Austin City Limits 2013

After many consecutive years of sell-out crowds, Austin City Limits is doubling down to accommodate more fans this October.

ACL will announce on Monday that it will showcase back-to-back offerings of the same great lineup of music, art, local food and activities to Zilker Park this year. Weekend One is happening October 4-6, 2013 and Weekend Two is happening October 11-13, 2013. With almost 140 acts already signed, this year's fest is sure to be a doozy.

Already inked:

DEPECHE MODE
THE CURE
MUSE
KINGS OF LEON
ATOMS FOR PEACE
LIONEL RICHIE
PHOENIX
WILCO
VAMPIRE WEEKEND
THE NATIONAL
ERIC CHURCH
PASSION PIT
ARCTIC MONKEYS
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
FUN.
KENDRICK LAMAR
FRANZ FERDINAND
D'ANGELO
KASKADE
TAME IMPALA
LOCAL NATIVES
THE SHOUTING MATCHES
TORO Y MOI
GRIMES
PORTUGAL. THE MAN
SILVERSUN PICKUPS
THE JOY FORMIDABLE
NEKO CASE
DIVINE FITS
GROUPLOVE
JIMMY EAT WORLD
THE BLACK ANGELS
THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR
THE MAVERICKS
OKKERVIL RIVER
SHUGGIE OTIS
PURITY RING
DAWES
HAIM
SMITH WESTERNS
JUNIP
WALK THE MOON
VINTAGE TROUBLE
NOAH AND THE WHALE
PAPER DIAMOND
LISSIE
PINBACK
THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION
WILD BELLE
PHOSPHORESCENT
COURT YARD HOUNDS
THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN
FOXYGEN
LITTLE GREEN CARS
SAVAGES
AUTRE NE VEUT
PARQUET COURTS
FIDLAR
WHITE DENIM
TRUE BELIEVERS
THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA
DELTA RAE
JAKE BUGG
THE LONE BELLOW
ELECTRIC GUEST
DAN CROLL
DEAP VALLY
WILD NOTHING
TYPHOON
HUNDRED WATERS
TWIN FORKS
RED BARAAT
ELECTRIC SIX
SHOVELS & ROPE
REIGNWOLF
MONA
MS MR
WIDOWSPEAK
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
BEAR MOUNTAIN
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS
JD MCPHERSON
PACHA MASSIVE
VALERIE JUNE
WILD FEATHERS
ROADKILL GHOST CHOIR
JC BROOKS AND THE UPTOWN SOUND
DESERT NOISES
THE BAND OF HEATHENS
HOLLY WILLIAMS
ALANNA ROYALE
CHERUB
THE DYNAMITES FEAT. CHARLES WALKER
SHINYRIBS
JACUZZI BOYS
WICK-IT THE INSTIGATOR
SHAKEY GRAVES
HOUNDMOUTH
WILD CUB
PETERSON BROTHERS BAND
LUELLA AND THE SUN
X AMBASSADORS
SONS OF FATHERS
COURRIER
MY JERUSALEM
NOT IN THE FACE
DANA FALCONBERRY
BOBBY JEALOUSY
WHISKEY SHIVERS
THE PRESERVATION
MAX FROST
LATASHA LEE & THE BLACKTIES
CALEB
SHANNON LABRIE
ANDREW DUHON
KRISTIN DIABLE & THE CITY
COLIN LAKE
BROOKE WAGGONER
TYREE MORRIS & HEARTS OF WORSHIP
ENDURANCE
THE STAPLETONES
HEAVENLY VOICES CHOIR
THE MCCRARY SISTERS
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST
THE HENSLEY ENSEMBLE
THE DURDENS
THE WARRIOR GOSPEL BAND
BARTON HILLS CHOIR
THE VERVE PIPE
SCHOOL OF ROCK
TIM AND THE SPACE CADETS
PETER DISTEFANO & TOR
GRACE LONDON
PLAYDATE
THE OHMIES
THE Q BROTHERS
ANDY Z
CASPAR BABYPANTS

Please note that backstage passes will be for an individual weekend only. Request yours now!

Wilco Fall Tour

Although passes for Jeff Tweedy's solo shows are all gone, we're pleased to write that Wilco has announced a small Fall Tour in support of their new album due Sep 27 titled The Whole Love.

Nick Lowe will be the opening act, so it oughta be a great show. Here are the dates:

20 Sep 2011 / Boston, MA / The Wang Theatre

22 Sep 2011 / New York, NY / Rumsey Playfield in Central Park

25 Sep 2011 / Columbia, MD / Merriweather Post Pavilion

27 Sep 2011 / Raleigh, NC / Raleigh Pavilion

28 Sep 2011 / Atlanta, GA / Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

29 Sep 2011 / Atlanta, GA / Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

01 Oct 2011 / Nashville, TN / The Ryman

02 Oct 2011 / Nashville, TN / The Ryman

04 Oct 2011 / St. Louis, MO / St. Louis Peabody Opera House

05 Oct 2011 / Madison, WI / Madison Overture Hall

Member Review: Wilco

Member Sasquatch recently told us:

They walked on stage to The Price Is Right theme yet for most of the night it seemed as if Wilco was playing Beat The Clock.

