Austin City Limits was this past weekend, a 3 day music festival held every fall here in my great city! I love love loved it. It is 7-8 stages playing for about 10 hours a day, all genres of music and all different kinds of people. The estimated crowd was somewhere around 62,000. D
espite how much I despise heat and large crowds, it was a fantastic experience. I am so sad it is over. I like to think of myself as a student of music, and I enjoy learning new subjects. I would say that I only knew about 25% of the bands that played at ACL, so it was a great opportunity to be exposed to new things and sounds. For the most part, I like music because of the way a song makes me feel....if the words speak to me, if the beat can make me dance, if the song can be equated with a wonderful memory, etc. I'm excited to say that I found some new favorites after going this weekend.
espite how much I despise heat and large crowds, it was a fantastic experience. I am so sad it is over. I like to think of myself as a student of music, and I enjoy learning new subjects. I would say that I only knew about 25% of the bands that played at ACL, so it was a great opportunity to be exposed to new things and sounds. For the most part, I like music because of the way a song makes me feel....if the words speak to me, if the beat can make me dance, if the song can be equated with a wonderful memory, etc. I'm excited to say that I found some new favorites after going this weekend. FRIDAY
Jen and I head
ed down to Zilker Park around 2pm , and the weather was actually beautiful(in the 90's, but a perfect breeze......90's isn't hot in Austin, for any northerners who may be reading ;). First stop was Sunny Sweeney, some good old country music. She was fantastic! We headed to the big stage just in time for the tail end of Vampire Weekend, kind of reminded me of an 80's new wave band like Talking Heads....so you know I liked that! After that, we saw Patty Griffin, and folks.....I fell in love with her! I had heard her song, "Heavenly Day," somewhere before, but the rest of her music was phenomenal as well, very sensual, honest, and with a little attitude. (Yes, I described music as 'sensual'.....but you should have seen the way some woman was dancing to her songs! Ahh!) Her voice is absolutely beautiful though. I will soon be singing her tunes in my car and shower.
Jen and I head
ed down to Zilker Park around 2pm , and the weather was actually beautiful(in the 90's, but a perfect breeze......90's isn't hot in Austin, for any northerners who may be reading ;). First stop was Sunny Sweeney, some good old country music. She was fantastic! We headed to the big stage just in time for the tail end of Vampire Weekend, kind of reminded me of an 80's new wave band like Talking Heads....so you know I liked that! After that, we saw Patty Griffin, and folks.....I fell in love with her! I had heard her song, "Heavenly Day," somewhere before, but the rest of her music was phenomenal as well, very sensual, honest, and with a little attitude. (Yes, I described music as 'sensual'.....but you should have seen the way some woman was dancing to her songs! Ahh!) Her voice is absolutely beautiful though. I will soon be singing her tunes in my car and shower.
After that, we headed over to catch the end of "Mates of State" before we stopped for the band very dear to my heart(Kansas City--you know who I'm talkin bout)--Eli Young Band. They played mostly new stuff, but I was able to hear some of the oldies that I love so much.... "Everything is you," "When It Rains," "Level"......ahhh!! So good! No tour bus this time though ;) After that show, we did a quick stop at Ryon Bingham. Then we threw our cowgirl boots on and headed over to Midnight Rodeo to catch the Jackson Taylor Band show. A long day of live music, let me tell you. With trying to do the switch after my three night shifts, I was low on sleep and running ragged by the end of this day. Fabulous day though!!!SATURDAY
Day 2 was absolutely crazy as well......and the weather was much much warmer. I was trying to double f
ist waters and cold pop as much as I could(mom told me to). Our day started off at 12:30pm for the Old 97's, my first time seeing them and, oh my, I was impressed. Sort of a mix between alternative rock and country, it was really just fun to watch. Lots of energy! We then headed over to grab some lunch at the food court, which I also loved. All of the booths were Austin-based businesses. I love how proud of their city Austinites are(keepin it weird!). It was so hot that all I wanted was a snow cone, but Jen had some delicious Stubb's BBQ. We went to eat in the tent because it was stupid hot, but ended up seeing an amazing show as well. The Lee Boys were playing some gospel, blues, and funk.....and you know I don't see anything wrong with that(right MB?? :) It was so much fun to watch the show, and they really encouraged the audience to interact and get up to dance. And I did! :)
ist waters and cold pop as much as I could(mom told me to). Our day started off at 12:30pm for the Old 97's, my first time seeing them and, oh my, I was impressed. Sort of a mix between alternative rock and country, it was really just fun to watch. Lots of energy! We then headed over to grab some lunch at the food court, which I also loved. All of the booths were Austin-based businesses. I love how proud of their city Austinites are(keepin it weird!). It was so hot that all I wanted was a snow cone, but Jen had some delicious Stubb's BBQ. We went to eat in the tent because it was stupid hot, but ended up seeing an amazing show as well. The Lee Boys were playing some gospel, blues, and funk.....and you know I don't see anything wrong with that(right MB?? :) It was so much fun to watch the show, and they really encouraged the audience to interact and get up to dance. And I did! :) We headed over to see Band of Heathens next, a band straight out of ATX. Agai
n, it was a great show. We were getting back to my basics, my love....the red dirt Texas country. As usual, I could not stop tapping my feet for the show's entirety. Our next stop was Drive By Truckers for a little more country music/southern rock. My last show of the day(as I had to get home for the Husker game!) was Robert Earl Keen. It was a huge crowd because this man is a LEGEND in Texas Country, and I have been a fan since I became a fan of this music. He plays a pretty low key show, but you need to see it just to see it. My favorite observation of the day, which I must share, happened at the REK concert while Jen and I were sitting on our blankets waiting for the show to start. The security guys were walking around and reminding folks that if they brought chairs, they must sit in the designated chair section(big signs apparently are not enough). But then we heard someone mention to them about people smoking weed(which happened a lot at ACL from what I could smell.....haha), and they were like "yeah, thats fine".....just as long as they don't sit their chair in the wrong section. That, after all, is against the rules. Funny.
