[RH Photos] America's Most Wanted Music Festival in Austin
Photography by: Virgil Solis
I have to admit that I was pretty excited to hit up the America's Most Wanted Music Festival because I had never seen any of the artists on the bill. Whenever 2 Chainz, T.I., and Lil Wayne are on the same lineup, you know you're going to have a good time and few ratchet moments. The first person up to kick off the night was producer/rapper Hitboy who hit the stage with a lot of energy. His set was very short and probably maxed out at 10 minutes long, but he did what he had to do and that was to hype of the crowd. He dug into his catalog of songs he produced and had the crowd jumping and reciting the lyrics when performed both "Clique" and "Ni**as in Paris;" after he was done 2 Chainz was up.
As you've come to expect from 2 Chainz, he came out on stage with leather shorts, and of course, his gold chains. From the start, he had the crowd going and the majority of the crowd knew every lyric. From "Started From The Trap" to "U.O.E.N.O." and even "Beez in the Trap," the crowd knew everything. There were so many hits that he played that I can list, but it would be too many to mention. Of course, my favorite song was "Spend It," and I kept hoping that T.I. would jump on stage and spit his verse, but no such luck. He would go on to mention that his new album would be dropping September 1oth and closed out his set with "No Lie," paving the way for T.I.
I admit that I was really looking forward to see the king of the south because I have been a fan of his for a long time... well at least before all the legal problems. From the start, he came out on stage with a lot of energy accompanied by two hype men and a full live band in the back, which I didn't expect. He had a pretty cool backdrop as well, and the stage resembled a house from the movie ATL, giving us a performance that seemed like he was just rhyming in front of his crib. He kicked it off with "Down Low" and just going hit after hit after hit. I was pumped, and the crowd was too; everyone was having a great time, even the 40 year olds next to me were diggin' the performance. Even with the controversy surrounding the song "Blurred Lines," he performed the song, but unfortunatetly none of the models from the video showed up on stage. T.I. didn't forget that he was in Texas and brought out Houston native and Screwed Up Click member Trae Tha Truth out to perform with him. The venue turned up at that very moment. T.I. played a couple more songs and eventually closed out his set with "What You Know," and if that would've been the end of the show, I think everyone would have been satisfied, but we still the headliner Lil Wayne up next.
Now I've been listening to Lil Wayne for as long as I can remember and never seen him live, and I was interested in seeing him on stage for the first time since his big health scare. When the curtains opened, all you could hear was the sound of guitars going off, and it felt like you were at a rock concert rather the a rap concert. In true Weezy fashion, he came out on stage accompanied by skaters who would spend the entire time doing tricks on the ramps that were on stage. Now Weezy had a very long set, and it was hard to believe how many hits that he has in his catalog. I was pumped and the was crowd definitely into his performance. With the way he was commanding the stage, it looked like the health issues didn't slow him down one bit. He had fireworks going off all through the performance, and he had back up dancers doing what they do best. He had the crowd in the palm of his hands, and everyone was completely out of control when he brought out 2 Chainz for "Bandz A Make Her Dance" and other songs the two are featured on. The only time the night slowed down was when Wayne went and did a quick costume change. When he finally came back, he had a skateboard and started going towards the ramp, and I admit I was wondering if he was going to fall, but he didn't. Then he went on to continue the show and had some ladies come up on stage who may or may not have been strippers, but we'll never know. The night continued with hit after hit, and he brought out T.I. to do some songs with him, and you know Birdman had to make an appearance with "Stay Fly," which was pretty awesome. It was good to see Lil Wayne perform and see him not miss a step. Everyone there had a great time, and Lil Wayne clearly had no worries that night.
Austin City Limits Expands, Announces Shows
Sometimes it seems as though Austin, Texas is simply a perpetual festival. Outside of SXSW though, ACL is certainly one of the main attractions to grace the state capital annually. Late night shows for the festival, which runs October 3-12 to encourage bands to tour Texas, were announced today. The decision to split to two weekends allowed for bands to do shows during the week in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Some highlights include Paper Diamond with Run DMT at Haven on 10/6, Toro Y Moi at Emo's Austin 10/9 and Wavves at Antone's on 10/10. For the full lineup check below.
