I've been every year and I went all three days this year. My thoughts...
Day 1:
Ted Leo + The Pharmacists
They rocked my socks. Well, actually I was wearing sandals so that expression doesn't really apply. Anyway, the great thing about power trios is the rawness of the rock. There's no filler at all. There can't be.
deadboy & The Elephantmen
Very cool band from Lousiana. The singer/guitarist used to be in Acid Bath. The sound is kind of a mix of The White Stripes, Interpol, Syd Barrett and R.L. Burnside. They played the biggest stage but not that may people came so I got up pretty close.
Danielia Cotton
Man can she sing. She just belts it and screams it out but she also has a soulful voice as well. She reminds me of Skin fron Skunk Anansie in a way. The sound overall is a mix of blues and hard rock.
Cat Power & The Memphis Rhythm Band
I love her. Her voice is just so smokey and beautifully fragile. Her loopy personality is appealing also. The Memphis Rhythm Band is top notch as well. And as anybody who's seen her show will know, she screws up sometimes. I saw her about 2 years ago and she screwed up once then too. She is an awkward performer but her talent is so great that it doesn't really matter.
Day 2:
Los Lobos
This is the third time I've seen the band and they're great every time. The mix rock and hispanic music very well and can do both independently very well also. Why this band isn't considered one of the greats of classic rock I'll never know. I mean, they've been around since the '70s.
Calexico
I only stayed for half of thier set but it was good. This stranger started talking me ear off but he knew his stuff so it was an interesting concersation about music. I like how the band is really only a couple guys and they have a ton of collaboraters. That always allows for a fresh sound in a way.
The Raconteurs
They rocked my face off. People who put down Jack White should really just go see this band. Jack's got chops. The band had the same type of energy Led Zeppelin had. So basically, this was one of the rockiest rock shows I've ever seen.
Willie Nelson
Rolling Stone calls Willie the "high priest of honky tonk." I have to agree. What's really amazing is that he's still so good at singing and playing. He is 73 after all. His band looks just as old as he does also. His sister plays piano in the band also. Anyway, there's nobody that sounds like him and that's a good thing. I also love his beat to **** guitar. I bet that has something to do with the sound as well.
Day 3:
The Black Angels
This band is carrying the torch of psychedelia forged by another Austinite, Roky Erickson. The band sounded almost exactly like they do on the album as sometimes that's a bad thing but it wasn't so much here. One cool thing about the band is that many of them play multiple instruments so they don't have to compromise anything. I stood right at the stage in front of the drone machine/keyboard player. She was pretty hot I must say.
Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann is an Austin blues legend, having played with both Vaughan brothers at one time or another as well as having a successful solo career. Her voice has that bluesy soulful sound but also has that Texas twang. That mix is what makes her singing unique. Her band was quite good too.
Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley
Normally I don't like toasters. For those who don't know, toasters are reggae rappers. Damian Marley happens to be one of them, but he sings also. I kind of like his albums so I decided to check out his live show. It was much better than I expected it to be. His band was great and I guess I should have expected such a show from a Marley. That whole family is talented. Damian has a ton of energy and his vocal delivery is rapidfire yet calculated as well in a way. he brought his brothers Julian and Stephen on for a couple songs. That was certainly unexpected. After seeing this awesome reggae show I knew that Matisyahu couldn't possibly deliver as good of performance so I decided not to see him. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that he had this guy who's sole job was to wave the Jamaican flag around as he performed. I would think that his arms would have gotten tired.
Patrice Pike
Some of you may know her from Rockstar: Supernova. Well, she has a successful career her in Austin and in Texas. Her voice is great and I think being on Rockstar gave her some lessons in rock because this set was pretty rockin'. I've seen her before and it rocked but not like this. One thing that's interesting is that she seems to have a lot of lesbian fans.
White Ghost Shivers
This was a really interesting band. They're from Austin too and for some reason I'd never heard of them. They've been around for six years apparently. Anyway, the band plays a mix of western wing, '20s and '30s jazz and ragtime. They dressed the part too, wearing old-timey suits and such. The tenor banjo player was around seven feet tall and really skinny. It was an interesting sight. The female singer wore this burlesque getup. The show was pretty theatrical. The musicians were top-notch too. It was a good mix of Americana and theater with a semi-rock n' roll attitude.
The Flaming Lips
There's nothing quite like a Flaming Lips show. Wayne Coyne rolled out on stage in this bubble thing. There were people dressed as Santa Claus on one side of the stage swaying around and people dressed up as something like a cross between Snow White, elves and cheerleaders on the other side swaying around. In the back of the stage there was a giant bug-eyed alien, a giant astronaut and a giant Santa Claus. The music was great too and Wayne talked a lot between songs and got the audience into the performance. He said that he met Ben Kweller backstage and Ben told him that his set the previous day had been cut short because his nose started bleeding a ton and wouldn't stop. He said he finally got it to stop with a tampon. So, Wayne said that he couldn't be outdone and proceeded to pour some fake blood on himself and asked people to throw tampons on stage. He's a strange guy but is also really intelligent and articulate.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Ah, man. This made my...well, life. After seeing Tom live I have to say that music is my religion. The show was so awesome. He played all the hits and even though I've heard them a million times, they still sounded fresh and powerful. Of course, in a live setting the band can make them a little more "jammy." Unfortunately, the band had to take a break and cover the equipment when it started to rain but they came back on and rocked the place once again, including a 4-song encore. Tom has said that this will be his last tour because he's not sure he can do it anymore. I don't know what he's talking about. Many classic rock bands sound tired these days but definitely not Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
