Norah Jones has been on Austin City Limits twice before, including recording a show before the release of her gazillion-selling debut Come Away With Me. But tonight’s taping was different than what she’s done before. Armed with a gamechanging new record and more self-confident stage presence than ever before, the Texas-born singer/songwriter dazzled the Moody Theater with a performance full of texture, groove and soul.
It’s no secret that Little Broken Hearts, her latest LP produced and co-written by acclaimed polymath Danger Mouse, was inspired by a relationship gone down the tubes. But while failed romance may be bad for Jones’ personal life, it’s great for her music. The acid-tinged pop of “Happy Pills” and assertive rock of “Say Goodbye” well support the kiss-off lyrics. Indeed, psychedelia seems to be a new touchstone for Jones, as it is for Danger Mouse – the moody atmospheres of “All A Dream” (on which she took the first guitar solo) and “Little Broken Hearts” and the distorted rock of “Take It Back,” aided and abetted by Jason Roberts on extra spacey guitar, put her music on a new plane, onto which the audience was happy to follow her.
This new sound is no radical break from her past, however. Jones blended it with songs in her more familiar style and nothing sounded out of place. She performed the whimsical “Man of the Hour,” a tribute to the superior companionship of a dog over a boyfriend, solo at the piano, while “She’s 22” was just as subdued, even as the lyrics wavered between bitter and dismissive. She combine her new and old approaches on “Miriam,” a brilliant song whose pretty melody and arrangement belie the lyrics’ depiction of a murder in progress.
Jones closed the show with “Lonestar,” “an old Texas song from my first album,” as the crowd went wild. But she had a special treat for the encore. She and her band returned to the stage with unplugged acoustic instruments, giving the unreleased Hank Williams song “How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart” a gorgeous read around a single microphone. She closed the evening with “Come Away With Me” in the same style, reinventing her standard to the delight of her loyal ACL fans.
The Norah Jones episode will air in early winter – details forthcoming. Don’t miss it!
Though most associated with Detroit, the city in which he got his start and from which the White Stripes sprang, Jack White has long been a resident of Nashville. If his solo career is an exploration of the midpoint between Music City roots music and Detroit power rock, White’s ACL taping was a great illustration of his continuing evolution as one of contemporary rock’s most charismatic provocateurs. Or, as @odam tweeted after tonight, show, “If Grand Ole Opry & Rock & Roll Hall of Fame had an illegitimate child, it would be Jack White.”
Highlighting his acclaimed debut record Blunderbuss but drawing from his previous work with the Stripes, the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather, White and his two – you read that right, two – bands (the all-male Buzzards and the all-female Peacocks) blasted through over an hour of music without a setlist, ranging from high energy blues rock to melodic country. Bathed in blue light and starting out with the Buzzards, White roared through solo songs “Freedom at 21” and “Missing Pieces,” before picking up his acoustic guitar for a run through the unreleased Hank Williams tune “You Know That I Know” and “Blunderbuss” (“dedicated to a girl up in Detroit who called the police on me one time”). Back on his Telecaster, he underscored his place in the tradition of heavy blues rock with a medley of the White Stripes’ “Broken Brick” and “Ball & Biscuit,“ interspersed with Howlin’ Wolf’s classic “I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline).”
As the feedback hummed, the Buzzards left the stage to be replaced by the Peacocks. White and the band launched into “Love Interruption,” the single that heralded Blunderbuss’ arrival, rocking it up with extra fiddle and steel guitar and prominently featuring, as on the record, backing vocalist Ruby Amanfu. The Peacocks continued their countrified ways on the Stripes’ “Hotel Yorba” and a beautifully atmospheric “Hypocritical Kiss,” but proved they could rock hard on the Dead Weather’s “Blue Blood Blues” and the Stripes” “I’m Slowly Turning Into You.” The band closed the set with more country, giving the Raconteurs’ “Top Yourself” and the Stripes’ “We’re Going to Be Friends” a Nashville spin.
After a show described by @Rowling as “incendiary,” White left the crowd wanting more. Fortunately, they – and you – will get more once we edit this into an hour of rocking music television. This episode will air in early winter – don’t miss it!
