Culture Greyhound

Fun Fun Fun Fest begins tomorrow – just typing that makes me so happy – and I’m sure you wild and crazy partiers have filled out your schedule and convened with fellow fest-goers. What you may not have done, however, is adequately prepared yourself to maximize the fun level. Here are some tips from an FFF veteran, myself, which will hopefully prepare you for the onslaught of awesome you’re about to digest.

1. Wear sunscreen and bring a jacket

Should be a given, but some people forget, and man oh man, when they forget, their weekend is ruined. I know all about it, trust me. The UV rays will be hitting hard because this is Austin, but it might get chilly in the evenings – sometimes we forget down here in Central Texas that it’s November.

2. You’re on your own with parking

Parking was so easy at Waterloo – there were three garages directly across the street. This isn’t the case with the Shores, so I recommend ponying up some cash for one of the downtown garages on 5th street. Since I live on the East side, I will be utilizing the free shuttle and walking down to Red River in the evenings. Neato!

3. Show up early if you want to see the band

Each stage is actually two stages, and they’re setting up one while someone’s playing on another, so I recommend standing near the front in the middle for the best vantage point. If you’re dying to see a particular band, get there early, find a good spot, and sit through the band before, who probably isn’t that bad. All the stages are genre-specific, so you might discover something similar that you like!

4. Make your money count

I know on Friday you’re gonna wanna get wasted and try all the vendors’ food and maybe buy your favorite band’s new record and a collector’s item screen-print FFF t-shirt. I will too. But we must remember that our cash has to last us three days this year, not two. So if you’re unable to partake in the third Fun on Sunday, it’s because you went overboard on the first Fun on Friday. Be wise with your monies. Because festivals aren’t cheap.

5. Stay hydrated

Being on a budget helps to prevent one’s self from consuming too much festival-priced alcoholic beverages. But sometimes, man, you just wanna rage! I wanna be buzzing for Major Lazer!, etc. I understand. Just plan accordingly. Check the time and judge your intake. If you’re getting embarrassing in the evening, make sure you drink plenty of water in the daytime.

Go here for more tips and rules and info about the fest, and I’ll see you there!

Don’t know if you’ve heard or anything, but this weekend is Fun Fun Fun Fest, and I am so pumped. And also swamped with work I’m trying to get done before the weekend arrives. So consider this a quick post. Tomorrow I will post survival tips, and Friday look for a picks playlist, as well as a themed podcast on Saturday. Told you guys I was stoked. In the meantime, today I’m delving into the FFF afterparties, or Fun Fun Fun Nites, as they’re calling them, and picking my recommendations. For the first time this year, the only way to get into these bad boys is with an FFF wristband, and if you got one of those, the admission is free. There’s so much to pick from it’s like another festival happening right after the one at the Shores. The hustle to Red River should be exciting each night; in the meantime, here are my picks for what you should do once curfew comes around.

Thursday:

I’m probably sitting this one out, I’ll likely be finishing up school work and waiting for traveling friends to arrive, and really the only pull here is at Mohawk, where the always awesome Ty Segall will be shredding. I would show up late, though, because the Coathangers are unbearable.

Friday:

By far the best night in the afterparty lineup – go hard this evening if you go hard at all. I’m watching Cold Cave for sure at Mohawk, then skipping over to the Parish for a headlining set from the Thermals. Also, Dead Confederate is rocking Deville, which is time well spent. Dead Confed put on a loud, loud show – kind of wish they were playing the fest as well…

Saturday:

I’ll probably get dragged to Mates of State at Parish, which I won’t mind, but my preference is Emire Automotive for the hipster-tastic Gorilla Vs. Bear party – Keep Shelly In Athens, Purity Ring, and a Neon Indian DJ set. If I enjoy Purity Ring at the fest, I might insist on this one, but if not, it’s whatevs.

Sunday:

The fact that I have class and will probably be exhausted at this point likely won’t stop me from attending Dom and Royal Bangs at Red 7 – another possibility is Thee Oh Sees at Beerland, as I will likely miss them at the Fest. Sunday night’s where the Red Bull comes in handy, among other things….

So what are your afterparty picks? Taking part in the festivities? Get at me.

Transmission keeps bringing the goods, and this year they’ve certainly increased the exposure for the finest little fest in ATX; Pitchfork announced yesterday they’re hosting the first-ever webcast for Fun Fun Fun. That means all you unlucky souls who can’t make it out to the Shores, or Austin, can still partake in one of the finest lineups ever concocted for this festival’s short life. All four genre-specific stages will be accounted for on the webcast, though Pitchfork hasn’t announced who exactly will be shown. A location change, an app with a taco locator, a lineup the size and stature of Texas, and now a webcast? Hosted by Pitchfork?! The McDonald’s of hipsterdom?! Looks like Fun Fun Fun Fest is on its way from the underdog to a major player. They keep this up, they might need a fourth Fun.

