Austin City Limits... I have to say, after my 4 year ban on the festival, I'm glad I decided to go. This years line up was FINALLY worth a ticket. So after the daily schedule was released months ago, I knew I'd be dumb not to go on Friday. Friday's line up was definitely worth the money AND wait.
I guess I should start my ACL weekend by telling you what I did Thursday night (pre-ACL)... Spoon at The Mohawk. I knew the moment I saw them listed on the bill at the Hawk that it would be a show not to be forgotten... and it was THE best show I've ever seen Spoon put on. Probably because they never play at a "smaller" venue in Austin these days. I think there are several elements that make a great show; obvisiously sound, connection with the crowd and what not. But what REALLY tops of a great show is seeing the band really happy and gracious to be playing in front of people who love their music. And this is what Spoon did. You'd be blind not to notice how happy they were to be back in Austin, playing in front of the people that bought these tickets within hours after they went on sale. Truly an experience. They played a lot of older songs, which I totally dug. I'm probably a little bias about Spoon because they are one of my favorite bands, but if you were at the show, you were lucky... that was the perfect starter to a great ACL weekend.
After having wonderful dreams of Spoon all night, Friday morning came and I was back into "festival mode" (haven't been to a festival in years... SXSW doesn't count!). Lots of walking and anticipation for the amazing full day of music ahead. Unfortunately, I got there a little too late to catch the full set of The Soft Pack. I was really hoping to check these guys out, but that's ok... The beauty of the festival is, most buzz bands you want to see WILL be back to Austin. After a while of planning out my day, next on the list was Girls, which I posted up for about a hour to try and be as close to the stage as possible. I'm a little luke warm about this set... probably because the sound was terrible, I mean terrible. Finally after 30 minutes of straining to hear his voice and complains from the crowd, the mic turned up a bit. I knew I'd still like their music regardless of this experience, but I'm glad I got to see them. The lead singer was incredibly charming and cute... He barely spoke to the crowd, but when there was a break in between songs he'd just do a cute little smile and mouth some words that you couldn't hear, probably on purpose. Either way, I kinda feel in love with him. Surprise!
Next up, Beach House. After a walk across Zilker, I made it to the stage and decided to wait it out until their performance. I saw BH months ago at Emo's and like most shows I see at that venue, I can barely actually "see the band", so I was glad to get a second chance at them. Recently, they added 2 additional band members, a drummer and keyboardist/guitarist. Beach House was already amazing before this addition, but wow... the sound the 2 new members added really made a difference, in a good way. By far, the BEST performance of the day. Beach House was just like Spoon on Thursday night, incredible performance but completely gracious and estatic to be performing in front of fans. I think all true BH fans could feel the energy and vibes they were emitting from the stage. Such a great performance and experience.
So after a day of recovering from ACL (aka, sleeping and resting my footsies)... something incredible happened.
Somehow I scored free VIP passes to ACL on Sunday from some wonderful people I met that were unable to go. So unexpected, but completely amazing. I had finally dealt with the fact that purchasing a ticket for just Friday meant that I'd miss Edward Sharpe AND the Eagles on Sunday. But now this.... what is a girl to do!
So Sunday arrives, and I'm completely stoked... not only for a free ticket, but for free food and drinks AND access to a shaded area with clean bathrooms. VIP is the way to go! I probably should have caught more shows than I did (totally took advantage of the shaded VIP area with free stuff), but the 3 best shows were Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, The National, and The Eagles. Ed Sharpe... absolutely incredible. I saw these guys a year ago and still to this day, think it's the best show I saw in 2009. Alexander (lead singer) was walking on top of the crowd half the time... soooo good and magical. The National was great as well. They are professional musicians... so consistent, clean, and perfect. The Eagles... well, living legends. My friends and I were surrounded by true Eagles fans, jamming out and singing at the TOP of our lungs to every song. After so many years of performing, how do they manage to do it? I know I yelled "STILL HOTT" a million times (sorry to anyone around me that is embarrassed). But they were... still hot and incredible. I cried during "Lying Eyes", I was just so happy and thankful to have been given the opportunity to see them live. Listening to the Eagles gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling of being a kid. Driving around with my dad, listening to 70s rock and totally unaware of the world around us.
Even though ACL was better than I expected, I can't help but be super anxious/excited for all of the amazing shows coming up in the Fall. After experiencing a weekend full of great music makes me realize how lucky I am to be in Austin. There is live music is everywhere I turn, every night of the week it's there, calling for me... Lots of great shows coming in the next few weeks, especially Fun Fun Fun Fest.
And with that said, here's my play list for the week (ACL & FFF Fest inspired):
Edward Sharpe "Om Nashi Me"
Ed Sharpe "Carries On"
Beach House "Better Times"
Beach House "Silver Soul"
Deerhunter "Nothing Ever Happened"
Deerhunter "Rainwater Cassette Exchange"
Softpack "Gagdad"
Softpack "Parasites"
Ariel Pink "Revolutions a Lie"
Best Coast "The End"
That's all... until next time,
K is out!
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