Well, we’ve done it again. We’ve teamed up with our friends CoolinAustin to bring you a showcase of our favorite local talent, in a flurry of awesomeness. This Friday at Frank, doors will open at 9:30PM and we’ll party all night to Austin’s finest. First up will be the pop-rock sounds of Little Radar, our friends from Free Week who blew us away. Dead Black Hearts live up to the showcase in name, but their songs are sweet enough to only upset you gently. Then the artists formerly known as the Soapbox Spellbinders shake their worldly bodies for a new name, Your Friendly Ghost — it’ll be their debut performance under their new identity, so get ready for fresh licks and ghoulish howls. Finally, Royal Forest wraps it up with their awesome new experimental tape loop performance. If you want to be a part of their recordings, you gotta rock out till the end.

It’s only $6 to enter, and the bands get all yer dough, so come support your favorites and make sure you say hi!

Free Week has come and gone, and this year’s was really quite glorious. Between our own showcase, new and exciting talent, and an old favorite back from the dead, I’d call it a riveting success. In case you were unable to participate, or if you did and were overwhelmed by choices, we’ve got picks below of some of our favorites.

On Monday, we enjoyed bands we’ve known and loved, and new favorites at our showcase at Swan Dive. We had perfectly scrumptious free cake balls provided by the generous and wonderful SugaPlump Pastries — my favorite were the french vanilla. Swan Dive itself was new to me, but it is quickly becoming one of my most favorite Austin venues. It’s got a throwback saloon feel fitting for old vaudeville, friendly bar and door staff, and a really clean sound, especially when expertly run by sound man extraordinaire Reggie.

Our good friends Royal Forest were sounding more psych-rock than ever, with swirling guitars and tuneful noise played in just the right ways. It was severely rockin’, especially with the addition of their experimental tape loop setup. I didn’t understand all of the science behind it, but essentially they were able to set up multiple speakers all over the room, and each had its own unique sound coming out of it, so that if you walked around, you’d get a different concert experience depending on where you were standing and what you were tuning into. It also allowed the band to capture all of us singing a somewhat-in-tune “d” note, which they then distorted and played back in an eerie but awesome echo. 2012 is going to bring great things from this Austin band.

Little Radar was fairly new to me. I’d checked them out based on a recommendation by Glynn Wedgewood of whitesiren Presents and Stereo Is A Lie, and they sounded great in audio format. Live, they were even more explosive. They paired gorgeous harmonies with big pop-rock guitars, and a ton of their fan base came out to rock along. When I listened to their bandcamp page, I was reminded of a grungier Band of Horses, but live, there was more softness to them. No matter how you slice it, they were great, and I’m excited for their forthcoming full-length album.

The White White Lights were magic. Everyone was in love with them, and my girlfriends and I all plotted about how we wanted to steal lead singer Jenny Gacy for our all-girl punk rock band. She is fierce and awesome, with a strong band backing her every roar. There is a touch of Bikini Kill in the White White Lights, with a more experimental bent. They got the crowd pumping fists and howling, not to mention dancing up a storm. They were easily one of my favorite discoveries of Free Week, though I came very late to the party — Austin is already completely smitten.

To round out the night, our dear dirty brothers of the Soapbox Spellbinders cast some jams that put us all in a trance. The trio got weird, busting out classics like “Bellhop” and a few instrumental tunes that dove and rose on lead guitarist Tristan Shinnick’s riffs. Even though the guys decided after that night that they’d be changing their name — and was it because of that night? We’ll never know — the “Spellbox kids” will always be spellbinders to me.

Madeline Ava was precious. And not in the Zooey Deschanel fakey awful precious sense. She is a 20 year old with a lot to say who has not yet performed in front of many people, so her shoes still kick nervously back and forth as she strums out clever, sweet songs that are personal and raw. At her Scoot Inn performance, it was just Ava and her ukelele, singing out into a noisy room, but she made everything else hushed to my ears. I’m not sure if I just felt an affinity for what Ava was saying, or if the melodies were just too undeniable, but I fell for Ava, bought her EP and can’t wait for more from this budding songstress.

I had my reservations about Not in the Face!, but they are awesome. I was concerned they would be some kind of Black Keys or Dead Weather rip-off, but they craft a southern bluesy rock that is all their own, and have showmanship to back it up. Of course, their heart-stopper was the song they ended with, “Brass Tacks.” It creeps in with a bit of a leer, but that slimy guitar riff is too infectious to deny. “I wanna see the look on your face when you find out that love is a lie.” If that’s not a boot-stomper, I don’t know what is.

Keyboardist Jaylinn Davidson turned to me after the Boxing Lesson‘s set and asked me, “Was this your first show? Here, come here and let me hold your hand. Was it good for you?” It was even better than that implies. I’ve been meaning to see the Boxing Lesson live for almost a year now, and I finally took the time out to watch them rock Friday night at the ND. Paul Waclawsky’s voice is made for rock, strong and soaring over heavy guitar lines and Davidson’s wailing Moog synths. Matt Bongirno, the group’s new drummer, forced my jaw to hit the floor when he wailed at lightning speed during a number of the band’s songs. They have a huge sound far too big for an indoor venue — these cats are ready for festival ground.

I headed back to new favorite Swan Dive on Saturday night, and stumbled upon equally new favorites Dead Black Hearts. Based on their name, I was expecting something a little dark and moody, but I was met with gorgeous harmonies and upbeat pop-rock tunes that perfectly complimented a bill with Quiet Company headlining. They can dip into more melancholy territory, but for the most part I found Dead Black Hearts’ show hopeful and uptempo.

Next on the Swan Dive bill, I enjoyed alt-rock aficionados Stereo is a Lie. I’ve enjoyed these fellows for a few years now, and they have really honed their sound and performance style. Despite being sick, lead singer Glynn Wedgewood still owned the stage, strutting, sneering and rocking as hard as ever. The group sounded tight and original, unlike most of the music coming out of Austin. Their exciting rise in the scene is one to watch.