A friend of mine and I were discussing the awesome awesome lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest this year, and recently, they announced their schedule for our viewing pleasure. My friend was excited, but admitted he knew only a few bands. Where, he wondered aloud, could he find a comprehensive rundown of each band, a sampling of their musical chops, so he could further educate himself before the finest weekend of his year? I assume the Fun Fun Fun website has such a playlist, and they do, and it’s cool, but I wanted to make my own. So every Friday, from now until the fest (that’s nine weeks), I will be posting a playlist for your educational purposes for each stage and day, excluding the Yellow stage, which is mostly comedy.

This week’s playlist covers the bands playing on the Blue (Hip-Hop/Dance) stage on Sunday – Soul Khan, SPEAK, Bird Peterson, G-Side, Grimes, MNDR, Austra, Baths, Del the Funky Homosapien, Flying Lotus, Diplo, and Odd Future.

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

My Stage Pick: Baths

Saw this guy last SXSW, and it was pretty phenomenal for just a guy, a laptop, and some knobby board thingy. Baths chops up his songs to a degree that make them constantly engaging, but still utterly danceable. His album Cerluean is one of last year’s best, and his live show is not to be missed.

A friend of mine and I were discussing the awesome awesome lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest this year, and recently, they announced their schedule for our viewing pleasure. My friend was excited, but admitted he knew only a few bands. Where, he wondered aloud, could he find a comprehensive rundown of each band, a sampling of their musical chops, so he could further educate himself before the finest weekend of his year? I assume the Fun Fun Fun website has such a playlist, and they do, and it’s cool, but I wanted to make my own. So every Friday, from now until the fest (that’s nine weeks), I will be posting a playlist for your educational purposes for each stage and day, excluding the Yellow stage, which is mostly comedy.

This week’s playlist covers the bands playing on the Black (Punk/Metal) stage on Sunday – OBN III’s, Davila 666, Ceremony, NoBunny, Zero Boys, Eyehategod, Kid Dynamite, Cannibal Corpse, Boris, Black Lips, and Blonde Redhead.

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

Missing From Playlist (not on Spotify yet): Schmillion

My Stage Pick: Black Lips

I saw these guys rule it at a Mess With Texas show several years ago – they threw hamburgers into the crowd about halfway through the set. Their new album is great and their live shows are famous for getting a little crazy. A big must-see for the Black stage for the whole weekend, maybe THE must see for this stage now that Slayer has moved to Orange.

In what can only be described as a clusterfuck, the always hirsute (and probably stoned) organizers at Transmission have managed to officially, after literally months of anticipation, announce set times and the Nites schedule for this year’s Fun Fun Fun.  Those of us who have attended the fest in years prior are not surprised at the sheer lack of organization.  And because the bands picked usually rule, we are quick to forgive.  Transmission is usually slow getting things together.  They truly are the most casual, laid-back, and Austin-y of the two major promoters in town (love them or hate them, C3 has their shit down pat almost a year before anything happens – but their lineup usually sucks, so you take the good with the bad).

But now that the fest has moved to Auditorium Shores, is selling more tickets, and is bringing bigger acts, I think it’s time for a smoother operation.  Let’s chalk this year up to a learning experience.  With some minor setbacks, usually quickly corrected.  For the few of us who bought early bird tickets when the fest was only a two-day thing and then upgraded, we have only received two wristbands; meanwhile, Ground Ctrl Ticketing does not answer phone calls or e-mails, probably because it’s being run out of a shanty in Pflugerville…. or something.  The schedule today was initially released as a too-small-to-read press release JPEG on Austinist, but thankfully the lineup was posted on the official site shortly after.  Of course, the Nites schedule isn’t finished, and there was some original confusion over what stage Slayer is now playing (they’ve moved to Orange), but everything else seems to be intact.  As is the case when you make an official lineup, some bands were moved around, but it doesn’t seem too far off what was originally announced, and conflicts, at least in my opinion, remain minimal.  So great job, Transmission!  Looking forward to rocking at the Shores.  Now I just need that Friday wristband….

UPDATE: And they took my advice and got an app this year!  But no Android version….?

A friend of mine and I were discussing the awesome awesome lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest this year, and recently, they announced their schedule for our viewing pleasure. My friend was excited, but admitted he knew only a few bands. Where, he wondered aloud, could he find a comprehensive rundown of each band, a sampling of their musical chops, so he could further educate himself before the finest weekend of his year? I assume the Fun Fun Fun website has such a playlist, and they do, and it’s cool, but I wanted to make my own. So every Friday, from now until the fest (that’s nine weeks), I will be posting a playlist for your educational purposes for each stage and day, excluding the Yellow stage, which is mostly comedy.