In a few short years, the world has watched Bon Iver’s progression from the “bare boned” yet profound debut For Emma, Forever Ago in 2008, to the latest self-titled release with anticipation. Justin Vernon has come a long way from once writing in total seclusion in a cabin in the mountains to collaborating with artists such as Kanye West and winning Grammys. When the group recorded this episode this past April, we were eager to see how this progression and critical acclaim would manifest in the performance. The result was a passionate, meticulously layered display of talent and musical tranquility.
In this episode, Bon Iver draws mostly from the 2011 self-titled album, starting with the opening track, “Perth,” and seamlessly leading into the next tune, “Minnesota, WI.” From there we get “Brackett, WI,” a beautifully-written track that appeared on the 2009 Dark Was the Night compilation album that raised funds and awareness about HIV and AIDS. Audience favorites included a more fleshed-out version of “Blood Bank,” complete with various horns, and of course the hits from For Emma, “Skinny Love” and “For Emma.”
We hope you’re enjoying Season 38 so far! Check here to see where/when you can catch this Bon Iver episode. Be sure to follow our Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr pages for updates on ticket giveaways for upcoming tapings! Tune in next week for a “soul sister extravaganza” featuring Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples!
The Gear Blog is a behind-the-scenes look at the instruments and equipment that graces the Austin City Limits’ stage. Our Audio Engineer Kevin Cochran goes in-depth to give our gearheads some insight.
The producers of ACL are always refining and building a wish list of artists they hope to nab to appear on the show. They keep an eye on upcoming album releases and touring schedules between early March through late November, our shooting window, so that we can catch a performer in top form when they hit Texas. Some artists are obvious choices and others are favorites of a particular producer who must lobby (sometimes for years) to prevail upon the powers that be to book a taping.
Some acts clamor to play Austin City Limits. But there are others that seem like a long shot. When I heard that the “ask” for Radiohead had been made, I had my doubts. The five piece from Abingdon, Oxfordshire guards their image fiercely and hold celebrity and exposure at arms length. Their American broadcast appearances have either been late night talk shows or awards ceremonies, giving only a glancing view of their live proficiency. So when I heard that the band had been booked, I was excited but surprised. But then again, a band like Radiohead thrives on surprise.
Once again, Jim Warren plopped his Venue in front of house, this time bringing along Sherif El-Barbari to help tune the room with Lake processing. Sherif was extremely thorough and the end result is what you would expect one of the world’s largest bands to sound like.
photo by Kevin Cochran
photo by Kevin Cochran
photo by Kevin Cochran
photo by Kevin Cochran
Radiohead’s monitors were d&b audiotechnik processed by d&b D12s. Monitor mixes ran through another Digidesign Venue.
photo by Kevin Cochran
photo by Kevin Cochran
What impressed me the most about Radiohead was that they agreed to do a full camera rehearsal. As a matter of course, we ask artists to run through their entire show so that our director Gary Menotti can watch how the band arranges and plays their material live. Many times, bands at Radiohead’s level forgo camera rehearsal, unless there are certain songs that deviate from the arrangement of their recordings. The band thought they could use a run through themselves and rehearsed every song on the set list. It’s extra work but it helps the cameramen immensely. The quality that ACL is known for is, in great part, because cameramen know what musician to focus on in every part of every song and aren’t reacting to things that have already happened like you see in some other shows.
Settings on keyboards are called patches. This comes from the days when sounds had to be physically patched by cables from oscillator to another. Jonny’s key world is a good example of how things used to be done.
photo by Kevin Cochran
An upright piano with a Dave Smith Instruments Tetra attached to it. Or it could be synth keys in an upright chassis – I’m not sure.
photo by Kevin Cochran
Drummer Phil Selway and bassist Colin Greenwood really shine on King of Limbs. The intricate rhythms on the album would be hard replicate live so Clive Deamer was brought along to help out on drums. This is a repeat appearance for Clive. He previously taped with Robert Plant in Season 28. Mr. Plant happened to be on hand to watch the taping live.
Both drummers used Gretsch drum kits that night. Clive’s is on the left. Colin Greenwood’s Ampeg rig is in the back with a couple of synths.