The group that stole the show for me for the whole week was one I’d thought had broken up. As lead singer Michael Kingcaid joked, I was not the only one. Apparently people have been frequently approaching him to ask if What Made Milwaukee Famous was donezo. Thankfully for everyone, they’re alive and well. On record, What Made Milwaukee Famous are a strong rock band crafting songs with full horn sections and crooning tunes with soft guitar riffs. Live, the band is on another level. They are hilarious, energetic, self-depracating and very, very sweaty. They engage the crowd and one another, play favorites for both sides, and are truly joyful to watch. There is a magic to the band’s live show, and they seemed refreshed, playing new songs from their upcoming full-length release that will hopefully be out in time for South by Southwest. Not only are What Made Milwaukee Famous not dead — even though Kingcaid ended the night by saying, “Thanks so much to all of you for coming out. We’re breaking up tomorrow,” tongue-in-cheek — they’re back and better than ever.

Read on for more suggestions…

Tuesday, January 3

I will always be a sucker for great folk music, and boy howdy, what a night we have here! Mary Ann & the Revival Band blew me away when I saw them at the Parish a few months back, and they have every right to headline this shindig at the ND. I’ve been dying to see Shakey Graves for as long as I can remember, too, so this is where I’ll be setting up shop for the night.

I love pretty much everything Ethan Kennedy does. That said, Kinky Machine is quickly becoming my new favorite project of his. It’s awesome rock with a twist, and as always, Ethan’s incredible vocal and guitar prowess. Playing in support of his fun loving and free spirited brother of rock, Waldo Wittenmyer, you know Ethan will always put on a great show.

Wednesday, January 4

What’s the second-best thing behind free music? Free pizza, of course! Beside the brilliantly clever wordplay-within-a-wordplay of the title of this event, Eat Yer Heart Out features free pizza, fun skeeball, and great music by some awesome touring bands. Oh, and what’s this? Another showcase hosted by our friends at CoolinAustin? You know it’s gonna bring the fun.

Thursday, January 5

In case you don’t get enough of the White White Lights at our show tonight (and who would?), check ‘em out at their headlining slot at Stubb’s on Thursday, along with Black Books, Les Rav and the Clouds are Ghosts.

I have missed Oh No Oh My. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to catch their fun and spunky pop tunes. So I’m incredibly excited they’re headlining a show at Antone’s this week. Supported by Leslie Sisson and the Frank Mustard Project, it might get weird and it’ll definitely be awesome.

Friday, January 6

Transmission Entertainment is putting on great shows all week, and on Friday night, they take the cake with their set at the ND. The Boxing Lesson will take you out of this world as they headline, supported by Politics, boy + kite and Flemish Giant. I’d bet money that Zack and I end up here.

Saturday, January 7

The Swan Dive is gonna get rowdy on Saturday night. With pop darlings Quiet Company headlining, the lineup is totally solid front to back. The Pons, Stereo is a Lie, Dead Black Hearts and the Dark Water Hymnal will warm you up until you’re ready to burst. Get ready for this one, folks.

Blog faves Hello Wheels and Marmalakes are playing a gig rounded out with Austin faves Frontier Brothers at one of the best venues in town. Need I say more? This may be a bouncing from venue to venue kinda night, and the Parish may just be the place to kick it all off.

What Made Milwaukee Famous are back! I am beyond excited about this. I first saw this band years ago at Austin City Limits, and was saddened when they seemed to disappear. I’m excited to find out if they have new material, or will be gracing us with golden oldies. Either way, this show (also featuring the Happen-Ins and Gold Beach) is gonna rock.

And there you have it. Have fun, be good to each other, and be free.

I think a part of the reason I like to make lists of my favorite albums of the year is selfishness. It helps me take stock of the art that was put out over the course of the year. It helps me remember shows I’ve seen, or moments I shared with new music. It helps me feel fonder about the year that has passed, and more hopeful for the year that is coming. It forces me to examine what this music meant to me, and why it meant that. I tend to favor albums whose tracks I loved, start to finish, that had meaningful lyrics or were soundtracks for important moments. Plus, I always favor risks. If I feel like a band played it safe and made a solid record, I’ll dig it, but for those who try to tackle huge topics through their art, I always admire it and end up loving it more.

For these reasons, I really could just jot down a list to myself, smile smugly, and move on. That said, I do think there is value in sharing lists, because it sparks conversations (or arguments, if you’re into that) and can potentially (and hopefully) help people discover new albums they may not have heard of before. This year, I found myself leaving off albums that contained a handful of unforgettable songs because the rest of the album was weak. I also found myself extending my list to a top-15 instead of top-10, including in my final 5 growers that I still need to spend more time with, but that were so striking in their own way that I had to include them. Without further ado:  my 2011 best-of list! Enjoy, be angered, argue and discuss. All is welcomed.

15. Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What

Graceland is one of my favorite albums of all time. My dad played it a couple of times when we made our adventurous drive from San Antonio, Texas up the east coast toward NYC the summer before my senior year of high school, and it touched something in me. Paul Simon’s vocals, his guitar stylings and the tribal chorus backing him up were like nothing I’d ever heard. So Beautiful or So What feels like Graceland all grown up — so, appropriate for me in my life now. This is an album I listened through a few times, but then abandoned when it was overshadowed by the albums you’ll read about below. However with more time, this album has the potential to carve a place in my heart next to Graceland.

14. Radiohead - The King of Limbs

I struggled with myself about including King of Limbs on this list. Was I merely including it because it’s Radiohead, and how could I not? Did I really believe in the album and love enough of it to make it one of the best of the year? I’m sure it was a little of both and more. I remember waiting for this album to be released, waiting with bated breath as I would if I were a child waiting for Santa Claus to come. I remember waking up early, running around my apartment, waking Zack to the news that new Radiohead was again a part of our lives. I immediately devoured the record, trying to take in its expected brilliance. I think when you’re Radiohead, the stakes are so high in every fan’s mind, and we’re all expecting and wanting something different. I was hoping for something harkening back to OK Computer, even though that album is so far back in the band’s history now. I was hoping for something new, too, and innovative in a way only Radiohead ever seems to be. And I was disappointed. It felt much more like Thom Yorke’s solo album than a Radiohead production. I was immediately drawn to a few songs — “Morning Mr Magpie,” single “Lotus Flower” and “Give Up the Ghost” were all on repeat for me. But it felt like a bit of a letdown — a bit too literal of a universal sigh. Plus, shortly after the release of the album, they came out with “The Daily Mail,” which is a song that sticks much more than anything else on KOL. I still believe in this album. I think it is a grower that I haven’t devoted nearly enough time to. I’ve found that this past year, I was an impatient listener. I hopped back and forth between my absolute favorites and if something didn’t hit right away, I’d move on. I sincerely believe that after I see Radiohead live (for only the second time), I will have a love affair with The King of Limbs.