AUSTIN
10/3 The Bright Light Social Hour with Reignwolf and Walker Lukens at Emo's Austin
10/3 Luminox and Loudpvck at Haven
10/3 Aaron Behrens and the Midnight Stroll with Nic Armstrong and BattleMe at Stubb's Indoors
10/4 Grouplove with The Mowgli's at Emo's Austin
10/4 HAIM and MS MR at Antone's
10/4 Wild Nothing and Autre Ne Veut at The ParishÂ
10/4 Deap Vally with Ume at Stubb's Indoors
10/4 FIDLAR with The Orwells at Holy Mountain
10/4 Wild Belle at Lamberts
10/5 The National at Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater
10/5 The Black Angels with The Joy Formidable at Emo's Austin
10/5 The Revivalists and Moon Taxi at The Parish
10/5 Widowspeak with Boy Friend at Stubb's Indoors
10/5 Gospel Brunch with The Blind Boys of Alabama at Stubb's Indoors
10/5 JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound at Lamberts
10/6 Paper Diamond with Run DMT at Haven
10/6 Gospel Brunch with Endurance at Stubb's Indoors
10/9 The Waller Creek Conservancy Benefit featuring The Shouting Matches with The Blind Boys of Alabama at Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater
10/9 Toro Y Moi with Classixx at Emo's Austin
10/10 Patty Griffin at Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater
10/10 Phosphorescent with JD McPherson, Shakey Graves at Emo's Austin
10/10 Wavves with King Tuff and Jacuzzi Boys at Antone's
10/10 Mord Fustang with Jesse Rose at Haven
10/10 Whiskey Shivers with Hello Wheels at Stubb's Indoors
10/11 STRFKR with Bear Mountain and Chrome Sparks at Emo's Austin
10/11 Junip with Valerie June at Antone's
10/11 Mark Farina with Blockhead, Little People, DJ Mel at Haven
10/11 The Autumn Defense and Roadkill Ghost Choir at Lamberts
10/12 Eric Church at Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater
10/12 Franz Ferdinand with Smith Westerns at Emo's Austin
10/12 Noah and the Whale with LP at Brazos Hall
10/12 The Burgerama Tour featuring The Growlers with Foxygen, The Cosmonauts, Gap Dream and Pangea at The Parish
10/12 Red Baraat at Stubb's Indoors
10/12 Gospel Brunch with The Blind Boys of Alabama at Stubb's Indoors
10/12 Twin Forks with Matrimony at Holy Mountain
10/12 Typhoon at Lamberts
10/13 Gospel Brunch with Tyree Morris & Hearts of Worship at Stubb's Indoors
DALLAS
10/3 Wild Belle at the Cambridge Room at House of Blues
10/4 Shuggie Otis at The Kessler Theater
10/5 Queens of the Stone Age at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
10/5 Dawes at South Side Music Hall
10/5 Franz Ferdinand at House of Blues
10/5 Jake Bugg with HoneyHoney at The Kessler Theater
10/6 Silversun Pickups with Electric Guest at Trees
10/7 MS MR at the Cambridge Room at House of Blues
10/8 Local Natives with Wild Nothing at House of Blues
10/8 HAIM at Trees
10/8 Red Baraat at the Cambridge Room at House of Blues
10/9 Walk the Moon with The Mowgli's at House of Blues
10/9 Phosphorescent at the Cambridge Room at House of Blues
10/10 Vampire Weekend at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
10/11 Toro Y Moi at House of Blues
10/12 The National and Tame Impala at South Side Music Hall
HOUSTON
10/4 Franz Ferdinand at House of Blues
10/7 Red Baraat at the Peacock Room at House of Blues
10/8 Walk the Moon with The Mowgli's at House of Blues
10/9 Local Natives with Wild Nothing at House of Blues
10/10 Toro Y Moi at House of Blues
10/10 Typhoon at the Peacock Room at House of Blues
10/12 Dawes at Warehouse Live
SAN ANTONIO
10/11 Silversun Pickups with Electric Guest at The White Rabbit
Dom Kennedy: "For My Homies"
Photo by Virgil Solis (Shot during the recording of CS ATX Album)
Here's a blast from the past in the form of Dom Kennedy's previously unreleased record "For My Homies", which was recorded during the classic Closed Sessions ATX recordings at SXSW a few years back. Seeing the need to have more material from Dom this Summer, CS decided to unleash this gem as people impatiently wait for Get Home Safely.
