It's been over a month since my girlfriend Christen and I had the privilege of attending Austin City Limits (ACL) in Austin Texas. The festival was three days—Friday September 26 through Sunday the 28th—and as best I can, I'd like to share this experience:
I was invited to attend a bachelor party in Vegas for a friend who I am loosely aquatinted. Not close enough to go to the wedding, but close enough to celebrate his marriage over drinks and a craps table. It was scheduled for late August. I was excited. I'd never been to Vegas and I enjoy giving money away by the thousands. I had saved up a good amount and I had already written a check for the airfare and hotel. We were good to go.
Christen didn't seem to mind like some girlfriends would in a young relationship. At least that's what she said. But as soon as everything was all set up for Vegas, she pulls this move. Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst, Tegan and Sara, Silversun Pickups and Foo Fighters all performing late September. I love music, I think more so than the average plumber. Live music is a regular part of our agenda and over the past three years Christen and I have probably seen 100 different shows together, all of which have been here on the east coast.
A slight problem I've been having is I feel we are getting older but Bamboozle and Warped Tour have stayed the same age. This line up was Warped Tour for adults. Beck, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Gnarls Barkley, The Raconteurs, N.E.R.D., The Mars Volta, David Byrne, Against Me!, Iron & Wine. This show was perfect for me. It was however all the way down in Texas and to get there would mean flight and hotel. It would probably cost about as much as I had saved to get to Vegas and I simply couldn't afford both. I had to make a decision. An easy one. I got my money back for the flight and hotel and booked our new trip to the Mid-West. (Did Christen trick me?)
Every year, for the last 10 years or so, ACL puts together about 150 bands, from the big names to the up-and-comers, scheduled over three days between eight stages. It is held across a river from the beautiful, young and hip city of Austin in Zilker Park. Because there are so many bands you would think there is a good chance you will find yourself having to make some tough choices, but for the most part they line acts up so people with certain musical tastes can easily thread their itinerary together. One person could spend Sunday with Octopus Project, Flyleaf, Against Me! Silversun Pickups, Okkervil River, The Raconteurs, Band of Horses and Foo Fighters. Simultaneously someone else could have been watching Priscilla Ahn, Stars, Neko Case, Blues Traveler, Gnarls Barkley, Tegan and Sara and, of course, Foo Fighters.
As far as mileage on the body festivals like these can be tough, especially in a hot field in Texas, but the presenters have put together one of the best run, most considerate events I have ever attended. I've been a part of my share of dirt and heat festivals where I've left swearing off music for good. This on the other hand was well controlled. Between the handful of shaded lounge areas and free water stations and countless "bars" set up around the grounds, the heat wasn't an issue. They even have Mister stations: fans set up streaming a constant blast of cool mist. The food court offered what seemed like every type of cuisine found on this planet, just short of fresh sushi. There was a huge merch center and a little arts market. The parking and shuttle arrangement was perfect. I over heard the bus driver say there were over 300 buses relaying people all day long between town and the park. I have helped with hosting both a concert and an expo and knowing what goes into these production, these guys do it right.
Here are some of the highlights for me.
What Made Milwaukee Famous: Milwaukee is actually from Austin. Early this year I had heard their single Sultan and immediately deemed it 2008 song of the summer. The song has been played in my life hundreds of times and you would think it would be beaten down by now, but oddly enough, it's still going strong. I bought the album but didn't really love anything else on it. Live however I got a slightly different perspective of the band. The are all very good live musicians (and very good looking) and watching them play in anticipation of that one song, I really enjoyed everything else they were doing. Great start to the weekend.
Vampire Weekend: I love this band. i am actually going to put them on right now. The are very creative and original. It has a sound like something reminiscent of the 80's and lead singer Ezra Koenig looks like a television star from the same era. At the show they were spot on with all of there tracks and the three or four songs from the new album seem to be, believe it or not, even better. If you are interested in catching them Live they are about to do a couple nights at Terminal 5.
