Culture Greyhound

Today Fun Fun Fun Fest announced their full schedule for the festival and the Nites afterparties, as well as Student Discount and Single Day passes. New this year is a half-now, half-later layaway option to purchase a regular three-day pass (those tickets are still on sale as well.) It seems to me tickets are selling slower than usual, which, in my opinion, makes sense because the lineup overall isn’t as strong as last year’s. However, it’s certainly still an amazing roster of groups and the major conflicts are minimal, with the exception of Saturday night and a few day spots. So, naturally, I think everyone should go buy their tickets right away, as it is likely tickets will begin to move very quickly as the fest looms closer and closer. It’s far and away the best three-day festival you could attend anywhere, and it never disappoints. My advice? Buy your tickets now. Don’t even think about it.

Above is the poster for the official Fun Fun Fun Fest aftershows, also known as FFF Nites, a series of performances at different bars in downtown Austin the weekend of the fest. As was the case last year, the Nites shows are free with your Fun Fun Fun wristband. Full schedule for the fest, the Nites, day passes, and student passes are all set to drop September 5th, which is right around the corner! Peep the full Nites lineup here and buy tickets here.

Year 7 of Fun Fun Fun Fest is ridiculously baller once again. This will be my sixth year to attend, and the first with a PIP pass (what what!). If you’d like some mental preparation/headbanging and booty shaking practice, peep the celebratory playlist I made today for Do512 below. Also: the fest made their own as well. Tickets are available at this very moment here. But they’ll be gone soon. Just a heads up.

Woah! Ok, so today Fun Fun Fun announced their biggest leak yet: the reunion of the one and only Run DMC.

It will be their first performance since the untimely death of Jam Master Jay. It’s a pretty big deal, you guys. And in honor of said FUN DMC announcement, the Transmission crew is hosting a bomb-ass happy hour for your chance to win some tickets!

So yeah, that’s gonna be tight. In addition, they’re announcing the whole lineup and releasing the rest of the tickets on Thursday morning. But if you live here in the glorious ATX, you don’t have to wait. Wednesday night is Fun Fun Fun Lineup Bingo, where you’ll get the scoop on who’s playing ten-twelve hours before the rest of the world.

On top of what’s already been announced, it’s likely this is going to be another crazy awesome Fun Fun Fun this year. Follow the fest on Twitter, Facebook, and their web page, and I’ll see you at the bingo parlor!

Now just hear me out a second. First let’s look at the obvious immediate assumptions:

-Green Day’s a big 90’s arena rock-type band that probably costs an arm and a leg to book. Along with the Foo Fighters, they’re really the only 90’s band to continue to have sustained success. It’s more ACL’s style than Fun Fun Fun’s, or at least if you look at Fun Fun Fun’s lineup in the past.

-They’re a pretty divisive band, and have been pretty much since 1994. If people aren’t mad at them for having a Broadway musical, or rallying against George W. Bush, they’re mad at them for “destroying punk.” You can bet a big chunk of Fun Fun Fun faithful, including the punk/metal-loving Black stage crowd, will either be indifferent or downright angry they’re booked. An outright Fun Fun Fun backlash? That seems like a bit much, especially if Transmission puts someone across the Shores at the same time that will tame them. Maybe Danzig wants to redeem himself?

-This goes back to the first point, but in a roundabout way: amongst all those DJs, rappers, indie rockers, metalheads, and punk purists….Green Day would stick out like a sore thumb. I mean, headliners usually do anyway, that’s kind of the point, but not to the extent that Green Day would. One look at last year’s headliners (Spoon, Public Enemy, Passion Pit, Slayer, Danzig), and you can surmise that Green Day would be a very odd choice for a burgeoning fest that still caters to more of an underground crowd.

The facts:

-Ticket prices have gone way, way up for the fest, indicating Transmission’s looking to book some bigger bands. Regardless of Green Day’s rep with the Black Stage crowd, you know they will sell tickets, the same way the Foo Fighters or Chili Peppers would for ACL. Guaranteed they would be an Orange Stage headliner, with the naysayers catching somebody like….Motorhead?… and the hipsters meandering to the Blue Stage for….Hot Chip?

