Category: Taping Recap

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Taping Recap

The Civil Wars Take ACL to Barton Hollow

Last night, we formally kicked off Season 38 of Austin City Limits with a taping of the Grammy Award-winning The Civil Wars. The duo made an appearance last year in the ACL Presents special Americana Music Festival 2011, which is when we knew we had to have them do their own episode of ACL. Their performance exceeded our expectations.

Despite having met only three years ago, Joy Williams and John Paul White sound as if they were born to play together. “We couldn’t be more different – in every way,” remarked Williams, but it doesn’t inhibit their musical chemistry. Since she’s not tied down to an instrument (except on “Poison & Wine” and “C’est La Mort,” on which she plays piano), Williams could let the music take her wherever it could – her dances and gestures were, pardon the pun, a joy to watch. White is quite a picker, using his guitar as both melodic and rhythm instrument on the rocking “Oh Henry” (an as yet unrecorded song), the waltzing “Forget Me Not” and the bluesy “Barton Hollow.” The way the pair wove their voices around each other on “Falling,” “Tip of My Tongue” and “20 Years” was magical – as @timbasham commented on Twitter, “one guitar, two voices, an enormously beautiful sound.”

While they won Grammys for Best Country Duo/Group and Best Folk Act, they showed that they’re comfortable with more than just Americana during a fascinating range of covers. Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” (the second time that song has been performed on the ACL stage – see the Mos Def episode) became a bluesy, playful ramble, while the Jackson 5’s great pop tune “I Want You Back” transmuted into a slow, heartfelt plea. The pair’s version of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Disarm” – “the one place we do kinda cross,” remarked White after explaining how different the pair’s musical tastes are – stayed true to the original recording’s intensity. Their take on Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love” was simply transcendent.

And we have to give a shout-out to the beautiful ACL audience. The Civil Wars’ music is quiet and austere, and the crowd showed their love without talking over the songs or the pair’s charming and witty between-songs patter. (“The @thecivilwars comedy is almost as good as their sound,” remarked @atxgingerman on Twitter.) The band went on a special journey and the audience was right there with them the entire time.

“This is one of many things on our bucket list,” said Williams between songs. “We are so amped to be here.” And we were so happy to have them. We don’t have an airdate lined up yet for this episode, but we can’t wait for you to see The Civil Wars on Austin City Limits.

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Taping Recap

Wilco gives us The Whole Love

There’s no better way to wrap up taping a new season of Austin City Limits than to do it with old friends. In that spirit, Wilco took the stage for the first time at ACL Live at The Moody Theater and fourth time overall with a two-hour, 22-song set that ranged far and wide across their 17-year career. Dubbed by the Austin Chronicle’s Austin Powell “an amazing evening,” the edited show will broadcast on Feb. 4, 2012. You can see some great photos from Brooklyn Vegan here and a nice wrap-up from the Austinist here.

Naturally, the set list concentrated on the Chicago band’s latest LP The Whole Love – nine of that album’s twelve songs were included. Opening with the quiet, mellow “One Sunday Morning” (the new record’s closing track, oddly enough), the band also graced the Moody with sharp pop rockers “I Might,” “Born Alone” and “Dawned On Me,” as well as the country waltz “Open Mind,” the noisy anthem “Art of Almost” and the deceptively frothy pop tune “Capitol City,” which bandleader Jeff Tweedy introduced thusly: “This is for you, Austin. This is one of the most divisive songs in the Wilco repertoire. Enjoy.” Divisive? How? It’s a great tune.

But the band didn’t just highlight the latest record – they also peppered the set with gems plucked from nearly every LP in their back catalog. From the tension-filled rocker “Bull Black Nova,” the concise tribute “The Late Greats” and the psychedelic ballad “Radio Cure” to the lovely folk song “Far Far Away,” the no-frills rocker “Shouldn’t Be Ashamed” (from their debut album A.M.) and their quintessential song “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” Wilco touched on nearly every era of its existence, leaving out only cuts from Summerteeth and its Billy Bragg/Woody Guthrie collaborations.

“This is a song, if you’ve ever seen Wilco play, you’ve seen us play this song. And yet, it never made it on television,” remarked Tweedy before launching into the fan fave “Jesus, Etc.’ At the song’s conclusion, a fan called out “Well done!” much to Tweedy’s amusement. “Impossible Germany” featured a jaw-dropping solo from guitarist Nels Cline, performed on the late Duane Allman’s Les Paul Goldtop. “He’s only the 82nd greatest guitar player of all time,” Tweedy proudly informed the adoring crowd, referring to his abashed bandmate’s showing in Rolling Stone’s recent list of 100 Greatest Guitarists. “Nels Cline just gave maybe the greatest guitar solo in ACL history,” claimed @timbasham on Twitter.

The band ended its long set with the much-beloved “Heavy Metal Drummer,” one of its warmest, funniest, catchiest and most touching tunes. But the evening wasn’t quite over yet. Wilco closed out the night by inviting tour opener Nick Lowe – “our hero” – to front a smashing cover of Lowe’s hit “Cruel to Be Kind,” conjuring the spirit of the original recording for an absolute treat. “Dear @Wilco: You blew my mind tonight. Sincerely, me,” commented @nakia on Twitter.” For real… a two hour #acltv taping with Nick Lowe!?!?” Andrew Pacetti wrote on Facebook, “Awesome show…first rock show for my 3yo son…can’t think of any better way to introduce him to live music in Austin.” Jenny Hurta Douglas put it more succinctly: “That. Was. Awesome.”

