ACLMF Day Two: The Day of the Mud People or Pay Attention to Weather Reports

Day 2 at Zilker was a lesson to check in on the weather reports before going to the show. After having some complications with the cab, we headed off to Zilker. Had I checked the weather reports during this down time waiting for a cab, I would have found that a huge storm front was moving in for a long, cold, rainy day. I could have dressed in slightly more waterproof attire, and may have neglected to wear anything on my feet at all. My only consolation was knowing all the hipsters who had chosen to wear their woolen vests and dress pants with their patent leather shoes were absolutely miserable. But on with the day:

Deer Tick:


I have never seen Deer Tick live before, but I got almost exactly what I expected from this band. I already love the cigarette and whiskey abused voice of John McCauley. He greeted us with a simple declaration, "This is easily the earliest I've been awake in the last 3 months". I believed him; he looked like 10 miles of bad road, but still pulled it out to be an 11 o'clock set. Their set was even balance of Born on Flag Day and War Elephant and closed with a monster cover of La Bamba. They were the perfect hungover band to watch after waking up sore from an all day concert and hungover from a night of drinking afterwards (much thanks to the folks at New Belgium for their Fat Tire Ale).

We had no idea what to do with 12:00 hour, and wandered over to see the Virgins on the recommendation of a rando in the crowd. They were awful. Whiney pop punk infused with people more concerned with their image than the music they made. We hastily then made our way to get up close for the next act.

Cotton Jones:


Cotton Jones served as the day's "pleasant surprise" band. The Cumberland, Maryland natives came on stage with their soothing country-ish folk music. I did feel as though the lead singer, Michael Nau, tried his best to pick the most tattered t-shirt he could find. The female vocalist added a greater softness to the twang provided by Nau. The music was fit well with the early afternoon drizzle that had started over Zilker; it sounded both sad and cheerful at the same time. Overall a very good bad to watch, and I'd watch them again given a chance.

!!!:


I'll be honest, I had never heard of !!! before ACLMF, and half the reason I wanted to check them out was that I did not care for Mute Math whom Ryand and Clark were going to see; and that I wanted to know how one pronounced, !!! (chk, chk, chk). I was also pleasantly surprised (but not enough to award them with the title) with the amount of energy and attitude that they brought to the stage. By this time, it was pouring rain in the middle of the day so they still did not have the benefit of a light show and they still had people dancing and shaking their collective groove thang.

Grizzly Bear:


I have to admit that I think I was too amped up from !!!, to really appreciate Grizzly Bear. I attended the set on the recommendation of my little brother. Their brand of L0-Fi indie pop that seems to be the sound of half the bands coming out of Brooklyn these days was not enough to keep me interested in the pouring rain, and shortly after arriving I sought out sustenance at Austin Eats Food Court where I met my aforementioned love, The Mighty Cone.

Citizen Cope:


Clarence Greenwood or Citizen Cope has been a personal favorite of mine since my first year at college, and the opportunity to see him on a stage as large as this was too good an opportunity to pass up, even if staged opposite Flogging Molly. I waited nearly an hour in the pouring rain with some ACLMF veterans as we griped about the younger attendees rudely shoving their way to the front. When Cope took the stage, he was humble yet confident in his power to move the crowd. Admittedly, I was curious to see if his everpresent unofficial partner in crime, Alice Smith would also be in attendance. Sure enough, when the set reached 107 Degrees, Miss Smith took the stage and proceeded to fill all of Zilker with her voice. Mind blowing, really.

I tried finding my friends throughout the entire set of Bon Iver but was unable to really get a sense of the show. If I could say, it was probably one of my bigger regrets at ACLMF. Even more to the point, I didn't even find them given the entire set. Since Mos Def was late to take the stage, I decided to grab a fish taco at Austin Eats.

Mos Def:

I love Mos Def, probably more than most white people do. I've seen him twice before this; once at the Kennedy Center. That being said, I felt that Mos did not bring it to the show. Despite just recently releasing an album, The Ecstatic, it seemed that Mos Def's side project Amino Alkaline: The Watermelon Syndicate was the bigger influence on this show. He opened with an exorbitantly long drum solo, that just served as a large let down after having stood in the rain for over an hour. Mos was still able to bring "it" when "it" needed to be brought, belting out ridiculously well flowing lyrics.

