Austin City Limits Music Festival Entertainment Art Zilker Park Austin, TX October 2-4, 2009

Avett Brothers:

Coming into Friday, Avett Brothers stood as the band I was most excited to see that day, given my recent binge on their music. The group falls somewhere in between folk, punk, and pop-rock, combining elements of the three genres to provide a refreshing and unique sound. Combined with their honest and insightful lyrics, and their style has endeared itself to my regular music playlist throughout September.

The Avett Brothers arrived in Austin fresh off that past Tuesday’s release of their 4th album I and Love and You, where they collaborated with famed producer Rick Rubin in making the album. Rubin’s presence has resulted in a much fuller and slightly more polished sound, as the group heavily incorporates piano and the drum set in their new songs. The new album also marks a shift from rawness in their work, opting for a more ballad-filled piano-rock.

What remained to be seen on Friday was how the group, fronted by lead vocalists and brothers Scott and Seth Avett, who play the banjo and guitar respectively, would integrate their new musical direction with their older fan favorites. The band took stage at 2:30pm to a decent-sized crowd basking in the near perfect weather. The set opened with older songs “Shame” and “Paranoia in B Flat Major”, during which Scott Avett adorned his red bandana and unkempt beard, portraying his lyrics evocatively through his earnest delivery over his banjo and bass drum. The band switched gears over the next few songs which came from their new album, and had brothers move to the piano and drum set. As the band tested “Laundry Room” and “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise,” the crowd embraced their new songs accordingly. The dynamic of these newer songs focus more on a ballad-esque pondering of thoughts, rather than the raw showcase emotion found in their earlier work.

The Avett Brothers sprinkled in a variety of their songs throughout the remainder of the set, including fan favorites “Murder in the City” and “Left on Laura, Left on Lisa”. What impressed me about some of these earlier songs is how much energy and force the group creates without having a drummer, and coming from only four stringed instruments. After the hour-long set was almost over, the band thanked the crowd, and played new song “The Perfect Space,” saving their best live song for last. Personally, this last song rested any doubts as to the direction that the band was taking with I and Love and You, as the song featured highly impressive combinations of their polished piano ballads, a dynamic shift to a rawer, more upbeat middle section, before return to the song’s beginnings. With “The Perfect Space,” Scott and Seth Avett appeared to have found that aptly-titled middle ground between their old and new works, fusing the two for the better.

The Walkmen:

While I saw the Walkmen from a distance, the group appeared to be hitting their full stride, beginning their set with the crawling “On the Water”, before exploding into full force with “Little Houses of the Savages.” Lead singer Hamilton Leithauser led the band with his Dylan-esque voice through their warm, antiquated sound for the mid-afternoon crowd. The Walkmen concluded with a combination of their best songs, including the blistering, frantic “The Rat” and the meandering, dynamic “In the New Year.” I wish I could have seen them much closer, but since I already saw them at Pitchfork this year, I made the choice to stake out a spot at Phoenix.

Phoenix:

A larger than expected crowd lined up in anticipation for Phoenix’s Austin City Limits performance, marking the first time most of the young onlookers will have seen the French group. As the fans anxiously anticipated the upcoming show, adjacent performers The Walkmen ended their set. Moments later, a synth-laden ambience layered over the crowded as Phoenix took the stage.

The group launched their set with “Lisztomania” whose infectious catchiness spread like wildfire among the crowd. As the band strutted their 80’s influence electronic indie-pop, Phoenix clearly was out to make the most of their hour-long set at Austin City Limits, playing their tunes with pinpoint cohesiveness and accuracy. After leading off with one of their two indie hits, the sextet carried the momentum throughout their entire set, combining their sloppy-professional attire with their ceaseless energy. Lead singer Thomas Mars absorbed the crowd’s attention as he effectively entertained the crowd, engaging the mostly-hipster crowd to make their best effort dancing awkward to the funky rhythms innate in Phoenix’s sound. And the crowd became enamored with Mars’ efforts, shamelessly dancing away to mid-set tracks such as “Lasso” and “Fences”.

The band stood back halfway through their set in a confident awe, commenting that “this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever played for”.