It remains to be seen what will make it into the televised episode – we don’t envy the band, the editors or Terry Lickona having to whittle these excellent performances down to an hour’s worth. But it’ll be an amazing hour, as you’ll discover when the show broadcasts on February 4th next year – check with your local PBS station for the exact showtime. “Wilco..and Austin City Limits..does it get any better than that?” commented Toby Holcomb on Facebook. No, it doesn’t.

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Taping Recap

Taping Recap: Lykke Li Makes Us Move at Her Live-Streamed ACL Taping

November in Austin means Fun Fun Fun Fest, one of several amazing music festivals in our fair city. Among the many awesome acts at Fun Fun Fun was Swedish singer/songwriter Lykke Li, who taped her first episode of Austin City Limits last Friday. She also became the first artist on ACL to have her taping streamed around the world by our friends at PBS.

Sorry, folks, it was a live stream only – it’s not archived online anywhere. But you can see pictures of the show here and here. And you can watch the episode itself on January 28

Lykke Li has one of the more unique artistic visions around right now – she and her five-piece band wove threads of indie pop, torch song, electronica, girl group pop, folk and garage rock into a rich tapestry that couldn’t have come off anyone else’s wall. Combine all that with her demonstrative stage presence and expressive voice and she’s a compelling performer – dramatic but never melodramatic.

Fans were treated to every song from her acclaimed recent record Wounded Rhymes, including the iTunes-only anthem “Made You Move.”  She offered the eager crowd a plethora of tones and moods, from the stately, hymnlike balladry of “Possibility” and “I Know Place,” the rhythm-heavy grooves of “I Follow Rivers” and “I’m Good I’m Gone” and the pure pop of “Love Out of Lust” and “Sadness is a Blessing.” She obviously has a habit of saving the best for last – she ended her main set with the irresistibly hipshaking “Get Some” – nice subversion of the classic Bo Diddley beat! – and her encore with the gospel-like beauty of “Unrequited Love.”

The good times still weren’t over, however, as she came back for another run through “Sadness is a Blessing.” There wasn’t anything wrong with the first take to our ears, but the second version was indeed tighter, more atmospheric and more powerful. “Do you want to stay?” Li asked before she launched into the new take – the enthusiastic response indicated how much her audience loves her. 

“Thoroughly enjoyed @Lykkeliofficial @acltv. Very impressed by the staging, abundance of percussion & the kazoo. And of course Lykki’s voice,” noted @aplarue on Twitter. “Lykke Li. Great singer, excellent performer, captivating dancer,” said @BrionneVG. Perhaps @racerabbit put it best: “This Lykke Li show for @acltv is spellbinding!” See for yourself on January 28, when Li hits the ACL airwaves paired with Florence + the Machine. Don’t miss it!


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Taping Recap

Taping Recap: Fleet Foxes Make Special Trip Back to Austin to Captivate ACL Audience with Lush Harmonies

Some musicians work like dogs to perfect their sonic signatures and find the most distinctive part of their sound, then massage it until it shines like a polished gem; others just fall into their talent so naturally it’s as if their sound grew on a tree and was simply plucked for the taking.

Not fair – we know – but we’re so thankful when such artists grace our stage.

When it comes to their infamous vocal harmonies, Fleet Foxes definitely fall into the latter category – Robin Pecknold and his bandmates sound as if they were born to sing together, as their recent ACL taping last Friday (10/7) proved.

The Fleet Foxes made the trek back to Austin for this special taping and even Pecknold’s cold couldn’t dull the edges of their signature harmony blend. If you caught the show you probably noticed he was medicating his throat with tea between songs – no matter, the band still sounded incredible every time.

Frontloading the set with tunes from the latest LP Helplessness Blues, the band indulged its atmospheric acid folk side with the soaring “Sim Sala Bim” and the ambitious “The Shrine/An Argument,” whose sweeping acoustica and churning electricity in the second got spiked by multi-instrumentalist/MVP Morgan Henderson’s skronking bass clarinet.

On the downhill side of the set, the group performed a gorgeous take on “Helplessness Blues,” — augmented by Henderson’s mbira-equipped 12-string guitar (AKA the poor man’s hammer dulcimer) — then transitioned into the band into the second half of the show, which leaned most heavily on the melodic folk/pop of the band’s first album.

The lights in our studio were magical during “White Winter Hymnal” making the band appear to glow. From the Sun Giant EP we heard “Ragged Wood” and “Mykonos” fill ACL Live at the Moody Theater to the rooftop with sweet melodies – not to mention our great fans harmoniously singing along.

The group closed out the night with “Blue Ridge Mountains” – a cascade of everything that makes Fleet Foxes great. As Do512_Rachel said on Twitter, “Fleet Foxes always make me wish it was snowing out and I had hot cocoa #acltv.”

But don’t take our word for it – you can check out what other fine folks said about the show on austin.culturemap.com and brooklynvegan.com. And on January 21, you’ll be able to see – and, most importantly, hear – the set for yourselves. We’ll be pairing Fleet Foxes with fellow traveler Joanna Newsom – don’t miss it!

The two last tapings of season 37 are Lykke Li and Wilco. Stay tuned to our blog for ticket giveaways!