de la soul - Austin Town Hall

I Was A Tourist In My Own Town

November 6, 2014 brian.gray

I know FFF9 is upon us, but I would like to reflect on Formula One. It is something you here on the news. It is what many of you mistakenly call that thing out there on the east side of the airport. A long time fan, F1 weekend is just like a music festival to me. It is three days of party and day-drinking. But F1 weekend, with help from Transmission, has actually been able to provide a bit of music festival to go with the festival of speed.

You see, having Circuit of the Americas in Austin is a rather special thing. It is the only track to host Formula One in the United States and that means nearly a half-billion worldwide viewers know where we are and what we do. It hosts MotoGP, Tudor United and World Endurance Championship. It also has a big-ass music venue and that cool Loch Ness monster looking tower. Like I said, it is kind of a big deal. COTA is also nice enough to host Fan Fest downtown. This year, I hit night one with the Haloween crowd Friday and was lucky enough to check out Duran Duran Saturday. You will get a few DD cause I already posted the big gallery, but you will get plenty of Broncho, Devotchka, De La Soul, crowd shots and stuff from the track. I skipped Kid Rock, though regretting that a little. O_o

Fun Fun Fest Recap: BGray Edition

November 9, 2012 brian.gray Leave a comment

I usually end up putting in more miles around a festival then those other two guys. That means I usually see and more importantly hear more bands than the average festival goer.

This year, I was able to relax a bit on Friday as I was with out photo pit access. Once all that was remedied, it was full steam ahead. I had plenty of fun chasing the sound. We’ll start with a Top 5 bands and then hit on festival observations.

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FFF 2012: Sunday In Pictures

November 8, 2012 brian.gray Leave a comment

Final day. Your feet, lungs and liver have taken a beating, but the pain feels good now.

I had a busy slate of things I wanted to check out on Sunday. I started bright and early to catch favorite locals on the upswing and kept after through the headliner. Final installment of shots from FFF7 will bring you Flesh Lights, Ume, Balmorhea, Cult of Youth, Bleached, A Place to Bury Strangers, Class Actress, Trust, Deerhoof, The Promise Ring, Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Black Angles, De La Soul and Edward Sharpe.

Tons of eye candy after the break.

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FT5: British Bands of the 2000s

February 12, 2010 Vijay 9 comments

In the 60s it was the Beatles, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones. In the 80s it was Duran Duran, Eurythmics, and New Order. I wouldn’t say it was an “invasion,” but here are some of the best British bands of the past decade. Sorry, Susan Boyle didn’t make the list.
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FTC: A Tribe Called Quest

September 3, 2009 -1893llzws 3 comments

I know I’m new here and don’t mean to rock the boat too much with bringing up hip hop, but when I think about a record that deserves to be taken from the shelf and dusted off, I always default to A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory. The Low End Theory is quickly coming up on its nineteenth anniversary, which shows two things: 1. I am getting old and 2. This record truly is timeless. The meshing of the larger than life drum loops, the smooth upright bass, and the honey soaked rhymes of Q-Tip and Phife Dawg makes you feel like you are listening to something from the past, present and future. If you will allow me to go a little “get off my lawn” for a moment I feel blessed to have known hip hop when it was at this stage; where groups like The Tribe and De La Soul turned these cold elements into a vital artifact. Pop Matters music editor David Heaton wrote, “Any 30-second snippet of The Low End Theory will go further to convince of the album’s greatness than anything I can write.” I’ll give you four minutes with A Tribe Called Quest’s “Vibes and Stuff”.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Vibes-And-Stuff-1.mp3]

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