Despite some minor technical difficulties with their electronics, the band seamlessly transitioned through them, shifting to their less complex songs, including their short but sweet cover of Air’s “Playground Love”. Once the band overcame their issues, the band kicked back into their uptempo pop licks with “Girlfriend”. The band finished their set with the newly christened, Cadillac-sponsored hit “1901”, which left the crowd buzzing beyond.

I came into their set knowing only their two hit tracks, but I left stunned by their performance. I have not been wowed by a live performance of band I knew very little about, since I saw Sufjan Stevens several years ago. The crowd seemed to have a similar feeling according to the simplest of measures—their smiles. Everyone left more than happy, grinning and buzzing more than their intoxicated and sun-beaten mouths could glowingly bear.

Them Crooked Vultures:

Newly founded supergroup Them Crooked Vultures took the stage in the 7:30pm slot, in front of a crowd split between big fans of the individual musicians, and those who were simply curious about the mystery behind the band. Comprised of drummer Dave Grohl, guitarist and vocalist Josh Homme, and famed bassist John Paul Jones, the much-rumored Them Crooked Vultures offers an obvious abundance of talent. However, it remained to be seen whether or not their talent could translate into a successful new group.

As the band came onstage, singer Josh Homme declared “This song is for the nighttime,” and kicked off their set with the track “Dead End Friends,” a hard and edgy alternative rocker. Soon enough, it became evident that the Them Crooked Vultures was there to play a louder, grungier style than any of their prior associated acts. In addition, John Paul Jones did not using his iconic stature as he has played strictly in the pocket, refusing to unleash his bass on his adorners. This Jones was not the one we knew in the 70’s, let alone in 2007, when he was one of the major of highlights of that year’s Bonnaroo.

While the band’s lineup had received considerable hype, the individuals were unable to create something bigger than themselves, and like most supergroups, this one fell below par. Five songs into their set, I became bored and wandered over to see Andrew Bird.

Andrew Bird:

After working my way through the endless crowd, I finally arrived at Andrew Bird to catch the second half of his set. Running through several tracks from his 2009 Noble Beast, the group was solid, but not spectacular, in part due to the fact that the crowd was clearly not into the show, with most people appearing to just be killing time before the Kings of Leon show began. Despite the lack of energy surrounding the show, Bird still shined, showcasing his multi-instrumental virtuosity throughout their set. The band concluded their set with several of their classics, including “Scythian Empires,” “Fake Palindromes,” and “A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left.” Despite their workmanlike performance, many started to leave near the end of the set to head over to stake out ground for the Kings of Leon.

Kings of Leon:

Once Andrew Bird concluded, I made my way through the insanely large crowd to get a better view of the Kings of Leon. I saw that twice in 2007, once at Lollapalooza where they played in front of a small-to-mid sized crowd, and the other at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, where the band could barely fill the 5,000 seat capacity. Both times, the band put on good, but far from spectacular shows. Only two years later, the Kings of Leon have now exponentially increased the size of both their crowds and venues played. This explosion has left me shocked, and somewhat befuddled at times. Nevertheless, I decided to give the band another shot to see if they lived up to the hype.

The band offered a 20+ song show, primarily drawing from their past two albums Because of the Times and Only by the Night. One remarkable difference in the band has been their shift towards exuding an arena rock style to their music, especially with their pop-hits “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody.” Backed by their Radiohead-imitated lighting, the band cruised through their set with remarkable efficiency and predictability. The set concluded with a guest appearance by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who offered his expert tambourine dexterity and offered a few phrases of vocals .

Despite Caleb Followill’s banter to the crowd expressing that the band stays true to its roots and was not planning on going anywhere, his larger-than-life appearances seemed contrived at best. He further supported this claim as he commented near the end of the set—“If you don’t like us—you better learn to love us.”

While I do not want to hate on the band, as I once used to be a relatively large fan, the Kings of Leon do not attempt to expand their musical creative bubble whatsoever. Are they good at what they do? Absolutely—and that’s why they have achieved mainstream success. But the band makes no attempt to progress their sound.

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