-Transmission’s worked with the trio before. Remember that secret show at Red 7 last November? There’s certainly a business relationship already in place, so Transmission’s favorite son (Green Day Pun!), Fun Fun Fun, would be a logical step forward.

-Green Day are releasing a trilogy of new albums this fall/winter. The first one comes out in September, so you can bet they’ll be doing what they love to do: launch a worldwide tour, or, at the very least, hit up some fests.

-In fact, Green Day are already confirmed to headline the Voodoo Music Fest in New Orleans on October 27. The weekend before FFF…and not too far from Austin…

Now, having said all this, everyone knows where my heart is: I’m a huge, enormous, insufferable Green Day fan. I love the musical. I’ve thrown an insane amount of money at them. I have a tattoo on my back proclaiming my love for them. So…..yes…..this post is wishful thinking. That I’m 95% sure won’t happen.   It makes no sense at all now that I think of it.

I mean, come on, GREEN DAY AT FUN FUN FUN? Sounds crazy, right?

Crazier things have happened.

Actually, don’t listen to me. I’m dumb. Refused is coming for sure. Maybe At the Drive In, too.

You’ve heard my .02, now it’s your turn: for those of you who already bought your tickets, if Green Day were announced to be one of the headliners, what would your reaction be?  Would you be stoked to sing along to some old skool Green Day tunes?  Would you be pissed and sell your ticket, feeling betrayed by Fun Fun Fun?  Would you care at all?

So you know that one fest I always talk about that’s completely awesome every year? It’s going down again. Fun Fun Fun Fest rocks Auditorium Shores in November, and I hope you got your early bird tickets today, because they’re all gone. You can still do what I’m planning on doing and go the PIP route, but I would make haste on that as well. In the meantime, there’s still a batch of regular-priced tickets, which will probably be released in July or August, along with the full lineup.

I’ve been very impressed with the organized approach this year. Normally ticket-buying is a pain with Ground Ctrl, but this year the Fest is answering questions on Facebook, and even letting us know how much the tickets will be ahead of time. Additionally, they’ve given us some leaks today – Black Moth Super Rainbow, Starfucker, Baroness, and Atlas Sound, via a snazzy Spotify playlist. So yeah, already FFF kicks way more ass than ACL. See you at the Shores, homies! I’ll be the guy drinking all the free beer.

Compared to my first year as an Austin resident, I took it pretty easy this year. I suppose the combination of budgeting, starting grad school, and just generally growing old has slowed me down a bit, but I still saw some cool shows. And with M83, Radiohead, Drake, and Born Gold all coming in the first half of 2012, looks like I’ll be getting a head start on this list for next year. In the meantime, here are some highlights, at least ones I could remember, from 2011.

Hooray For Earth @ Emo’s Inside – 10/1

I believe this was the last show I saw at Emo’s Inside (I remember seeing Twin Shadow around ACL time on the outside stage just before they shut it down), and I’ve yet to see a show at the new locale on East Riverside. I had been dying to witness Hooray For Earth for many many months, and finally seeing them rock out was rewarding, as was a nice conversation with the lead singer afterwards.

Deftones @ Austin Music Hall – 6/4

Call it making up for lost time; I’m not a huge fan of AMH – actually, I hate it quite a bit, but I’m never missing a Deftones show. I finally saw them for the first time last year, and as long as these guys make it to Austin, I’ll be going. The crowd was awful, as was the case last time, but Deftones more than make up for all the teenage rudeness.

Bill Maher @ ACL Live – 3/26

Not a music show, but man was it hilarious. My second show in the ACL Live venue, and Bill proved he loves Austin. The crowd was mostly receptive, but I did get some looks for applauding loudly at the atheist jokes. Do people know who they came to see?

Robyn @ ACL Live – 2/17

Robyn is incredible, see her live the first chance you get. High energy, tons of dancing, great acoustics, great venue. The crowd up front was crazy annoying, especially during Diamond Rings, but what are ya gonna do?