13. The Antlers - Burst Apart

My brother Edward knows awesome music. Perhaps this is because of the way he inhales things over time, taking them in quickly and obsessively until they become a part of him. He is the reason I know of the Antlers, and I am a better person for it. When the group opened with “Parentheses” at the Austin City Limits Music Festival this year, if I shut my eyes tight enough, I felt like I was listening to some kind of Radiohead offspring. The bass made my heart explode, and Peter Silbermann’s howling siren vocals made me feel like my molecules were dissolving. “I Don’t Want Love” was probably the first Antlers tune I really fell for, though, despite the song’s intentions. Silbermann was haunting on that track, making me sad and lonely and also overwhelmed with wanting. Burst Apart as a whole lives up to its name — you will really feel like you could burst.

12. Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness

Los Campesinos! are another of those bands my awesome younger brother raved about forever, and it took me far too long to give them the time they required. Now that I’m tuning in, I’m falling in love. Although their songs’ lyrics occasionally delve into the land of the too-twee — “My eyes are two pools of mud.” Ouch. — Gaireth Paisey’s lyrics are far more often hard-hitting, raining down in a flurry of emotional unrest and heartache. “By Your Hand” is the unquestionable standout on Hello Sadness, combining clever turns-of-phrase with a clap-along beat perfect for steering-wheel drumming and singing at the top of your lungs. Because the album was released so late in the year, I haven’t come to know every song backward and forward yet, but the whole album bubbles with promise and if I can ever pull myself away from the first handful of songs, I know I’ll learn the words to every one.

11. Cut Copy - Zonoscope

I’ve known for a while I would eventually fall for Cut Copy. They wrote dancey, 80s-esque electro-pop — that’s usually enough for me. I was waiting for a hook, for something to soundtrack a moment, and it came with “Need You Now” off of Zonoscope. The song is great to run to, for one thing, but it also has that kind of heart-rush urgency that makes it romantic and exciting. Initially, I played that song so often I never got to the rest of the record (since it is the first track). Once I began to expand, though, I fell in love with other tracks too. “Corner of the Sky” is simply epic, and I will always remember it for causing the entire crowd at Free Press Summerfest to leap up and down in unison. “Take Me Over” is disco-ready, and “Blink and You’ll Miss a Revolution” is an anthem with attitude. As a whole, Zonoscope gets better with more dancing. What better medicine is there?

10. Sigur Ros - Inni

I would basically never include a band’s live album on a “Best of” list. I always figure — these aren’t new songs, so it doesn’t seem fair to include them in a list where innovation and new creation exist. However, on Inni, Sigur Ros breathe new life into their catalog. The band as a whole have not released an album since 2008, so perhaps the energy they have saved up over their hiatus is what spawned this record. Whatever did it, Inni frames the old in the new, including peep show clips into the band’s past — it’s a call-and-response, where the young band poses a question and the mature Sigur Ros confidently answers. Inni as a documentary is breathtaking, artful and haunting; as an album, it allows you to use the music to paint your own landscape. Upon seeing the documentary, I said, “This is the music I want to hear as I’m dying.” It is the kind of music that is so big, it deserves the background of some monumental life change, some world-altering event. Sigur Ros included some of the best songs they’ve ever composed, and awaken their fan base to what might be to come. Do yourself a favor and watch the entire 12 minutes of footage above. Prepare for chills.

9. M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

It is no secret I love ze French. Phoenix, Daft Punk, Carla Bruni, Justice — lay it all on me, I’ll take it. M83 are a fantastic addition to this stellar national group. My younger brother, who has always been cooler than me, wrote a lot about M83 a while back, but I never took the time to look into them. With their critically acclaimed Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, I couldn’t ignore the band any longer. When I dove in, I was ecstatic to discover dreamy synths, danceable beats and soft, bright vocals. I was intrigued by the band’s fascination with youth — they seemed to play in themes of childhood fancy and naive imagination. At times this bothered me. I didn’t immediately love “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire,” for example, because of the little girl’s narration of some nonsensical story about frogs. It felt forced to me. However, the more I thought about this, the more it opened my mind. Perhaps it is forced, but perhaps the band is insisting — what’s wrong with that? As we grow older, we do become more serious out of necessity. What’s wrong with forcing some spark of wonder in ourselves? Maybe it’ll light a fire.

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - It’s a Corporate World

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are freaking fun. When I first saw them at Lollapalooza, I was afraid their act was a bit hokey, what with their “Everyone love everyone else” ethic and their cheers that nobody else cares how you look when you’re dancing, so go for it. By the time I saw them at Austin City Limits, though, I was totally won over by this very same ethic. If you allow yourself to let loose and have fun, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. have the potential to be your favorite live band. They encourage the crowd to sing, clap, dance and whistle, they feed you with delicious popsicles, they have an amazing light show, wear colorful costumes and above all, are talented pop musicians. Their debut full-length album, It’s a Corporate World, is both uplifting and anthemic, and once you see the pair perform the songs live, you’ll be hooked.

7. Young the Giant - Young the Giant

“My Body” is a juggernaut of a song. When I first heard it on 101x, the driving drums and Sameer Gadhia’s lilting, powerful voice perked up my ears immediately. Since then, no one has been able to get enough. I find that I never tire of the song — it always makes me sing along, and always puts a grin on my face. “My Body” is what will make you pick up Young the Giant’s self-titled debut, but the rest of the songs will keep you there. Swaying pop-rock tunes like “I Got” and “My Apartment,” and crooning ballads like “God Made Man” and “Islands” make for a multifaceted alt-rock record that grows on you and sticks with you.