n, it was a great show. We were getting back to my basics, my love....the red dirt Texas country. As usual, I could not stop tapping my feet for the show's entirety. Our next stop was Drive By Truckers for a little more country music/southern rock. My last show of the day(as I had to get home for the Husker game!) was Robert Earl Keen. It was a huge crowd because this man is a LEGEND in Texas Country, and I have been a fan since I became a fan of this music. He plays a pretty low key show, but you need to see it just to see it. My favorite observation of the day, which I must share, happened at the REK concert while Jen and I were sitting on our blankets waiting for the show to start. The security guys were walking around and reminding folks that if they brought chairs, they must sit in the designated chair section(big signs apparently are not enough). But then we heard someone mention to them about people smoking weed(which happened a lot at ACL from what I could smell.....haha), and they were like "yeah, thats fine".....just as long as they don't sit their chair in the wrong section. That, after all, is against the rules. Funny.SUNDAY
I got to the park around 4:30pm today, and I met up with some girls from work. First things first, I bought another t-shirt(like I needed it....still need to throw out some of my old DG shirts!). Its pre
tty sick though. Today was the day that I was going to be exposed to new things, as the only band I really cared about seeing was Foo Fighters(ahhhh!!!). Jessie and Angela first took me to see Heartless Bastards, and they weren't too bad. I just kept wanting to say their name, Heartless Bastards.....just like my 9 year old niece likes to ask me if I like the show "Sex and the City" because she knows its the only time she can say "sex" without getting in trouble. Seriously, she once said that title four times to me in one sentence. Kids! But I digress...I did love their lead singer's raspy singing voice, very "soulful" you could say. Heartless Bastards.
tty sick though. Today was the day that I was going to be exposed to new things, as the only band I really cared about seeing was Foo Fighters(ahhhh!!!). Jessie and Angela first took me to see Heartless Bastards, and they weren't too bad. I just kept wanting to say their name, Heartless Bastards.....just like my 9 year old niece likes to ask me if I like the show "Sex and the City" because she knows its the only time she can say "sex" without getting in trouble. Seriously, she once said that title four times to me in one sentence. Kids! But I digress...I did love their lead singer's raspy singing voice, very "soulful" you could say. Heartless Bastards.We then 
headed over to another stage to see Okkervil River, who I really liked. This band, I think, was of the indie rock variety. They used a lot of keyboard, which I like. Also, I enjoyed their cover of "Sloop John B,".....remember how I'm old at heart, love me some Beach Boys! ;) We moved on to the big stage for our final two shows. First up, Gnarls Barkley. Only knew a couple of their songs....sang "Crazy" as loud as I could. I love going to big concerts where the whole crowd is singing along. They are a good show, and man, does Gnarls get a little sweaty there on stage. Haha. He is definitely animated!
headed over to another stage to see Okkervil River, who I really liked. This band, I think, was of the indie rock variety. They used a lot of keyboard, which I like. Also, I enjoyed their cover of "Sloop John B,".....remember how I'm old at heart, love me some Beach Boys! ;) We moved on to the big stage for our final two shows. First up, Gnarls Barkley. Only knew a couple of their songs....sang "Crazy" as loud as I could. I love going to big concerts where the whole crowd is singing along. They are a good show, and man, does Gnarls get a little sweaty there on stage. Haha. He is definitely animated!
Last, but not least...........Foo Fighters! Right off the bat, they were rocking the whole crowd. Lights flashing, drums crashing.....Awesome. I don't even know if there are words! I knew a lot more of their songs than I thought, and again, the crowd was singing along and enthralled in the show. The band was great at keeping us involved and interacting. There was even some stupid kid that got on stage and was tackled by security. Dave Grohl made fun of him, so that was pretty awesome. I am us
ually more of a fan of small venues, but this crowd was phenomenal(like crabcakes). Austin people love music, that is certain.So that was my weekend in a nutshell. I had an absolute blast, and I cannot wait until next year.As always, Austin never fails to please me. Also, anyone who wants to visit me and come to ACL next year is welcome! This is something everyone needs to experience.
"Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand. With an equal opportunity for all to sing, dance, and clap their hands....You can feel it all over"--"Sir Duke," Stevie Wonder!
What I'm listening to: "Big Me" by Foo Fighters
2 comments:
Wow! Sounds like a big weekend, too bad it was so hot. Hopefully, you'll get some friends from KC or Nebraska down there next year to go with you. That would make it perfect for you. Love ya, Yo MaMa
Sign me up for next year. Sounds awesome.
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