band. It's a thing of unashamed beauty, written by an unbroken heart. Enjoy.


*recorded in 2001 on his solo album "Not All Who Wander Are Lost"

The music junkie tries to narrow it down

Best concerts of the year! It's a tough one coming from the "live music capital of the world", I logged in 56 concerts, but count a day at a festival as "1" so it's skewed on the low end, I could add another 50 or more shows if I counted each festival show.

I will try to narrow down some highlights, and there are too many highlights to bother mentioning stuff that didn't impress me or a "worst list".

Top of the list is being on the front rail for the Rolling Stones at Zilker Park. It takes the entire SXSW music week to equal the intensity of that one. The rest are in no particular order. A lot of what makes them the best is purely personal. Sometimes it's a band I know or work for, and sometimes it's just the quality of the experience, the venue, and/or all of the above.

Saw James Hunter twice, but I have to go for that short acoustic show at Waterloo Records sitting cross-legged three feet away from him and his abbreviated band. He is really growing on me.

The Greencards at Momo's for SXSW, I have never heard them play any better than that, it was just smokin'. Saw them a few times, but that's the pick.

Nickel Creek: they played unplugged behind Yard Dog for SXSW where the audience is about a foot away (back up or you might get a fiddle bow in the eye!), and that was awesome!! Neil Young was nearby in the audience. They also played a fantastic sold-out show at Gruene Hall a couple of days later, I never saw them play any better than that. They played until the house pulled power, get on home now. Fantastic. Click on the Nickel Creek label for more posts on this band.

Steve Wynn and the Miracle Three are one of the best live bands I've ever seen. Check them out. Saw them several times at SXSW.

It was pretty sweet seeing Rosanne Cash at Waterloo Records.

Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar (with guest Redd Volkaert) at the Cactus Cafe. Great show in a great venue, and nice to chat with Sonny for a minute while he signed an autograph. A show at the Cactus is like seeing someone in a living room.

South Austin Jug Band, it's hard to decide between their show at ACL and the one right before at Mean-Eyed Cat in the drizzling rain. You get a dancing audience for them and it charges things up, mud, dust, sweat and all.

Clifford Antone's memorial at his club was about a 12 hour show and we only did 7-8 hours so we missed Eric Johnson (my favorite guitar player in the world) but did see an incredible heartfelt tribute. More here.

Eric Johnson, I have to pick the Antone's show with Ant B (a little extra jazz fusion flavor than usual), Mike Keller and Double Trouble, with honorable mention to a bluesier show 2 weeks previous with Keller, DT and Malford. Made extra special by having the opportunity to introduce Jeen Lilly to Eric. More here.

Calexico at Emo's, great venue for them, very up close and informal. They played Garden Ruin and more, and were super friendly at the autograph table.

Del Castillo... I'd have to pick the back-to-back nights at Antone's in July. Monte Montgomery strapped on an electric guitar and played with the electrified DC bros for the encore. I'll bet you never saw THAT before. Thought not.

You may find more pictures of these events here.

Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Texas Music

Mandosaurus roams the earth!

Finally got out and went to a show in spite of still being under the weather a bit, but I would have to be dead to have missed this one. If you read this blog, you know that I idolize Chris Thile as a musician. On Saturday night, Chris and Mike Marshall played their duet show at the Cactus Cafe. Chris has been doing duet tours in the winter when Nickel Creek shows slow down - usually they are with Mike Marshall, not always - but they have skipped Austin up to now.

Mike and Chris are definitely in the same league as musicians, you can't really say one is better than the other, it all comes down to preference for style. They are both amazing players, and "Amazing" was the most commonly used word I heard used to describe the shows afterward (there were 2 shows). Music styles were all over the map: choro, Bulgarian-flavor, Celtic, and hard-to-categorize. Just beautiful music.

During the encores, they brought young Sarah Jarosz up on stage. I think she is 14, she's a great talent - mandolin player and what a voice! She knows these guys from attending Symposiums with them. With her, everyone played Bluegrass. It was extremely cool. The whole house was singing along. I won't be surprised if we see her onstage next week at the David Grisman/Greencards show at the Paramount. More on that one later! If you get a chance to see Chris Thile and/or Mike Marshall, DO it, especially if you love great playing and acoustic music.
EDIT: At the end of the show, they did an unplugged, unmiked version of the Strokes "JuiceBox" on two mandolins. Yes, that's right! It was funny and very well-done! I loved it! That's such a Chris-thing. Hard to explain.

- Music - Mandolin -

The Mighty Mighty Creek!!

Nickel Creek finally rolled through Texas with regular tour dates after an absence of 2 years. They also hit Austin at the Cactus Cafe during the private radio promo tour (Search This Blog for postings on that). It's hard for me to discuss Nickel Creek without gushing, they are just so awesome!

