The second annual Austin Music Video Festival brought it’s A-Game to Austin. Expanding from last year to include international acts side by side with local Austin artists, the festival featured video retrospectives of Arcade Fire, Octopus Project, and Mother Falcon – along with sets from Capyac, Wild Child, and Holiday Mountain.
Video Skate Night at the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex
The second night of the Austin Music Video Festival mixed movies with roller skating, documentaries with DJ sets, and Tito’s Vodka with chilled orange juice. Taking place at Millennium Complex, AMVF set up three rooms full of video entertainment from Austin’s hottest artists. Wild Child brought an A-Plus DJ set to Millennium’s roller rink, where hundreds of attendees skated the night away. The DJ set was followed by sets from Buhu and Mobley. Musicians were easily spotted in swagged out sequined jackets. Here are my top video picks from the evening.
A Fat Wreck – The Story of Fat Wreck Chords
By Shaun Colon
If you like punk music, watch A Fat Wreck. The Fat Wreck Chords label, run by NoFX frontman Fat Mike, put out some of the greatest punk records of all time and this documentary covers all the debauchery, trials, and tribulations that went into making them. Every second of this movie bounces with the bass lines of Propaghandi, Good Riddance, and Rise Against. Tackling the label’s history band-by-band, each segment is introduced by an 8 Bit cartoon and Crank Yankers style puppets. The result is hilarious, endearing, and nostalgic.
By Martin Garde Abildgaard
A man emerges from a bathtub full of milk to find his hand tied to a rope. On the other end of that a woman masturbates in the backseat of a car. She pulls on the rope, dragging him through the desert screaming. He escapes, much to her chagrin, and emerges beside the ocean as a giant tree spins and sparkles above the water. It’s not just that the video is emotionally charged and a visual smorgasbord, the production on Organ is an aural feast. Coming to Austin all the way from Copenhagen, Danish producer Tom and His Computer is definitely an artist to keep watch of.
By Gregory Alosio
Dwight Yoakam has always been an outlaw country star, early in his career he was more likely to be found playing in a punk bar than a saloon. When Nashville executives said his pioneering electric Hillbilly music wasn’t poppy enough he moved to LA and has since found enormous success as both an actor and a musician. His rebelliousness has not died down with age, when record executives told him he couldn’t film a video in traffic on the Sunset Strip he flipped them the bird and did it anyway. The result is a rocking good time, with dancers in white bodysuits, gorgeous models, cowboys and European photographers. Performing in the back of an El Camino the band was nearly hit by oncoming traffic during the shoot. Director Gregory Alosio told me that he met Yoakam while they were both waiting for tables at an Italian restaurant, Miceli’s, in Hollywood. The two struck up a conversation while waiting in line, and Alosio has since directed three videos for him. The video is filled with the rich character of the sunset strip and a 1960’s pop art aesthetic.
A Different Kind of Crazy Now – Phileo Beddeo
By McH20
A Different Kind of Crazy Now feels like the Beatles Yellow Submarine filtered through the cut out paper stop motion animation of an early episode of South Park. The characters are warm and friendly and the animation innovative and fun. There were a few moments where I couldn’t help but smile. The music has an old rock and roll feel which grows in intensity as the song progresses. Both the music and animation are provided by Albany, New York based director Tom McWaters, of the company Theater of the Absurd.
By Jordan Haro
Austin grown country musician Jane Ellen Bryant throws down with this raw, in your face jam. The lyrics paint a portrait of drunken weekdays, mundane annoyance, and general life disappointment while the guitar driven track vents frustration into hard country gold. Jane Bryant’s voice fluctuates from sugary sweet to “Don’t fuck with me bitch”, all the while she maintains the attitude of a southern belle. The video is packed with humor – my favorite parts are when Jane’s aging boss yells shrill harmonies at her and when she moves back into her parent’s house – shooting a knowing look at the camera, “Yeah dude, everyone does this once”. Jane was one of my favorite Austin artists at the festival.
One thought on “Top Videos From Austin Music Video Festival 2016: Day Two [Festival Review]”