Led by Jeff Tweedy, the group's slightly curtailed but still strong two-hour show had its desired effect.

Even Tweedy mentioned how they were up against the clock early on, stating they weren't used to an imposed curfew and later joked how the catchy, crowd-pleaser Handshake Drugs would be the band's final tune just an hour into their set.

One main difference on this current tour in support of, er, Wilco (The Album) is that the sextet isn't serving up lengthy, adventurous tunes like the 10-minute Spiders (Kidsmoke). Rather, there is a bevy of shorter, crisper tunes such as I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Either Way and I'll Fight.

But regardless of which Wilco numbers turn your proverbial crank, what is certain is the band's effortless ability to mix folk, roots, rock, country, soul and pop into enticing and endearing ear candy.

After opening with, er, Wilco (The Song), the band truly hit paydirt with Bull Black Nova off the new album which allowed Tweedy and the terribly underrated axeman Nels Cline to go off into some spacey rock realm before reining things back in.

With seven studio albums to cull material from, Wilco fared quite well with the new tracks such as One Wing, the '60s pop feel to I'll Fight and You Never Know - a musical twin of Tom Petty's Jammin' Me - which featured opener Liam Finn joining Wilco onstage.

Following the melodic yet melancholic How To Fight Loneliness, Tweedy asked the fans to provide lead vocals for Jesus, etc. which they eagerly obliged. Singing off microphone at the lip of the stage, Tweedy said the effort was "really, really, good" before diving into Hate It Here.

Supported by the rock steady rhythm section of drummer Glenn Kotche and bassist John Stirratt, Wilco rounded out the main 16-song set with the soul-rock ditty Theologians before I'm The Man Who Loves You had Cline again joyously lost in his own little feedback world while Tweedy did a few spins.

The lengthy encore featured some more gems off Summerteeth such as Can't Stand It while 1996's Being There album wasn't forgotten with the infectious, Stones-y tune Monday and Outtamind (Outta Site).

Not a sensational show, but a solid one. What raised the bar was seeing it all from backstage. Now that's something special. I've included a few photos. Use one if you like.

Like we did.

You can have that experience too. Sign up for membership today.

Member Review: Wilco

Member BeerBellyBandit sent us this:

Wilco is something of a cult band: no hit singles, no massive record sales. But the group has garnered a devoted following through albums that have ranged from straight-ahead singer-songwriter Americana to more ethereal explorations of emotional tone and mood.

Last night found the group offering up songs from its upcoming Nonesuch release simply called "Wilco" while also dipping into rarely played material to delight its most hard-core fans.

Wilco is one of the few acts on the road with set lists that change nightly and last night's two hours +, 28 song performance truly was as far-ranging as rock can get. After an amusing introductory snippet of the theme from "The Price Is Right," the band hit the stage with the title-ish track from the new album, anchored by its refrain of "Wilco will love you, baby," then shifted into the older "A Muzzle of Bees."

The driving saloon-piano triplets of the "Blue Black Nova" gave way to acid-rock tide pool of "You Are My Face," the ache-laced "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" and bittersweet yet hopeful "Shouldn't Be Ashamed."

Frontman Jeff Tweedy, who shared 2 beers with me backstage and serves as a musical tour guide rather than a showman, didn't have much to say early on. When he finally spoke to the crowd, pitching the tour programs filled with trivia tidbits, it was all tongue-in-cheek -- a contrast to the often layered, conflicted emotional content of most of the songs.

But Wilco is one of those bands that makes up for a lack of stage patter with those musical riches. One moment the group sounds like heirs to the legacy of the Grateful Dead or the Band, then it's delving into liquid Pink Floyd dreamscapes or unleashing unhinged, blistering yet steady cascades along the lines of Neil Young with Crazy Horse. Credit guitarist Nels Cline for sinewy and spiraling leads that fueled the fire as the band built to crashing crescendos.

Off-center country rock remains among the group's strongest offerings live, including "Handshake Drugs" and "You Never Know," and the playful Southern rock of "I'm the Man Who Loves You" closed out the main set.

Encore selections featured house favorites: the rollicking "Box Full of Letters," "Misunderstood," the almost-Eurotrashy epic "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" and the darn chipper "I Got You (At the End of the Century)."

After 2 beers with Jeff and one more with Nels, I was happy as a pig in sh*t to hang backstage and enjoy all the festivities. Here's the
set list:

Wilco (The Song)
Muzzle of Bees
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That's What You Said
Bull Black Nova
You Are My Face
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
In a Future Age
Impossible Germany
Shouldn't Be Ashamed
Sonny Feeling
Jesus, Etc.
Handshake Drugs
You Never Know
Hate It Here
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You

Encores:

The Late Greats
Box Full of Letters
Misunderstood
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Hummingbird
Happy Birthday
Red Eyed & Blue
I Got You (At the End of the Century)
Monday
Hoodoo Voodoo

This is my third time using passes from BPD. You guys are solid, man. Thanks.

You are most welcome 3B. As we enter into July and August, some great shows will be happening. Wanna see 'em from the back? Become a member today.