The 2010 Austin City Limits festival in Zilker Park kicks off this Friday morning, just a short jaunt from CSTB headquarters.  As such, I’m blessed with the closest thing possible to having the likes of Sonic Youth or Ted Leo & The Pharmacists playing in my backyard (at the very least, I can hear them from my backyard).  On the other hand, it also means I’ve got Muse and Slighty Stoopid playing in my backyard, and as such, the phrase “there goes the neighborhood” comes to mind.  But whether I’m considering the sublime or the ridiculous, there’s yet another tier to ACL booking that can only be described as inexplicable. Unless, of course, you’re such a cynic to believe that family ownership of Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Newsday, Cablevision and Fuse TV might entitle one of music history’s most generic performers yet another opportunity to play a major music festival.

I’m of course, referring to James Dolan (above) and his get-in-the-vanity project,  J.D. & The Straight Shot, performing on ACL’s BMI stage this coming Sunday afternoon at 1:40pm.  For those unfamiliar with the Dolan oeuvre, the following EPK sheds far too much light on what’s in store.