ACL Music Fest Interviews

Wolf Parade

Friday, 3:30pm, AT&T Blue Room stage

When you're a rock band driving through Utah, talk inevitably turns to two things: booze and Jesus. On Sunday, liquor isn't available after 10pm, but Jesus is available all day. Guitarist Dan Boeckner wastes no time voicing his disappointment with the situation: "I guess Jesus doesn't like the rock after 10pm, but apparently they've built a platform [here] for when he comes back for the chosen few."

Last year, Montreal's Wolf Parade, rounded out by Spencer Krug on part-time vocals and keys (Boeckner also sings), Arlen Thompson on drums, Dante DeCaro on guitar and percussion, and Hadji Bakara manipulating sound, were the chosen few. The quartet's full-length Sub Pop debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary, was frothed over, quite religiously, by critics (ever-fickle tastemakers Pitchfork gave it a 9.2), but Mary's melodic, chaotic swells of noise and heartache withstood the hype machine. Krug and Boeckner's respective yelp and growl serve as the conduit to their songs, which always seem on the verge of breaking. This might have to do with their oft-besotted behavior. The title of the album came from an incident aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, 2005, where the band was staying during the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival.

"We ... behaved poorly on the boat," Boeckner explains. "We were asked to leave, but we ended up staying in a friend's room. There was a séance, and I believe Winston Churchill was contacted.

"It's been overwhelming, but this last year has been the best of my life," Boeckner continues when asked about those they've converted. A new album will eventually be in the works after this ACL gig, and Boeckner's keeping a sense of humor about it: "Oh, you know, Pitchfork will probably give it a 6.1 or something."