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 Friday – Fat Tony, Auto Body, Pictureplane, Franki Chan, Black Milk, Omar Souleyman, Big Freedia, YACHT, Spank Rock, Four Tet, and Public Enemy.
Friday’s headliner lineup is pretty great (Passion Pit, Reggie Watts, Danzig Legacy), but there’s no denying the headliner of the whole fest is Chuck D, Flava Flav, and the rest of the crew. Â Do yourself a favor and mosey on over to the Blue stage for a spell and it’s pretty much guaranteed you won’t be disappointed. Â These guys are hip-hop legends for a reason.
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 (Metal/Punk) stage on Friday – Defeater, Mind Spiders, Bane, Doomriders, Ty Segall, From Ashes Rise, D Generation, Thee Oh Sees, Russian Circles, Murder City Devils, and Danzig Legacy (Danzig playing Misfits tunes.)
Missing From Playlist (not on Spotify yet): Total Control
My Stage Pick: Thee Oh Sees
John Dwyer’s experimental left-field home recording project has taken on a life of its own, with a fan base possibly more devoted than his previous outings, including the Coachwhips. Â If you’ve never seen Thee Oh Sees, prepare to have your mind blown. Â There’s no other way to describe it; Dwyer never fails to amaze.
A friend of mine and I were discussing the awesome awesome lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest this year, and yesterday, they announced their schedule for our viewing pleasure. Â My friend was excited, but admitted he knew only a few bands. Â 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? Â 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. Â 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 Friday – Boxer Rebellion, Cloud Nothings, Ocote Soul Sounds, The Thermals, Heartless Bastards, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Okkervil River, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Passion Pit.
While The Thermals rank high on my anticipation list, I am most excited to see a repeat viewing of the high-energy Cloud Nothings, whose SXSW sets knocked me on my ass with rapid-fire tempo and singalong refrains.
I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but there’s this little festival that happens every November in grand ol’ Austin. The natives have named it Fun Fun Fun Fest, and musical acts from all over travel to partake in this color-coordinated gathering. Today, the humble, bearded folks at Transmission gifted us with a schedule of what to expect as far as conflicts go. I am very pleased with the results overall, minus a few tough decisions, but, of course, that is my opinion.
I’m not thrilled about Passion Pit vs. Public Enemy, but I’ll probably go with the latter because I’ve seen the Pit numerous times already. Friday also includes a tough choice between Black Joe Lewis (who I’m leaning toward) vs. Thee Oh Sees. I recommend both shows, and if Yacht (who is on the Blue stage at that time) plays older stuff, I would recommend that one too.
Saturday’s a little easier, I’m torn between Major Lazer and Spoon, and Lykke Li and Neon Indian (gonna wait to hear his new album before I make that decision.) Sunday is the hardest for me; Hum, Black Lips, and Diplo all at the same time? Rough stuff, but Hum will probably win out.
They haven’t announced the set times yet, but I imagine it will be an hour per band or so. Â And I don’t imagine they’ll mix up the order much…seems practical right now as far as early day/evening/headliners, unless they absolutely have to. Â Fingers crossed. Â What are your major conflicts? Any at all? Have you bought your tickets yet? Why haven’t you? Will you bring sunscreen in case I forget? Can we watch Cold Cave together? Will you go out with me? Discuss!
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this recently, but I really love Fun Fun Fun Fest. This year’s lineup might be the best one I’ve ever seen, and they’ve now added some pretty big names to it, including Spoon, Black Lips, and a shit ton of more acts for the already-stacked yellow comedy stage. Peep the new lineup here and grab your damn tickets already!
With yesterday’s lineup announcement from Transmission, my heart is still a-flutter. Â Though I’m not crazy about the move to Auditorium Shores, this year’s roster of talent has eviscerated any worry I had that this year might not be so fun fun fun. Â The lineup is crazy good; though I’m not familiar with the Black stage as some of you (as is the case every year), I do have some picks from the other stages that you will most likely find me at come November 4-6.
M83
This is the one I’m flipping out over. Â I’ve been dying to see an Anthony Gonzalez show for about three years and there’s no way I’m missing this one. Highest priority.
Hum
I’m a big fan of “Stars” and the rest of that seminal, yet somehow forgotten album You’d Prefer An Astronaut, and the kids at Transmission are like daytime talk shows for bands – they always can make a reunion happen. Â I’m there expecting some spaced-out shoegaze rock.
Childish Gambino
Community might just be the best comedy on television, and Donald Glover’s Troy might be my favorite character. Â But when Glover isn’t making me laugh (he’s also doing a stand-up routine on the Yellow stage), he’s wowing me with crazy wit rhymes. Â Dude is a solid rapper, and this show should be nothing but fun.
tUnE-yArDsÂ
All I keep hearing is how amazing this girl is live, and I finally have the chance to witness it for myself.  Fest-goers and critics called her the indisputable highlight of Pitchfork in Chicago this year, one to not sleep on.  And as awesome as that new album is, you can bet I won’t.
Cold Cave
I saw them in 2009, but since then they’ve dropped the Depeche Mode/New Order thing for the most part – now the vibe, at least on their latest album, is more of a Bauhaus feel, and I’m curious to see how it translates live.
Radio Dept.Â
One of my favorite albums of last year – Clinging to a Scheme – had that sweet, jangly shoegaze electro that I love so much down to a high-minded science. Â This group has been around for a while, but they’re finally getting the hipster love they deserve, and I’m pumped to see the show they put on.
Cloud Nothings
If you’ve never seen Cloud Nothings kick out the jams, you’re in for a treat. Â Just be prepared – you will not be able to stand still. At all. Â Show is a rapid-fire blast of percussion and sweet hooks.
