Playlist, 2/29 and Donnas Giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who tuned in today.  We didn't have a huge pool for our Donna's tickets, so for kicks, we're holding off on giving those away for a few days.  If you didn't catch the show and want to win a pair of guest list passes, just leave your name and email address in the comments or email it to me at antennastoheaven.wrvu AT gmail.com by this Tuesday at noon.  We'll draw a winner then!

I'm out of town next week, so I'll miss the radioshow and all of you.  Headed out to Chicago for some job interviews.  Wish me luck!

1. Plastic Operator, "The Pleasure is Mine" from Different Places

2. Silver Jews, "We are Real" from American Water

3. Hanne Huckkelburg, "A Cheater's Armoury" from Rykestrasse 68

4. Das Pop, "Fool for Love" from Fool for Love

5. Vampire Weekend, "Campus" from Vampire Weekend (R)

6. Cake Bake Betty, "The Spine Song" from Songs about Teeth

7. Apples in Stereo, "Seems So" from Tone Soul Evolution

8. Camera Obscura, "Suspended from Class" from Underachievers Please Try Harder"

9. The Donnas, "Don't Wait Up For Me" from Bitchin'

Anna's Set:

10. Doug Martsch, "Offer" from Doug Martsch

11. Blitzen Trapper, "Summer Town" from Wild Mountain

12. Air, "Mayfair Song" from Pocket Symphony

13. Boys Noize, "My Moon My Man" from Oi Oi Oi

14. Gorillaz, "Feel Good Inc. (Stanton Warriors Remix)" from D-Sides

15. AmpLive, "Video Tapez" from Rainy Dayz Remixes

16. The Fashion, "Like Knives" from Like Knives EP

17. Die! Die! Die!, "Promises, Promises" from Promises, Promises

18. The Delicious, "One Leg" from The Delicious The Delicious

19. Destroyer, "Introducing Angels" from Trouble in Dream

20. Kelley Stoltz, "The Birmingham Eccentric" from Circular Sounds

21. Dan Deacon, "The Crystal Cat" from Spiderman of the Rings

22. Ssion, "Clown" from Fool's Gold

23. Friendly Fires, "Paris" from Paris

24. Meemaw, "Fever Dreaming" (Unreleased)

25. Cake Bake Betty, "Backbones (Dead Dead Sounds)" from Songs About Teeth!

26. The Guillemots, "Get Over It" from Get Over It

27. The Wombats, "Kill the Director" from The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss, and Desparation

Take a peek...

At all the shows added to the toolbar at your right.  A ton of new stuff has been added.  Highlights include two free in-store performances at Grimeys (Hotpipes on 3/11 and Blitzen Trapper on 3/19), The Fuck Cancer Benefit on 3/27, and of course, Sonic Youth coming by City Hall on 4/25!

More details on the Sonic Youth show:

Tickets go onsale THIS THURSDAY at 10 am.  They're $25 bucks each, probably with some ticketmaster fees thrown in.  Presale link is here and the presale password is DAYDREAM.  

I'm hoping to post later tonight on the Bill Callahan/Caitlin Rose show tomorrow, but if I don't get to, (midterm week at Vanderbilt = TONS of work) hope some of you make it out!  It's going to be a killer show.  

Playlist, 2/22

Thanks to everyone who tuned in this week.  Hope you enjoyed having Sarah and Davis from Nite Nite in as much as I did, and I hope some of you were able to make it out to their show!  You can still catch them tomorrow at 8 off 8th, happening at the Mercy for free (21 and up only, sorry!).  

Here's this week's playlist: a little disjointed, pleasant nonetheless.  

Black Mountain, "Stormy High" from In the Future

The Donnas, "Don't Wait Up For Me"  from Bitchin'

Horowitz, "Popkids of the World, Unite!"

