Our family actually spent much of last week in Austin, Texas, where my mom and brother and his family live (and where I spent a number of years growing up). We met my one-and-only nephew for the first time (cute kid), saw the water rushing out of Mansfield Dam as the region recovered from a 50-year-flood, and generally hung out and avoided responsibility. We also lost the keys to the rental car right before we headed back to the airport (note to self: never give keys to your 2-year-old, no matter how desperate you are to occupy him while you finish packing).
Well, that last issue won't be a problem this September when my daughter and I head back to Austin to attend the great Austin City Limits Festival, from September 14 through 16. That's right, Zooglobble goes on the road for the first time. We'll be wandering around, talking to artists at Austin Kiddie Limits, checking out some of the other bands (see my draft and incredibly unrealistic given that I'm traveling with a 6-year-old schedule here), and, assuming that there is a) a press tent, and b) it has a high-speed internet connection, providing some reasonably live coverage of the event.
We've got press passes, housing (thanks, Mom!), and plane tickets. Now, the plane tickets are acutally to Dallas (that's what I get for waiting so long to make reservations), but that'll give me a chance to show the plains of Central Texas to my daughter, who's not been on I-35 before.
Am I missing a band I should check out? Any tips for attending a kids music festival with a 6-year-old? Any of you going to be there? Let me know!
Austin Kiddie Limits Schedule Set (along with a few other bands)
Well, the schedule for the 2007 Austin City Limits Festival was announced today, which is a good thing, seeing as the three-day passes are sold out and those without tickets must now resort to individual day passes. (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3)
Of course, you don't really care that Bjork is headlining Day 1, do you? Or that you'll have to choose between the Arcade Fire and the White Stripes on Saturday? Oh, yes, you probably do, because even if you don't care about Bjork, there are lots of other people who do, and so if you want to see particular bands on the Austin Kiddie Limits stage, you better keep in mind that those lots of people who want to see Bjork don't care that you really want to see a kids set from Sara Hickman -- they'll have bought all the tickets in advance.
Unfortunately, the organizers have done a good job of forcing people to buy all three days' worth of tickets spreading the quality acts all around -- there's no single day that's head-and-shoulders above the rest. (Except, of course, when they're scheduling great acts at the same time -- I'm lookin' at you, Wilco and My Morning Jacket on Sunday night.)
Anyway, here are the Austin Kiddie Limits times:
Friday, Sept. 14th
Sara Hickman, 11:30 - 11:50
Bummkinn Band, 12:30 - 12:50
Jambo, 1:30 - 1:50
Daddy-A-Go-Go, 2:30 - 2:50
Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars: 3:30 - 3:50
Saturday, Sept. 15th
Bummkinn Band, 11:30 - 11:50
Jambo, 12:30 - 12:50
Sippy Cups, 1:30 - 1:50
Sippy Cups, 2:30 - 2:50
Farmer Jason, 3:30 - 3:50
Sunday, Sept. 16th
We Go To 11, 11:30 - 11:50
Farmer Jason, 12:30 - 12:50
The Jellydots, 1:30 - 1:50
Q Brothers, 2:30 - 2:50
Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars, 3:30 - 3:50
Austin Kiddie Limits: The Early Guide
Anyone who's read Neal Pollack's Alternadad knows that Neal's family's experience 2 or 3 years agao at the Austin City Limits Festival, though not a debacle on the level of Woodstock '99, wasn't a familial high point, either.
Still, that's not gonna bring the fine friends at the ACL Festival down, because once again they're organizing Austin Kiddie Limits, a separate stage just for the young folk at this year's edition scheduled for September 14 through 16, 2007. (Note: that's "young folk," not "Young Folks" -- Peter Bjorn & John are on an entirely different stage.)
In any case, I'll leave the obsessive "this lineup is awesome/this lineup is sucks" discussion for the 93% of the lineup not specifically for the kids to other websites; this is the place for the obsessive "this lineup is awesome/this lineup is sucks" discussion pertaining to kids music.
Now, the lineup can be basically divided into two categories:
1) Adults Playing For Kids
2) Kids Playing For Adults
In the former category, you have the following:
-- The Sippy Cups -- Psychedelic-inspired kids rock, with a hint of punk and Replacements tossed in. Also, costumes. As a result, those attending ACL for Bob Dylan and Bjork might find them slightly amusing.
-- Daddy A Go Go -- Straight-ahead rock 'n' roll with a side of smart-aleckness. It's exactly as if ACL artist LCD Soundsystem played Southern-fried rock with teenagers. OK, it's nothing like that, but until Jimmy Buffett plays ACL Fest, I got nothin'.
-- Farmer Jason -- Countryfied rock without a trace of irony. The obvious parental equivalent would be Jason and the Scorchers, but no dice.
-- Sara Hickman -- I understand from the folks in charge that she'll be pulling double-duty, playing both an adult and the kids stage.
-- Q Brothers -- Good-time hip-hop and rap. (Is there any other kind for kids? I mean, is gangsta rap for youngsters doomed to be forever untapped?
-- Jambo Kidz -- Bluesy stuff from LA
-- Bummkinn Band -- Gentle country for the kids. Not Shania Twain country, much more traditional.
-- Jellydots -- If you've been reading this website for any length of time, you're familiar with Doug Snyder and his band, The Jellydots. Awesome stuff.
In the second category are bands made up of youngsters or recently-adulted young folks. I really got nothing on these three except that the School of Rock has a Police song up on AKL's Myspace page (a perfectly acceptable version, and timely to boot), and the Steps is an Austin-based band.
-- Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars
-- The Steps
-- We Go To 11
As 2 1/2 afternoons of music go, pretty good. (And the evenings, not for the kiddos, might have a band or two worth catching...) If we can avoid chucking juice boxes onto the stage, then even better.
More details to come.
Austin City Limits Festival: Hey, We're Humid, Too!
The Austin City Limits Festival announced their 2006 lineup today and it includes kids music artists you might know such as Sara Hickman, Terri Hendrix, Joe McDermott, Imagination Movers, and Asheba.
Take that, Lollapalooza!
And just as with Lollapalooza, there are a good 30-40 other artists worth your time.
The 2006 edition will be held Sept. 15 - 17. And, as an ex-longtime resident of Austin, I can assure you that it could (OK, will) be just as humid as Chicago in early August. But the pace is much more relaxed. And you're right around the corner from Chuy's Barton Springs location...
(Of course, I post this knowing that the idea of families flying to Austin for the weekend for a concert festival is a bit, erm, far-fetched for all but the most devoted and affluent. But still.)
