By M. De Santiago

AUSTIN, Tx-The redeemers of a tepid first day and rock’s newest, most unlikely and most mystical saviors have arrived, and their name is Them Crooked Vultures.  Everybody who saw their performance last night, witnessed rock history in the making.

These guys are a rock and roll fantasy jam session lineup come true: rock’s dude w/ a permanent smile, Dave Grohl, of Nirvana and The Foo Fighters is on drums, Josh Homme, the man responsible for Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal on guitar and John Paul Jones, legendary bassist and multi-instrumentalist for rock’s original super group, Led Zeppelin.

Their performance was like pure rock and roll truth injected in your arm. It’s like a group of stoner kids studied the Zeppelin play book in their garages and somehow managed to get one of them to jam. They are rock for rock’s sake and are having fun while doing it. Their vibe alone is addictive and mysterious. They are a force that locks in musically like a group that has played together for years. Their songs were epic blasts of blues-based psych rock unleashed, with all sorts of wild, gritty and intense improvisation.

It’s not surprising though, after all they are a collective of musicians who have years of experience and chops the devil can’t teach you.

The group’s unexpected front man, Josh Homme, may be rock’s most underrated and sexiest guitarist. His riffs are meaty, charismatic and very rock and roll combined with his hushed vocal style that blends the music into a stereophonic psychedelic head trip.

Almost everybody waiting wanted to see John Paul Jones play. He is like the Han Solo of rock, he’s reserved but his swagger comes out when it’s time for action. Jones is the ethereal force behind this group, those Zep symbols must have meant something. His playing hasn’t deteriorated at all; a musician like him could only get better with age. His sound is still a very youthful and invigorating thump, and his sneaky technically minded improv style is great to see live and must have been what lucky individuals witnessed during Zeppelin’s prime.

You could tell that Dave Grohl loves playing the drums, especially when he’s playing with members of Led Zep. His thundering drum style and ability to throw in an unexpected drum hero influenced fill  (Moon, Baker, Bonham)makes the songs come alive and stomp around. Although he plays guitar and fronts the Foo Fighters, you know his first love is playing the drums.

There’s a fourth vulture, Alain Johannes, he has played on QOTSA’s recent releases, he’s not mentioned much in press done on the group, but his impressive lead and rhythm guitar work make him definitely qualified to be in this group.

So far, TCV have played a few shows across the sea and in the states, but most have been secret, unannounced or invite only.  Since their performances have been elusively exclusive, the group’s mysterious reputation and buzz has been built on word of mouth accounts in print and online, and most of ‘the converted’ (yeah I’m using that term) rave that it s the best live show they’ve seen. Last night proved it.

BUT, even more amazing is the fact that TCV are performing songs that people really haven’t heard and they have yet to release a disc, the sheer star power and musicianship the group holds makes them instantly desirable and ‘buzz’ worthy, their story recalls groups like Cream, Blind Faith and the last version of the Yardbirds.

It’s good to see that a rock summit like TCV is not just another vanity project. These guys mean serious fucking business.

Hours before I witnessed the marvel that is TCV I was on the road to Austin. The drive was long, great scenery in the early morning though, and sleepless. Somehow, the people who kindly allowed me to join their caravan fell into a deep sleep at one point. I couldn’t, I tried, but my bones wouldn’t allow it.

By the time we arrived, the fest was in full swing. I got dropped off at my friend’s place, and from there he drove me to Zilker Park.

The walk down Barton Springs was a flash back of last year, tons of people, impossibly gorgeous women, hipsters with tight jeans, local businesses selling their wares, and as always, bicyclists.

I picked up my credentials and headed to the field. I had already missed more than half of the day’s performances…

The first performance I watched was Phoenix, a group from Paris, France whose star is steadily rising and for good reason. Although there is a glut of dance rock groups, Phoenix set themselves apart with smart arrangements that build into energy blasts of sincere sounding pop rock reminiscent of The Cars.

Phoenix’s collection of tunes consists of soft guitars w/ bouncy hooks that can quickly build into a sensual growl, lovely synth inflictions, on the money drums and ‘don’t you want me’ vocals. Their performance proved that crowds, especially in a festival setting, want music to dance and bop along to as they swig their tall boys of Lone Star or lie on the grass with their friends.

I finally saw the enigmatic Daniel Johnston perform. He read his lyrics from a music stand, but he sings with such passion. He has a great backing band that understands the nuances of his music, and their playing and the songs themselves, recall rock’s historic, most poignant moments, like The Who’s conceptual rock operas, The Beatles later years and Bob Dylan’s first electric band. It was a very endearing and eye opening performance.

I ended my day 1 experience by watching the Kings of Leon perform, I couldn’t stand it. Should have watched YeahYeah Yeahs.

I left their show early and headed out of the festival grounds, elated that I got to witness Them Crooked Vultures, and disappointed to have seen a crowd of people who aren’t at all familiar with King’s of Leon early material and who probably download hit singles from iTunes while at work, belting out the word’s to “Sex on Fire.” No, thank you.