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Episode Recap

ACL Season 37, Episode 9: Arcade Fire

The first time Arcade Fire appeared on the ACL stage, their much-anticipated second album Neon Bible had hit number 2 on the Billboard chart and the band was poised to become superstars. Four years later The Suburbs, the Montreal band’s highly acclaimed third LP, had debuted at number 1 on the album charts and won a Grammy for Album of the Year, and the group had solidified their position as a major festival headliner. What better way to celebrate Arcade Fire’s ascendancy than a triumphant return to Austin City Limits? Find out this Saturday, January 14.

Arcade Fire “Ready to Start” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

With The Suburbs at the heart of their performance, Arcade Fire take the stage with the singalong pop single “Ready to Start.” Within moments the crowd is in the palm of bandleader Win Butler’s hand, rolling  through new classics like “Month of May,” “Rococo” and the Regine
Chassagne showcase “Sprawl II,” pushing the studio to a fever pitch.. Never fear, Arcade Fire standards “Haiti,” “Keep the Car Running” and, of course, “Wake Up” also make appearances. With nearly every tune an audience-energizing anthem, the passion never flags – this is truly one of the most exciting shows we’ve ever recorded.

Arcade Fire “We Used to Wait” at ACL: Behind the Scenes from Jonathan Jackson on Vimeo.

You can, of course, find out for yourself on Saturday – check your local listings for the time your PBS station will broadcast this awesome episode. You can also go here for biographical info, pictures and the setlist. Don’t forget to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages and to sign up for our newsletter for more ACL TV sweet stuff. Next week: the ACL debuts of Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom!

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Episode Recap

ACL Season 37, Episode 8: The Head and the Heart/Gomez

The wide (wild?) world of indie rock has so many disparate roads to travel it’s dizzying. But the best indie rock artists, like the best musicians in any genre, have one thing in common: good songs. And on January 7 you can see two of the best song-centric indie rock bands on Austin City Limits – The Head and the Heart and Gomez.

Seattle sextet The Head and the Heart exploded out of the Pacific Northwest with an eponymous debut that sold 10,000 copies as a self-released disk before being picked up by indie label giant Sub Pop. The group’s upbeat, harmony-rich folk pop has garnered a large, deeply dedicated fan base in a surprisingly short amount of time. Come hear why as the band plays fan favorites “Down in the Valley” and “Lost in My Mind,” among others.

The Head and the Heart “Down in the Valley” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

U.K. quintet Gomez have fifteen years of experience behind them and show no signs of slowing down. The band’s eclectic mix of roots rock, pop, psychedelia, electronica and whatever else crosses the members’ radar has gained them a loyal worldwide audience of discerning music fans. Gomez’ seventh LP Whatever’s On Your Mind received the near-universal acclaim all their records earn, and the band shows why with performances of “I Will Take You There” and “Just As Lost As You,” as well as old favorites “Get Miles” and “In Our Gun.”

Gomez “See the World” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

Want more details? Head over to the episode page for photos, setlists and biographical info. Don’t forget to visit – and visit often – our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages for tidbits on ACL past and present, or to sign up for our e-newsletter. Next week on Austin City Limits: Arcade Fire!

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ACL @ the Alamo

Reel Rarities: Leonard Cohen

Music legend Leonard Cohen has a new record, Old Ideas, coming out on January 31. To celebrate, we’re bringing back Cohen’s classic 1989 episode of Austin City Limits as the latest installment of Reel Rarities, our monthly series of screenings at the venerable Alamo Drafthouse. Recorded during the tour for his acclaimed comeback I’m Your Man, this hour-length show features Cohen and his skilled band performing a range of tunes from that brilliant record, as well as dipping into his back catalog. Given the scarcity of Cohen tours and TV appearances at the time, this episode was a boon to Cohen fans and is easily the most requested episode of ACL outside of Tom Waits.

But that’s not all. Cohen did another episode with us in 1993 during the tour for The Future, and we’re happy to present that half-hour alongside his original appearance. Plus our friends at Sony will be on-hand with some advance music from the new album and some special prizes. So if you’re an Austin-based Leonard Cohen fan, come check it out at the Alamo Ritz at 7 p.m. on January 23 – you can find more details here.