O’Brien relied heavily on the new Johnny Marr Fender Jaguar that night. This is the cleanest, clearest guitar I have ever heard in my life and gave me a new respect for Jaguars.
photo by Kevin Cochran
Not pictured are Jonny Greenwood’s Telecaster Plus’ Version 1 which he has been using since the early ’90’s.
In researching this post, I stumbled upon this very cool website: King Of Gear. This site will give you more detail about the toys and tools of Radiohead than I ever could.
For recording and post production, Radiohead brought their longtime producer, Nigel Godrich with them to record and mix in post. He was very friendly.
Radiohead is very careful about their image and public exposure. When they accepted our invitation, not only was it a feather in our cap that we would be airing one of the biggest and most enigmatic bands in the world, but an honor that a band so guarded felt safe to let us show America what they do for an hour.
We’re pleased to announce two more tapings for Season 38 with a veteran and a rising star: Bob Mould on November 1 and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros on November 5.
For fans of alternative rock, Bob Mould scarcely needs any introduction. The singer/songwriter/guitarist rewrote the rules of punk rock in the 80s with his band Husker Du and defined the sound of melodic alt.rock with his 90s power trio Sugar. He’s also released a line of critically lauded solo albums that have ranged in sound from acoustic reverie to electronic dance music and everything in between. Following his highly regarded memoir See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody and a successful tour performing the classic Sugar album Copper Blue in its entirety, Mould has release his acclaimed new LP Silver Age, a high-volume reminder of Mould’s mastery of melody, power and passion. With Mould in Austin for a set at the fabulous Fun Fun Fun Fest, we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this pioneering rocker to the ACL stage.
photo by Laure Vincent-Bouleau
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros are the brainchild of singer/songwriter Alex Ebert, former frontman for the band Ima Robot. Following a relationship dissolution and treatment for addiction, Ebert began writing a book about a Messianic figure sent to Earth to heal mankind, but kept getting distracted by love. How the book evolved into a large, psychedelic folk rock ensemble remains mysterious, but the band’s impact is crystal clear: a radio hit with the infectious “Home” (from the debut album Up From Below), a spot on the inaugural Railroad Revival Tour alongside ACL vets Mumford & Sons and Old Crow Medicine Show, and a loyal audience built by heavy touring. Now, in celebration of their second album Here and a spot at Fun Fun Fun Fest, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros bring their freewheeling, hard-folking party to Austin City Limits.
Two great acts on the greatest stage on the planet in November. Keep an eye on our Tapings page for information on tickets!
The day after we recorded Radiohead back in March, our reaction was, “Radiohead taped Austin City Limits last night. It almost feels like that’s all we need to say.” Even now, months later with the Season 38 premiere upon on us, we still feel the same sense of met anticipation. It was a happening that fans and we had personally been waiting for and it finally came to fruition. A band like Radiohead, (well, let’s be honest – there really isn’t a band out there like Radiohead) that can constantly challenge themselves and evolve to change their sound to continue to make beautiful and inspiring music is a rare gift. We are incredibly grateful to open up our 38th season with such progressive rock icons and modern day musical legends.
Radiohead opened their set with “Bloom,” the busy and fitting song for the occasion that opens their 2011 self-released album The King of Limbs. From there the group goes to the piano-heavy and melodic “Daily Mail,” another new song from last year. The rest of the set features a collective mix of tracks from TKOL, Hail to the Thief, Kid A, OK Computer, and new singles. One highlight of the night is when they played a forgotten B-side, “The Amazing Sounds of Orgy.” Of course the essence of the night was captured at the very end when the band played the big hits and crowd favorites, “Idioteque” and “Paranoid Android.”
For those that missed seeing the taping live, this is your opportunity to see what many described as being a passionate and “life-changing” performance. You can truly feel the energy of the band and the audience in this episode, and Thom Yorke’s dancing may even inspire you to flail around in your living room. (Seriously, if you don’t dance during “Idioteque” then there may be something wrong with your well-being.)
Don’t miss the premiere of Season 38 this weekend featuring Radiohead! Check your local listings for times and stations here. Also, don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook, if we get to 90,000 likes (we’re really close!) we’ll post an interview with Ed O’Brien and Thom Yorke. You can also follow us on Twitter and Tumblr for updates about tapings. Tune in next week for Bon Iver!