The Magnetic Fields, "I'll Dream Alone" from Distortion

Elliot Smith, "Baby Britain" from XO

We All Have Hooks for Hands, "Jumpin Jean-Luc" from The Pretender

Brooke Waggoner, "So-So" from Fresh Pair of Eyes

The Smiths, "Panic"

Guillemots, "Made Up Love Song #43" from Euro Express

Nite Nite, "Hello, I'm Melancholy" from Self-titled EP

Nite Nite Live on Antennas to Heaven

Nite Nite, "These Days" from Self-titled EP

Nite Nite Live on Antennas to Heaven

Bon Iver, "Flume" from For Emma, Forever Ago

British Sea Power, "No Lucifer" from Do You Like Rock Music?

Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk" from Vampire Weekend

William D. Drake, "Serendipity Doodah" from Briny Hooves

Anna's Set:

Thievery Corporation, "Mother Africa Feeding Sista India" from Funda Mental

K-Os, "One Hood" from Joyful Rebellion

Metric, "Empty" from Live It Out

Bonobo, "Dinosaurs" from Animal Magic

Cat Power, "New York" from Jukebox

The Mattoid, "Mrs. Fisherman" from The Glory Holy

Rites of Spring comes eeking in...

Vanderbilt's yearly music festival, Rites of Spring, has a history of prevailing in hosting a fantastic diverse lineup, from local artists to indie favorites to old-time hits.  Among the clamors of "Who the hell's that band" two years ago, we had Clap Your Hands Say Yeah play an incredible show, and last year we had locals Bang Bang Bang as well as the Dynamites, a fantastic local funk group with Charles Walker as their charismatic frontman.  This year's lineup (happening April 18th and 19th) has yet to be officially released, but artists are starting to post our lovely little campus as a stop on their newly released tours, so we have two killer leaks already:

I'm WAY excited about these two already.  The official list should be released mid-March.  If you're a Vandy student, count your blessings, since we get in for about thirty bucks cheaper than the general public, but still--the forty-dollar general admission ticket is starting to look like it might be worth its while.  More to come.

Everything going on with the radioshow, plus: Who do YOU want to play at the WRVU benefit?

You may have noticed from the sidebar that I've added a ton of giveaways in the upcoming weeks.  

In case you haven't, here's all you've got to look forward to:

This week: Nite Nite live in-station.  Look for a post coming tomorrow!

Feb. 29: Win 2 guest list passes to see The Donnas on 3/11/08 at Exit/In

Mar. 7: I am out of town.  Sorry.

Mar. 14: Win 2 guest list passes to see N.E.R.D. on 3/18/08 at City Hall!  Also, Happy Birthday Amy might be coming in, assuming I don't have to work at the theatre and can't do my show this day.

Mar. 21: Meemaw live in-station.  Going to be really incredible.

Mar. 28: Win 2  guest list passes to see The Weakerthans on 3/29/08 at Exit/In

Also, WRVU is in the process of arranging our second annual WRVU/WMTS benefit on April 12 at The End!  Right now we've got Meemaw scheduled to play, and we're working on scheduling other bands as we speak.  (It's looking to be an Infinity Cat showdown.)  But things are still in the works, so if you've got someone local you'd like to see play, let me know!  Leave a message and contact info for them if you have it, and we'll look at adding them to our superior lineup of artists.  Keep in mind, we're poor (college radio equals ALWAYS poor) so we're going for local bands that deserve some press and will play a killer show, rather than indie headliners from across the nation.  WRVU's all about supporting its own, Nashvillians.

Playlist, 1/15

Sorry for the delay this week, but I've been working at the Nashville Ballet and last night was closing, so I needed my rest.  if any of you made out to the show last night, I played the voice of God and gave you your preshow announcements.  Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.

Amy LaVere was a delight to have on the show on Friday, and I hope to put the entire interview segment up at some point, but it's a huge file and still needs to be chopped up before I can host it.  In the meantime, I've got the three songs from the live show below for you.  They're very, very raw, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless.

Amy is touring all around the south for the next few months, and playing a couple of festivals this summer, so check out her webpage to catch her next time she comes through your town.

Did anyone notice on Friday that I apparently get a lot more southern when interviewing southern artists?  I felt my drawl out in a serious way.  It was almost amusing.

