Fun Fun Fun Fest Spotlight: Austra.

Morning!

Today's post comes from my very dear friend Amy, who is like my personal little Pandora.com.  We'll be on a walk, or drinking, or eating, and suddenly she'll cry: "WAIT. TOLLY. Have you heard the new [name of hip band?]"

"Yes?" I'll lie.

"Oh HELL no," says Amy, who can tell when I am lying.

"We are going to listen to [hip band] RIGHT NOW."  

Amy has an astonishing mental library of up-and-coming groups, and I end up adoring everyone she recommends.  Do you have a music-obsessed friend in your life like that?  It's really helpful.  Also, this may or may not be relevant, but Amy owns my second favorite cat in the world, and her name is Babette!  Isn't she darling?  (This is Amy on the right).

Anyway, today I asked Amy to write me a post about Austra, who is playing this weekend at Fun Fun Fun Fest.  

Photo via AustraMusic.com.

She discovered them on a recent trip to Toronto, gave me some of their music, and now I am obsessed too!  So I hope you enjoy them.

here's amy:

Readers, friends, peers and confidants.  Have you ever loved some band, album or silly piece of music to the point of physical exhaustion?  Listened to it with such frequency and intensity that it impedes your sleep?

Recently, this happened to me. And it happened with Torontonian wunderkinds, Austra.

Frontgirl Katie Stelmanis has trained with the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus since age 10 (yes, 10). She has the power-house quality of Florence and the Machine or Bat for Lashes, and coupled with the group's bewitching lyrics, the result is pretty magical. Austra's sound is generally categorized as new wave, but that doesn't mean you'll suffer synth exhaustion listening to them: In the liner notes of their debut album, you'll notice quite the orchestral contribution, from violins, cellos, trombones.  

Photo via Austra Tumblr.

The core trio however includes Katie, lady drummer Maya Potepski, and bassist Dorian Wolf, and it'd be totally cool if I got to be BFF's (i.e. date) all three.

The three-talent, two girl, one boy, lineup reminds me of Austin band Follow that Bird!, and speaking of which: Friends, have you heard about “three” being a symbolically, universally perfect number? For example (from someone far smarter than I):

* The three divisions of time - past, present and future.

* The three persons in grammar - me, myself and I.

* The three kingdoms of matter - animal, vegetable or mineral

And I just made three points, so boo-ya.

Anyway, I think you should really listen to Follow that Bird! And Austra. Even if you don't like the number three.

Where were we? Oh yeah: Music. Let's listen to some! Here are three (!) of my favorite tracks from Feel it Break, Austra's debut album.

That's "Lose It," their main album single.  Here's "Beat and The Pulse" and "Spellwork:"

  

Beat and The Pulse

Spellwork

what did I tell you?

I hope this immensely talented trio dominates your iTunes, and makes you as infinitely happy as it has me! 

Photo via DapperLifestyle.

May Austra stir your passions, and rouse your love for music.

Austra graces our fair city on the blue stage at 4:20pm, this Sunday at Fun Fun Fun Fest.

How to get dressed for a music fest.

When attending a music festival, are you ever outfit baffled?  I am.

Rarely do I find the perfect ensemble marriage between "form" and "function."  Either I dress cute and suffer (mostly due to inappropriate footwear), or succumb to the siren songs of arch support and thermal underwear.  It is, as the sage Run DMC once said, tricky.

So since Fun Fun Fun Fest is this weekend, and I'm attending with a (very fashionable) friend, I've decided to put together an inspiration board of sorts to help me out.  Are you going to Fun Fun too, Reader?  What the blazes are you wearing?  Let's figure this out together.

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Alexandra Valenti's photography.  She shot the Free People catalogue when it was set in Austin last summer, and has a way of making her subjects look sun-drenched, bohemian, and oh-so-1970's. Aren't they lovely?

style ideas:

* fringe

* layered jewelry

* long + flowy

*fine embroidery

Ignoring for the moment the fact that this girl appears to be strolling on the roof in some of these pics and THAT is not safe, I love the potential this kind of outfit holds for a music fest.  Especially if you are not the boho princess type, but rather, prefer more a slightly more structured, clean look.

