Lifting Up the Honda Stage Crowd (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

My fellow former gauchos from UCSB lifted the fans at ACL Sunday with some origial sounding Reggae tunes.  Being one of only two Reggae groups to perform at the festival (the other being Slightly Stoopid), they gave the ACL crowd a bit of California’s new spin on Reggae. 

You might say, ”Well, I’ve never even heard of these guys?”  Really?  Their latest album ”Bright Side of Life” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart.  Not to mention, their 2007 release “Courage to Grow” reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart.  If you haven’t heard of them by now, I guess you just don’t like da Reggae music.

Drummer Wesley Finley was kind enough to take time to answer some questions I had for the guys regarding their roots - going all the back to the days of playing house parties in the small college town of Isla Vista, California. 

Josh:  I am a UCSB alum, Class of 2007, I saw you guys perform at house parties on DP and Sabado Tarde back when.  As great as I’m sure all your success has been since those days, do you ever miss the days or daze as it were of playing those raucous IV (Isla Vista) house parties?

Wesley:  We do miss the nostalgia of playing for our original crowds in Isla Vista. If we attempted to do that today there would surely be safety risks involved; we still like to play for our hometown crowd of Santa Barbara but we do it legitimately these days by performing in accredited venues where things go more smoothly.

Josh:  What was your best experience when you guys were playing IV house parties on the regular? I know you have some good stories.

Wesley:  As you may know, the IV Foot Patrol regularly gave us noise ordinance tickets.  One time they shut us down minutes after starting, everyone was bummed, so we moved the entire set up a 2 blocks down at another house with fans and friends all carrying equipment down the street since it’s impossible to drive down Del Playa on a weekend night.  It was quite the sight to see.  Another show drew a couple thousand people that flooded the streets which we were definitely not anticipating.  We’ve also done a couple 4/20 shows that got real hectic.

Josh:  What was your favorite drinking establishment in IV? (Mine was the laundry mat) In line with this, did you ever complete the IV Loop?

Wesley:  The most frequented IV drinking establishment would have to have been Dublin’s.  We had a few roommates that worked there over the years so we would get hooked up every now and then.  It was also right down the street from our old practice spot.  Tragic as it may be, none of us have attempted the IV Loop.  We were more about house parties in the early days.

Enjoy the live photos of Rebelution below, including one of my boy Wesley.  Check out Rebelution’s website to keep up with these laid-back Californians, you can count on them to be around for a long time.

Eric from Rebelution Doing His Thing (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

Wesley Holding it Down on Drums (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

Even the diehard fans weren’t expecting this caliber of a performance from their favorite group, but somehow, Gogol Bordello delivered above and beyond.  They especially delivered a message Saturday by enthusiastically performing “Immigraniada (We Comin’ Rougher),” a single from their latest album Trans-Continental Hustle. Watch the music video on Youtube and read the comments section, this song has a message we all should listen to.  For more information on Immigrants’ Rights, visit aclu.org/immigrants-rights

The AMD stage crowd went into frenzy for this live rendition of ‘”Immigraniada.”  I have yet to see the audience at ACL react this much to a band, every person in the crowd instantly started clapping and chanting to the beat as lead singer Eugene Hutz tore up the stage, dancing from one side to the next so quickly that all you saw was a flash of energy.

Speaking of Hutz, we got a chance to catch up with him before their 6:30pm set.  I asked him the standard offbeat questions and a few about music, he said Austin has always been one of his favorite places to play. Enjoy the video and pictures below, and remember to keep up with Gogol Bordello at their website, you do not want to miss out on this band.

Eugene Hutz backstage at ACL (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

There's Nothing Wrong With a Bottle a Night! (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

Gogol Bordello Made A Statement Saturday Evening at ACL AMD Stage (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

Special Event Indeed (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

I have to take back some of what I said in my previous entry Torn ACL, it was more like a sprained ACL for the first day of the festival.

We caught JJ Gray & Mofro on the Budweiser Stage, next was Jack Johnson’s buddy Donovan Frankenreiter playing his signature fireside beach music on the Honda Stage.  Soft Pack was making people move to their catchy song hooks on the Zync Stage.  Then I took a break in the tent to stretch, eat, and rehydrate.  I was trying not to tear a muscle, you know?

We had a short talk with Rymo from Slightly Stoopid then rushed back into the festival to catch some of Girls’ set on the Zync Stage.  Then I caught the first half of Black Keys set on the AMD Stage, the big crowd at the AMD stage went nuts. I had to leave there early to catch Slightly Stoopid clear across the park at the Budweiser Stage, I made it easily.  Then we got to see Vampire Weekend who may have been one of the best acts of the day as they hypnotized the crowd from atop the Zync Stage.