I popped in on the first two songs by The Decemberists in an attempt to find my friend, Clark but to no avail. So, knowing that Austin natives Ghostland Observatory were headlining the AMD stage, I made my way to the sound booth to stake out a good spot just as I had for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And like I "watched" Them Crooked Vultures, I got to see STS9 from the sound booth of the AMD stage, overlookin the Xbox 360 stage.

STS9:


I don't usually go in for instrumental music, but when it comes in the package that is delivered by STS9 I don't think anyone could stand still. They're unique blend of jazz/funk infused electronica coupled with a psychedelic light show was a perfect appetizer for the main course that was Ghostland Observatory. From the second they picked up their instruments, it was a 60 minute dance party worthy of any European club, except it was in a rain-soaked, muddy field.

Ghostland Observatory:

The Austin duo of Ghostland Observatory was easily the "rock and roll" band of the day. On top of the Floyd like laser show they used, frontman, Aaron Behrens acted with such swagger and raw rock and roll energy one found it hard to think of anything else but how fun this show was. Having just seen them, at 9:30 Club 3 weeks prior, I knew what I was getting into this time, and was prepared to dance my ass off. I chatted it up with a cute photographer who had been taking freelance pictures for her friend that day and compared notes. We were later joined by three enthusiastic girls for a 90-minute dance party that climaxed as the UT marching band joined them on stage for The Band Marches On. It was incredible. One minute the lights are down and the second they come up the entire band is on stage blaring out the song.

I shortly met up with my mud covered allies, and we taxied our asses home for some Home Slice and Fat Tires.

ACLMF Day One: A Study in Scope

Very briefly, my first day at ACLMF was shocking in scope alone. The size of Zilker was one of the biggest fields I've been to in my life. The crowds, were easily some of the biggest crowds I've seen barring inauguration. This may have been because Zilker is such an open area and expansive park, but it was if I could see everyone in attendance. Anyways, on with the show:

Blitzen Trapper:


I really didn't know much about Blitzen Trapper when I went to see him and it showed when I finally got there. He had some good moments but nothing really worth writing about. I do recall that the band looked exactly as I imagined them. I ended up leaving after 15 minutes so that I could get to the next band in time.

The Knux:


I had promised my friend Joanna (JoSoPhine of Washglob anonymity) that I would check out the Knux because she liked the free download of their song, Bang! Bang!, provided on the ACLMF e-mails. She was originally going to join us in balmy Austin; but ended up teaching young, svelte Spanish boys English instead. So as Jo's proxy I witnessed the event that was The Knux. I must say I was rather impressed by their energy. I've found that energy is essential at a show where a significant portion of the crowd have only heard one or two of your songs. That being said, The Knux possess a strong stage presence that includes audience participation, demonstrated dance moves, and witty stage banter. The music itself is funky guitar driven rap that I thoroughly enjoyed (I dled the album shortly after returning home).

The Avett Brothers:


The Avett Brothers were the "pleasant surprise" act of Day 1 at ACLMF. Promoting their new album, I and Love and You, The Avett Brothers were a huge contrast to the funky rap of The Knux. The music they played was soulful, wistful, playful and a whole lot of other -fuls. Their music was...full. Their distinct brand of alt country blended seamlessly country, bluegrass, and folk with some indie hooks; but they could also rock when needed. I remember several times being caught off guard by the ability of Scott Avett (vox, banjo, guitar) to scream/sing certain lyrics making you feel the force with which he feels what he's singing. Accompanied by a bassist and occasionally a cellist the two brothers were able to create a sound that filled our part of Zilker completely.

