Tag: TV broadcast

Categories
Encore Broadcast Episode Recap News

Encore: Alejandro Escovedo and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

Get those air guitars and horns ready, because this weekend Austin City Limits is bringing both the rock AND the funk with an encore episode featuring Alejandro Escovedo and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.

When Alejandro Escovedo returned to the ACL stage for his third showcase (or fourth, if you count his appearance as a member of Rank & File way back in Season 8), he brought a stripped-down band and sound. Rather than the expansive sonics of his Orchestra, the mission of the Sensitive Boys is to rock the heck out. Having showcased his love of early 70s glam/proto-punk rockers like Mott the Hoople and Lou Reed on recent LPs Real Animal and Street Songs of Love, Escovedo brings that aesthetic to our stage for a blazing rock & roll set full of great tunes like “Anchor,” “Faith” and “Always a Friend.” If you’re not jumping around the room, you might need to check your pulse.

photo by Scott Newton

And as long as you’re on your feet, you want to stay there for Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. From his days as a pre-teen jazz prodigy, Troy Andrews has been absorbing every musical sound that comes out of his native New Orleans, with an emphasis on his town’s particularly groovy brand of funk. Andrews and his crack band showed their mastery on their first major label Backatown, and hit the same second line grooves hard on our stage. “Hurricane Season” and “Where Y’at?’ are greasy enough, but when the band launches into their James Brown medley, it’s time to tear the roof off the sucker.

You can check out the episode page for more details, as well as our video page for some behind-the-scenes action. Don’t forget to stop by our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages for regular updates on the ACL universe. Next week: a beloved classic featuring the one and only Roy Orbison.

Categories
Encore Broadcast News

Encore: John Legend & the Roots

Wondering how you’re going to make it through this week knowing that the first weekend of the Coachella Music Festival is going on and you didn’t get tickets? Don’t be sad, get ready for an exciting performance on this week’s Austin City Limits encore episode that includes two of the biggest names in R&B, soul, and hip hop:  John Legend and The Roots.

Legend and The Roots perform most of the songs off of their 2010 collaborative album Wake Up! Inspired by the 2008 Presidential election, Wake Up! features a collection of cover songs from the 60s and ‘70s that were originally written or performed by some of the most influential and timeless artists of the era, such as Donny Hathaway, Eugene McDaniels, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, and many others. Legend and The Roots both felt that something was needed in the stagnant atmosphere and lack of depth in music’s current state and that this album would deliver a sense of urgency and convey the change that was going on in the world at the time. Given the album’s themes/background and the upcoming Presidential election, this is an episode that still resonates.

A few breakthrough moments in the episode include when Legend breaks away from Wake Up! once to perform “Ordinary People,” arguably his most popular hit from his 2004 debut album Get Lifted. Following that, Legend introduces the song “I Can’t Write Left-Handed,” which he explains was written by Bill Withers during the Vietnam War. Withers dedicated it to a soldier he met who was shot in his right arm and forced to learn to use his left hand to write. The powerful and soulful ballad is heightened with ?ueslove’s brilliant and passionate drumming.

Check your local listings for showtimes to see this special episode and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr to keep up with updates on tapings and airings. Next week: Alejandro Escovedo and Trombone Shorty!

Categories
Encore Broadcast

ACL Encore: Raphael Saadiq/Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

WARNING:  This Saturday’s encore episode may induce the following behavior: dancing/booty shaking, laughter, uncontrollable smiling, clapping, soulful singing, and bass throwing (if you have one nearby).

What are we talking about? This week’s episode featuring multi-instrumentalist and R&B veteran Raphael Saadiq and Austin’s own Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, of course.

Referring to journalists as “lazy” when they try to fit his musical style under genre specific labels (such as neo-soul), it’s clear from this performance and his albums that Raphael Saadiq draws inspiration from a wide array of artists. Featuring special guest Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Saadiq covers hits from his 2011 album Stone Rollin’. Watch when Saadiq performs the title track, a song he initially wrote when he was 11 about a “full-figured, bluesy woman,” as his background vocalists show as much energy as Saadiq himself.