After all this, there still remained the headliners.  Phish and The Strokes.  We started with Phish who as always had their insane light show operating in full swing, every person in the crowd was waving a glow stick or hula hooping with a neon hoop, or had neon body piercings bouncing light off their face.  It was quite a scene and the dedicated Phish fans ate it up.

We left after three songs or so because I was anxious to see The Strokes who had a crowd that was probably twice as big as that of Phish … and man were they playing the hits.  In just the part of the set that I saw, I heard “Reptilia,” “Someday,” and the song that skyrocketed them to stardom in the first place, “Last Nite.”

All in all I found that I had an easy time getting around Zilker to the different stages, I was able to move from stage to stage without rushing it or feeling like I was missing out on someone else.  You can catch half a set then trek halfway across the park and catch the back half of another that started at the same time.  So, as it were, there should be no Torn ACLs this year at Austin City Limits, maybe just a sprain here and there.

Sahara Smith kicked off ACL at 11:20 on the Austin Ventures Stage, her vocal range is impressive. We caught up to this rising star from Wimberley, TX in the media tent. She said she was looking forward to enjoying the rest of the festival’s acts. Do yourself a favor and listen to her voice at her myspace and her webpage

Sahara Smith started off ACL 2010 on the right foot with her enchanting voice (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

Slightly Stoopid brought that needed West Coast vibe, playing a blend of Rock and Reggae on the Budweiser Stage to a giant crowd that had no choice but to groove and dance to infectious tunes.  The horn section bounced in unison with the beat, guitars were shredded, and the fans enjoyed every minute of it.

We got a chance to sit down with Ryan “Rymo” Moran, the drummer for Slightly Stoopid, we talked about music, life, Sublime, Aliens, ya know, the usual stuff.

Slightly Stoopid Rockin' on the Budweiser Stage (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

Rymo talks with Josh in the Media Tent (Charlie L. Harper III/KXAN)

Took a flight on Southwest from Love Field last night, I made a new single-serving friend in the process.  My new SS friend Robert even kind of looked like Tyler Durden.

Robert lives in Tulsa and had connected in Dallas, he ordered a beer.  I ordered an apple juice; seriously, what am I, a 5 year old?  I was really playing up to the Edward Norton role.  Anyways, Robert was coming down to enjoy ACL with his girlfriend, who is Austin-based.   He had tickets to see Muse at The Ford Center in OKC, but when a ticket became available for ACL, he jumped at the chance to see Muse with his girlfriend in Austin.  He sold his OKC Muse tickets and bought the ACL pass off his girlfriend’s friend.

He said he is most interested in seeing Muse, Black Keys, Strokes, & Vampire Weekend.  Pretty solid trade if you ask me.  He went from seeing Muse sans girlfriend in OKC, to seeing Muse, Black Keys, Strokes, and much more with his girlfriend in the Live Music Capitol of the World.  Nope, not a bad trade at all.

Steel Pulse would have made ACL 2010 more Irie

Any acts you wish were playing at ACL this year?  I ask myself that question at every festival I attend; “Who could have made this show even better?!”  While this year’s lineup is insanely good as usual, below is a handful of acts that would have made it even more epic!

• Steel Pulse (This festival needs a legendary Reggae band, Steel Pulse personifies that moniker)
• Snoop Dogg, Q-Tip, KRS-One, etc. (Give me one iconic Rapper and this festival would be over the top)
• Mad Caddies or Voodoo Glow Skulls (At least one Ska band is needed, so get one of the best)
• Facing New York (Underrated Prog-Indie band from the Bay Area, this band’s live performance is unbelievable)
• Ben Kweller (Native Texan, one of the best songwriters of this generation.  He has played ACL in previous years)
• The Vandals and Bad Religion (ACL 2010 needs more punk bands, and these two are stalwarts.  Both of these bands will be playing at Fun Fun Fun Fest in November however)

What does your wish list look like?

Since I have no life, last night I looked up every group performing at this year’s festival and placed them into neat little packages.  I wanted to get an idea of what ACL 2010 is really about.  The results of my somewhat controlled experiment varied; some were a little shocking, and others were expected.  If I counted correctly, there are 124 bands listed on ACL’s “lineup” webpage.  Below, I break break break … break ‘em down (that was me word scratching yo).