6. Wye Oak - Civilian

I have listened to Civilian straight through more than any other record that was released in 2011. I just get lost in it. From the opening strains of coffee cups clinking to the closing, hushed vocals of Jenn Wasner, I love this record. I love how unforgivingly raucous Wasner can get, slashing through songs with her deep, sharp guitar riffs as Andy Stack keeps a steady, rich beat underneath. Title track “Civilian” is the standout, but every song feels enchanted. Perhaps it’s the wall-of-guitar sound that makes the album otherworldly, or maybe Wasner’s warm, emotive vocals. Either way, Merge was wise to sign this duo, and I cannot wait to see what they come out with next.

5. The Black Keys - El Camino

The Black Keys’ sound has grown and been perfected at such a clip that it is almost unbelievable. It seems that just last year, my friends and I were debating whether or not the Black Keys’ Brothers was the greatest album put out (oh wait — it was last year). And here the duo are again, with a full sound and a blues that is bright. El Camino cuts through in a sexy, deep rush, bypassing your brain and getting right to the heart. Music that can grab you at that emotional, unthinking level sticks with you, and start to finish, El Camino gets you to feeling all the good and bad you could want to indulge in.

4. My Morning Jacket - Circuital

I think I surprised myself with how much I loved My Morning Jacket’s Circuital. I adored Z in college and spun it regularly on my radio show, but none of the other southern-tinged rock records fully fulfilled me. They each contained a song that knocked me over, but as a fully conceived album, only Z really got through to me. Enter Circuital. Front to back, it is a strong record. It features Jim James’ hauntingly angelic falsetto vocals, soaring like an angel among gritty, human rock chords. Some songs are bombastic, and others are simple. They each have a unique personality, but they are still cohesive. At just 10 songs long, the record is the perfect length, closing down and leaving you wanting a touch more.

3. The Drums - Portamento

I was only introduced to the Drums last year at CMJ in October, but their throwback surf-rock sound grabbed me immediately, filling that void inside of me that longed to be a 50s sock-hopper with my hair in ribbons, waiting heartsick by a phone. Lead singer Jonny Pierce is an entrancing performer, the kind so self-posessed you cannot look away. I was worried this band would be a drop in the bucket of the wave of surf-rocky bands that popped up last year — Best Coast, the Cults, and on and on. However, on their sophomore effort Portamento, the Drums have merely expanded upon their sound. There is still much to love about their throwback sound, but they’ve tweaked it and gone a bit darker, without losing danceable beats. I think the choruses of the Drums’ songs are what make them especially great. They are so infectious and relatable that there is really no barrier to entry at all. Are you, or have you been, young and scared? Then you’re in.

2. Peter Bjorn and John - Gimme Some

I have long loved the Swedish trio of Peter Bjorn and John. Peter specifically won me over by recognizing me in a crowd of fans in Dallas. Play to my vanity? Why, yes, you’re fantastic! However, even if Peter and the boys didn’t know me from Eve, I’d love this band. They consistently release exciting, genre-bending, daring music that is both experimental and listenable — catchy, actually. They followed up their hit record Writer’s Block with a single containing the word “fuck” in its chorus, practically daring popular culture to continue referring to them as the adorable whistling song group. Living Thing was full of more sparse, electronic music. On Gimme Some, the guys go minimalist rock instead, with huge drum, bass and guitar sounds, harkening back to their very first albums, the self-titled debut and Falling Out. Its a record with hooks, love songs and rock ‘n’ roll — the basics performed expertly. This is the cheese pizza of the band’s output, the one you try to test the real talent of the pizzeria. Gimme Some is one of the  best slices in town.

1. Bright Eyes - The People’s Key

Bright Eyes’ The People’s Key is for 2011 what Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs was for 2010. It takes the uncertainty, pain, fear and determination of our generation and it puts it to song. Conor Oberst has come across as a bit of a cynical fellow on his past albums — and perhaps rightfully, as so many were written while Dubbya was our president. However on The People’s Key, he dares to be hopeful (with a healthy side of realism). He explores unique religious beliefs in an effort to shed light on universal truths, and he emphasizes our need to look out for one another. As you would expect on a Bright Eyes record, there is some self-examination. But Oberst and his pals Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott mostly open their focus to include everyone (since, on this record, everyone is their own selves, anyway). Instead of playing in the alternative country style that Oberst investigated on his solo albums, the band goes back to an electronic-rock sound found on Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, weaving synths, guitars, keys and Walcott’s staple horns into the mix. The album is a complete unit, with Bright Eyes’ staple “found sound” weaving throughout, ending on a note of mercy. It is uplifting and challenging and really, really rocks.

After your New Year’s Eve hangover has passed, Monday will be staring you in the face as you scrape yourself up off of your bed sheets and try to remember what resolution it was you made at midnight (was it to finally find a unicorn? something about starting a(nother) band? flying to the moon?) Mondays can be a drag, but I propose that Monday, January 2 will actually be so mind-blowing, so magnificent, so rad, that it will challenge the awesomeness of your New Year’s party itself. This is because, in conjunction with our friends at CoolinAustin, we are putting on an incredible Free Week showcase at Swan Dive on Monday, and — as is advertised in the name — it’s totally free!

We’re featuring amazing resolution-melting performances by the Soapbox Spellbinders, the White White Lights, Little Radar and Royal Forest. It’ll be the bands’ first performances in the new year, so they’ll be primed for awesome rocking. Plus all of our awesome friends will be there, and you just can’t say no to that. Doors are at 9PM — we’ll see you there.

The River Has Many Voices’ EP, Barton Creek, is like Texas itself. It’s a whispered horizon, gently settling into the space it inhabits. It’s more than a lullaby, although it is often peaceful and contemplative. Barton Creek is full of love and longing and heartbreak, bubbling within mastermind Matthew Payne’s gravelly but lovely voice. It is the cooler, quieter seasons — a perfect record for this time of year, and anytime you’re feeling thoughtful.

