The day got rolling with a few interviews and a pop into the Dorito’s Stage, which was essentially a massive faux vending machine that was turned into a live stage, in celebration of their new brand of chips. Such was just one of the many branded events on site, but most definitely was the most ambitious… dare I say impressive? I’m not sure who I saw, but they’re pictured below.
I made tracks to enjoy some Jalapeno Brisket Tacos at Stubb’s next, where the annual SPIN party was going down. Five piece Chairlift, fresh off their adventures around Australia, sounded fantastic (better than they did here, to be honest), and gave it their all. Hip hop outfit Main Attrakionz were on the indoor stage next, and seemed to be a more serious version of Das Racist, with the same sort of high energy, in-your-face performance, that got the crowd very excited.
English duo The Big Pink (pictured above), performing live as a four piece, were perfoming tracks off their latest record Future This, and it sounded very fine indeed. The lead singer, filled with glee, seemed to agree. Over at Planet Quebec back on 6th Street, I caught some amazing francophone pop in the form of Fannny Bloom. Definitely check her and her band out.
Over at the Hard Rock Hotel, B.o.B had people dancing in the streets, and was followed by British outfit The Heavy (pictured above), who weren’t that heavy at all. They were soulful and wonderful, and were best when they whipped out the trumpets and slowed it all down. Continuing my wander through the city, I popped into the “Keep Austin Weird Realty” event, which was basically a solo guitarist performing in a realty office as someone handed out free beer. Ah, I love this city. Meanwhile, around the corner, someone was handing out free acoustic guitars… which almost started a riot.
All this roaming eventually led me to an already lengthy line, a crowd waiting eagerly to attend Jack White’s Third Man Records party at The Stage on Sixth, headlined by the man himself. It took a LONG time to get people into the venue, which was odd because for the first hour or so the place was far from packed. Much like his strictness on cameras (anyone caught using one was forcibly removed from the venue), this was no doubt part of the ‘grand plan’ of the evening.
What this did mean, however, were the first two bands of the night had criminally small audiences. First up were Natural Child, a rock and roll three piece from Nashville, whose kicks reminded me of Australia’s Bleeding Knees Club – a sort of garage sound that can easily be born in a studio. They were performing tracks off their new record For the Love of the Game, off which “Baby” was a highlight. They also threw in an inspired “Like a Rolling Stone” cover for good measure.
On the indoor stage, Dew Process’ Electric Guest – who we speculate to be in Australia for Splendour – brought their groovy, soulful, reasonably undefinable good times and though they weren’t happy with the sound, you wouldn’t have known it. Tracks “American Daydream” and “This Head I Hold” – both now available on iTunes – were the highlights of the set.
White Rabbits followed, whose short set included the wonderful “Kid On My Shoulders”, a new track “Eye For An Eye” (which wasn’t bad at all), and the single which started it all: “Percussion Gun”. This is a band who are always best when they’re bashing the shit out of their drums, and tonight was no exception.
Purling Hiss were next on the outdoor stage and sounded pretty grungy. Reminded me of Chicks Who Love Guns back here in Sydney. I FINALLY got to see Reggie Watts after that and his amazing one man show lived up to all expectations: was entertaining, funny and at the end of the day just sounded damn fine.
Lanie Lane, who recently released a 7″ of her own on Third Man Records, proudly represented Australia next, playing solo, sounding wonderful, and killing it with a set that included “Hoochie Coochie Man”, “What Do I Do”, “Jungle Man”, “Bang Bang”, “My Man”, “Ain’t Hungry” and she closed with “Fell in Love with a Cowboy”. With a room full of very well dressed people watching her – along with quite a few celebrities, things are going quite well for Lanie in the USA. As they should be! Check out our interview with the lady herself soon on the AU…
When I saw the listing John Reilly and Friends in the programme, I didn’t think for a minute that it could possibly be John C. Reilly aka Dewey Cox/Steve Brule/Amos from Chicago. But in walked in the very same, cowboy hat and all, with a backing band. The performances came following the recording of two songs with Jack White: The Delmore Brothers’ “Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar,” performed with Tom Brosseau, and Ray Price’s “I’ll Be There If You Want,” performed with Becky Stark. He performed with Becky and Tom tonight (as well as Beth Chrisman on the fiddle), playing homage to some of his favourite tunes. This included a bit of Dolly Parton, a bit of Ray Charles, the aforementioned tracks and more.
