Lovett signs off “Austin City Limits” from UT campus

Willie Nelson to inaugurate new "ACL" studio? We'll see ... (Photo by Scott Newton/KRLU Austin)

Editor’s Note: Our Austin, Texas, correspondent Lily Angelle took time out of her busy class schedule to attend the final taping of “Austin City Limits” for the 2010 season, also the final show to originate from KRLU-TV’s Studio 6A.

Last night people gathered in Studio 6A to witness the last performance on the legendary “Austin City Limits” stage on the University of Texas campus.  Just down the street at the Hogg Memorial Auditorium, fans who couldn’t get in to see the last taping in person gathered to watch a live simulcast straight from the studio.

Before Lyle Lovett came onstage, there was a preshow featuring clips from the past 36 years of ACL tapings.  People reminisced as they saw Willie Nelson performing on the 1974 pilot episode, not a gray hair on his head.  Other clips shown were of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lyle Lovett, Eddie Vedder and many more.

The official t-shirt

Lyle Lovett’s performance was a perfect farewell to the venue on the UT campus.  At the end of his set Lovett led a sing-along of “Closing Time,” and it was obvious this was an emotional and important performance to him, and he honored the end of Studio 6A well.

It was sad to see such a historical place go, but there is much anticipation for the new studio in downtown Austin.  With this new venue, ACL will be able to accommodate a larger audience, something they were having trouble doing in the 6A studio, which seats only 300. Although ACL has outgrown its original home there is much more to come, and much more history to be made in the new studio.

An ACL rep addressed why Willie was not the last act, since he did the pilot episode.  The rep said, “We have special plans for Willie . . .”  It looks like the first act to grace the new studio might fittingly be the act that first performed on the pilot episode of ACL – we’ll see when the new season begins taping next February.

Austin City Limits official website

A photo album from the Lyle Lovett performance by the Austin American Statesman

Review: “Natural Forces,” Lyle Lovett

Texas singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett isn’t a flashy performer, and these days he apparently isn’t a prolific songwriter.  Yet on Natural Forces, Lovett puts his singular stamp on 11 songs that fit comfortably on the shelf alongside his other work.  But the album isn’t a step forward: Lovett only wrote or co-wrote five songs here, and the rest are from Lone Star state writers that Lovett admires.  Here Lovett takes a rather haphazard approach to the songs, which could be considered a change of pace from this usually careful artist.  It all adds to up a throwaway album that is pleasant listening, but in the end has only a few keepers.

It seems no album from a Texas artist today is complete without an obligatory Townes Van Zandt cover song, and Lovett here covers “Loretta,” one of Van Zandt’s more upbeat tunes.  And Lyle’s version is a winner, conveying a bit of soul-felt peace and calm as it comes toward the end of the album.  The keepers include the restless title song, written by Lovett, and the bluesy weeper “Empty Blue Shoes,” also a Lovett composition.  The sad “Whooping Crane,” by Eric Taylor, is affecting as it laments the passing of a natural treasure.

A few double-entrendes populate “Pantry,” co-written by Lyle and his girlfriend April Kimble, and the western swinger “Farmer Brown/Chicken Reel,” which at least give the album some life.  Natural Forces will find an audience, for sure – but it won’t earn this revered artists that many new fans.  This so-so album feels almost like a holding pattern; although it has its moments, you would expect more from a great artist like Lyle Lovett.

MP3: “Pantry”

Lyle Lovett official website

YouTube: Lyle Lovett performs “Bohemia” and “Natural Forces” on British TV

The Texas Top 10?

Austin public radio station KUT has announced that it’s determined the best songs about Texas, as voted by its listeners.  Asleep At The Wheel leader Ray Benson openly campaigned for votes on his MySpace page, so it figures that the group would be No. 1.  Here’s the list:

“Miles And Miles Of Texas” by Asleep At The Wheel

“New San Antonio Rose” by Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys

“Waltz Across Texas” by Ernest Tubb

“Deep In The Heart Of Texas” by Gene Autry

“London Homesick Blues” by Gary P. Nunn (w/Jerry Jeff Walker)

“El Paso” by Marty Robbins

“Luckenbach, Texas” by Waylon Jennings (w/Willie Nelson)

“That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)” by Lyle Lovett

“La Grange” by ZZ Top

“Amarillo By Morning” by George Strait

Nice list, but we tend to think it leaves a little to be desired.  After the jump, we offer some of our own suggestions; they, too, are pure Texas and sound great at any weekend barbecue.

30 Days Out (From Christmas): Texas 2

Along the Trail of Lights, Austin (2008)

Day 24 –  Here are some more favorites from the Lone Star State.  From Roy Orbison’s classic “Pretty Paper” (written by Willie Nelson) to Robert Earl Keen’s modern radio favorite “Merry Christmas From The Family,” these homegrown holiday chestnuts are enough to keep you cool on a humid December Texas night.  And they’ll keep you toasty a few hours later, when the cold front blows through.

MP3: “Pretty Paper” by Roy Orbison

MP3: “Blue Christmas” by Kelly Willis

MP3: “Merry Christmas From The Family” by Robert Earl Keen

MP3: “Christmas Morning” by Lyle Lovett

MP3: “Please Daddy, Don’t Get Drunk ” by Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis

MP3: “I’m Grateful For Christmas This Year” by Hayes Carll

MP3: “Winterlude” by Joe Ely

MP3: “Rockin’ Winter Wonderland” by the Fabulous Thunderbirds

MP3: “Merry Christmas” by Lightnin’ Hopkins

MP3: “Please Come Home For Christmas” by Lou Ann Barton

MP3: “Jingle Bells” by Flaco Jimenez, Freddy Fender, Joel Nava, Rick Orozco & Ricardo Castillon

MP3: “She’ll Be My Everything For Christmas” by Los Lonely Boys

MP3: “Christmas Everyday” by Rosie Flores

MP3: “Merry Texas Christmas, Ya’ll” by Asleep At The Wheel

‘Broadcasts’ CDs Boast The Best of Austin

One of the better radio stations in the country is Austin’s KGSR-FM, and one of the reasons that they’re so good is that they fully support local music.  By “local” I mean Austin and Texas music – every week KGSR features at least one live, in-studio performance by a local artist and Austin and Texas musicians make up the majority of the station’s playlist.

And like other radio stations across the country, KGSR annually packages their exclusive live performances on a CD (proceeds benefit a musicians’ medical care program).  KGSR always has so much to offer, each year they fill up two discs!  This year’s Broadcasts Vol. 16 is one of the best packages they’ve ever offered.  Featuring performances by the likes of Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Daniel Lanois, James McMurtry and many others, Broadcasts usually leans toward the mellow and acoustic side of country rock, but it’s a great snapshot of the Austin music scene. 

Some of the performers are not really Austin, but they’re world-class: R.E.M. shows up with “Supernatural Superserious” and Aimee Mann, Ingrid Michaelson, Shelby Lynne and Feist all turn in strong songs to show this was a year for the women.  Alejandro Escovedo also provides a highlight with his “Sister Lost Soul” live from the Continental Club.  This a great party soundtrack, two CDs full of great performances – don’t miss this one!

Listen to samples from Broadcasts Vol. 16

Order Broadcasts Vol. 16 from Waterloo Records