Reel Rarities: Handpicked Gems from the ACL Vault is an ongoing series at the Alamo Drafthouse. Tickets are $5 and the sales benefit our friends at the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.

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News

New Year – New Episodes!

We’re halfway through the broadcasts of Austin City Limits’ 37 season and you may be asking yourself: how do we follow up shows with Coldplay, Mumford & Sons, the Decemberists, the Steve Miller Band, Miranda Lambert, Raphael Saadiq and Randy Newman (to name only a few)? With a second half equally as strong, of course.

Arcade Fire “We Used to Wait” at ACL: Behind the Scenes from Jonathan Jackson on Vimeo.

Coming up on January 7 we have Seattle up-and-comers The Head and the Heart and British veterans Gomez. On January 14 it’s the return of Album of the Year Grammy winners Arcade Fire. January 21 is ACL acid folk day with Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom. January 28 features the debuts of rising stars Florence + the Machine and Lykke Li. We close the season on February 7 with our old pals Wilco.

We’re as jazzed about these new episodes.  Don’t forget to watch on your favorite PBS station!

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News

This weekend on Austin City Limits: Coldplay New Year’s Eve

When we recorded Coldplay for their second episode of Austin City Limits, we knew we had a special show on our hands. So we decided to expand our usual 60-minute show into a 90-minute special to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and we‘re thrilled to share the entire show – airing this December 31st at 11 p.m. – with the world. That’s right – the entire show, with no songs cut. There were a few nips and tucks in editing, of course, as there always are. But every song on the setlist is included, from the quintessential hits “Viva La Vida,” “Clocks” and “Yellow” to new classics “Paradise,” “Charlie Brown” and “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.” And since this is a New Year’s Eve celebration, you’ll want to stick around until midnight for the traditional NYE countdown. (Not that you’ll want to change channels before then. Or afterward, for that matter.)

Coldplay “Paradise” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

Check out the episode page for more details – pics, setlist, etc. Visit our Facebook and Twitter pages to leave comments on the show, not to mention catch up with the latest doings in ACL world. (You can sign up for the newsletter for the latter as well.) Visit our Tumblr blog for a photographic trip down memory lane. Next week: another new episode, featuring The Head and The Heart and Gomez.

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News

This weekend on Austin City Limits: Tom Waits

The Tom Waits episode of Austin City Limits is one of the most requested shows in our 37-year archive. In the spirit of the holiday season, we’ve put this Season 4 delight back on the air for the first time in over a decade. Tune in this Saturday 12/24 – that’s right, Christmas Eve – to see this classic episode once again.

Recorded in December 1978, the show came in through the back door, so to speak. Terry Lickona, who became producer in Season 4, was trying to book singer Leon Redbone. Redbone and Waits shared a manager, who promptly requested that Terry book his other client as well. In order to make sure the Redbone show happened, Terry agreed, even though he was nervous that the roots-oriented audience ACL had already built in its previous three seasons might think that Waits’ avant-garde gutter poetry was too radical for the show.

The rest is, well, you know the cliche. Supporting his classic LP Blue Valentine (but aren’t they all classics?), Waits was deep in the transitional phase of his career, evolving out of the jazzy beat poetry of his early work (“I Wish I Was in New Orleans”) and into the bluesier, more dissonant sounds (“Sweet Little Bullet From a Pretty Blue Gun”) for which he became known in the 80s and beyond. He acknowledged the season with the streetwise but lovely “Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis,” which incorporates a few bars of a better-known Xmas hymn. And he debuted “On the Nickel,” one of his greatest ballads, and which wouldn’t be released on record until Heartattack and Vine in 1980.

Tom Waits “Silent Night / Christmas Carol From a Hooker in Minneapolis” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

You can check out the episode page for pics, the set list and the original liner notes for the episode. Don’t forget to visit our Facebook and Twitter pages and/or sign up for our newsletter for the latest news on ACL happenings, or to go to our Tumblr blog for a look back at ACL’s photographic past. Next week: our New Year’s Eve blowout with Coldplay!