The EP kicks off with “For Emily,” a sweet love song that never quite admits it is a love song. “There’s a Passage in the Heart” is more straightforward and reassuring, maturing out of unspoken romance and putting everything on the table. “Yeah, I Got Away, But I Never Got Clear” is for the person who left you, but changed you forever. And the epic “Pictures in a Thousand Words” spans almost 15 minutes, and although I haven’t counted the words yet, I’d bet the farm that there are a thousand. The story of the song winds and forks and keeps your attention like a soft, melancholy bedtime story, both comforting and thought-provoking.

Payne recorded this record out in Dripping Springs, and you can hear the small town’s quiet evening walks and familiar smiles weaving throughout the folky tunes. I immediately thought of JBM when I heard Payne’s lonely harmonica cries, but Payne has a unique fingerprint in all he does. There are hat-tips to iconic youthful hangouts, like my own collegiate haunt, Spiderhouse coffee shop, as well as broader brushstrokes that make me believe my desert-loving father would be swept to his favorite golden, arid hills upon hearing them.

It is exciting to discover talented and brilliant Austin artists like Payne, and I’m excited to see what his future works bring to us. For now, I’ll do like I did when my beloved Brazos were still roaming the Live Music Capital’s streets: I’ll turn Barton Creek up, roll my windows down and let Austin soak in what it has inspired.

The Wheeler Brothers were one of the most anticipated acts of Utopiafest weekend, and I was sad that we had to head out just barely into their set. Lucky for me, the guys are playing Antone’s this Friday. It’s their first headlining gig, and promises to be a good one.

The five-piece, combined of three actual Wheeler brothers and two close friends, put out their debut album Portraits over the summer, and followed that up with their first national tour. Now, they’re about to embark on another three month-long trek, kicking it all off in their hometown of Austin.

The Wheeler Brothers’ sound is reminiscent of the Band of Horses, with beautiful vocals layered over rocked-out folk. It’s an infectious sound that fills any venue with ease, and performed by guys who clearly love what they’re doing. Beyond their musical talent, the Wheeler Brothers are a generous band, allowing other Utopiafest musicians to crash at their ranch, and currently hosting a contest through their Facebook page to send one lucky fan “Home for the Holidays.”

If you want to see what all of the fuss is about, make sure you check out the Wheeler Brothers this Friday at 9pm. Want to see ‘em for free? Post a comment on this story, sharing a personal holiday memory. I’ll pick a winner Thursday for a ticket plus-one.

Photo by Melissa Montes

Friday, November 4

TV Torso

I dragged my sick and sniffling near-corpse to the festival as early as I could muster, which meant I was there one song into TV Torso’s set. I was pleasantly surprised by the local band, who I had seen perform a number of times before. Their sound is growing, and their Austin rock set the scene beautifully, with the Frost Bank and city skyline sitting behind them.

TV Torso

After a few songs, Zack and I wandered around the festival, getting our bearings. We had altogether missed the yellow stage, which was tucked away behind some trees directly to the right after you enter the festival grounds. It was easy to see the rows and rows of food vendors, non-profits and retailers lined up parallel and next to the Orange stages. At the start, the festival felt very similar to Waterloo Park’s Fun Fun Fun, but with a little more room to stretch.

Fat Tony

We made our way over to the Blue stages for Fat Tony, the Houston rapper we’d seen open for Mister Heavenly. His hype men nearly stole the show from him, gearing the crowd up and hamming it up in between songs. Still, Fat Tony’s flow is sharpening, and I suspect after he’s put a few more years under his belt, he’ll be an even bigger name in hip-hop.

Fat Tony’s Hype Man

Next up was Car Stereo Wars on the Blue Stage. We stuck around in the heat to catch this act because our friend and oh-so-white hype man Neilyo was helping the DJ out, amping up the crowd, giving shout-outs to online shopping, and eventually inviting some crowd members up onstage to get the dance party going. Car Stereo Wars himself was impressive, although I’d be fine if he decided to leave Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus out of his lineup. But if the idea behind his name is that he makes the sounds you’d hear if two cars rolled up next to each other blasting whatever they felt like, he pulled that off brilliantly. My blood particularly started pumping when I heard Duck Sauce’s “Barbara Streisand” and Daft Punk’s “Around the World.” At the opening piano chords of LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends,” he was cut off and the set was over. Not too shabby for a DJ performing before lunchtime.

Car Stereo Wars

We listened to Ocote Sould Sound from afar while we met up with friends. One of the things I missed about Waterloo Park was the great hill you could stretch out on for Orange Stage listening. At Auditorium Shores, there’s a stone wall that signals dropping from the upper level of the field down to the dusty pits in front of the Orange Stages, and a lot of fans decided to stand on the edge for maximum sight lines. Great for them, but a little tricky when you’re trying to navigate your way down to the pit, and near-impossible if you want to stretch out and enjoy the show from far away. Still, at this point in the day, bodies were still scarce enough to allow us to enjoy the funky, wordly sounding music.

I took the gang right up against the gate for the Heartless Bastards. It had been a long time since I’d seen them live, and I was excited and hopeful that I would be blown away. Although I did adore Erika Wennerstrom’s voice, and Mark Nathan destroyed during his clean, biting guitar solos, the tempo of the band’s set was slow enough and the sun was hot enough to cause us to seek shelter early.

Though they are my sworn enemies, Zack was curious enough about Yacht to drag me back to the Blue Stage. Oh, wait — why are they my sworn enemies, you ask? Well. Yacht performed at 2008’s Fun Fun Fun Fest, and I wandered over there with some friends who had heard of the band. At the time, it was just Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans. When we went to the stage, what we witnessed was basically the equivalent of two spoiled, angsty children leaping around on their beds in the privacy of their own home, yelping into their hair brushes, except take away the beds, trade the brushes for mics and put them on a stage in front of people. It was more than boring — it was kind of horrendous. However, I kept hearing more and more about this band to the point where I finally tweeted, “I don’t understand why everyone loves Yacht so much. I just don’t like them!” I put it out on the internet, expecting nothing, but ended up being tweeted at by the band’s account. I tried to look up the exact tweet, but Twitter has a short memory. It went something like, “YACHT is a mindset and a belief system, and doesn’t care if you don’t get it. What don’t you like about it?” Oh, right right — so you don’t care that I don’t like you phonies, but also why don’t I like you phonies?