The Joy Formidable
One album most people have slept on this year is the surprisingly rock’n’roll Big Roar – I’m curious to see if these newcomers can translate their loud studio sounds and big choruses to a big ol’ park in downtown Austin. Â I’ve got high hopes.
Public Enemy
This is probably the festival’s entire highlight – the one for the newspapers and bloggers and whatnot. Â Austinites, riddle me this: if you had the chance to see one of the most influential, seminal, and downright badass hip-hop groups of all time, you’d go, right? Of course you would. Believe the hype.
Diplo
America’s Producer is gonna rock your world, along with his Major Lazer crew on the Blue stage. Â And I thought I was getting spoiled when I saw A-Trak last year!
Neon Indian
I’m gonna hold off on this one until I hear the new album in October, but if it’s good, you can bet I’ll be wanting to hear those new tracks live.
Spank Rock
Fuck yes. Â If any band can bring the fun x3, I’d place my bet on these guys. Sex jams and x-rated hip-hop. Â Someone had to pick up where 2 Live Crew left off, and these guys do it properly.
Baths
One of the most legit producers I’ve seen in a long while, the beats and collages this guy cooks up just blow my mind, take a listen to Cerulean if you don’t believe me.
Purity Ring
I’ve been raving about this group for awhile – their music is encompassing of great pop and subtle sounds thrown in to create a pretty progressive, yet undeniably infectious, feel. Â I’m very curious to see how they bring that studio texture to the stage.
WTF Award – Turquoise Jeep
I’ve slept on this, mainly because I’m not an Internet meme-chaser or whatever, but apparently these guys are a YouTube sensation and have been for a year or so. Â Turquoise Jeep is a mysterious record label, headquarters location unknown, featuring a strange roster of artists that put out hilarious R&B/rap songs and post super-low-budget videos for them. Â With a straight face…it’s hard to tell if these guys are in on their own joke or not, but I’m willing to bet they are. Â Anyway, they’re booked for Fun Fun Fun, which is….well, it’s not the strangest thing Transmission has ever done, but it’s likely up there.
There are a ton of other bands on the lineup that I’m excited to see that I didn’t list here – these are just the ones that rank as high priorities for me (except for that last one, which I just thought was pretty damn funny.) Â Once the schedule drops in September, there’s sure to be some nail-biting conflicts. Â Like I said, I’m not too familiar with the Black stage roster, which is usually the case every year – not a big metal/punk/Danzig guy. Â What are your picks for the fest? Â What did I miss? What Black stage bands are you pumped about that I can’t miss? Educate me!
Just look at that (click on the poster to enlarge, or check out the lineup on the site.) Wow. Thank you, Transmission, for the best birthday news I’ve had in a while. Tickets are on sale now, and they’re going fast – if the quick sellouts of presales and early bird specials are any indication, I would gather you need to jump on this and quick.
Today, Transmission Entertainment announced they are moving Fun Fun Fun Fest, after five awesome years, from Waterloo Park to Auditorium Shores. I am not crazy thrilled about the move, frankly, and it isn’t because this past year I could walk to the park from my Central East Austin home (the walk will obviously be much farther this time around). No my complaint is intimacy. I don’t blame Transmission for wanting to earn more greenbacks; hell, a festival is a giant endeavor to partake. I really doubt the fest has turned a profit, even with a sold-out crowd last year. So selling more tickets (Waterloo Park’s full after 10,000 – Auditorium Shores can hold 30,000) will probably help turn the event out of the red.
And kudos to the FFF organizers for realizing the fest is growing and actually dealing with that. ACL is an overcrowded mess at Zilker Park, and will continue to be so until C3 does something about it. Auditorium Shores can accomodate for this smaller scale festival well.
But increased attendance is the problem. When I watched the Strokes play the Shores during SXSW, it was not an intimate experience. Simply put, there were too many fucking people there. And if that’s what Fun Fun Fun Fest is going to be like now, I’m afraid the festival’s best days are behind it. We all loved FFF because of a stellar lineup that we could actually see….we could get up close and watch the band and dance and hear the music, we could have quick access to bathroom facilities without walking a mile and a half. We could quickly grab a beer and get back to the show without falling over dickheads in patio chairs.
So I ask Transmission – is the new location gonna kill the Fun Fun Fun vibe? The fest I remember wasn’t even a smaller scale ACL (which is basically what a show at the Shores is like), it was an intimate experience with awesome bands on a completely different level. It was a stroll away from the afterparties on Red River. It was incredible. The Strokes show was fun, yeah, but, like ACL, I felt like I should have showed up an hour earlier if I wanted to actually see it without looking at the big screen. And if there’s a big screen, that means there’s likely little intimacy.
I’m not saying I won’t go. I go every year, and I’m curious to see what changes will be made in light of this location change. I’m just saying I’m not expecting much….and depending on how it goes this time around, this may be my last year at Fun Fun Fun. Maybe by then the Waller Creek Project will be taken care of and another fest can start up in Waterloo, where the real fun fun fun is.
And who knows? Maybe once November comes and goes, I will be eating these words/this post. I certainly hope so.
This year I made the big move from Lubbock to Austin, and the transformation has done wonders for my live music fix. I should have been writing down all the awesome bands I saw this year (and the years before, for that matter) but alas, hindsight, she is 20/20 once again. I think this post covers the highlights more or less, however. There’s plenty of great live music I saw this year that I’m leaving out, but after the jump, in no particular order, are twelve of the best shows I witnessed in 2010, eleven of them right here in the Live Music Capital of the World.
And for the record, I wanted to put the Sleigh Bells show on here, as fun as it was once they finally started playing, but everyone who attended knows Beauty Bar is at fault for that show’s omission. What a disaster.