At this point we took a break for lunch because frankly The Walkmen and Dr. Dog while good, were not that high on our priority lists considering that we were starving and ready to devour small children walking without a parental escort. I chowed down on some kebabs from somewhere in the food court and was very impressed with how moist the meat was, although off-put by the addition of potatoes to the kebab. They would have been good were they the texture of roast potatoes, but these chunky tough morsels were fingered to the ground. After we ate and refilled our water bottles, we returned to the music:

Phoenix:
There's not much to be said about the Parisian Alt Rockers that hasn't already been said. Having just seen them not two weeks before in Central Park, I was still impressed. Though their set was dramatically truncated from their Central Park show, the band was able to dole out a generous portion of very danceable rock for all to enjoy. It reinforced my need to inform my little brother to get their music any way he could (only to have him tell me I was right a few months later by thanking the Shazam app and Cadillac). I thought it funny that they refer to the "soul clap" as "the Prince clap", big up to Prince or the Artist or whatever he's calling himself now for managing to stay relevant to someone (I kid, I love Prince). They closed with 1901 and drove the crowd crazy and left them wanting more. I was impressed they got people moving that much in the middle of the day like that. It's hard to do at a festival show, and Phoenix proved themselves to be great showmen.

Raphael Saadiq:


Speaking of showmen, Raphael Saadiq, former frontman to 90's R&B group, Tony! Toni! Toné!, was a close runner up for "rock and roll" band of the day. I understand that it's hard to picture how the newly branded Neo-Soul artist as a rock star just by thinking about the words together. But picture those old soul music shows with their matching costumes, dancing, and spectacle. Raphael Saadiq embodied all these things as he took a small section of Zilker back to a simpler time when people were just concerned about people accidentally stepping on their new shoes as they went to the club for the night. He has fully embraced the Neo-Soul movement and belts out great songs from his new album such as 100 Yard Dash and Love That Girl. He even pulled out a (forgive the pun) "pearl" when he reprised his duet with 90's R&B star, Lucy Pearl, Dance Tonight. And oh, how we did.

John Legend:


The eponymous John Legend did not disappoint for what I was able to see of him. He started his set in the aisle that led from the sound stage to the main stage with an acapella cover of Redemption Song. I stayed for three or four hits off of Let's Get Lifted, which were phenomenal. This man is truly the next Marvin Gaye. That being said, I was hungry and left early to find food.

I found sustenance in a pulled pork sandwich from the famous Stubb's, which as Ryan had warned me, was nothing special. Perhaps it merits a trip to the actual establishment to check if it was just the festival conditions that made for a ho-hum sandwich; but that's for a future trip, and we still had more sets to see:

Andrew Bird:


A one-time member and perennial favorite featured artist for the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Andrew Bird's solo career has really started to take off. Even though he's still referred to as, "That-guy-who-does-that-whistling-song", Andrew Bird's extremely mellow chamber pop is something to behold. I was lucky to catch two or three songs after dinner before running off to get set up for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs set.

Them Crooked Vultures:


As someone who considers himself somewhat savvy when it comes to music, I must admit my complete ignorance of the formation of what can only be called the rock-super-group, Them Crooked Vultures. Comprised of drummer, Dave Grohl; keyboardist and bassist John Paul Jones; and vocalist/lead guitarist Josh Homme, Them Crooked Vultures provided some of the loudest rock I heard throughout the entire festival. I did not actually get to see them, as I was located at a close by stage getting in position for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs; but I heard the entire show and dled the album as soon as I could.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs:


The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were, fittingly, the "rock and roll" band of the day. Instead of seeing Kings of Leon with my friends (I think they sound like the band that kicked Jack Black out in the beginning of School of Rock), I chose to post up by the other stage and watch a band that I had heard a lot about in terms of their live show. I was certainly not disappointed. The stage was decked out in a large hypnotic spiral emanating from a gigantic eye hanging from the middle of the stage. Lead singer, Karen O came out on stage in what I could only describe as a Native American kimono out of the mind of David Bowie. A single light illuminates her from above as she began gently with Runaway off of It's Blitz! which eventually kicked into high gear and revved up into the rest of the show providing its attendees with the heavy danceable rock for which they are known. The concert was complete with costume changes an incredible light show and very "rock star" moments like Karen O swallowing the whole mic and screaming. After their encore, she just repeatedly swung and slammed her mic into the stage...so punk rock...I think I was in love for one hot second.

ACLMF

So, it's definitely taken awhile for me to get this up and running, but hopefully I'll be writing more regularly for real this time. I'm starting to regulate my schedule a little better and caring less and less about work, so I think I'm going to be spending more time goofing off (read as blogging, reading, and playing video games).

Now that you've granted me this small bit of self-indulgent personal life bullshit, let's get on with the dishing.

