Austin City Limits: The Festival

This past weekend, we had a blast at the Austin City Limits music festival. Picture 8 stages, 10s of thousands of your closest friends, and 3 FULL DAYS of Austin's September sunshine and music. Check out one of the smaller crowds:



The weather almost held completely for the weekend, the first two days were gorgeous (if a tad on the warm side). Sunday it rained torrentially on us as we walked to the park (well worth it because we arrived in time for the Stills).

Here's us just after the rain:



It also rained a bit Sunday evening at the beginning of the Tom Petty show. This was a fortunate turn of events for us, though, because it meant a ton of people left instead of sticking it out, and we got to get a bit closer to the stage for the awesome Tom Petty show. Here's a little run down of the bands we caught (between the two of us):

• Los Lonely Boys: Good show. Not as good as the last time they were at ACL (two years ago), but this band is a must see live.


• Thievery Corporation: not very memorable, it seems


• Ray Lamontagne: he was good. He would be better in a small club than in the huge outdoor venue of ACL.


• John Mayer: one word. AWESOME. If you haven't heard the new CD, buy it. Not only is he cute, but his music is plain fun to listen to.


• Van Morrison: we love Van Morrison. Or at least, we love Van Morrison's music. When he used to sing it. If you're thinking about seeing him live, don't. Just get the old CDs.


• Phoenix: a French band; Tim caught the last couple of songs, and deems it worth seeing again.


• Galactic: instrumental band (mostly guitar), they were really really good.


• Nada Surf: also not very memorable, they must have been fine.


• The Shins: not at all memorable. Probably not worth it.


• Aimee Mann: possibly my favorite show at ACL. She was fantastic. Though she should eat more.


• Charlie Sexton: a local rocker, he gives a good show as well.


• Raconteurs: Tim thought they were good, I don't really remember them, other than the single song I knew...


• Kings of Leon: good. Not much else to say.


• Willie Nelson: gosh, this had such potential. But the sound was so terrible we could barely hear him. It was a real disappointment, though through no fault of Willie's.


• Massive Attack: this was one of those things you felt like you had to see, if only because they were the headliner. But we didn't stay long...the music was a bit psychadelic for our taste.


• Rocky Votolato: we accidentally caught the last few songs of Rocky's set and it was FANTASTIC. I would love to see him again.


• The Stills: this was the band we got drenched for, and are we glad we did. An excellent concert; this is one of those bands that is better live than on their CD.


• Sam Roberts: another Canadian band (like The Stills), these guys were also great and gave a fun show.


• Damian "Jr Gong" Marley: I'm pretty sure Tim was high through this whole concert (from second hand smoke...), but he was really good.


• KT Tunstall: wow. She gives a great concert. She is a great performer, and I love her music.


• Jose Gonzalez: Tim liked him. I thought he was ok. He was alone with his guitar (a Swede of Argentinian descent), and he probably would have been better in a smaller venue as well. But his music was solid.


• Patrice Pike: I didn't listen long, but she's a fixture of the Austin music scene. I left for...


• Buckwheat Zydeco: incredible. Some rocking Cajun music and a packed tent dancing and clapping...it doesn't get much better than this.


• Matisyahu: Tim's been excited about seeing this guy for a while. Tim equates him to a more talented and cooler Jewish Jars of Clay.


• The New Pornographers: they were poppy and just ok.


• Son Volt: better (like Wilco), but still nothing to write home about. Some alt country flavor for the middle of our day.


• The Flaming Lips: so these guys had the most entertaining show of the weekend. The lead singer came out in a human-sized gerbil ball, which he rolled across the crowd, while half the stage was filled with dancing Santas and half with dancing aliens. The music was kind of a let down, though.


• The New Orleans Social Club: so we skipped out on the Flaming Lips and headed over to the New Orleans Social Club. And glad we did. Some quintessential New Orleans music...and the trumpeter was fantastic. As was the blind pianist. Never miss them if you have the chance to see them.


• G Love and Special Sauce: I've never loved G. Love, but Tim's a big fan. They're a cross between blues and rap with a guitar and harmonica thrown in. Good wholesome party music.


• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: and then there was the finale. Tom Petty has lost nothing over the years. While the storm dampened the show a bit, he came back and played his heart out, and it was more than well worth the wait. Great stuff.

And one more picture...into the crowd: