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Cover Story

ACL Live Shots

Muse Zilker Park, Oct. 9 Muse requires a certain suspension of disbelief. Over the course of a sci-fi album triptych – 2003’s Absolution, 2006’s Black Holes & Revelations, and last year’s Resistance – the UK trio has established itself as defender of some lost order, pledging revolution through stadium epics that bridge pre-Kid A Radiohead…

by Austin Powell

ACL Live Shots

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros Zilker Park, Oct. 10 Few bands could provide the rejuvenation of a Sunday afternoon ACL crowd like Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. With Oz’s Emerald City serving as backdrop, the ragtag guild emerged 11-strong while stomping out “40 Day Dream” as frontman Alex Ebert flung himself in a…

by Doug Freeman

Culinary/Literary

Lewis and Poliafito traveled the country researching traditional American regional desserts and present 75 here, each with a distinctive new twist

by Virginia B. Wood

ACL Live Shots

Kings Go Forth Zilker Park, Oct. 8 Pegging Curtis Mayfield as the godfather of Kings Go Forth’s feel-good groove isn’t hard seeing as Kings vocalist Black Wolf sang backup for the R&B pioneer long before band founder and bassist Andy Noble asked him to join Danny Fernandez at the microphone. The Milwaukee big band, which…

by Margaret Moser

ACL Live Shots

Gogol Bordello Zilker Park, Oct. 9 Talk about trans-European hustles. From the opening squawk and squall of Ukrainian expat Eugene Hütz’s gypsy guitar antiheroics to the revolutionary strings of gray-beard fiddle-king Sergey Ryabtsev’s blurring bow and blazing bout, Gogol Bordello’s überinclusive, pan-global prepunk united beat freaks of all (or no) nations under one colorfully chaotic…

by Marc Savlov

ACL Live Shots

Girls Zilker Park, Oct. 8 With the stage decked out in flowers, Girls’ set took on the aura of a bittersweet prom, accentuated by the San Francisco quintet’s brand of lovelorn, nostalgic crooning but undercut by stage sound that erased most of the vocals and had the crowd raising objection even before opener “Darling” concluded.…

by Doug Freeman

ACL Live Shots

M.I.A. Zilker Park, Oct. 9 Maya Arulpragasam makes the Gaza Strip sound tame by comparison. Amidst a frenetic, ambitious, and sometimes brain-jarringly chaotic set that ran the gamut from the Tamil-Brit’s very first sonic fusillade (“Galang”) to bloodthirsty new single “Born Free,” M.I.A. held sway by virtue of sheer, sweaty, street-cred charisma. Even when the…

by Marc Savlov

‘Chronicle’ Endorsements

Here we go again. In the last couple of decades, Travis County voters have become accustomed to a topsy-turvy ballot on which the statewide officeholders are invariably Republican and the local incumbents almost exclusively Democrats. For Austinites, it’s an occasion for smugness or despair (or both). The ballot for 2010 is much the same; after…

by Chronicle Staff

Culinary/Literary

Clark is a gifted cook and a talented writer, so when cooking from her recipes, successes just keep on coming

by MM Pack

ACL Live Shots

Monsters of Folk Zilker Park, Oct. 9 The Monsters of Folk made several things evident Saturday. First, they have a sense of humor. Why else would they choose a 1970s soul track, William DeVaughn’s “Be Thankful for What You Got,” as their entrance music? Second, although composed of musicians who’ve made their names with other…

by Jim Caligiuri

ACL Live Shots

Lissie Zilker Park, Oct. 9 Lissie Maurus, the hippie girl with a gospel voice, is a hard one to pin down. The Illinois-bred singer/guitarist stands (barefoot on Saturday) on the edge of breakout thanks to the catchy folk-rock of her Fat Possum debut Catching a Tiger, which recently landed somewhere between West Coaster Sheryl Crow…

by Audra Schroeder

ACL Live Shots

The Gaslight Anthem Zilker Park, Oct. 9 The Gaslight Anthem was dressed for a seedy basement bar but didn’t shy away from the hot Texas sun. Working-class musical archivists, the New Jersey four would rather recycle than scrap the rust-bucket heaps lost along the information superhighway. No matter that Boss Springsteen is still kicking –…

by Dan Oko

See Reverse Side for Title: Part I

If English first-wavers had trouble getting ahold of American roots music, Americans themselves weren’t much better off, piecemealing together the foundations of today’s national scene

by Louis Black

ACL Live Shots

The Very Best Zilker Park, Oct. 9 It’s hard to incite a sing-along when your songs are primarily in the Chichewa language of Malawi. The Very Best took a few shortcuts – sampling Vampire Weekend and singing over frequent collaborator M.I.A.’s ubiquitous “Paper Planes” riddim (itself a Clash snippet) – but managed to pull off…