Sleigh Bells @ The Glass House – Pomona, CA – 4/13

The Glass House is a weird little venue; I honestly had no idea how far Pomona was from West Hollywood, but we drove a long way to see this awesome awesome show. It was all ages, no alcohol. Not that I had a lot of cash anyway. Sleigh Bells killed, as is the routine.

The Go! Team @ Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA – 4/19

The Echoplex was closer, but it felt like a shady neighborhood. The venue, however, is pretty damn awesome, and the Go! Team were just as fun as I could have imagined. Hopefully these guys make a new album, because I’m betting they’ll make a stop here in Austin if they do.

Primus @ Stubb’s – 5/24

It’s so great to have these guys back and playing new stuff. Have I said that lately? Great show in one of the best venues in town, and we met Les (again!) and got a pic with him afterwards. Swell fella!

Dwight Yoakam @ ACL Live – 7/21

Another strong showing from the hillbilly king, this time at a venue within walking distance. Now if he would just get back in the studio!

Austin Psych Fest @ Seaholm Power Plant – 4/30-5/1

I really had no idea what to expect, but this ended up being a pleasant surprise. I got sufficiently drunk and listened to some crazy great psych music from all around the world, in the most appropriately creepy place to see a show in Austin, the echo-riffic Seaholm. Capping off the fest with Roky Erikson providing the soundtrack to the news of bin Laden’s death is a memory I will never forget.

Fun Fun Fun Fest @ Auditorium Shores – 11/4-6

I was a bit concerned for the future of my beloved FFF when they announced they were moving to the Shores, but in hindsight I feel ashamed for not having faith in the Transmission crew. Not only was this the best lineup I’ve ever seen in the fest’s six-year history, but the change of venue actually improved the overall experience. Great vendors, great music, not too crowded….best music experience of 2011, hands down.

SXSW 2011 – Spring Break and Beyond

The best week of the year did not disappoint, though this year I focused a lot of energy on getting into shows I didn’t think I would be able to get into. There’s certainly an extra feeling of reward when you’re granted access to an exclusive party with A-list bands and free food and booze. My personal highlights were the Zynga party (flyer above) and catching Queens of the Stone Age at La Zona Rosa. Another great free party showing as well this past year, especially Mess With Texas, which never disappoints. Saw the Strokes at the Shores, too, which was great. While 2010 might be remembered as the year of mini-riots and ridiculous overcrowding, for me it was just a regular old SXSW, fun, booze, catching up with old friends, and seeing some great music.

Photo by Chad Wadsworth of Pitchfork

I haven’t had an extraordinary amount of time this week to delve into this past weekend, so this post is a little late. I suppose I wanted to let everything settle down and let the experience marinate. And after several days of contemplation, I’ve come to the conclusion that my initial thoughts were correct – this was the best Fun Fun Fun yet, and probably the best weekend of my year. Well done, Transmission. Well done.

I admit I was initially very nervous about the festival’s move to Auditorium Shores; was my favorite little 3-day adventure turning into a mini-ACL? Well after this weekend I understood that it kind of was….but the keyword is “mini.” The location may have changed, the crowds may have gotten slightly bigger (in a bigger park, it really didn’t feel like it, though), but the devil-may-care vibe is still there. Great food, great music, same ideal stage setups. They still haven’t fixed the beer situation, though. Just Heineken and Tecate? I think next year I’ll spring for PIP so I don’t have to pay $6 for that crap. Basically, it was a Fun Fun Fun experience just like Waterloo, pros and cons included, though it felt more smoothly run this time around. You still had the dust problems, the expensive drinks issues, occasional sound debacles….you know, festival stuff. But as far as weekend fests go, Fun Fun Fun still cannot be beat.

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Today is the first day of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011, and I trust you are prepared for the multitude of fun you are about to digest. If not, might I suggest this playlist, a quickly thrown-together compilation of my picks for the weekend. Feel free to get psyched while you shuffle through. Who are you kids going to see?

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.