[RH Contest] Win a pair of tickets to see Killer Mike + El-P in Austin on 8/5
[Update: The winner for this contest is @savr_one. Thank you to everybody that entered our contest!]
Run the Jewels has been one of the best hip hop albums of the year so far, with Killer Mike and El-P's joint performance at Pitchfork last weekend one of the highlights of Sunday's shows. Austinites that weren't able to catch them at Pitchfork will have their chance next week on August 5th. Knuckle Rumbler presents the all-ages show at Mohawk, which also features Despot and Kool A.D. on the bill.
While you can purchase tickets to the show, we're going to make it a little easier for you guys. We have a pair of tickets for the show; all you need to do to enter is tweet us why you want to catch Run the Jewels live with "#RHtheJewels" attached. The best response will have the tickets at will-call. You have until Sunday night to enter. Good luck! Don't forget about our ongoing Closed Sessions contest, as well.
[RH Photos] Under The Influence Tour w/ A$AP Rocky and Wiz Khalifa in Austin
Photos by Virgil Solis
The Under The Influence Tour had a pretty impressive line up of some up and comers in the game, including the likes of Joey Badass, Smoke DZA, and Trinidad James, but it was B.o.B., A$AP Rocky, and Wiz Khalifa that would go ahead and close out the night. B.o.B. was the first of the three to take the stage and set the tone for the rest of the night. At the time of his performance, many had still not yet arrived as people were still continuing to fill up the venue. As he played through his set, more and more people started to get into the performance, and once his twerk team got on stage, the audience really go into it. He played some of this popular songs, but it was "Nothing on You" where the crowd got excited, and you could hear them recite every lyric throughout the venue. What I thought was pretty cool was when he stopped in the middle of his performance to take a big group picture of the crowd for his Instagram, which you can see here.
Next up would be A$AP Rocky, who I came to see since it had been a little over a year since I saw him perform live. He came out with a lot of energy during his set, and people were really pumped to see him, but it wasn't until A$AP brought out B Real from Cypress Hill when the crowd really flipped out. Together, they performed the cult classic "How I Could Just Kill A Man," and from there on, he had the entire venue in the palm of his hand. It was really cool to see B Real come out, and it was something that neither I or the crowd could have expected. I'm stoked I got to see the two on stage together. It was also dope to see A$AP come out with a live band and not simply just a DJ and a hype man; the band added to the whole experience. He ended the night with his more popular songs, like one of my favorites, "Peso," as well as "Goldie," and finally closed it out with "F**ckin' Problems." All in all, I really digged A$AP's performance, and I could tell the audience did too.
Last up was the headliner of the Tour, Wiz Khalifa, and you could just see by the look of the crowd that the majority of them were there to see him. I did see a lot of A$AP fans, but the Wiz fans clearly outnumbered them, judging from all the band tees. When Wiz took to the stage, the crowd really got into it, and it seemed the crowd got larger. Wiz really got into his performance from the get-go, and when he performed "The Thrill," the crowd was really behind him, reciting literally every word to the point where I couldn't even make out his voice. The same could be said when he came on stage for "Work Hard Play Hard," and for a lack of a better word, he did come out hard. Like A$AP before him, he also had a live band, and there's just something about listening to that track with real instruments that made it one of the better songs of the night. I give it up to Wiz - he put on a good performance and played for almost an hour and a half. One reason for it being that long, though, was that he had like three to four costume changes throughout his set. By the end of the night, Austin had a great night of music, and the Under The Influence Tour gave them their money's worth.
[Video] A$AP Rocky brings out B-Real in Austin
photo by Virgil Solis
Headlined by Wiz Khalifa, the The Under The Influence Tour has a pretty stacked line up of some up and comers in the game. While the crowd was clearly there to see Wiz judging by all the band tees, I was looking forward to seeing A$AP Rocky. I hadn't seen A$AP live since last summer in Chicago when he performed at Pitchfork, and this was the first time he'd been back to Austin since he tore up SXSW two years ago. While I enjoyed his set at Pitchfork, I could see his growth since then at last night's show. He just commanded the stage, and after the first song, he had the crowd in the palm of his hands; all eyes were on him. One of the best things about his performance was that he came out to a full band, and that just added so much more to the whole experience.