by Thomas Fawcett

Page Two: We Are the Eggmen

When in school we first learned about the United States Constitution – and especially the first 10 amendments, the Bill of Rights – it really did seem relatively simple and almost overly obvious. The Bill of Rights guarantees all citizens of this country that the government won’t infringe on their most basic liberties. These include…

by Louis Black

Headlines

� Early voting for the Nov. 2 election starts Monday, Oct. 18, and runs through Friday, Oct. 29. See the Chronicle’s endorsements and ballot info, and other election coverage beginning here. � On Election Day, Bastrop voters will decide whether to join Austin Community College’s taxing district, thanks to a state district court’s dismissal Wednesday…

by Chronicle Staff

ACL Live Shots

Mayer Hawthorne Zilker Park, Oct. 9 Between covers of the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes” and comparing himself to Canadian crooner Michael Bublé, Mayer Hawthorne’s Saturday set of softcore soul straddled the thin line between corny and charismatic. Dressed in traditional black-and-white blue-eyed soul gear, Hawthorne and his four-man backing band kept Motown alive…

by Chase Hoffberger

Food-o-File

New products, new smokers, new catering operations, and a new cake studio? Is it our birthday again already?

by Virginia B. Wood

ACL Live Shots

Frank Turner Zilker Park, Oct. 10 “I wrote this when I was living in a hallway and sleeping on a sofa when precisely zero people gave a shit,” punkified British folkster Frank Turner declared before closing out his set with boozy sing-along “The Ballad of Me and My Friends” from his 2007 debut, Sleep Is…

by Richard Whittaker

Red

Over-the-hill crime-fighters band together to save their own in this smirky, goofy mashup of a rom-com and action picture.

by Marc Savlov

ACL Live Shots

Warpaint Zilker Park, Oct. 10 The XX on the same stage some 18 hours earlier had meted out for the ocean masses a pointillistic 1980s minimalism running deep through the UK trio’s national music heritage. To an initially tiny fraction of that number Sunday morning coming down (11:45am), L.A. foursome Warpaint practiced a similarly delicate…

by Raoul Hernandez

‘To See the Dream’

� Worked on the chariot race scene in the first Ben-Hur (1925); more than 30 years later, Wyler directed the Charlton Heston remake. � Directed Universal’s first all-sound film shot outside of a studio, Hell’s Heroes (1930). � Married Margaret Sullavan after they fought famously on the set of The Good Fairy (1935), one of…

by Chronicle Staff

ACL Live Shots

The Relatives Zilker Park, Oct. 10 Exactly one year ago, I sat in the pews of the Rev. Tommy West’s No Walls Ministry in the back of a Dallas strip mall as the Relatives played their first show in three decades. Since their remarkable rediscovery and resurrection, the world’s funkiest gospel group has sold out…

by Thomas Fawcett

Nowhere Boy

This movie about John Lennon’s young-adult years showcases the importance of the importance of both his mother and aunt in his life.

by Marjorie Baumgarten

ACL Live Shots

Richard Thompson Zilker Park, Oct. 10 A crescent moon brightened in the darkening sky as the sun dropped and Richard Thompson took the Clear 4G tent stage. It wasn’t positioned horns up, a pagan auspice befitting Thompson’s roots as founder of the seminal British folk-rock band Fairport Convention; instead the creamy sliver tipped gently to…

by Margaret Moser

ACL Live Shots

The Band of Heathens Zilker Park, Oct. 8 Combining three singer-songwriters, Austin’s Band of Heathens might not be likely candidates for figuring out how to fight sound bleeding over from other ACL stages, especially since the Austin Ventures stage where the performing quintet played was severely affected by such problems. The solution? Play louder than…

by Jim Caligiuri

Aakrosh

When three students go missing in a small Indian village, the investigation into their disappearance causes mayhem. In Hindi.

by Marjorie Baumgarten

ACL Live Shots

Eagles Zilker Park, Oct. 10 With their collective age approaching 250, the four horsemen of the classic-rock apocalypse rode into Zilker Park with a take-no-prisoners attitude. Mssrs. Schmit, Frey, Walsh, and Texas’ own Don Henley don’t care if you, like Lebowski, hate the Eagles, man. They’re still doing their thing, and like the Stones, ZZ…

by Dan Oko

ACL Live Shots

Sonic Youth Zilker Park, Oct. 8 How has Sonic Youth kept virtually the same lineup for 25 years, never broken up, and continued putting out relevant albums? How does Thurston Moore still have a full head of hair? Perhaps the NYC-bred quartet has discovered the elixir, because they’ve done an exemplary job of being eternal…