Playlist:

1. Amy LaVere, "Killing Him" from Anchors and Anvils

2. The Delicious, "It's Not Time to Die" from The Delicious The Delicious

Out of Indiana, a pet favorite of mine, partially because frontman David 

Woodruff sold me this art about a year and a half ago: 

3. Brooke Waggoner, "Hush if You Must" from Fresh Pair of Eyes

A recent local.  Get the complete copy of her EP here in exchange for your email and contact info.  I will say, I did it, and I have yet to get any ridiculous mail from her or her label.

4. Elf Power, "Spiral Stairs" from In a Cave

Out March 25.

5. The Mai Shi, "Young Marks" from Hillyh

New release from last week.

6. Man Man, "Top Drawer" from Rabbit Habbits

Out April 8.

7. Amy LaVere, "Take 'Em or Leave 'Em" from This World is Not My Home

Amy LaVere Live: "Overcome"

Talkin'.

Amy LaVere Live: "That Beat"

8. Amy Lavere, "Pointless Drinking" from Anchors and Anvils

Talkin'.

Amy LaVere Live: "Washing Machine"

9. Umbrella Tree, "Beetle in Trouble" from What Kind of Books Do You Read?

10. Vampire Weekend, "Mansard Roof" from Vampire Weekend

11. No Kids, "I Love the Weekend" from Come Into My House

12. Jared Micah and Hats, "Precious Needs a Spoon in her Mouth" from T.C.H.T.O.B.

13. British Sea Power, "A Trip Out" from Do  You Like Rock Music?

14. Locksley, "Don't Make Me Wait" from Don't Make Me Wait

15. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, "The Ballad of the Sin Eater" from Hearts of Oak

16. The Mountain Goats, "Autoclave" from Heretic Pride

Out this Tuesday!

17. Explosions in the Sky, "Glittering Blackness" from How Strange, Innocence

18. Black Mountain, "Tyrants" from In the Future

19. The Protomen, "Unrest in the House of Light" from The Protomen

20. Hot Chip, "One Pure Thought" from Made in the Dark

21. The Black Keys, "Strange Times" from Attack and Release

Minimix: We should be whispering all the time.

I've been moved by the posts of other bloggers to put up my own Valentine's reminiscing.  I've only had one true Valentine's date ever, last year, and we got in a fight.  So that was darling.  In high school though, my very best friend, Taylor Hutchison, snuck into my house and brought me roses one year.  That was by far the best Valentine's day I've had.

I'm not one of those that's deathly against it though.  I was rather apathetic about the whole deal for a long time.  This year, I'll be spending this evening working at the Nashville Ballet, backstage with a slew of codpieces and dog collars and near-naked gay men.  Delightful.

So below, are songs kinda sorta about love or something approximating it, and for mostly my pleasure, some of my favorite lines from each.  Enjoy!

Also, don't forget, we've got Amy LaVere in the station tomorrow at 4:30 before her show at The Basement with Those Darlins--sure to be a good one.  Amy's absolutely incredible, a really stunning person, and extremely talented, so if I don't have time for a post later on today, make sure to tune in tomorrow from 4-6pm!

Devendra Banhart, "The Body Breaks" from Rejoicing in the Hands

"The body burns, yeah the body burns strong, until mine is with yours then mine will burn on.  My flesh sings out, it sings 'come put me out.'"

The Magnetic Fields, "100,000 Fireflies" from Distant Plastic Trees

"Why do we keep shrieking, when we mean soft things?  We should be whispering all the time."

Cinerama, "Your Charms" from Cinerama Holiday

"I just can't think clearly when I'm in your arms, and my heart is pounding..how pathetic is this sounding?"

Of Montreal, "Everything Disappears" from Cherry Peel

"Birds have no heads when you come around.  Everything loses its legs when you come around."

Pitchfork..... whaaaat?

I had to share this with the rest of you because I thought it so absurd.  An anonymous commenter on the below post pointed out that a day after it was posted, Pitchfork put up their review of Do You Like Rock Music?.

In case you missed that....

Pitchfork gets more and more out of control.  Feel free to read the review to see why exactly the album warranted a U.2 rating, but seriously, Pitchfork.  Soon I'll only be loving you for the cheap yearly festival.