What really made the night for me, however, was when A$AP brought out B-Real to cover some Cypress Hill classics like "How I Could Just Kill A Man." After that, the night belonged to A$AP as he closed out with hits like "Goldie" and "F**ckin' Problems." Check out the video to see both ASAP & B Real perform at the Austin 360 Amphitheater. More photos are coming soon.
http://youtu.be/T0TaCXHpxTA
Fun Fun Fun Fest Announces Aqua Olympics
Yesterday Fun Fun Fun Fest announced their third Annual Aqua Olympics to be held on August 3rd at Fiesta Gardens in Austin, TX. This year's Olympics will consist of water competitions like SUP jousting and "field day" style land games like the classic potato sack race, balloon toss, and many more. Battling for glory, the Austin Facial Hair Club and Austin city council will be participating in an epic game of tug-o-war. The fun doesn't stop there! BMX riders will have the chance to bolt off the Lagoon Launch while skateboarders show off tricks and turns on the street course. This year's MCs include Comedian Dough Mellard who will be covering the water competitions with Riverboat Gamblers frontman Mike Wiebe and comedian Chris Cubas will MC the land games.
Opening ceremonies and registration start at 4pm, where there will be music, food and refreshments, and a chance to compete for multiple prizes, including passes for the festival. FFFF will be introducing the first ever USP (ultimate smooth pass) which is their version of exclusive and limited VIP passes for the fest because, who doesn't love to get VIP treatment? FFFF will also announce the 2013 comedy and skate/ride programming lineups at the event.
FFFF recently released the lineup for the 8th annual festival to be held November 8-10th at Auditorium Shores. M.I.A., Slayer, MGMT, and Snoop Dogg are a few of the headlining acts that will be gracing the stage, along with many other awesome artists.
Weekend 3-day passes are on sale now!
Austin's full Fun Fun Fun Fest lineup is full of fun fun fun
After not one, but two Fun Fun Fun Fest leaks, the full lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest 8 has been officially revealed. Something must be in the air for 2013 festivals, because all in addition to Chicago's Riot Fest, FFFF8 features a number of bands that were (and continue to be) near and dear to my heart back when I was a teenager discovering life. Some of my personal highlights for the 8th Fun Fun Fun Festival include Blake Schwarzenbach (Jawbreaker), Melt-Banana, The Impossibles, Daniel Johnston, and Action Bronson. Hell, I'd fly down to Austin just for Black Schwarzenbach alone, but with the additions of Melt-Banana and a reunited The Impossibles?! Wow.
You can check out the full lineup below, which includes other notable acts as M.I.A., Ice-T, Kurt Vile & the Violators, Lupe Fiasco, Snoop Dogg, Dessa, Descendants, The Locust, and so, so many more. Tickets are available on the Fun Fun Fun Fest website.
ORANGE STAGE
MGMT, M.I.A., Cut Copy, The Walkmen, Television, Deerhunter, Dismemberment Plan, Washed Out, Johnny Marr, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Sparks, Polyphonic Spree, Blake Schwarzenbach (of Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil/Forgetters), Geographer, King Khan and the Shrines, Bill Callahan, Chelsea Light Moving (featuring Thurston Moore), The Julie Ruin (featuring Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill/Le Tigre), Daniel Johnston, Mac DeMarco, Merchandise, Cayucas, Quasi, Beach Fossils, Bleached, Lemuria, Active Child, Ola Podrida, Frank Smith, Wild Child
BLUE STAGE
Snoop Dogg, Jurassic 5, Simian Mobile Disco (DJ set), Bonobo, Ice-T, Big K.R.I.T., Big Freedia, Lupe Fiasco, Chromatics, Glass Candy, RJD2, Tycho, Action Bronson, Shlohmo, XXYYXX, Little Boots, Delorean, Star Slinger, Poolside, Small Black, Ratking, Underachievers, Dessa, Big Black Delta, Mykki Blanco, Phranchyze, Roger Sellers, LNS Crew
BLACK STAGE
Slayer, FLAG (Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton), Descendents, Quicksand, Death Grips, Judge, The Locust, Subhumans (performing “Cradle to the Grave”), Gojira, The Impossibles, Body Count, August Burns Red, Thee Oh Sees, Cloud Nothings, Cro-Mags, Ceremony, Melt Banana, Pelican, The Men, Title Fight, White Lung, Code Orange Kids, Narrows, Unlocking the Truth, Retox, Spray Paint, True Widow, Venomous Maximus