Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014

Keep the party going with our complete guide to Fun Fun Fun Nites

With bands playing shows all across town, the Fun Fun Fun Nites lineup can be a little overwhelming. Before you call it quits and head home when the festival ends, check out our Nites guide broken up by day and Austin entertainment district. Bonus: we've included places for eating and drinking along the way. Fun Fun Fun Nites shows are free with a valid FFF9 wristband.

Friday, November 7
Red River Cultural District: Pure rock 'n' roll
Put on your black boots and jean jacket for a rock-filled Friday night. First step: Go to Side Bar and order one of the well drinks. What they call a "whiskey Coke" should be renamed "whiskey … with a dash of Coke" because it's so strong it could put hair on your chest.

After Side Bar comes a quick strut over to Mohawk to see Steel Panther at 10 pm, the ultimate hair metal band. Once you've had your face melted and your hair permed by these modern '80s rock gods, grab a slice at Hoboken and head over to Elysium before 12:45 am to catch Deafheaven, an extremely hardcore black metal band known for getting up close with front row fans. They'll be the perfect end to your night of rock.

Downtown: Do it for the LOLZ
FFF Fest has brought some great names in comedy for the Nites lineup. Once you've gulped down a brew at Little Woodrow's, head on over to The New Movement Theater by 11 pm to catch the ATX Comedy Hour featuring Chris Cubas, Jake Flores, Doug Mellard and more.

After their stand-up sets are over, you have three options. No. 1: Save yourself for tomorrow with a nightcap and grab a safe ride home. No. 2: Stay at The New Movement and enjoy a lineup of comics from New Orleans during NOLA Comedy Hour. No. 3: If you're feeling adventurous, waltz over to Vulcan Gas Company by 12:45 am to check out electronic duo MSTRKRFT.

East side: Time to get dirty
With all this rain lately, you might encounter a little mud out at Auditorium Shores. If you're feeling dirty, get to The North Door by 10 pm and check out a hilarious collaboration set between Neil Hamburger and acoustic duo Birdcloud.

Neil Hamburger is a comedic character (played by actual comedian Gregg Turkington) known for his strange self-deprecating humor. He'll be performing with Birdcloud, a band known for their vulgar lyrics and twangy musical style. Afterwards you can always head further east and drink yourself clean at Shangri-la or your favorite East Sixth Street bar.

Saturday, November 8
Red River Cultural District: Dreamlike dance sequences
Maybe on Saturday you've opted against your black boots and are looking to break in your dancing shoes. There are two different shows in the area that are sure to get you groovin'. Dum Dum Girls with Pains of Being Pure at Heart will be playing at Mohawk while Octopus Project and Zorch are taking over Cheer Up Charlies.

The shows are next door to each other, so feel free to hop back and forth or scoot on over to Barbarella to dance away the rest of your Saturday. When you've worked up your appetite, head to Arlo's food truck at Cheer Up Charlies for a quick chow session.

Downtown: Double coin toss
Your second night of FFF Fest offers not one, but two crossroads downtown. Do you want to enjoy comedy or hear some tunes? You can either check out Kumail Nanjiani (currently starring in Showtime's Silicon Valley) at 11 pm back at The New Movement Theater or see the Meat Puppets at 10:45 pm at ACL Live.

If you choose Meat Puppets, you'll probably want to stay at ACL Live and catch indie music vets Dinosaur Jr. right afterwards. But here comes the second coin toss: Dinosaur Jr. or The Pizza Underground? Because you won't want to miss a chance to see Macaulay Culkin (yes, that one) performing The Velvet Underground covers with re-imagined lyrics entirely about pizza. If Pizza is your pick, head over to The Belmont before midnight.

East side: Mellow vibes
Although the lineup sounds more like a strange sci-fi novel, Saturday's show at Hotel Vegas with The Weeks, The Bots, Babes and Panoramas promises to be a laid-back evening of easy listening. Grab a drink at The Brixton before you head across the street to enjoy a nice night outside with your friends and some great bands.

Sunday, November 9
Red River Cultural District: Coin toss
It's day three. You're exhausted and most likely hungover, so treat yourself to a sit-down meal at Koriente and get ready for one last concert. You only have to make one more decision: go see hardcore punk band Gorilla Biscuits at Mohawk or see Bowie-esque psych-rockers Foxygen at Red 7.