British Sea Power: Make that $120.

I'm thrilled to hear that in support of their new album, Do You Like Rock Music? British Sea Power are expanding their tour and coming to Nashville this May.  While that's wonderful news unto itself, they'll be playing the last leg of the tour with The Rosebuds, a fantastic duo out of my hometown, Raleigh.  Their last album, 2007's Night of the Furies, cranked up the synthesizers and drum machines on their previously airily etched music, churning out a fantastic record with both passion and playfulness.  It's sure to be a killer combination of bands, so at around $15 for a ticket, I'll be adding that to my tab for the spring.  God, being a music lover gets expensive.

Check out the complete tour dates below, courtesy of You Ain't No Picasso.

British Sea Power, "Waving Flags" from Do You Like Rock Music?

British Sea Power,"Fear of Drowning" from The Decline of British Sea Power

The Rosebuds, "Get Up Get Out" from Night of the Furies

The Rosebuds, "Blue Bird" from Birds Make Good Neighbors

British Sea Power Tour Dates
Feb 25 San Diego, CA @ Casbah w/ Colourmusic
Feb 27 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo w/ Colourmusic
Feb 28 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland w/ Colourmusic
Feb 29 Visalia, CA @ Cellar Door w/ Colourmusic
Mar 01 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (NoisePop) w/ Colourmusic
Mar 03 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir w/ Colourmusic
Mar 04 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s w/ Colourmusic
Mar 05 Vancouver, BC @ Plaza Club w/ Colourmusic
Mar 08 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive w/ Colourmusic
Mar 12 New York NY @ Late Show w/David Letterman
Mar 13-16 Austin TX @ SxSW
Mar 19 Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room w/ Colourmusic
Mar 20 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews w/ Colourmusic
Mar 21 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock w/ Colourmusic
Mar 22 Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club w/ 1900’s
Mar 24 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle w/ 1900’s
Mar 25 Pontiac, MI @ Eagle Theatre w/ 1900’s
Mar 26 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop w/ 1900’s
Mar 27 Columbus, OH @ The Basement w/ 1900’s
Mar 28 Louisville, KY @ Phoenix Hill Tavern w/ 1900’s
Mar 29 St. Louis, MO @ Billiken Club w/ 1900’s
Apr 11 TBC
Apr 12 Austin, TX @ Club Deville
Apr 13 Houston, TX @ Engine Room
Apr 15 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
Apr 16 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
Apr 17 Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder - Florida State University
Apr 18 Orlando, FL @ The Social
Apr 19 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
Apr 20 Mount Pleasant, SC @ Village Tavern
Apr 21 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl Apr 22 Birmingham, AB @ Bottletree
Apr 23 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
May 1 Columbia, MO @ Mojo’s w/ The Rosebuds
May 2 Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s w/ The Rosebuds
May 3 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge w/ The Rosebuds
May 4 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle w/ The Rosebuds
May 6 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle w/ The Rosebuds
May 7 Charlottesville, VA @ Satelite Ballroom w/ The Rosebuds
May 8 Washington, DC @ Black Cat w/ The Rosebuds
May 9 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s w/ The Rosebuds
May 10 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom w/ The Rosebuds
May 11 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ The Rosebuds
May 13 Boston, MA @ Paradise w/ The Rosebuds
May 14 TBC May 15 Montreal, QUE @ La Sala Rossa w/ The Rosebuds
May 16 Toronto, ONT @ Lee’s Palace w/ The Rosebuds
May 17 Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf w/ The Rosebuds
May 18 TBC

Playlist, 2/7

Thanks to everyone who tuned in and called in today, except for the guy who offered the loaded compliment of "Your show's a lot better now!  You just seem to have more self-confidence than you did last semester."  Call me hypersensitive, but I've been doing this show for two years now, and self-confidence is not the issue.  It bites to get feedback like that.  You start looking back at the entirety of your radio history and doubting whether it's been any good.  I can handle people telling me they don't like the music I play, or they don't like my talk breaks, or hell, even that they don't like me, but I don't like strangers making judgments about my self-esteem.  Lay off.