John opened the set with a knock knock joke: Knock Knock, Who’s There, Smell Mop. Ah, classic lols. Though this was where most of the comedy ended, with John taking this music thing as seriously as the next, remarking: “This isn’t about getting any more famous. I don’t need to get any more famous… really. I just want to keep these songs alive… This is all about loving one and other and good music. I hear Austin is a good town for that!” And indeed it is. John enjoyed a respectful crowd, and kept us smiling with liner notes such as “this is an up tempo murder ballad”, but ultimately left the stage having showed us some great tunes, with a talented group of friends. What more do you need than that?
Young all-girl band The Black Belles were next on the patio stage, sporting black hair, black hats and some rock and roll. Their forthcoming single “Wishing Well” was a highlight of the set, and their music contained plenty of attitude – outfits irrespective (I’m sure there are still some towns in the US that would burn them at the stakes for wearing that much black). Though admittedly nervous, the group gave it their all and showed themselves off as the best all girl rock group this side of Stonefield.
Nashville three piece Pujol kept the rock and roll spirits alive with fast paced tracks like “Mayday”, and another track that they had written for one of the members of Natural Child, who we saw earlier. It seems the folks at Third Man are a bit of a family. Nice. “Black Rabbit” ended, adding a little bit of punk into their repertoire.
Model turned musician, and former wife of Jack White, Karen Elson, was given the duty of opening for the man himself (he really loves keeping the exes around in a creative capacity doesn’t he?). Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs was supporting Karen on the bass and her country music was well received by the crowd, even if, at times, it wasn’t the most interesting of the genre. “The Ghost Who Walks” proved her most powerful track; a beautiful number.
There is little to say about Jack White’s set other than it was phenomenal trip down memory lane – as well as a look ahead at his new solo material. Performing two sets – one with an all-girl backing band and one with an all-male, there was something for everyone in the set. The six piece female ensemble looked stunning, and sounded fantastic, adding things like a violin solo into the classic track “Hotel Yorba”. The five piece male ensemble brought on a more retrospective set than the first, with the night ending with “Seven Nation Army” and “Goodnight Irene”, as the bartenders had risen to the tables with the one and only Bill Murray.
Though all eyes were on Bill, also in the room were artists like James Mercer, Olivia Wilde, Jason Sudekis and Sir Henry Wagons. It was definitely the place to be, and Jack didn’t disappoint. With a crowd outside extending across the whole street, if they managed to hear anything from the set, then they probably wouldn’t have been disappointed either. And I have to say I wish I had seen The White Stripes perform with a full band in the past. The sound was so much fuller and more vibrant than it ever was with just Meg. A very special night indeed. Did I mention Bill Murray was there?
All Female Backing Band
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
Missing Pieces
Sixteen Saltines
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes song)
Love Interruption
Weep Themselves to Sleep
You Know That I Know
Top Yourself (The Raconteurs song)
Two Against One (Rome cover)
I’m Slowly Turning Into You (The White Stripes song)
All Male Backing Band
My Doorbell (The White Stripes song)
Freedom At 21
I Cut Like A Buffalo (The Dead Weather song)
Hello Operator (The White Stripes song)
The Hardest Button to Button (The White Stripes song)
Steady, As She Goes (The Raconteurs song)
Hypocritical Kiss
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)
Goodnight Irene (Leadbelly cover)
Photo from Jack’s Austin performance by Jo McCaughey from JackWhiteIII.com.
