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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Portugal. The Man and Local Natives

Austin City Limits (ACL) presents two bands on the creative edge of today’s music scene, Portugal. The Man and Local Natives in their ACL debuts.

Portugal. The Man‘s roots are in Wasilla, Alaska, but their music knows no bounds. The shape-shifting psych-rock band’s latest release Evil Friends was produced by five-time Grammy Award winner Danger Mouse (The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley) and P.TM draw heavily from the record in a stellar ACL debut. Opening with “Evil Friends”, the band weave the title track into the widescreen coda of “So American.” The band’s chemistry and spontaneity has generated a huge following for their live shows, and is evident in their ACL set, with frontman John Gourley stopping mid-song during “Senseless” to admit “I got really nervous,” before effortlessly picking up where he left off. The band’s guitar-centric performance of their chart-topping single “Modern Jesus” incorporates a subtle Beatles feel, updating classic 60s psych pop for a new generation. P. TM begin their set closing hit “Purple Yellow Red and Blue” with the first verse and chorus of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2,” a mashup that works wonderfully due to the similarity between the rhythm guitar parts and illustrates P. TM’s entrancing sound and style that’s all their own.

“You could almost call this an accidental booking,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “I knew their music, but when I caught their live set at the ACL Festival, I was so impressed that I booked them immediately. Three weeks later they were on our stage taping a show! They are that good—see for yourself!”

Sharing the bill is something new and original from Los Angeles—Local Natives. The Silverlake-based band formed in 2008 and immediately garnered attention for their dramatic and eclectic brand of indie-rock. Local Natives have been steadily building a loyal, passionate audience ever since and have toured with Arcade Fire and The National. The National’s Aaron Dessner produced their recent sophomore release Hummingbird. A highlight of their ACL set is the profoundly emotional performance of “Colombia” with lyrics written to bandmember Kelcey Ayer’s deceased mother, which Pitchfork hailed “one of the best songs the band’s ever written.” In their ACL debut, the band trade vocal duties and foster a highly collaborative sound, proving why they’re one of the most dynamic bands in contemporary indie rock.

“There are few bands that can take wild drumming, soaring harmonies and dreamy melodies and make musical sense out of it all,” says Terry Lickona. “Local Natives can do all that and more. This is serious music for serious music fans.”

photo by Scott Newton

Check out the episode page for more details. Be sure and visit our Facebook and Twitter pages or sign up for our newsletter for more ACL goodies. Next week: Sarah Jarosz and The Milk Carto

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News

Portugal. The Man 10/30

NOTE: If you receive the email about tickets, be sure to add our Facebook event for the taping. Those who are not able to attend the taping, can watch the live stream of the taping on 10/30 on our youtube channel.

ACL is happy to announce a new taping on October 30 with indie rock act Portugal. The Man. read more

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Featured News

Ponty Bone 1939-2018

The folks here at Austin City Limits were saddened to learn of the death on Friday of singer/accordionist Ponty Bone, an Austin institution. He was 78. He appeared on ACL with Joe Ely in 1980 and 1996, with Jimmie Dale Gilmore in 1992 and with his own showcase in 1987 as part of Season 12’s Squeezebox Special.

Born and raised in San Antonio, Harry DePonta Bone began accordion lessons when he was five years old. Moving to Lubbock in the sixties to attend Texas Tech, he became part of the beloved “Lubbock Mafia,” taking Texas music by storm alongside Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Tommy Hancock and the other West Texas luminaries who resisted any idea of musical categories. Bone moved to Austin in 1980 as part of the Joe Ely Band, he formed the Squeezetones a couple of years later, recording several albums while continuing to work as a sideman for Ely, Gilmore and Christine Albert on her landmark LP Texafrance. His output slowed down in recent years as his health declined, but his spirit never surrendered.

Well-versed in conjunto, zydeco, polka and any other kind of music that required an accordion, Ponty Bone never failed to bring the party whenever he stepped onstage. Here he is from the Squeezebox Special with “a little thing that represents my personal philosophy in life,” “Easy As Pie.”  

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News Taping Recap

Phoenix: fans share pinnacle moment

“When you’re on tour, you play places where bands have been before, and you feel part of a tradition, and tonight it’s sort of the ultimate, the pinnacle moment,” declared Phoenix singer Thomas Mars from the stage during the French band’s debut ACL taping. “We’re very proud to be doing this ACL TV show, and we’re proud that you’re doing this with us – we feel like we’re keeping Austin weird.”