That aside, I had some excellent requests, spoke to some really nice people, and discovered that more people are into the movie Jumper than I had imagined.  Or possibly, more people are into free stuff than I had imagined.

So yay, more free stuff below!  But I will say, one final time, if you buy any album this month, let it be Black Mountain's In the Future.  I got my ticket Wednesday.  See you there?

1. Arcade Fire, "No Cars Go" from Neon Bible (R)

2. Corey Dargel, "Gay Cowboys" from Less Famous Than You

3. Amy LaVere, "That Beat" from Anchors and Anvils 

4. will.i.am, "Yes We Can Song" (Internet Release)

5. The Felice Brothers, "Frankie's Gun" from Adventures of the Felice Brothers

6. Bonde Do Role, "Gasolina" from With Lasers

7. Danielson, "Did I Step On Your Trumpet?" from Ships (R)

8. British Sea Power, "Canvey Island" from Do You Like Rock Music?

9. Robbers on High Street, "Japanese Girls" from Tree City

10. Wrens, "Surprise, Honeycomb" from Seacaucus

11. Magnetic Fields, "Drive On, Driver" from Distortion

12. Black Mountain, "Wucan" from In the Future

13. Sound Team, "Your Eyes are Liars" from Movie Monster

14. Vampire Weekend, "Campus" from Vampire Weekend

15. The Clientele, "(I Want You) More Than Ever" from Suburban Light

16. The Helio Sequence, "The Captive Mind" from Keep Your Eyes Ahead

17. Smog, "Rock Bottom Riser" from A River Ain't Too Much To Love (R)

18. Bon Iver, "Skinny Love" from For Emma, Forever Ago

19. Goldfrapp, "A&E" from A&E EP

20. Destroyer, "Students Carve Hearts Out of Coal" from This Night (R)

21. Hot Chip, "Ready for the Floor" from Made in the Dark

22. MGMT, "Electric Feel" from Oracular Spectacular

23. Simian Mobile Disco, "State of Things" from EP

24. MSTRKRFT, "Work on You" from The Looks

Vote tomorrow!

Regardless of who you support, if you're in a state with a primary tomorrow (today, really) here's my one plea for you to go vote.  I already feel loads better about all of the potential candidates in this upcoming election than I did last round.  I voted last Thursday at one of the early voting sites, so I'll just be sitting around here waiting for results to come in.

In case you have any curiosity as to who I voted for:

Support Barack here.

Find out where to vote here.

Start saving your money, Nashvillians.

As you may have noticed peering at the sidebar, we've got a ton of big-name acts (and slightly lesser acts that I'm even more excited about) coming up this March and April around town.

WILCO @ The Ryman, 3.2.08, sold out about three months ago.  PRICE: GOOD LUCK.

Yeah, okay.  I'm over this show already.  I saw them on I guess what could be called their Kicking Television tour, and yes, it was killer, but I'm not heartbroken that I won't be at this one.  If you're nuts to see them, feel free to start ebay-hunting and making friends at the Ryman and camping out on 5th Avenue trying to buy tickets for double the price.  Have fun!

"Misunderstood" from Being There

BLACK MOUNTAIN @ Exit/In, 3.10.08.  PRICE: $14

Holy hell am I excited.  Mark my words, In the Future will make the top ten of the year for me.  If you haven't listened to it yet, go get it, it's eleven bucks at Jagjaguwar, and you can also download a sampling of their music at the website.  Dark and heavy and delicious.  I'm gonna go put it on right now, actually.  And now that I'm listening to it, I'm having fantasies about a Protomen/Black Mountain show.  That would be killer.

"Tyrants" from In the Future

BLACK LIPS @ The Mercy, 3.20.08. PRICE: $12

Not that I'm promoting pointless showiness, but... "The Black Lips have a reputation for crazy live shows that have included vomiting, urinating, nudity, band members kissing, fireworks, and a chicken."  Just saying.

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS @ The Mercy, 3.25.08.  PRICE: $15 advance.