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears have been such a local favorite and “must-see” over the years that it wasn’t a shock when the group starting gaining national attention. In this performance you see the group at its finest, performing a mix of songs from its 2009 debut Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is! and their most recent release Scandalous. This performance is brimming with energy, soul and flying instruments that peaks at the end, when  the group is joined by Dallas gospel group the Relatives for the fervid hit and crowd favorite “You Been Lyin’.”

Check your local listings for showtimes to see this episode and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr to keep up with updates on tapings and airings! Oh, and please watch out for the bass. Austin City Limits does not condone anyone throwing instruments in the living room, but if you do, let us know because that would be an awesome story worth sharing.

Categories
Encore Broadcast Episode Recap News

ACL Encore: Sonic Youth & the Black Keys

This weekend Austin City Limits presents one of our most electrifying encore episodes featuring Sonic Youth and the Black Keys.

After sixteen studio albums and receiving critical acclaim in both the indie and mainstream worlds over the course of more than a quarter century, Sonic Youth really needs no introduction. With songs almost predominantly from the most recent album, The Eternal, Sonic Youth take no prisoners in this episode taped in 2010.

Watch Sonic Youth “No Way” (Preview) on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.

Although not sharing in the same expansive catalog (yet), the Black Keys — with seven studio albums under their belts — are most certainly on their way to the same immortality. After garnering much attention from their 2010 album, Brothers, The Black Keys play most of the hits off this record, with a few older tunes mixed in.

Watch The Black Keys “Tighten Up” on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.

While differing in genres and style, both Sonic Youth and the Black Keys have redefined the traditional sound of the guitar and have earned special places in rock history. Be sure to check your local listings for showtimes to see this special episode and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr to keep up with updates on tapings and airings!

Categories
Episode Recap Featured News

Coldplay takes ACL to Paradise

This weekend we are excited to present a special episode featuring Coldplay.  Recorded last September, the performance features the band debuting several new songs off their latest release Mylo Xyloto, including “Paradise,” “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” and “Hurts Like Heaven,” as well as old favorites like  “Viva La Vida.”

MTV News called it a special night “when a band with a major arsenal finds a way to take its giant energy and squeeze it down into a much smaller space, without losing any of their arena-packing magic.”

Originally presented as a New Year’s Eve special to ring in 2012, the Coldplay show was a milestone for Austin City Limits. Coldplay gave us an extra-special performance, and we’re thrilled to bring it back this spring.

Coldplay performs on Austin City Limits

You can see for yourself this 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: a guitar-saturated encore episode with Sonic Youth and the Black Keys.

Categories
Encore Broadcast Episode Recap News

This weekend: Cheap Trick

It’s one thing to be a band that is cited to be a heavy influence for both rock and alt rock bands alike during the late 80s and early 90s such as Guns N’ Roses, Pearl Jam, Weezer, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, and countless others. It’s an entirely different argument to continue to be a relevant band that still tours (39 years and counting) while simultaneously being one of the most covered bands all time. Hits such as “I Want You to Want Me” and “Surrender” have been featured on many commercials and soundtracks and played countless times, yet every time we hear Robin Zander sing out some of the most recognized song lyrics of our time, we can’t help but stop and give it our full attention.

Cheap Trick could have easily slid into the land where bands go to retire and after a stagnant period of time (and with the right monetary offer) return for a reunion tour, but that has never been an option for this group. They simply don’t see the need to quit. Rick Nielsen once likened their music to a coffee table book in the way that it seems to have an immediate impact for each person who comes in contact with it. Every album they have adds to the diversity of this “book” in a way that can connect with many different types of people on several levels. This couldn’t have developed had they quit years ago and it’s a process that gets better with time.

Speaking of time, it seems to have barely touched their live performance. You won’t see four aging men playing stale hits when you tune in to this Saturday’s encore episode. Whether it’s Tom Petersson rocking out on a 12-string bass with a bedazzled peacock adorning the body or Nielsen throwing out at least 100 picks into the audience all while dancing in front of black and white checkered amps, the group made sure to put a dent on their Austin City Limits debut in 2010.

Be sure to check your local listings for show times and you can find more clips and information about their taping here. This is an encore episode you won’t want to miss.