As I said in the previous blog, I visited Austin, and the main reason for me doing so was to attend the Austin City Limits Music Festival or ACLMF. What I didn't know until my arrival was that this was actually different from the Austin City Limits that I had grown up watching on PBS. The ACL concert series is a series of concerts that began filming in 1976 and take place on campus at the University of Texas at Austin complete with a mock image of Austin's skyline. The ACLMF takes place in Zilker Park and is now counted amongst the country's premier music festivals.

My personal preparations for the festival were relatively simple. Upon arrival I spoke with my friend Ryan (thanks for letting me crash at your pad) about how we were going to work the schedule. He informed me that the website (which I had failed to check since I bought the tickets back in June or whenever) had a tool where one could simply look through the schedule of bands and highlight the bands you want to see. He showed me how the iPhone even had an application that showed you the schedule of bands (p.s. ACLMF iPhone app, please be clearer about who's on what stage). We discussed what we wanted to see but really didn't do anything until the next morning.

After waking up slightly hungover from the previous night's craziness at Midnight Rodeo, we looked through the schedule of the day and blocked out which bands we would see at each stage. It was agreed that Zilker was too far for us to walk there, so we called very early for a taxi. Due to complications with Ryan's friend showing up late, we had to drive into the city and grab one of the convenient shuttles to Zilker. As pulled into the parking lot, it was stunning to see how many people rode their bikes to the event. The articles I had read on the internet boasted the show topping out between 60,000 and 70,000 guests; and it looked like half of them biked there. The stage setup was great, very easy to flow from one act to another and very rarely was I forced to choose between two bands resulting in only seeing half a set the entire weekend.

The things I noticed immediately were the enormous amount of flags that were being held by groups, which in hindsight is super-smart. If you're going to be in a sea of people, it makes sense to bring a mobile landmark that will readily identify you. It looked like a scene out of Braveheart, except you had different factions of music lovers instead of Scots.

One of the cool things I really enjoyed about the concert series as a whole was the keen attention to supporting the local commerce. There were local vendors comprising a very interesting outdoor mall. The Austin Eats food court was comprised entirely of local eateries and restaurant. I made a point to eat at a different stand each meal so that I could sample as much of the local eats as possible.



All things equal, I found the food from the Mighty Cone to be the best of the bunch. This was evidenced by the line of hungry, eager patrons that stretched nearly a quarter mile. The mighty cone was essentially a soft taco served in a snowcone paper cone. Your tortilla went in first accompanied by either chicken, shrimp or both; coleslaw; and fried avocado should you elect to add it; and two distinct yet complimentary sauces. I'm not sure what they were exactly, although one was definitely some sort of southwestern ranch while the other had a sweetness and salitness suggestive of some kind of Asian soy-based sauce. Delicious either way.


An interesting phenomenon occurred as well. Each day had what I started referring to as a "pleasant surprise" act. These were bands that we had scheduled to see even though we were not familiar with their work; and when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised by how great they were. Each day also had a band that just seemed to exemplify what rock and roll really means to me in my mind. The showmanship, the attitude, you all know what I'm talking about.

The crowd was way different from any other festival show I've attended. I don't know if this is a function of the show taking place out West, or if it was unique to ACLMF, but the crowd was incredibly nice to one another. There were tens of thousands of people there but moving through the crowd was simple and easy. For the most part pushing and shoving didn't really happen (although there were a few youngsters who "just had to be up front" that annoyed the older heads in the crowd). Everyone was willing to share just about anything from food to drinks to drugs (none for me thanks, I'm high on life, Arthur). The swaying, collapsing crowds of the HFStivals of my youth were nowhere to be seen or be crushed under.

One weird thing, I mentioned above how readily drugs were being circulated throughout the concert. It may just be me in my advancing age, but I have never seen kids this young doing drugs like this. I wanted to threaten to "beat them up for their lunch mon-I er mean your drugs..." or threaten to text pictures of them to their parents. Yikes a whole other topic for a whole other day.

All in all, ACLMF was everything I'd hoped it be and more. I'm not sure if I could afford it if I didn't have a friend with whom I could stay; but should you still be out there, Ryan I'm coming back in 2010!