Jenny Lewis: As a huge Rilo Kiley fan you would think I am all over Jenny Lewis. But for some reason I have been slow to check out her solo work. I wasn't that into Rabbit Fur coat even though I haven't really given it a try yet and I wasn't really excited for her new Acid Tongue. I think allot of what I love about Rilo Kiley is the quirkiness and allot of that comes from the entire band, mostly Blake Sennett. Regardless, she was a main draw for me coming down to Austin. She has assembled a different band which is comprises male singer Jonathan rice. The band might actually be his band and Jenny just joined in. At least thats the feeling I get from how in sync they all are and how much love you feel on stage. We got up nice and close and they amazed us. What Jenny really brings to Rilo Kiley and now this new album is excellent story telling. Even Christen who has always kidded around about hating her because of how cute she is and how attracted to her I am can not deny Jenny's excellence. Come to think of it, I think I'm going to put Acid Tongue on.
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band: I don't remember and I loved it.
Swell Season: An Irish bartender has suggested I checkout the movie Once. He said "if you love singer songwriters you will love this". It is a film about a young street musician with a guitar who hooks up with a young lady with a piano and they make an album. It is completely not a Hollywood film with allot of music. I thought I was watching the biography of Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan. From that movie spawned the band The Swell Season, Glen Hansard (also lead-singer of The Frames) and Marketa Irglova. I bough the album. As I listened closer it seemed to me everything great about them was stolen from Damien Rice. I kind of dismissed the album because of it's plagiarism until ACL. The sun had just set and the crowd was huge. So was their sound. It was brilliant. it was beautiful. Seeing them Live helped me identify them as really very different from Damien Rice, who I have also seen. One of the highlights of the performance was Hansard covering Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. It really displays how passionate and talented he is. Highlight of the weekend.
MGMT: These kids are too cool for the field. You could have sworn they were headlining. We couldn't get even close to close enough. Top image
Octopus Project: This was not a performance I had intended on catching but the base beat you could feel from three stages away just pulled me in. This was a large ensemble of young multi-instrumented musicians just whaling away. It had a very heave DJ feel that followed no typical structure. For me it was somewhere between Minus the Bear and Sigur Ros. I've been meaning to dig deeper into them. I'll let you know how it goes.
Against Me!: It was the first protest I've ever been apart of.
Silversun Pickups: They have been referred to as the new Smashing Pumpkins which accurately describes how different, weird, talented they are. But they really inspire a feeling unique to Silversun Pickups. This is what I looked forward to most. So much so that I left the band I was watching about 45 minuets before Silversun went on just to get up close. They were on one of the bigger stages and when I got there apparently I wasn't the only one really intent on seeing them. The girls in front of me were smoking a joint before the band came out which seemed like a good idea. They came out and the crown filled in. Not even one song in one of the girls started throwing up and they had to get her out of there. The now empty area filled only by a little puke puddle gave us great perspective through the crowd. It's not uncommon for people not familier with the band to think lead-singer Brian Aubert is a girl. Aubert sings in a very meek and interesting tone that is easy on the ears. He can then turn that into this screech that sounds like metal hitting metal of a car crash. Very impassioned and very beautiful.
Tegan and Sara: Just as Swell Season had caught us just as the sun went down, Tegan and Sara had the perfect ambiance. Despite playing at the same time as Band of Horses, which would typically attract the same type of fans, This stage was packed. The twins are from Canada and one if not both are gay. They sang and played beautifully and exchanged stories and liberal views with the crowd. I went into it liking their music and owning all their albums but seeing them as a new Ani Difranco—really geared toward girls. I was wrong. It was for me.
Foo Fighters: A fireworks display is always ended with the grand finale. That's what this was. A firework grand finale complete with the flashing lights and explosive drum solos. Hit after hit. New versions of old songs. Every song expanded to sometimes 15 minutes. Dave Grohl entertains even between songs with jokes and stories and insults. Drummer and sometimes singer Taylor Hawkins drove allot of the show with showy drum solos and dramatic song ending that would end, start again, and end again. It was a two hour exhibit of professionals. Even though we had been beaten down from three days of sun and dancing, we had to see Foo to the end.
New to me: Priscilla Ahn, Okkervil River, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
In addition to the show being just absolutely perfect, the city of Austin is great. An excellent night life. Bar after restaurant after museum after bar. Music thrives there. The entire experience was they greatest musical event I've been a part of and possible the best weekend of my life. Keep an eye on next years line up. If music is important to you and the acts look good, I couldn't recommend it more highly. And maybe I'll see you there.
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