We went to the Stubb's Austin and Floore's Helotes shows. Both were great shows but really very different, including the setlist.

Stubb's was sold out, or very near. They had the stage set up to allow for more band theatrics such as playing on little platforms that bridged the stage and the audience barrier. Those barriers were not there when we say them 2 years ago, but they really are needed, if not to protect the band to protect the audience! Chris is a wild man with some flying feet. There were some significant noise problems at Stubb's. For one thing, they had the sound re-directed in a way to where it was much harder to hear from stage-side. Also, it's on Red River and quiet Creek was being seriously drowned out by the decibel-level coming from Red Eye Fly. It was VERY distracting. Add to that the various helicopters and sirens that prevail at a venue located next to the police complex along with fire trucks and ambulances. The audience at Stubb's sang along on every song, even the new ones. That's got to make a band feel good.

Floore's is an extremely laid-back place, even compared to an Austin venue. We weren't very smashed in at the front, although the place was pretty full. It's located more in the sticks so the ambient noise was a few crickets instead of sirens and heavy metal. The stageside sound was fantastic, just phenomenal. The audience didn't sing along much, but had the same deafening applause and squealing as in Austin. I am completely out of squeals today.

After the show we went to the bus hoping for autographs (and got them), and were treated to a post-show unplugged mandolin performance by Chris. I have several pictures of this over on my website. I can't tell you how great it was, I am just in awe of the beautiful music that comes from that instrument, and from this band. The girl in the picture here is Sarah Jarosz, who is a great, young player from Central Texas. We got acquainted with her and her parents in the line when we got to talking about The Greencards.

I got setlist souvenirs from both shows, making everyone jealous. They are keepers, especially since one of them is now autographed.

- Music - Austin - Nickel Creek - Mandolin - Fiddle - Guitar -

Cactus candy

We saw Nickel Creek at the Cactus Café on Monday. I got there super-early, as I have a deserved reputation for doing, and we were first in line, taking the center-stage front table. I don’t think I’ve been that pumped up over a show for a long time, mainly because with the exception of Nickel Creek I get to see my favorite people play live on the average of once a month, and this wait of 2 years had pushed me nearly into a state of giggles.

They would normally pull a larger venue like Stubb’s (and a little bird suggested that they might play the Austin Music Hall this Fall), where everyone will be standing up for hours crammed next to the stage, but this was in the Best Little Venue in Texas, living room atmosphere, capacity under 200, always non-smoking. It’s an acoustic delight, and the audiences there are completely focused on the music, hardly ever a peep or heckle, or even a distracting clink of glassware from the bar in the back of the room during the songs, but the applause brings down the house.

The show definitely lived up to expectations! They played all the songs on their soon-to-be-released CD and then several more. The occasional faux pas or missed note was covered up by the band’s humor, and it made it seem even more living-roomy. There wasn’t an easy band-meeting opportunity at the show, so we headed out even though we probably could have hung around and made it happen. I wanted to give Chris a nice print we made of this picture taken at the 2003 ACL festival, but maybe next time.

Nickel Creek, Texas. Population, 2

Here is the luscious goodness, a ticket for 2 to the only Nickel Creek appearance I think they've scheduled in Texas since 2003! And it's limited access (radio ticket winners only).

They were supposed to play Shady Grove on September 13, 2001... but you-know-what happened right before that and there was no transportation available and people weren't in the mood for concerts anyway. They got really, really popular in the months to follow, and by the time the first ACL Festival happened they rated an evening show on one of the big stages.

People usually start describing them by mentioning how young they are. Two of them are now 24, or will be this year, and the other is 3 years older, but they made their first record when the youngest players were 9! It's a kid's record of old cowboy songs, but they play and sing pretty well on it! Chris Thile, the mandolin player, put out solo records at age 13 and 16... and I swear that his playing on those is as good as anyone else I've ever heard... anywhere! Also he wrote all the songs except for a few old standards, and they are great! They call him the "Mozart of the Mandolin", and I don't know if such a thing is possible, but it's a pretty good moniker. They are all prodigies, extremely talented and making the most of it from practically Day One.

They have insisted on sticking to their creative guns and haven't let labels (record or genre) or stuffy traditionists tell them how to sound. It also helps to have the clout of record sales to back up their efforts, and it's nice when your last genre-busting release wins a Grammy.

This show is part of a tour of small venues where the tickets must be acquired through certain radio stations, and the setlist will be the list of songs on their next release. Cool, huh? Yessss.

Now, if they played regular concerts here more often, I might not be in this raging Creek-freaked deprived state (which also describes Texas). After all, they are named after this place.