Photo by Melissa Montes

Anywho, we headed to the side stage to meet up with our friends, and who was there gracing our presence but the truly gorgeous (had to be said) and very much in-a-movie-at-that-moment Ryan Gosling. I and all of my female counterparts turned to mush at the sight of him, and felt both sad and a little smug when we saw what we thought was him brushing off some girl making advances. Turns out, “some girl” was Rooney Mara and the whole thing was being filmed for a Terrance Malick flick called Lawless. I have no idea what it’s about, but I’ll be damned if I don’t see it, since I’m 99% sure that I will be in at least one shot, even if I’m just some red blur.

Photo by Melissa Montes

After losing our cool over Gosling, it was time to refocus on the music. We grabbed some noms (I picked the fantastic Veggie Dog by Frank with cheddar cheese and ketchup — sorry, Zack’s dad!) and then found good spots for Orange Stage night rock. Black Joe Lewis brought the sun down, and we got our groove on a bit before Okkervil River really mellowed us out. I absolutely adore about 5 Okkervil River songs, and then sort of like the rest. Unfortunately, their set started out fairly slow, so I decided to head to the comedy tent for a while to try to catch Reggie Watts. Of course, as soon as I arrived there, the jams I had been waiting for, “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe,” “Lost Coastlines” and “Unless It’s Kicks” exploded into the air back-to-back-to-back, while I was sadly stuck listening to them semi-muffled from the Yellow Stage as Brett Gelman told an incredibly awkward joke that was ultimately just a spoken porn, so I raced back for dancing, deciding it was worth it to miss Watts for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah enjoyment.

Photo by Melissa Montes

I made the right decision. I was able to scoot fairly far to the front for CYHSY, who kicked everything off on an up note with “Is This Love?” I was thrilled that they pulled from their self-titled debut for much of their set — apparently, far more thrilled than lead singer Alec Ounsworth. He half-assed the set, whispering into the mic like he didn’t give two shits. To be fair, the sound on the Orange Stage was pretty awful all weekend, so his quietness was partially not his fault. But even though I was standing about ten feet away from him, it still felt like he was shrugging through the set. It made me sad, because the band hadn’t played in ages and I was hoping they’d come back well-rested and hungry. Robbie Guertin was, grinning from ear to ear all evening and thanking the audience every chance he got. Thank goodness for that multi-instrumentalist, because without him it would really feel like the whole band would rather be elsewhere.

That said, the setlist for the night was killer. They hit “Satan Said Dance,” “Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away,” “Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood,” “Heavy Metal” and “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth,” all of which got us dancing and singing at the top of our lungs. It was by far the best set I’d seen all day, with the crowd at peak energy and the festival feeling like a real festival.

Photo by Melissa Montes

However, Public Enemy blew that set out of the water. We were able to get right up against the gate, but far off to the left side of the Blue Stage for the storied rap group. I wasn’t sure what to expect from them, since Flava Flav seemed like a bit of a goofball and all I really knew about him was his reality show. Every question flew from my mind after they entered the scene. These were older guys who’d been at this game a long time (25 years, as Flav would tell us) but they surprised me at how great they were. Gosling and his crew were back, side-stage, so it was a very bizarre feeling to have the movie’s camera crew pointing their lenses my direction right as Flava Flav came leaning over near our side of the stage, looking right at me and pointing at me as I danced and grinned sheepishly from ear to ear. Although it seemed pretty obvious to me that, at points, Flav was lip-synching, he still whipped out a lot of his own raps, was a total ace at the bass (seriously, he played the crap out of that thing) and was so serious about his hype man role that it gave me an entirely new respect for him. Chuck D was friendly to my side of the stage, too, rapping a few verses right  to me (you can ask Zack, he’ll back me up) and really owning the show. They were very political, too, which I loved. They leaned far left, asking us why we, as a state, kept building all of these walls, trying to keep out people who were actually here in the first place. It was brilliant.

The only true down side for me was when some long-haired male photographer shoved me as hard as he could to get in front of me. He didn’t ask me to move, he just shoved me with all of his might. That wasn’t the first time I was shoved by a guy over the weekend, nor would it be the last, and it made me furious. I’m a feminist, and I’m for a kind of equality that embraces difference and allows everyone to comfortably be themselves. That said, it is not OK for dudes to be violent toward women. I’m anti-violence in general, but I’m especially against violence against women. I’m not sure if it was an Odd Future mindset that made me notice this especially, but it seemed to keep happening and it was very disturbing to me. Respect, people.

Photo by Zack Teibloom

I was exhausted from a long day and never thought in a million years that we’d ever get into the free Spoon show at the ND, because we decided to stay until almost the very end of the festival. Still, since our shuttle dropped us off right next to the ND, Zack and I felt we’d be remiss if we didn’t pop our heads in to see what the situation was. The situation was — almost no one was in there. Maybe 100 people were scattered around the venue, perched mostly up on the second floor. We walked in the door, flashed our wristbands and IDs, and got a bottle of water before making our way 2 rows back in the crowd. We kept looking around and asking each other, “Is this really happening?” Spoon moved themselves to the forefront of my favorite bands after they came out with Transference, because their sparse rock, Austin roots and Britt’s snarl just fit right. I dove into their history, and I’m still trying to catch up, because the group has six full-length records to their name. Even though I had been up on my feet for 10 hours by the time we walked into the ND, and even though I hadn’t eaten anything for 5, I knew I was going to have to tough it out and give all of my love to this band.

After their meh-ish openers Boy exited the scene (and apparently got shwasted, since they later barreled through the crowd to the front of the stage), Spoon’s stage crew set them up, draping their strings of lightbulbs over mic and drum stands to create an even more intimate mood. When the setlists were taped to the stage, from far away I could see two rows stuffed with song titles. It was going to be a long set. I couldn’t wait.

