Yawn. This is literally
all that I'm feeling right now after a super long weekend down at Zilker
Park for Austin City Limits. And you know what? I had media
passes through the radio station that I work for, so I didn't even have to
huff it nearly as hard as most of the thousands that were in attendance.
Anyhow, I told myself no reviews of the work-filled weekend that I had, but
I saw so much that I figured I might as well share some thoughts.
Normal posting returns tomorrow. Enjoy.
Random Bits Of ACL
I didn't get to
speak to him for very long, but in the time that I had I did
ask Elijah Wood about what he has planned next for Simian
Records, and his response was Bryan Scary And The Shredding
Tears. They're so very good, so I can't wait to hear
what's being worked on.
:Bryan
Scary And The Shredding Tears - Imitation Of The Sky:
Supposedly, Beck canceled a bunch of interviews because he
didn't want to leave his bus. Lame, right? I
mean, he totally missed out on an extra golf cart ride or
two.
Judging by how difficult it was to maneuver around after the
first day of the festival, I now have the sneaking suspicion
that the chairs brought by concert-goers multiply by the
thousands throughout each night.
Speaking of chairs, why is that people love to sit in a
field that has thousands standing? Not only can they
not see anything at all, but all of those sweaty bodies
chatting away completely muffle out the sound the further
back and lower you are. Stand up or go home!
Somebody make me a shirt that says that.
Because of the media passes that I had I spent $0 at the
festival. The normal person probably spent that plus a
whole lot more, and I feel bad for them since all they
received in return was a sunburn, soar legs and dust.
There is nothing in this world like cold Sweet Leaf Tea in
the hot sun. And no, I wasn't paid to say that.
Unfortunately, ACL gouges people when it comes to t-shirts.
I wanted a Man Man one, but it was way overpriced at $25.
At the after show it was $15. Let that be a lesson!
As for the show at Emo's that featured Crooked Fingers, Man
Man and Okkervil River, it was pretty much the best thing
that I saw all weekend. Eric Bachmann and crew were
awesome despite some cruddy sound issues, Man Man were
explosive and Okkervil River tried to kill me with a set
that went well passed 2am. I actually ran into OR's
Will Sheff the next day and thanked him for completely
exhausting me, but he was so humble that I'm not sure he
understood just how crazy it all was.
:Okkervil
River - Lost Coastlines:
Jonathan Meiburg has officially left OR to concentrate on
Shearwater, so it was an awesome surprise when he showed up
to do this song.
When it comes to the actual festival, I think that the best
five sets that I saw were from Sharon Jones And The
Dap-Kings, Spiritualized, Yeasayer, Gogol Bordello and CSS.
In the same sort of vein, the nicest five artists that I
spoke with consisted of members of Gogol Bordello, Langhorne
Slim, Man Man, Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings and Chuck
Woolery (he counts as an artist, right?)
I realize that ACL is beyond huge and takes extra effort to
coordinate and keep organized, but some of the restrictions
that they had when it came to access were pretty silly.
For instance, there were plenty of times when I only needed
to get to the other side of a fence to return to the media
area (which was essentially outside of Zilker Park) and all
I got was a hand to the face and instructions to walk three
miles out of the way. Can't we all just share the
space and live happily ever after?
The after show at La Zona Rosa that had M. Ward, Jenny Lewis
and Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band on the bill was
the second best thing I saw all weekend. Ward did a
quiet set that was quick and very good, Jenny was raucous
enough to make me wonder why I've only ever semi-warmed up
to her solo work and Conor brought the house down with an
hour and a half set. All that was missing from that
whole alt-country experience was a camp fire and a lot of
free flowing beer.
The Mars Volta played four songs in their hour and some
change long set. I know that's their shtick, but for
festival's sake couldn't they have varied it up and left out
(or dare I say, shortened) the 30-minute opener?
OK, to wrap up this little ramble I'll say that my best
moment of the weekend was thanking Sharon Jones for being
the hardest working woman in show business and then getting
a big smile and a kiss on the cheek in return. As for
my worst blip, it was certainly finding out that while I was
away from the media area I totally missed out on the chance
to awkwardly confess my undying love to Nicole Atkins.
Thank whoever this thing only comes once a year.
- John Laird -
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