This is the second year I've been to Austin City Limits Festival, but the first time I'm doing all three days. I'm not sure why we haven't done it more, but the fact that it is in the middle of Texas Football season probably has a lot to do with it.
Today, Becky dropped me off at around noon. She met me later in the day.
Today, Becky dropped me off at around noon. She met me later in the day.
I was supposed to meet a couple of friends in time to see the Kevin McKinney show at 12:50 on the Austin Ventures stage. Because I was a little early and they were a little late, I got to wander around by myself for a bit. I was able to check out the traditional start of ACL Fest. Asleep at the Wheel singing Miles and Miles of Texas.
After that I went to the Austin Ventures stage to see Kevin McKinney, the frontman for Soulhat. I was able to see Soulhat a couple of times when I was in college at some reggae place just off Sixth Street and then at the Black Cat.
I didn't know any of the songs, but Kevin put on a great show. He closed out with the Goodtime Song. I'm still looking for a place to download..
Heartless Bastard was next. A decent show, but the lead singer looked so freakin' hot. Not in a good way, but in a sweaty Austin is really hot way.
Heartless Bastard was next. A decent show, but the lead singer looked so freakin' hot. Not in a good way, but in a sweaty Austin is really hot way.
The Kiddie Stage was right next door, and Jambo was playing. I kept hearing this other band that sounded really good. Finally I looked it up to see that it was Austin Kiddie Limits. I almost went to check it out.
I saw the best t-shirt of the day here. "Where the Hell is What About Bob 2?" Also, I thought it was really cool that I noticed that there were a lot of people all by themselves just hanging out and listening to the tunes.
While catching a little bit of the Del McCoury Band, my buddies finally showed up and we went to watch Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. The Del McCoury Band were dressed in full on suits. Talk about being hot. They did a great cover of a Bob Dylan Song: Walk Out In the Rain.
During Del McCoury, there was a big fire in the back of the park. Pretty close to where I parked my truck. Evidently an RV caught on fire and the fire spread to two 18 wheelers.
Bela Fleck was really laid back and a good time to just hang out and listen. There was someone dressed as a pirate with an instrument that I have no idea what it was.
ACL came out with a pre-festival 10 song free download. One of these was Blonde Redhead, or so I thought. I mistakenly suggested this band based on a song I thought I had. Turned out I didn't. And they sucked.
So we went over to the Austin Ventures stage again to see Manchester Orchestra. They were a thousand times better than Blonde Redhead, but they still sounded like Blue October wannabees.
We decided to get a little funky. Big Sam's Funky Nation were next. Funk under the WAMU tent. Also, my first whiff of pot. Maybe because the people next to us were smoking a big fattie. I wasn't really in the right mood for funk, though, so I went to see a little Joss Stone. By a little, I mean the last song.
Finally met up with Becky at M.I.A. Sri Lanka's answer to Peaches. At least that's what I read somewhere. After reading the Wikipedia writeup, I guess that might be an accurate description. Without the gender identity issues. Good for a dance club. Not good for ACL. And, yes, the MIA website is quite possibly the busiest I've ever seen. Worse than a 14 year old that decided to pretty up their myspace page.
Spoon is an Austin band that has been around awhile, but I'm just starting to get into. They started off the set with "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case" from their latest album and went on to mix some of the old (stuff I didn't know) with some of the new (stuff I did know).
So we went over to the Austin Ventures stage again to see Manchester Orchestra. They were a thousand times better than Blonde Redhead, but they still sounded like Blue October wannabees.
We decided to get a little funky. Big Sam's Funky Nation were next. Funk under the WAMU tent. Also, my first whiff of pot. Maybe because the people next to us were smoking a big fattie. I wasn't really in the right mood for funk, though, so I went to see a little Joss Stone. By a little, I mean the last song.
Finally met up with Becky at M.I.A. Sri Lanka's answer to Peaches. At least that's what I read somewhere. After reading the Wikipedia writeup, I guess that might be an accurate description. Without the gender identity issues. Good for a dance club. Not good for ACL. And, yes, the MIA website is quite possibly the busiest I've ever seen. Worse than a 14 year old that decided to pretty up their myspace page.
Spoon is an Austin band that has been around awhile, but I'm just starting to get into. They started off the set with "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case" from their latest album and went on to mix some of the old (stuff I didn't know) with some of the new (stuff I did know).
We left a little early to meet up with the rest of our crew for the Reverend Horton Heat. This was one of the rockin' shows of the day. First time I've seen them in person, but they lived up to their billing.
I went to refill my Heineken Light. Yeah, I know. Heineken, Heineken Light, Ziegenbock, or Bud Light. That's my biggest complaint about the festival. Beer options, or lack thereof. I'll usually drink a light beer in outdoor hot situations like this, but Bud Light just sucks. Ziegenbock is too heavy for the heat. Better for later on when the sun goes down. Heineken tastes like feet. So, Heinie Light it is.
Anyway, the point of the story is that I was able to catch a little bit of the Kaiser Chiefs show. Right when they did "I Predict a Riot". I absolutely need to see and hear more of them. They were here in 2005, so maybe they'll be back.
Finally, 8 hours after I got there, The Killers. The headliners get to do a lot more with a stage show than the others. They started off with a whole video segment with images from the Sam's Town CD insert and then kicked off the concert with Sam's Town. Brandon Flowers quickly shed his sequined jacket, proclaiming "You brave, brave people. Where we come from, it's a dry heat." Or something to that effect.
Anyway, the point of the story is that I was able to catch a little bit of the Kaiser Chiefs show. Right when they did "I Predict a Riot". I absolutely need to see and hear more of them. They were here in 2005, so maybe they'll be back.
Finally, 8 hours after I got there, The Killers. The headliners get to do a lot more with a stage show than the others. They started off with a whole video segment with images from the Sam's Town CD insert and then kicked off the concert with Sam's Town. Brandon Flowers quickly shed his sequined jacket, proclaiming "You brave, brave people. Where we come from, it's a dry heat." Or something to that effect.
They of course played their hits...Read My Mind, Brightside, and Somebody Told Me. Oddly enough, I didn't even know Somebody Told Me was a Killers song, yet I was singing it earlier in the day. I was shopping in the Waterloo Records Tent when it came on.
The Waterloo Records Tent is great. They have CD's from all the acts. And the prices aren't jacked up, so you can easily pick up something you heard that you liked without getting screwed over. While I was in there I bought The Killers Sam's Town and the ACL Fest 2003 CD. That's the year that really kickstarted the festival with REM performing. bv
I was very impressed with The Killers' show. Just so strange to see all the people streaming out midway through.
Bjork? No interest at all. We had split up with the rest of our group and they went to Bjork. I guess she's a freak. And they confirmed it.
All in all a great, long, hot day. Filled with nonstop music. We learned an important lesson about parking, though. The closer to Lamar the better. It took us a half hour to go from our spot a couple of blocks to Lamar.
2 more days!
The Waterloo Records Tent is great. They have CD's from all the acts. And the prices aren't jacked up, so you can easily pick up something you heard that you liked without getting screwed over. While I was in there I bought The Killers Sam's Town and the ACL Fest 2003 CD. That's the year that really kickstarted the festival with REM performing. bv
I was very impressed with The Killers' show. Just so strange to see all the people streaming out midway through.
Bjork? No interest at all. We had split up with the rest of our group and they went to Bjork. I guess she's a freak. And they confirmed it.
All in all a great, long, hot day. Filled with nonstop music. We learned an important lesson about parking, though. The closer to Lamar the better. It took us a half hour to go from our spot a couple of blocks to Lamar.
2 more days!
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