The band came out to loving applause, because none of us (none of anyone) had seen them in over a year. They dug deep with opener “Take A Walk,” a song from Girls Can Tell, which I didn’t know very well. It was pure Spoon, though, and I adored it. It was raw and a bit rowdy, and I bopped around happily to it.

Photo by Zack Teibloom

“Written In Reverse” jumped back into the future, and let us all know that the band was going to be all over the place that night, testing out tunes from their deep discography. One drunken d-bag kept crying for “Jonathan Fisk” in between every song, which annoyed me because I desperately did want to hear that song, but the guy was kind of ruining it for us.

Highlights included the sweet “Someone Something,” the even sweeter “The Delicate Place,” super sexy “I Turn My Camera On,” and “The Way We Get By,” which I had never heard live before. I jammed as hard as I could, hand gesturing and making eyes at the air in front of me or my man behind me. “Trouble Comes Running” allowed me to jump up and down in the air — it’s my favorite off of Transference, because I fashion myself a “Queen of call collect,” a “calmer-down,” and a “good luck charm.” The man who agrees with me is my soul mate (Zack? Whatchu think?)

There was a delicious amount of both Gimme Fiction and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, with hornless versions of “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” and “The Underdog.” These were probably the biggest sing-alongs of the night, although everything seemed to have explosive applause in between it. “Jonathan Fisk” was finally performed near the end of the set, allowing me to get a little punky and a lot sacrilegious, and my very favorite Spoon song closed out the pre-encore set. “Black Like Me” is a quiet lullaby, from a strange and oddly lonely rock star’s mouth to his strange and lonely fans. “I spent the night in the map room/I humanized the vacuum.” It sounds weird, but I relate so much to this song. “Street tar in summer will do a job on your soul.” It speaks to the girl in me who grew up in sprawling San Antonio, Texas, without many close friends and fewer who understand me much. I had to humanize a lot of inanimate objects and live in my imagination to get by. “All the weird kids up front/Tell me what you know you want.” I buried myself in music and always got to the front of the crowd, because I related more to the musicians’ words than my concert-goers peers. This song feels like Britt’s songs to the fans, saying he knows what it’s like. It’s comforting, and it’s the song that made me fall completely in love with Spoon.

The call for an encore were fairly quiet, likely because we were all totally worn out from a day of festivaling, but the band indulged us anyway in a four-song closer. “Is Love Forever?” was brilliantly cruel, “Got Nuffin’” reminded us to just go for it and enjoy ourselves, and “My Mathematical Mind” rocked in a quick waltz, with Britt’s voice moaning out, “I wanna change your mind.” Go right ahead, Daniel. It was hands-down the show of the day for me, and made my sense of impending physical doom from not nursing my cold the way I should seem worth it.

The Joy Formidable

We took it easier Saturday, in part because I woke up feeling as crusty as an old, burnt piece of toast, and in part because nothing in the early morning really called to us. But we were determined to get to the fest in time for the Joy Formidable, and we made it in plenty of time. The Welsh trio was a ray of sunlight, and immediately blew anything and everything we’d seen the day before (except for Spoon) out of the water. First of all, the band is fronted by a guitar-wielding woman with an adorable blonde shag of hair. Their drummer grins widely at the audience during most songs, egging us on to clap and sing, and the bassist is energetic and equally joyous. Live, they really did remind me of the Silversun Pickups, but dancier. The crowd adored them, and when they went in for the kill, finishing their set with their breakout hit “Whirring,” two fearsome-but-cute inflatable cat heads blew up on either side of the stage, with their mouths opening and closing like some creepy carnival game, and lead woman Ritzy Bryan went to town on a gong that had heretofore sat unplayed at the back of the stage. I was sold — my blood was pumping, I’d forgotten I was sick and 4 other lady friends and I decided we were starting a band called Pizza Party (you may not steal this idea from us we will find and injure you. Injure you bad. Real bad.)

The Joy Formidable

The Joy Formidable

 The Joy Formidable

Next up was tUnE-yArDs, who we decided looked eerily like a close friend of ours. I was a bit skeptical of this somewhat-experimental artist, but as she looped her impressive, howling and powerful voice over itself in breathtaking patterns that rose and dove. I was completely won over by her dancey and moving songs, and lost my mind during her hit, “Bizness.” Her music manages to hit on a guttural level, bypassing mental deconstruction and going straight for the jugular. It is mesmerizing.

tUnE-yArDs

Ra Ra Riot were, in comparison, far more tame and far too cutesy. They did play “Can You Tell,” which I love in all of its rushing strings and shy batting eyelashes, but that and “Too Dramatic” were the only songs that perked up my ears. I was ready for M83.

Ra Ra Riot

My friend Melissa and I have been Francophiles since our obsession with Phoenix peaked (perhaps even earlier, for her), so I was very excited to give these heavier, moody Frenchies a try. They knocked me on my ass. The bass alone physically shook me, bellowing deeply and making my clothes shiver on my body. Though we feared that the band might not be that interesting live, since their songs aren’t all upbeat and dancey, they managed to be spellbinding, moving with the music, interacting with us in the crowd and playing from some deep place inside of themselves. My only regret was not being able to enjoy their sexy songs with my boyfriend. Instead, after photo-pitting it, I danced around with my fellow photographer friend Ranjana, losing ourselves entirely during “Midnight City.”

 M83

M83

 M83

After another food break, we decided to get close again for Spoon. We figured this would have the added benefit of letting us experience Lykke Li, too. But since Lykke was 25 minutes late, even her own fans got an abbreviated set. Apparently whatever was in the air during Danzig’s breakdown seeped into Lykke a little. Still, she played with no breaks when she finally took the stage, taking advantage of the time she had, and Ryan Gosling’s crew was back to tape the set, too. I was ready for Spoon again, though, and was even willing to take an exact replica of the previous night’s set.