by Audra Schroeder

ACL Live Shots

Norah Jones Zilker Park, Oct. 10 Decked out in cowboy boots and a red dress, in front of a backdrop of white curtains, Norah Jones inspired worship. “We have the same dress,” quipped one fawning female. “We’re soul mates!” Playful in conversation and soulful in song, the singer could do no wrong, captivating an all-but-silenced…

by Chase Hoffberger

ACL Live Shots

Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses Zilker Park, Oct. 8 Going up against Sonic Youth, Vampire Weekend, and Robert Randolph, Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses proved they could hold their own and then some in headlining the Austin Ventures stage. The shortened 45-minute set wanted only for a longer time slot. The quartet came…

by Doug Freeman

ACL Live Shots

LCD Soundsystem Zilker Park, Oct. 9 If James Murphy had made music in 1976, he’d be a footnote in the criminally underrated genre of disco. With the second decade of another millennium under way, Murphy’s LCD Soundsystem surfs atop a wave of adoring press, not to mention an ocean of fans mobbing the ACL main…

by Margaret Moser

ACL Live Shots

The National Zilker Park, Oct. 10 Festival magic can strike at any time, but sunset sets take the cake at Zilker Park. The Brooklyn-based National is led by scruffy, suit-wearing Matt Berninger, a singer whose stage presence and songs make him the bastard son of Iggy Pop and Leonard Cohen. The outfit tipped its hand…

by Dan Oko

ACL Live Shots

The Strokes Zilker Park, Oct. 8 By God, Charles Attal was right. C3 Presents’ chief booker, still flush with another Lollapalooza extravaganza this summer, proclaimed the reunited Strokes the highlight of this year’s ACL counterpart in Chicago. Performancewise, all of Friday at Zilker Park built toward the NYC quintet’s stunning walk-off performance. Beginning 15 minutes…

by Raoul Hernandez

ACL Live Shots

Deadmau5 Zilker Park, Oct. 9 Perched 10 feet up behind an all-black Daft Punk-style DJ booth, Deadmau5’s stage act is a mystery. Throw in a giant, ambiguous mouse helmet and all-black backdrop, and getting a read on the DJ born Joel Zimmerman is an absolute shot in the dark. The Niagara Falls native fought two…

by Chase Hoffberger

ACL Live Shots

TV Torso Zilker Park, Oct. 10 Featuring two members of Sound Team – guitarist/vocalist Matt Oliver and drummer Jordan Johns, joined by bassist Austin Jones – studio trio TV Torso took ACL’s historically local stage (Zilker’s Rock Island) with a certain local indie cred. Add former Voxtrot keyboardist Jared Van Fleet and ex-Corto Maltese guitarist…

by Richard Whittaker

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

The Vikings used wool to wipe their butts. The basilisk lizard from the Central American rain forest can walk on water. It takes about 20 steps per second. According to a study at the University of Pécs in Hungary, women seek out men who look like their dads. Women find these features comfortingly familiar. Guys…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

ACL Live Shots

The Sword Zilker Park, Oct. 8 Metal at ACL? A prop plane circling high above Zilker Park’s Zync stage while trailing a banner for RocNation Aviator that prompted festivalgoers to “Text ‘Skull'” as the Sword began its 55-minute ACL debut laid out the red carpet. Kicking off with the opening volley from its third and…

by Raoul Hernandez

ACL Live Shots

Matt & Kim Zilker Park, Oct. 9 Ready? Okay! Thronged by tens of thousands of giddy partygoers, Brooklyn’s best-yet answer to the question of what, exactly, follows when five boroughs’ hip-hop and Strokes-y retro become last year’s news proved that 212 micro pop is stadium-ready in a ridiculously huge way. And it wasn’t just that…

by Marc Savlov

ACL Live Shots

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue Zilker Park, Oct. 10 Few artists can weave their way from Southern rap to show tunes without missing a beat, but few have the charisma and talent of Trombone Shorty. The 24-year-old trombone and trumpet player (née Troy Andrews) and his sixpiece Orleans Avenue brought nothing but heat and had…

by Thomas Fawcett

ACL Live Shots

Phish Zilker Park, Oct. 8 In the more than 10 years since Phish last appeared in Austin, a lot has gone down with the Vermonters. They seemed genuinely thrilled to be back in front of a Texas audience that, although a slight disappointment in terms of size, welcomed them with unrestrained enthusiasm. During the set…

by Jim Caligiuri

Luv Doc Recommends: Austin Yam Jam

Every time you’re tempted to moan about another benefit for some musician who wrecked his car, had his equipment trailer jacked, or broke his wanking arm in a spectacular dive into an apathetic mosh pit, remember that in Austin, benefit money usually flows the other way – and by a large margin. It’s amazing that…

by The Luv Doc

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