Also, don't you adore Allister Ann's photography?  I sure do.  She is the source of all those photos, above.

style ideas:

* monochromatic

* knits

* form-fitting

*ankle boots

I have had a girl crush on Liz Franco of Srsly Liz for a long, long time now.  (These photos are snapped by her, and -- I believe -- her boyfriend, Glenn).

To me, what makes Liz's outfits delightfully music fest-appropriate is that they are equal parts hippie, tidy, and as Liz likes to call herself, "nerd chic."  Plus, they are accessible!  Sometimes dressing for music fests can be intimidating, especially here in Austin, because you aren't quite sure how hipster to get.  Bust out your ironic Barry Manilow t-shirt AND your non-prescription ironic glasses AND your ironic mom jeans AND your ironic Hello Kitty socks AND your ironic platform Keds and, let's face it folks -- you've gone overboard.

But Liz shows us how to dress in nicely, even girly, with subtle winks here and there.  I love it!

style ideas:

* flowy (either on top or on bottom)

* pops of color

* opaque sheers

*unique cuts

So yay!  Outfit ideas for Fun Fun Fun Fest are marinating ...

And speaking of outfits.  I will be snapping pics of stylish ladies and gents for Free People's blog at Fun Fun, so please come find me if you're lookin' supa fly!  I look like this.  Just kidding.  THIS.

I'm not sure if you've heard of Fun Fun Fun Fest?

The new venue was announced.  

The lineup has been released.  

Some of my favorite bands are playing.  

And still ... nary a peep from me on Fun Fun Fun Fest.

Bad blogger.  Very bad!   Especially since I had a grand time last year.

Amy of the asterisks, me, Mary Rehak of Red River Noise.

So let's talk about it, why don't we?  Because Fun Fun is getting huge!

(Note for Non or New Austinites: Fun Fun Fun Fest is like the little music festival that could.  The whole thing used to be held on a small patch of grass in downtown Austin.  Then, it moved to a park, then it expanded to four stages, then it started hosting folks like MGMT and Danzig and The National, and now it is ginormous.  It sells out every year, and before one of the members hurt his hand, Devo was slated to headline last year.  Devo!)

If you are headed to Fun Fun this year, who are you excited to see?  

Because I'll tell you mine.  

My friend Amy, above -- who's like my personal source of indie music news -- introduced me to The Joy Formidable just two days ago.  They're a hard-strumming British band with these melodic voices, and I like them very much.  Along with Austin band Heartless Bastards, and Lykke Li of course, they comprise my personal Top Three.

Also?  Let's face it -- I still love Passion Pit!  Ditto Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.  They are both playing at Fun Fun this year, too.  

Here's a mix of Austin Eavesdropper Fun Fun Favorites.

(Confession.  I've never really listened to Blonde Redhead before. But I used to be blonde, and now I'm ... a redhead.  Sometimes that's all it takes to get my attention.)

Who else should I look out for on this list?  I see Neon Indian and Diplo ... heh.  Funny story about Diplo.  I interviewed him at SXSW this year, and later that day, he got arrested!  Even more amusing was the fact that he Tweeted it.

Anyone else you are particularly jazzed about, fellow Fun Fun attendees? 

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010: Yelle is kind of adorable. [LIVE VIDEO]

              
Per the post title above: Yes, Yelle is adorable. This is a universally accepted truth, much like humans need oxygen, the Earth is round, I, Tolly, laugh too much, etc. etc.

We got some shots of her beginning the show in her signature sparkly tights, topped with -- what do we have here?  An Oscar the Grouch ensemble?

Teehee.  She is like a pretty, French version of Swamp Thing.

Can you believe the photo above is sans effects, people?  Just the fun purple show lights!  Sometimes I wish colored show lights followed me around, highlighting significant portions of my day.

Here is Yelle, greeting her fans in "AUSTEEN!"

Then, we caught a video of one the band's new songs, "La Musique."  The visuals on this clip are ok (and I mean just ok), but if I do say so myself the sound is pretty awesome.

Not bad, eh?

Two things:

A) What you can't see in this video are me, and my friend Amy, visibly geeking out for 99% of the show. I had to force myself to stop trembling and shrieking like a smitten schoolgirl just to shoot these vids, but trust me, there's one huge dork operating this camera.