So I was lucky enough to catch Stephen from the front row at Pitchfork this summer, but an acoustic show never really does it in a field full of people.  Plus, Pig Lib really was meant to be played with a backing band.  Plus, the few songs I've heard from Real Emotional Trash, which gets released March 4, are fantastic.

"Baltimore" from Real Emotional Trash

TOKYO POLICE CLUB @ Exit/In, 4.8.08.  PRICE: No one knows yet.  Probably like $15.

You've probably heard me gush about Tokyo Police Club before, and also the fact that they've got all of thirty-three minutes of released music, but that doesn't stop them from playing a hell of a lot of live shows and having a strong fan base wherever they go.  They did just announce that their first ever album, Elephant Shell, is finally finished and will be 'tested' on tour soon.  Plus, they're playing with the phenomenal Eagle*Seagull.  Sure to be a great show.

"Your English is Good" from Elephant Shell

CARIBOU @ The Mercy, 4.8.08.  PRICE: $10.

Oh god, decisions, decisions.  Caribou or Tokyo Police Club?  The Mercy has its ups and downs as a venue--it's way easier to find parking at Exit/In, the Mercy has a smoker's deck (usually PACKED), at Exit/In no one cares if you dump your drink on the floor.  Take your  pick.  Either show promises to delight.

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS @ The Cannery, 4.18.08.  PRICE: $22 advance.

I love this band dearly, but I actually might miss this one for a few reasons.  1) I hate the Cannery.  About 15% of the crowd actually gets a decent view of the stage.  The rest are pacified by the easy access to the bar.  2) I'm going to be broke by this time, and also in the process of saving for summer, so I may have to pass.  3) Exam time.  4) I saw these guys at Pitchfork.  On the other hand, there's nothing like the intimacy of fighting your way to the front of the stage.

"The Laws Have Changed" from The Electric Version  

DESTROYER @ The Mercy, 4.29.08.  PRICE: TBA.  It's the Mercy, so... $18?

I fell in love with 2001's Streethawk: A Seduction and have been tumbling since.  Daniel Bejar (of the New Porns) returns to Nashville a week and a half after their show, and I'm absolutely thrilled to see him in a more intimate setting than the fields of Pitchfork.  

"The Music Lovers" from Your Blues

So, to survive the onslaught of March and April, you'll need approximately $105, plus about $100 to cover your bar tab, plus $30 for the merch you'll cave and buy, plus I hope you work a day job.  Count your blessings, Nashville.  These are good problems to have.

(Let me know what shows I'm missing out on listing, and which ones I'll be seeing you all at.)

BONUS!

I kinda sorta kinda found a short-term music host, but I'm still looking for a better one, so in the meantime, here are two bonus tracks for you.  Both are from a show I did last summer when Cory Branan, Ben Nichols (of Lucero), and Amanda Shires came on before their show at the Mercy that night.  I try to record all the shows where I have guests on, so I can strip off the live songs later and pass those along as well as the interviews for my own enjoyment.  If I can, I'm going to put the entire show up sometime--it's quite entertaining--but in the meanwhile, try these:

Ben Nichols, "Last Night in Town"

Cory Branan, "Jumper Cables"

There are two great things about this song.  One, it's unreleased (and I believe this is the first recorded copy of it in any form), and two, you get to hear some live on-air mid-song interaction.  It's delightful.

Rumor Has It: Mucklewain 2008?

If you know me at all or listened to the show at all in the last six months, you know the two nights of whiskey and southern music and singing along with strangers that all but made 2007 for me: Mucklewain.

Four of us headed into east Tennessee at dusk on Friday evening, my tiny car crammed with a tent which we hardly slept in, a cooler full of beer and cheese sandwiches, and a trunk full of blankets and WRVU coozies, with a few toothbrushes thrown in just to keep up appearances.  We were there on official station business, as one of the sponsors of the 2007 festival, but only the coozies gave us away.  We had the radio cranked up, the booze on standby, spirits were high.  We really had no idea what to expect, but we were damn excited either way.

