Audio-Visuals

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS MUSIC FESTIVAL: LIVE FROM AUSTIN, TEXAS 2004
Directed by Bruce Green and Barry Weisman
(Rhino)
A generous two-DVD set, Austin City Limits Music Festival: Live From Austin, Texas 2004 is the perfect souvenir for those that attended the titular bash last year. That is, if you like the artists involved. That goes without saying for any various artists-type comp, of course, but this one in particular seems to lean heavily on acts that I personally avoided.

Bob Schneider gets things off to a shaky start with a gawdawful "Gold in the Sunset" and Ben Harper closes out with one of his blander tunes, "Brown Eyed Blues." In between the quality varies widely. Rachael Yamagata tries to fill the void left by the MIA Fiona Apple (which begs the question as to whether or not that void needed to be filled), the Pixies play a listless, where-the-hell-is-my-paycheck "Debaser," Jack Johnson is his usual dull-as-plywood self and Josh Rouse and the Old 97's trot out mediocrities that belie their considerable critical acclaim. Then there's Trey Anastasio; his rendition of his former band Phish's "First Tube" (a long jam, what else?) will thrill fans, but anyone not on the bus will consider this a long dead (or is that Dead?) spot. Kudos, however, to the producers for including The Soundtrack of Our Lives ("Sister Surround," from what was hands-down the best set at the Fest), the Drive-By Truckers ("The Day John Henry Died"), My Morning Jacket ("The Way That He Sings") and Calexico (the Tucson band's popular cover of Love's "Alone Again Or"). I'd pat them on the back for putting in Sloan as well, but "I am the Cancer" wasn't the most scintillating tune the Canadian combo played that day. Extra kudos to Pat Green, an artist I don't care for; for his cover of Jack Ingram's "One Thing," he's generous (and savvy) enough to bring out Ingram himself, a hard-working guy who deserves the same level of success Green enjoys. Other performers include Rosanne Cash, Howie Day, the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Neville Brothers, Shelby Lynne and the proverbial many more. Personally, I would like to have seen cuts from the dynamite performances by Elvis Costello and the Imposters (no doubt blocked by licensing issues) and Los Amigos Invisibles, but we can't have everything. If you were there, you'll want this to prod your memories. If you weren't, take a look at the cast and then decide if this is for you.

A one-disk companion CD is also available, condensing the 24 songs down to 15 and adding the non-DVD track "Hands Down," from Dashboard Confessional. Michael Toland [buy it]