If you're having trouble choosing, consider the opening acts for both of these performances. Foxygen opens with The Sour Notes and Ex Cops, but Gorilla Biscuits has a tribute to Ron and Scott of the Stooges with J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.

Downtown: Uppers or downers?
Sunday is bittersweet. On one hand, you've successfully survived three days of FFF Fest. On the other hand, you're a little sad that the festival has ended. If you need a pick-me-up before you head back to a not-so fun-fun-fun-life, go see Cashmere Cat and Ryan Hemsworth at The Parish at 10 pm.

Both of these guys are electronic DJs with surprising credentials (Cashmere Cat works with the likes of Wiz Khalifa, Ariana Grande and Maroon 5), so you're in for a night of hip tunes and catchy remixes. Bonus: You can always drown your tears with a beer and pretzel at Easy Tiger before or after the show.

East side: Sexy-smooth sounds
Sunday on the east side offers a more sensuous experience. Start your evening with a cocktail at East Side Show Room before you head over to Hotel Vegas for the sexy-smooth tunes of Har Mar Superstar. Don't let his Ron Jeremy-esque stature fool you: Har Mar (whose real name is Sean Tillman) matches his soul beats with a voice that would make past R&B stars proud.

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Movie Review

A Complete Unknown does justice to Bob Dylan's music at every step

Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown.

Music biopics never seem to go out of style, although they’re rarely very good because most of them tend to tell the same story. A musician/band gets discovered, rises to popularity, experiences trouble at their peak due to (insert sex/drugs/alcohol/ego), and either finds a measure of redemption once they’ve been sufficiently humbled or dies due to their lack of control.

Paradoxically, what few music biopics fail to do is properly showcase the music that made the person popular in the first place, a mistake that A Complete Unknown doesn’t repeat, becoming a smashing success in the process. The film follows Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) over a roughly four-year period from when he first arrived in New York City in 1961 to his then-revolutionary electric set at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

Dylan seeks out well-known folk singers Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and an ailing Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) when he first arrives, with Seeger taking him under his wing. Dylan starts to establish himself in the local club scene with his unique songwriting voice, meeting fellow singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), with whom he starts an on-and-off relationship. As his popularity grows, his reaction is antithetical to what’s expected, as he rarely engages with fans and focuses on his next song(s) instead of the ones for which he became known.

Directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line) and written by Mangold and Jay Cocks, the film may not be much of a revelation for Dylan superfans, but for casual fans or those who know nothing about him, it is one of the most effective music biopics in recent memory, if not ever. Not only does Mangold track the musical evolution of Dylan, but he gives the full context of the people who influenced him most, including Guthrie, Seeger, Baez, and more.

The film is not a musical in the traditional sense, but the amount of music in it makes it the next best thing. Rarely does more than a few minutes go by before someone is singing, either on stage, for someone close to them, or as part of the songwriting process. Whether you’re a folk music fan or not, the way the genre is showcased in the film will make you believe in its power and why it was so popular at that particular point in time.

Dylan is famous for his enigmatic personality, and Mangold does a great job of maintaining that elusiveness while still exploring what drove Dylan early in his career. His relationships with Baez and the fictional Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) give him some dimension, but why he continually went back-and-forth between them (or why they put up with him) is only lightly explored. The film keeps most of the drama focused on the music, and it’s this decision that makes it as compelling as it is.

Chalamet has been “The Next Big Thing” since his Oscar nomination for Call Me By Your Name, but the combination of the Duneseries, Wonka, and now this has firmly established him as the star he is. His Dylan impersonation (including singing) is subtle-yet-clear, and he has the cool factor that makes him completely believable in the role. The supporting cast is also off-the-charts good, with Norton and Barbaro making the best cases for awards notice.

While 2024 has had its fair share of great movies, A Complete Unknown — in this critic’s opinion — should now be the favorite to win Best Picture at next year’s Oscars. It bucks the trend of mediocre music biopics by giving moviegoers the transporting feeling of what it was like to experience Dylan’s meteoric rise, and why his early songs remain so indelible.

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A Complete Unknown is now playing in theaters.

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