Phoenix opened its stellar performance with “Entertainment,” the radio hit off its new LP Bankrupt! Tone set, the sextet ripped through an energetic set, drawn mostly from the new record and its breakthrough predecessor Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. “Lasso,” “Armistice” and “Fences” got both band and crowd up and moving, with the massive hit “Lisztomania” getting a rave response. Connecting the dots of its decade-plus career, Phoenix put “Too Young,” a tune from its debut, into a seamless medley with the more recent “Girlfriend.” The group explored moodier territory as well, with the more midtempo “Long Distance Call” and the lush “The Real Thing” proving that the band knows how to vary its approach. Phoenix also brought an epic feel to some tunes, creating a trilogy with “Trying to Be Cool, “Drakkar Noir” and “Chloroform” and an anthemic medley from “Love Like a Sunset Pt. 1 & 2” and “Bankrupt,” cheekily titled “Sunskrupt!”

Phoenix ended the main set with its other smash – the opening synth notes of “1901” drew the loudest cheers of the night. But the band wasn’t done. Guitarist Christian Mazzalai returned to the stage, while Mars ensconced himself comfortably in the crowd to sing intimate versions of “Countdown” and “Playground Love,” the Air song from the soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides for which Mars provided lyrics and vocals. When the rest of the band came back to the stage, Phoenix ripped through “Don’t” and “Rome,” the latter ending with an instrumental vamp as Mars climbed the bleachers to the studio’s second level, taking the band’s perfect pop directly to the fans. One breathless “Good night!” later, and a glorious night of ACL recording was over.

The energy rolled off the stage in waves, and we can’t wait for you to experience it for yourselves when the episode hits PBS this fall. Stay tuned for dates.

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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Phoenix continues new season of Austin City Limits

This Saturday, October, 12, French band Phoenix make their ACL debut in an epic, career-spanning full-hour episode that showcases their impeccably crafted rock. “We are Phoenix from Paris, France,” announces frontman Thomas Mars as they open a stellar performance, although no introduction is necessary for the rapturous Austin crowd.  French alternative rockers whose music resonates around the world, Phoenix kick off with a blistering rendition of “Entertainment” from their latest release Bankrupt! The band segue into the massive hit “Lisztomania” off their 2009 breakthrough Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, which won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album.  Called “one of the most influential post-millennial acts” by the NY Times, Phoenix earned headlining spots at 2013’s Coachella and Lollapalooza festivals. As the group connects the dots of its decade-plus career in their ACL outing, they pair older tunes with newer material: “Too Young” from their 2000 debut is woven into a seamless melody with the more recent “Girlfriend.” The opening synth notes of the intro to their smash “1901” draws raves from the audience as Phoenix cap a glorious set, with Mars calling the ACL appearance “a pinnacle moment” for the band.

“Phoenix has been on my hit list since they won their Best Alternative Album Grammy three years ago, but it’s been well worth the wait,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Their new music shows remarkable growth, and their live shows are always electrifying. Their songs transcend geographical and musical borders.”

photo by Scott Newton

Check out the episode details here and tune in this Saturday to see the show for yourself. Click over to our Facebook and Twitter pages or our newsletter for the latest ACL skinny. Next week: the Lumineers and Shovels & Rope.

 

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Episode Recap Featured News

Paul Simon shines in first episode of ACL Season 42

Austin City Limits launches a new season of must-see performances from music’s finest with an icon of American popular music, Paul Simon, in his first-ever appearance on the ACL stage. The living legend shines in a sublime, career-spanning hour featuring beloved classics and new songs from his acclaimed recent album, Stranger to Stranger.

Making a rare television appearance, Simon sparkles in an irresistible performance filled with career highlights from his over five-decade strong musical legacy. Backed by a world-class nine-piece band, the music legend opens an eleven-song set with selections from Graceland, his landmark 1986 album that brought African rhythms to mainstream American radio. A lifelong sonic adventurer, Simon takes viewers to Louisiana Cajun country for a joyful performance of “That Was Your Mother.” Simon also showcases new classics from 2016’s acclaimed Stranger to Stranger, his 13th solo album, including standouts “Wristband” and “The Werewolf.” Simon’s showmanship is on full display throughout as he dazzles the ACL audience with non-stop gems from his extensive catalog, including early solo hit “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” and a stripped-down, countrified “Homeward Bound.” He dips back into his Graceland songbook for “Diamonds On the Soles Of Her Shoes,” and a show-stopping “You Can Call Me Al,” engaging the crowd in hand-clapped rhythm. Simon closes with one last classic, “The Sound of Silence,” in a potent solo acoustic rendition of the Simon & Garfunkel standard that first introduced his immense talent to the world a half-century ago.

“Paul Simon is one of those rarities among the icons of contemporary music: he just keeps getting better,” says Austin City Limits executive producer Terry Lickona. “He continues to amaze with new songs that display his musical curiosity and sense of adventure, while bringing a fresh energy to songs that have been such a big part of the American songbook for so many decades. As an admitted long-time ACL fan, he was perfectly at home on our stage, and it shows!”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Tune in next week for another brand new episode featuring James Bay and Rhiannon Giddens.