Quote:
Originally posted by Shape Shifter
[ACL]
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Oh, I almost forgot. ACL. Friday recap:
I awoke late Friday morning, thanks to my neighbor's damn barking fucking dogs, feeling like something that one of the damn barking fucking dogs had deposited on the lawn of my neighbor's back yard. I quickly peeled my tongue from the roof of my mouth using the pliers that happened to be bedside, stumbled to the shower to wash off the body paint and tilapia, and joined RT in picking up one of the out-of-staters from the airport.
The day was beautiful but hot. We had heard on the radio that three-day passes were sold out, but I was able to pick one up at a reasonable price, quickly and easily, from a friendly scalper (str8?). We were late meeting the rest of the Texans at the previously agreed upon rendevous point for
The Killers (all accounts say they were great, but I don't know how well it would have sat with my killer hangover). We still managed to meet up with the other Texans within minutes of entering the festival, thanks to the OddMan and RT's sharp eyes, and settled into
Bob Schneider for an ecclectic set that typified the spirit of ACL.
The heat was hot. It's important at events like these to stay hydrated, maintain electrolyte levels, and eat properly, so for breakfast I alternated between Amstel Light and Lone Star. Throughout the day, we took turns slathering each other's sweat-soaked bodies in sunscreen in a futile effort to protect ourselves from the Texas sun.
Blind Boys of Alabama was next on the agenda. If you've heard 'em, you know what they're about. Fortunately they were not relegated to the gospel tent and they were able to put on a show for thousands of appreciative fans instead of hundreds. It was a short walk to
Neko Case, whom I would like to meet. She stuck mainly to slower tempo ballads, which was perfect for letting a beer buzz start to overtake my hangover.
The tempo changed dramatically when we walked across Zilker park to catch
Solomon Burke, who quickly won over the crowd with his energetic set of soulful R&B, his larger-than-life stage presence (even from a distance), and his throne. I suspect even Sebby would have appreciated the horn section. He earned extra points for performing his highly aerobic set in blazing heat, facing into the sun, while wearing a red sequined suit. I would wager he sweated off a good 10 lbs. during his lengthy set (he refused to leave the stage when his allotted time was up).
We were able to find a table in the shade to re-energize,which I did with Lemonade and plenty of Stubbs bbq. Then it was back to the beer hut and then to the Gospel Tent for
Rebirth Brass Band and their wildly infectious mixture of New Orleans Street Jazz and hip hop. Rebirth provides proof that not everyone who was in band in high school ends up a nerd. I highly recommend everyone try to catch them at least once, if for nothing more than to see a cool tuba player.
It had turned dark while we were in the Gospel Tent and we tried to stumble through the crowd for
Franz Ferdinand until we realized that we were already
in the crowd for FF. Possibly one of the big mistakes of the festival was not having FF on a larger stage. From what I could tell from a very far distance, it sounded like they were tearing it up, and the sea of people seemed to agree. All accounts I have heard or read rank this as one of the best performances of the festival.
I swam through another sea of people to catch local favorites and national phenoms
Los Lonely Boys. Think Stevie Ray Vaughn served with jalapenos.
As good as the show was, we used a rare window when our phones were working to rally remaining troops, which now included RT's sister and her friends. We caught a little of Sheryl Crow while following the exiting zombies and headed to
Chuy's, the place where Barbara and Jenna Bush received unwanted attention, for welcome air conditioning and even more welcome margaritas during our wait for a table.
The evening ended uneventfully enough, with only one contemplated trip to the ER reported from among the lawtalkers contingent.
