Sondre Lerche, Sydney Australia, Nov. 25

I've been remiss in updating my last few shows. Life gets busy toward the end of the year, especially when you get to go on a trip to Australia over Thanksgiving. I was very fortunate to get invited by the Journalism Education Association of Australia to speak at their conference, and I was also invited to do a workshop at the Storyology conference while I was there. As luck would have it, an artist I have seen in Austin, the Norwegian Sondre Lerche, was playing in the city. It was his first-ever show there, and the Newtown Social Club had a very nice contingent of fans for his one-man performance. He's a beautiful singer and had some adorable banter with the crowd. So glad I made it out for this one.

 

Later in the week, I got to visit some beautiful beaches along the Australian coast. I took the ferry to Manly, a beautiful seaside village and had a wonderful day of bike riding and sun bathing. As I was going through The Corso, the main pedestrian area with shops and restaurants, I saw a crowd gathering. It was for this kid, Taj Ralph, who is 13 and pretty amazing. I had to add him to my musical adventures. Sydney is a beautiful, lovely, amazing city with friendly people. I hope to be able to return to see more of Australia sometime in the near future!

 

Old 97's, Stubbs, Oct. 17, 2014

I just love these guys so much, even after seeing them countless times over the years. Always a rockin' high energy show. There was a big crowd of sing-a-long fans at Stubbs, and I had a fabulous time. Opening Sarah Jaffe was rockin' cool too.

Used the new iPhone 6 for the photos and videos, still getting used to it, so the images aren't great. But I think the videos came out pretty well.

ACL Fest 2014, Sunday

And just like that, ACL Fest 2014 (the first weekend) is over. The good thing about this two-weekend festival is that I can check out some of the shows I missed next weekend on the live stream - some of the big headliners where it was too packed to get close, and Spoon, who was sacrificed so I could see The Replacements. Fingers crossed that the ACL TV taping fairy will once again shine favor upon me for Thursday's show.

Sunday was a fun day of exploration and legends. The highlight was The Replacements, a band I have loved since I was first introduced to "indie" and "alternative" music and one that has influenced all my favorite bands since. I'll Be You and Alex Chilton still hold up, and at an increasingly EDM festival, those old rockers were a breath of fresh air for this old rock fan. Finally getting to see them live was a wonderful, full-circle kind of thing.

So, that's it. Thanks, friends, for another awesome Basecamp. Three days out in the sun in Austin with good music... can't think of anything better.

Gaslight Anthem brought the Jersey rock.

Jenny Lewis looked adorable and sounded great.

Kongos has some fun songs.

MO was a breakout, high energy Danish pop act.

Real Estate had some nice songs, too.

The Replacements were the legendary rockers I always thought them to be.

Stage before Pearl Jam.

ACL Fest 2014, Saturday

Saturday at ACL Fest drew big crowds. I only got close enough at a few shows to get decent pictures and video. Broken Bells were the highlight. I was at the back of the crowds for Iggy Azalea and Eminem.

It's been a great fest so far. Good weather and good times.

Iggy Azalea was booked on a side stage, and she was a crowd favorite. But she caused quite the late afternoon traffic jam with people coming across the park.

Broken Bells put on a great show, played everything I wanted to hear.

Strong vocals by Polica.

The Rosebuds are a cute pop band from North Carolina

Someone unleashed these beach balls which made for an interesting visual effect.