B) May I paste a direct quote from Yelle's Wikipedia page? It shows, beyond the shadow of a doubt, ample proof of Yelle's adorableness:

"Olivia Mandell is Yelle's best friend, They have know each other for many years but now Olivia is marrying yelle's brother. Tres chouette!"

On no other band's Wikipedia page have I ever seen mention of a BFF. Tres chouette ("how cute") indeed!
               

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010: Delorean performs "Real Love." [LIVE VIDEO]

Delorean may just be Fun Fun Fun Fest's dreamiest band selection.

I first discovered Delorean last summer with the song "Deli," and immediately latched onto their dancey love songs. It was Passion Pit by way of Arcade Fire, with the subdued coolness one associates with their corner of the world (Basque country). 

Here are some shots of the band, with lead singer Ekhi Lopetegi looking quite Orlando Bloomish.  

And ... check out this VIDEO we shot of "Real Love!"  This song inserts my right back into the thick of the festival.  It hasn't even been 24 hours (as of post publishing) since I shot it, but already I can it quickly becoming one of my personal Fun Fun 2010 high points.

The crowd during "Real Love."

I adore this shot.

EAVESDROPPER INTERVIEW: Fun Fun Fun Fest's CHRIS TREW talks Air Sex.

Fact: It is Sunday.

Fact: Fun Fun Fun Fest is currently blowing my mind.

Fact: We are doing a handful of Fun Fun Fest posts this weekend / forthcoming week on Austin Eavesdropper, and our first comes courtesy of local comedy hero, Chris Trew.

Fact: Chris and I are about to talk about Air Sex, a live comedy show invented in Japan, and arguably perfected here in Austin, Texas.

Fact: I feel a little bit dirty / sinful posting about Air Sex on the Lord's Day.

Fact: Chris Trew's delightful personality cancels out 99.9% of my guilt, and when you listen to our interview below, I think you (and possibly the Lord) will understand why. 

But before we begin. It should be said that, as a music festival, one of Fun Fun's many unique qualities is its embrace of live comedy. In just its fourth year, Fun Fun has grown from an underground, primarily punk rock/electro music festival, to a large - and almost always sold-out - festival of multiple music stripes.  Transmission Entertainment, who hosts Fun Fun, likes to mix up-and-comers (such as MGMT in 2007, who played to a then-tiny crowd) with nostalgic hardcore rock (Danzig in 2009, Gwar in 2010).  And every year, they also manage to lasso some outstanding stand-up comics for the weekend line-up.

The guiding logic being: Next to dancing your ass off, what is better than laughing it off?

Chris is a buddy of mine, and has graciously involved me in a few of his shows at the New Movement Theater.  Now, I am way too dorky/Pollyanna to enter his now-famous Air Sex Competition at Alamo Drafthouse, the ballsier, more inappropriate sibling of Alamo's Air Guitar Competition.

But, I am IN AWE of the contestants.

 Photo courtesy Alamo Drafthouse.

Because Air Sex is hilarious, irreverent, and pokes some much-needed fun at a topic we all probably take a little too seriously, Chris and his crew will be performing TONIGHT at Fun Fun Fun Fest, 7:05pm on the Yellow Stage. They are fresh off their second U.S. tour, judging faux thrusters all over this great nation.

Chris kindly spoke to me by phone last week about Air Sex, and I asked him:

How did you get involved in Air Sex?
What makes an Air Sex performer successful?
Do they "do it" differently in different parts of the country?

[ALSO:  "HALF MAN, HALF BEARD" -- the new album by Chris Trew's alter ego Terp 2 It -- will be also be on-sale at Fun Fun.]

enjoy!   Note: This is an experiment for audio interviews on Austin Eavesdropper, and our very first one, so be kind!  The sound quality will improve, as will the ratio of my own laughter to actual question-asking.



Fellow Eavesdroppers:

What do you think of Air Sex?
What do you think of this interview?
Who else would you like us to speak with, audio-style, on Austin Eavesdropper?

UPDATE: How embarrassing! The site where we store audio files is down, down, down until further notice, hence the silent, non-working clip. 

Who else thinks the Lord may have very well smote this interview?