Speaking of the ACL program, the Sonic Youth/Black Keys episode is set to debut on Saturday, Jan. 22nd. Check your local listings, etc. since PBS stations can be wonky with programming stuff, but man, I can't wait for that one.

Sonic Youth and The Keys gave two of my favorite concerts ever. I'll have to make sure I DVR that.

I saw Youth about seven or eight years ago at the Three River's Arts Festival in Point Park which is this little spit of land wedged between two rivers. They were close to being the loudest band I've ever heard; at one point a medical helicopter happened to fly right overhead but you couldn't hear it over the band.

Pretty sure I saw SY on that same tour, octothorpe (2003-ish sounds just about right) in Austin at Stubb's. And yeah, it was fantastically loud. Bonus points: BBQ Sammiches sold during the set!

This ACL link is awesome. Sonic Youth: also awesome.

Thanks for the heads up, ufez.

Work in Canada, by the way :-)

Oh, cool, richat. Enjoy!

(Now I don't feel so guilty for swiping Quirks & Quarks and Wiretap from you all every week)

Works in England too. So big yay here.

When I used to work at The University of Texas, I was right across from the ACL Studios. I saw over three dozen shows in my years there. Natalie Merchant, Texas Tornadoes, Garth Brooks, Clint Black...front row for all of them. I miss Austin.

(Also, because of us, they changed the rules on how tickets are given out. Sorry.)

I miss the hell out of Austin too, CC, and I never lived there. I have a ton of memories of that city, many of them involving road trips with friends or to visit friends that moved there after I graduated college, but my favorite memories, and the ones that make me long for the city, are the days I spent wandering around the city by myself. I wasn't totally miserable during my four years in Waco, but there was a definite insularity and discomfort that would kind of grind at me about every three weeks or so being there. Having Austin an hour or so away (and at the time, about $5 of gas each way) was a mental lifejacket at times. I can remember so many Saturdays or Sundays I'd fuel up my car and head down I-35, park under the highway and just walk around all day. Sure, there were certain places I'd always hit (Sound Exchange first, Waterloo second, grab lunch somewhere and settle in reading the Chronicle, more often than not stay later than I'd intended and catch a show at Emo's or Liberty Lunch or the short-lived Bates Motel), but more than anything, I loved the anonymity Austin afforded me. I could spend 8 or 9 hours down there only talking to store/counter clerks and bouncers and then hop back in the car and head back up to Waco feeling like I'd had a mental enema. That city did my 18-21 year-old self a lot of good.

And yeah, I saw a bunch of great shows there too.

Damn. I really do miss that.

Finally watching the Sonic Youth/Black Keys episode, pretty great although both bands should get a full hour.