Quote:
Originally posted by evenodds
I have spent the past three days in Zilker Park with 60,000+ random people and several of you. ACL was fantasic this year -- actually better than last year. Overall, with 130 bands on 8 stages over 15 acres on Town Lake, it was a blast and we are now exhausted. It's hard to say which was more fun, the music or the Texas FBers.
There were some great music revelations, some great favorites, and some acts I never have to see again.
The Revelations:
First and foremost, Robert Randolph & the Family Band is absolutely incredible. He plays pedal steel guitar and the excitement and exuberance he brings to his performance was infectious. I will see him every single time he plays in Austin.
Second, Jack Johnson was as good as everyone said. As much as I wanted to dismiss him as a pretty boy beloved by co-eds, he was really good. This was his first show in Texas and he will be back.
Third, Los Lonely Boys rock the house. They put on a fantastic show: great songs, great performances.
Old Faithfuls:
Los Lobos is always terrific. Their Saturday set was excellent. They had a mini-encore that was also terrific.
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe is my favorite band to see live. They put on a great show, as always.
Charlie Hunter -- what can you say about a virtuoso who plays an 8 stringed instrument (top 5 are guitar, bottom 3 are bass)? He's just incredible. His trio was very tight.
Rebirth Brass Band has a great live show. It's just a party as long as they are playing.
Not Worth the Bother:
Spoon is an old Austin band. I recall a couple of you talking about them last week, so I went to remind myself why I don't like them. This is the basic reason: if I wanted to hear the Violent Femmes, I would listen to the Violent Femmes, not this warmed-over VF wanna-bes. We stayed about 45 seconds.
Polyphonic Spree was all bombast and Sgt. Pepper. We were all curious to hear them live since they've received a lot of press, but they were just awful.
Edited to add: we have the doors open at home and we are listening to REM play to close out the festival. They sound terrific, but we were too tired to stay.
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In agreement.
As someone said regarding Robert Randolph: "Now I know what it was like to be at Woodstock and see Jimi play."
As someone said regarding Karl Densen's Tiny Universe: "How exactly could anyone think of something that cool?"
As someone said regarding Polyphonic Spree: "What is this shit?"
Highlight of show: Hundreds of people flipping off Polyphonic Spree because the noise was drowning out Jack Johnson's first song.
Lowlight of show: Realizing I need to burn all my music equipment because I don't have it and will never get it.