• Indie Rock/Pop – 30 Expected result, Indie rules the day.  Really there are much more than 30 Indie bands performing at ACL this year, but for the purposes of this post, 30 is enough and more than double of any other genre.
• Folk – 15 Folk has become more and more mainstream, some bands considered themselves Indie-Folk, but if it said the word Folk in the bio, they were placed in my Folk category.
• Soul/Jazz/Blues/Americana – 15 Most of these bands fall in line with the Indie-Folk genre too, although some of these acts actually play what I would consider traditional Blues and Jazz.
• Rock/Alt. Rock – 10 Good ol’ fashion Rock ‘n roll is still around, but just barely, I had to combine Alt. Rock with it to pad the stats; Alt. Rock 5 & Rock 5 respectively.
• Alt. Country – 8 Rising genre here, there needs to be one category called Indie-Pop-Folk-Americana-Alt. Country-Experimental Jazz Rock.  Again, a majority of these bands could fall under the umbrella of Indie.
• Children’s Music – 7 All these artists are part of Austin Kiddie Limits, but nonetheless, they outnumber major genres Reggae, Metal, and Hip-Hop combined. 
• Gospel Choirs– 6 There are more Gospel choirs performing at ACL than there are Punk bands - I guess Punk really is dead in the eyes of this ACL lineup.
• Country/Bluegrass – 6 It’s Texas, there has to be some Country acts, surprised there were not more.
• Electronica – 6 Rave kids will have a place to go this weekend, bring your glow sticks and pet tranquillizers.
• Jam Band/Experimental/World – 6 This genre is headed up by Phish.  Don’t shave anything this week if you want to fit in at these performances, same applies for Folk performances.
• Punk – 5 Out of these 5, none are really what one would think of as traditional Punk Rock, some of these could even be considered Indie.  Gogol Bordello’s raucous Gypsy Punk stands out in the crowd.
• Rap/Hip-Hop – 4 Not much love for the Hip-Hoppers out there, I’m going to start an Indie Folk Rap group, we are going to be HUGE!
• Dance Punk – 3 My most specific genre listed here, but as it were, there are 3 bands playing ACL that fall under this particular category.
• Reggae – 2 Both these bands are more in line with the Reggae-Rock genre and not traditional Reggae; West Coasters Rebelution and Slightly Stoopid are the only ones representing Jah.
• Metal – 1 Austin’s own, The Sword, are the only Metal band performing at the festival; one would venture to say that there would be no Metal bands playing ACL if these rockers weren’t from Austin.
• Christian Rock – 1 Switchfoot is the token Christian Rock group; I guess these guys aren’t fond of this label but if you win Christian Music awards every year and are headlining Christian Rock tours year in and year out, then I am going to slap the Christian Rock label on you every time despite what you may say in interviews.

Don't end up like this fan from ACL 2009 - it would behoove you to follow my advice this year.

Austin City Limits is going on this weekend, and lucky me, I will be there with credentials in hand, ready to ask band members questions that may or may not have anything to do with music.  Yes, my interview questions usually have little or nothing to do with music.  I mean, these bands have been asked every question in the book, and personally, I am sick of the same old clichéd interview questions that reveal absolutely nothing about these individuals and their character.

For instance, one of my favs, ”What is your favorite Weapon of Mass Destruction?”  If they say something like “what kind of jerk are you?”  Unwavering liberal.  If they say “anything that kills ’dem terrorists,” they are a fear-mongering hard line conservative.  If the response is “My lyrics” or “The Pen” then they are outside the box thinkers who wage their wars in their notebooks.  If they say “MIM-104 Patriot Missile” then they were once enlisted in the military.  If they say “a Cannon” or “a Supersoaker water pistol,” then they get that the question is just a bunch of Tom Foolery and that particular individual has a good sense of humor. 

Enough about that stuff, I want to tell you who I am going to see at ACL.  Some bands are playing simultaneously so one has to be discerning when scheduling their ACL weekend, hence the title of this post, Torn ACL … get it?  Okay then, Karen Brooks previously presented some scenarios that will no doubt leave you torn at ACL, I wanted to do the same - the band “matchups” and my plans below.

• Vampire Weekend vs. Sonic Youth (Sonic Youth. Are you kidding?)
• Phish vs. The Strokes (The Strokes. I’ve seen Phish and I have a one 30 minute bass solo limit per lifetime).
• LCD Soundsystem vs. Ozomatli vs. Gogol Bordello (I’m going to go with Gogol Bordello here, almost went with LCD Soundsystem though).
• Muse vs. M.I.A.  (Muse, unless M.I.A. gets freaky or something, she is not hard to look at).
• Spoon vs. Slightly Stoopid (Are you Stoopid or something? Slightly Stoopid, duh!)
• Lucero vs. Gaslight Anthem (Not a huge alt/country guy myself, Gaslight Anthem it is).

Follow my ACL Experience at http://www.twitter.com/aclonkxan or http://www.kxan.com or http://www.twitter.com/earthtojosh 

Remember to stretch those leg muscles before you hurt yourself this weekend.