Now I know Lollapalooza, and Pitchfork, and all the indie-headlining festivals have their perks.  I've been to my fair share, crammed in with kids in Chuck Taylors and hipsters passing pot around, thrilled to finally see The New Pornographers but kind of wishing I wasn't craning my neck past the guy with the Radiohead tattoo and watching the giant television screens instead of the stage.  With a few key exceptions, those festivals tend to be about gathering together a ton of bands you'd love to see play, cramming them into two days, and hoping the heat doesn't get to you before Yo La Tengo does.  I hate the saga of plotting which bands I'll see, sacrificing some newcomer act so that I can get to the Girltalk stage six hours early and stake out my spot in the second row.  I hate planning meticulously so that we don't either run out of water or have to pee for four hours.  I hate that guy who keeps smoking next to me.  I hate that chick who decided to wear  her 'going out' outfit.  I'm tired of having five hundred strangers within five feet of me.  I love the music, and some of the people, and some of the atmosphere, but were I offered the chance to pay double and see the bands in the bar down the street, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Mucklewain is arguably the opposite.  Going in, I knew less than a dozen of the fifty or so acts playing throughout the weekend.  Coming out, it didn't matter.  I felt like friends with them all.  After forty-eight hours of scorching sun and icy nights, of sharing sleeping bags and tents and campfires and beer with whoever you happened to meet, of telling your life story to strangers and singing along to songs you didn't know you knew the words to, we were exhausted and dirty and smelly and happy.  Really, really happy.

Mucklewain understands what a festival's supposed to be, what I'm told it used to be when my parents were the ones in the crowd, in the generations before mp3 blogs and the Pitchfork dynasty.  Mucklewain has atmosphere.  Mucklewain has community.  Mucklewain is all the great things you associate with the south, the recklessness, the friendliness, the familiarity, the total lack of bounds between strangers and friends, between musicians and fans.  The crowd is there because they love music, not because one big name act dragged them there.  They don't go slinking off after the headliner plays.  In fact, you're hard-pressed to even figure out who the headliners are.  The musicians all know each other, come and go on each others' stages, slip in and out of each others' sets, come and stand in the crowd and sing along with us common folk.  By the end of the second night, you know them too.  You've bought them a beer, they brought you backstage and returned the favor.  You danced to Drivin N Cryin together.  You threw your arms around each other.  You forgot who it was you came with and who it was you're leaving with, the music's with you and you're a part of something, whether it's loud and raunchy and thumping on the mainstage, or quietly entranced on the songwriter side.  

The music itself was phenomenal as well.  You know that friend you have who always invites you out to local shows, passes along his favorite albums, has infallible taste in music worth listening to?  That friend is Mucklewain creater Joie Todd.  Along with the musicians I came dying to see (Amy LaVere, Bobby Bare Jr., Cory Branan, Lucero, Les Honky More Tonkies, etc.) I wasn't disappointed by a single act, and fell pretty crazily for a few of them.  Malcolm Holcombe was every bit the crazy genius I was told to expect, Shelly Colvin and Jeff Black played a moving folk-country duet, and Old Union played explosive rock that made me wonder why the hell I've never gone to see them play in Nashville.

It's a shame that the turnout wasn't better.  Whether because it wasn't advertised widely enough, the headliners weren't big enough, or southerners are just stingy with their cash, I felt for Joie Todd and the bands that played not knowing whether they'd be paid for their time.  Many of them didn't care.  Joie worked his ass off getting the festival together, and I wanted it to be a mad success for him.  In all ways except financially, it most certainly was, but it remains to be seen whether he can afford to take the same gamble this fall.

Rumors are flying that Mucklewain will in fact be returning to Tennessee for its third year running this September, despite the lackluster turnout and the financial woes it may or may not be facing.  I'm gonna keep wishing and praying until then that it does decide to give us all another chance.  If it does, I'll be talking about it nonstop on the radioshow, and I may even guide a caravan of cars down to the festival if need be.  Whatever it takes to get you all there.  We'll all stake our tents together and start making friends, Nashville-style.  I've spent the last four months craving Mucklewain, and I'll spend the next eight doing everything I can to make sure it happens again this year, and make sure you're there to enjoy it with me.  

It was, by far, the best vacation I have ever had.

MUCKLEWAIN.COM