Lykke Li

However, what I got instead was a friend of the band, we’ll call him Nate because I didn’t care to catch his name. He came onstage and said that Spoon had asked that he introduce them. He said, “So, I don’t know if any of you know this, but Spoon played a secret set at the ND last night —” a pause, while a bare handful of us hooted and clapped, recognizing that we had been at that show — “…and the only secret about it was, the crowd sucked!” My eyes widened and my mouth hung open a little. I thought the crowd could have been a little better, but there was devoted cheering in between songs, and I knew I sang and danced along to every one. Britt even nodded in recognition at me a few times. Was this how the band felt? The friend said something about us doing a better job and showing that crowd up. As he walked offstage to collect hugs from the band members, Zack and I threw middle fingers up at him. But that didn’t help me to shake off the sick feeling I had in my stomach.

Spoon

It sounds juvenile, narcissistic and self-important, but I give a ton of energy to bands that I love because I know that if I were in a band, this would be what I fed off of. So to give everything I had and more the previous night to a band I adore and consider influences and hometown gods, and have the spat on by their voicebox was too much for me. As Zack said, this was a friend of theirs who they had no control over, but I still couldn’t help but feel shorted by the band. They certainly didn’t come on and protest what their friend had said.

Spoon

I stood there, hiding my face in my handkerchief, holding back tears and feeling angrier with each note that they band played. Four or five songs in, though, and I decided to reclaim the music and the night by letting loose with my group of friends instead of feeling indebted to the band. This is where it started to shift — maybe the people who I should be giving my energy to are these new people I have personal relationships with, who are there for me in real time, who have arms they can hug me with instead of music I intangibly enjoy. This is not to say I’m washing my hands of music. By no means — I will still be a crazy fan from time to time, even for Spoon. But I am now finding enjoyment through other means, and I think that’s just a sign of growth, more than anything.

Spoon

Spoon rocked out their set, and “The Underdog” and “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” were ten times as awesome with a full set of horns to back them up. They also played “Small Stakes,” the only song absent from the previous night’s set and one of my favorites, and they still tore it up with “Jonathan Fisk.” This time, during “Black Like Me,” instead of feeling a connection with Britt, I took the song over in my head and threw my arms around the other weird kids up front with me. It ended up being just as blissful in a different way, an awakening in perfect form.

Zack and Caitlin

]]> http://www.austinwritesmusic.com/2011/11/fun-fun-fun-fest-2011-day-2/feed/ 0 http://www.austinwritesmusic.com/2011/11/fun-fun-fun-2011-day-3/ http://www.austinwritesmusic.com/2011/11/fun-fun-fun-2011-day-3/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:18:30 +0000 Caitlin http://www.austinwritesmusic.com/?p=701 Sunday, November 6

M83 crowd

Sunday, I was dead. I had an appointment at 2PM, which was my excuse to sleep in late and avoid the dustbowl until close to 5PM. I was sad to miss all of the exciting bands I’d never heard before, but I was just too sick to make it down. I decided to take it easy, see the one artist I was dying to on Sunday, and then get home early to write, like a responsible little journalist.

Zack and I headed to the festival together, since he was off work about the same time that I was back from my appointment. This was the only festival day where our timing of grabbing the shuttle that stopped on East 5th didn’t work out so serendipitously, and we ended up standing on the side of the road for about 15 minutes. Once we boarded and were safely inside of the festival gates, we wandered over to catch a bit of Ted Leo. I’d never been a fan, and the sound wasn’t great, so we ended up standing off to the side for Baths instead. Melissa and I had seen Baths at CMJ, and about ten seconds after we walked into his Cake Shop performance, we walked right back out. I had a similar instinct after stopping in at this performance, so I decided it was time to wander off and take some photos of the skate park.

I was glad that Fun Fun Fun kept the skate park, because I felt like that was such a defining element to the Waterloo Park event. At Auditorium Shores, it was even more of a spectacle, with plenty of space for lookers-on to comfortable gape.

I wish I’d been this brave at this age.

After I was done at the skate park, I was determined to get at least one shot of the Frost Bank building. That’s one of my favorite Fun Fun Fun Fest enhancements — the new background of the Austin skyline is unbeatable.

After I’d had my fill of practicing photography, it was time to crawl into the pit for Del Tha Funky Homosapien. I am a huge Gorillaz fan, and my brother always spoke highly of Del, saying he’s a rapper that has fantastic flow and far more interesting lyrics than “Bitches ‘n’ Hoes.” I was very excited to see what this set would be like, as were tons of fans and photographers. I even ran into my pal Isaac in the pit, who was (for some reason) dressed up like Jesus. I should have snapped a photo of him, but I did grab a few of the crowd.

The guy with the fuzzy hat in the middle is super excited about all of this.

Gotta love that Texas sky.

Del’s DJ

Before Del came onstage, his DJ set the scene. I knew immediately I was going to love this show, because his DJ spun Parliament’s “Give Up the Funk,” among other funky soul classics my mom raised me on. I was fooled when the band came onstage, because the guitarist looked eerily like Damian Albarn. Not so — just a mohawked doppelganger.

You’re not Damian Albarn. But you are Blur-ry (oooh I’m terrible).

Once the band was settled onstage, Del’s hype man came out to introduce the main attraction. Del was striking for how humble he was, how much he clearly loved what he was doing from the bottom of his heart, and how thankful he was. It was refreshing and endearing, and his talent backed it all up tenfold. He ran through a lot of songs that the audience seemed to know very well, and his banter between tunes was all positive. Before his very last song, he stated he’d been working with his old crew on a new album — and then busted out with Gorillaz’ “Clint Eastwood.” It was a perfect moment, as we all sang the chorus and Del changed up his verses with ease. I walked away totally satisfied.

Del Tha Funky Homosapien

And that was the end of my festival. I walked away with enough energy to write about it all, and with a rejuvenated spirit, determined to refocus my energies on music. It’s what you hope to gain from every festival you attend, and Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 delivered. Although there were differences this year, the basic vibe of the fest lived on, making me determined to follow it wherever it decides to go. Just, in the future, I’ll be sure to take friends with me.