We’re Not Dead Yet Pt. 2

After a recently-relocated-to-Austin coworker went to Blues on the Green was stunned by the number of people and quality of the show, I figured I would check in on the last show of the season to see what’s doing. After all, live music is dying in Austin.

Shakey Graves has been on a roll lately, playing to bigger and bigger crowds at festivals, getting booked on late night television. Fellow photographers that were at Lolla said his set was a festival highlight. The local boy, born and raised, is poised to be a big export. Blues on the Green is certainly not pigeon-holing artists to the blues anymore as they also threw Hail-Mary with Rider Against the Storm, a hip-hop collective of good musicians and two-time winners of the Austin Music Awards’ Band of the Year.

Read on for a few thoughts and plenty of pics…

If you haven’t been to BotG lately, then you have no idea what a monster it is becoming. It is an ACL side stage big, blankets, strollers, kids, weed, smuggled in beer, bike racks, vendors, sponsors, lights, traffic control – it is kind of a big deal. They do seem to have everything well sorted and scaled to support the crowds. They have several cooling stations and misting fans for those like me that melt in humid hawt. While a brief rain shower cooled things off, I would have preferred dry heat to the swamp air.

VIP upgrades seem like a nice experience with private bars and restrooms and side stage access. You feel like a VIP. But the deal is BotG is free and with that, people have lessened expectations. The sound away from the front may not be all that great, but this isn’t ACL despite the similar crowd size for a single stage. Other cities have similar events, but I doubt many have them at this scale. We have the head start; I remember going to BotG at the Arboretum and then Shady Grove. I saw some great music at both. With acts like Jimmy Vaughn with Steve Miller and Jamestown Revival, attendees are getting quality music.

So with all of the announcements thanking sponsors and telling people to be nice to the neighbors, I wished for one thing – encourage this enormous crowd to go spend money on tickets to see these local artists on the way up. It wasn’t long ago that Shakey Graves was playing Scoot Inn on a Wednesday night or Free Week sets at The Parish, and not even the headliner for the night. You can’t tell the story about seeing a band before they blow up with out seeing the band before they blow up and I just wanted to grab the mic and remind people that you can see musicians this good any night of the week. But there is always next year. On to the music…

There is no doubt as to why Riders Against the Storm have a great following. There is a ton of energy on stage and you have elements of hip-hop, Latin jazz, blues and R&B. The band knows they are good and I could see them going into a cold room, a random crowd not having any idea who they are or what they are about and walk way smiling having just had a great time. Keep tuned for Weird City Fest news, I imagine our Tactic Lopez is pretty amped for it.Weird City Fest

Every Austin music fan is likely aware of Shakey Graves and the solo performances that have garnered praise form critics and fans, but Shakey Graves is no longer just Alejandro Rose-Garcia. For much of the newer material, Alejandro is performing with Patrick O’Connor on stringed things and Chris Boosahda on drums, who also gets a recording/producing credit on the latest release. Later in the set, a fiddler joined to up the ante. Big time energy on stage here. I got so many jump shots, I had to Sophie’s Choice my edits. The near 30,000 on hand were quite happy with what was had fromtheir admission fee, i.e. the sweaty walk to parking. This certainly was a preview for ACL and I expect a big crowd for both bands during the fest.

Final side note – Despite the heat and challenging lights (for a guy wearing a hat), I had amazing fun shooting. I want to thank KGSR and the sponsors for the hospitality and access. So thanks…