This week’s playlist covers the bands playing on the Orange (Indie) stage on Sunday – Lenuria, Le Butcherettes, Asobi Seksu, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Mates of State, The Budos Band, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Architecture In Helsinki, Hum, and Blonde Redhead.

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

Missing From Playlist (not on Spotify yet): Crooks

My Stage Pick: Hum

Take a listen to You’d Prefer An Astronaut, the classic breakthrough album for this underrated shoegaze 90’s band, and you’ll hear why I’m so excited these guys are reunited. Hearing “Stars” live is one life-long ambition I can cross off my list after November.

A friend of mine and I were discussing the awesome awesome lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest this year, and recently, they announced their schedule for our viewing pleasure. My friend was excited, but admitted he knew only a few bands. Where, he wondered aloud, could he find a comprehensive rundown of each band, a sampling of their musical chops, so he could further educate himself before the finest weekend of his year? I assume the Fun Fun Fun website has such a playlist, and they do, and it’s cool, but I wanted to make my own. So every Friday, from now until the fest (that’s nine weeks), I will be posting a playlist for your educational purposes for each stage and day, excluding the Yellow stage, which is mostly comedy.

This week’s playlist covers the bands playing on the Blue (Hip-Hop/Dance) stage on Saturday – Cecil Otter, Purity Ring, T-Bird and the Breaks, Brandt Brauer Frick, Cold Cave, Childish Gambino, Rakim, Dan Deacon, Neon Indian, and Major Lazer.

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

Missing From Playlist (not on Spotify yet): B-L-A-C-K-I-E, Wugazi

My Stage Pick: Purity Ring

After jamming to “Belispeak,” “Lofticries,” and “Ungirthed” this year, this group’s upcoming debut LP is one of my most anticipated albums currently. I am curious to see how this group’s ethereal synth-pop translates to the stage.

A friend of mine and I were discussing the awesome awesome lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest this year, and recently, they announced their schedule for our viewing pleasure. My friend was excited, but admitted he knew only a few bands. Where, he wondered aloud, could he find a comprehensive rundown of each band, a sampling of their musical chops, so he could further educate himself before the finest weekend of his year? I assume the Fun Fun Fun website has such a playlist, and they do, and it’s cool, but I wanted to make my own. So every Friday, from now until the fest (that’s nine weeks), I will be posting a playlist for your educational purposes for each stage and day, excluding the Yellow stage, which is mostly comedy.

This week’s playlist covers the bands playing on the Black (Punk/Metal) stage on Saturday – Touche Amore, Death Grips, The World Inferno/Friendship Society, Trash Talk, Youth Brigade, Paint It Black, Dead Horse, Negative Approach, Cave In, Hot Snakes, and The Damned.

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

Missing From Playlist (not on Spotify yet): Thieves, Shapes Have Fangs

My Stage Pick: Trash Talk

I would watch this show just to hear “Awake” in a live setting – if the new song is any indication, these guys have not lost their ability to completely destroy eardrums and blow minds. Like most Black stage shows, I would of course be watching from a safe distance, as I’m sure this will be one of the wildest pits of the weekend. Wear a helmet!

A friend of mine and I were discussing the awesome awesome lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest this year, and recently, they announced their schedule for our viewing pleasure. My friend was excited, but admitted he knew only a few bands. Where, he wondered aloud, could he find a comprehensive rundown of each band, a sampling of their musical chops, so he could further educate himself before the finest weekend of his year? I assume the Fun Fun Fun website has such a playlist, and they do, and it’s cool, but I wanted to make my own. So every Friday, from now until the fest (that’s nine weeks), I will be posting a playlist for your educational purposes for each stage and day, excluding the Yellow stage, which is mostly comedy.

This week’s playlist covers the bands playing on the Orange (Indie) stage on Saturday – Maneja Beto, Future Islands, Joe Lally, The Joy Formidable, Tune-Yards, Tinariwen, Ra Ra Riot, M83, Girls, Lykke Li, and Spoon.

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

Missing From Playlist (not on Spotify yet): Keep Shelly In Athens

My Stage Pick: M83

Like there was any doubt who I would be picking this time around.  Anthony Gonzalez and his crew are one of my favorite bands ever, and the new album is incredible.  You can bet I will not be missing the opportunity to hear the fresh material live and seeing them live for the first time ever.  M83 is not only my personal highlight for this stage/day, but the entire fest.  But for what it’s worth, I’m also pretty stoked for Tune-Yards and The Joy Formidable.