yes, last year was great. if i knew the lineup in advance i would have only bought a ticket for sunday. last year was 2 solid days and this time they tried to make it 3, but ended up severely watering down the talent. there is so much crap going on amongst the good. friday-al green, spoon, steve winwood sat-los lobos (they were awesome last year), robert rudolph, bright eyes, rebirth brass band (they too were awesome last year, but again they have to play in the little tent, which they absolutely blew the roof off of) sun-rem, ween, yo la tengo, beth orton, polyphonic spree, shins, lucinda
The Arc Angels reunion show to close out the festival was just the coolest thing since sliced bread. They're not a giant headliner like REM, but they're all Austin Music Legends.. and they hadn't played together in years.. it was like 1992 all over again.
are you freaking kidding? i think he sucks though im not saying he is a bad musician, but "THE BEST AT THE FESTIVAL"? from what ive heard of him, that guy is nothing more than a g-love and special sauce wanna-be.
No question about it. Best at the festival? Bob Schneider??? Check yourself before you wreck yourself. The only thing good about Bob Schneider are the chicks that go to his shows. His music absolutely freaking sucks.
Why do you think I'm not going this year? I can catch Bob any time I want in Houston. The rest of the acts don't light my fire.
Everybody that I would want to see, I already have through various concerts over the years... I personally like Zilker park when it's not crowded as f*ck.
Some of the people I'm looking forward to. But what's great about these things are seeing bands you're not familiar with. I hope I can make all 3 days. Family obligations. (bummer, but I'm working on it) Asleep at the Wheel W.C. Clark Shawn Colvin Steve Earle & the Dukes Davíd Garza Al Green Sara Hickman Robert Earl Keen Jimmy Lafave Los Lobos Ian Moore Liz Phair REM Billy Joe Shaver Lucinda Williams Steve Winwood DwightYoakam Natalie Zoe
Thoughts from day 1: 1. Shawn Colvin was good. 2. That being said, I quickly found myself drifting away from her to the mesmerizing force that is Cody ChestnuTT. He was awesome. 3. Liz Phair played a nice mix of old and new. 4. I was blown away by Alexi Murdoch. If you know who he is, you probably share in my feeling. If you don't, look him up. Even on the small stage, fighting over the distant yet oft-overpowering sound of Robert Earl Keen, he picked up his guitar and stole the show. 5. Spoon rocked. Everyone loved them. Day 2 tomorrow!
my review- got there late cause of work-saw most of steve winwood, who wasnt too bad. im not really a fan, but i got respect for what he has done. it was enjoyable. he played guitar decently, but got really wanky w/ his solos. when he switched to organ it was better. more rhythmic w/ the congas and stuff. closed w/ "gimmie some lovin". spoon-had not seen them in a couple years and they were great. older songs mixed w/ new. the band is very tight. nice to see a good local pop group getting its come-uppins. al green-the reverend seemed to really have fun. he was shakin' it in an all white suit. he must be about 60, but he looked great and was a real professional frontman. 12 piece band was competent, but didnt blow me away. played most of his early 70's hits and some gospel stuff. had some serious technical problems that would have pissed off any performer, but rev. al was really cool about it-shows what a pro he is. the keyboardist got so pissed at the sound problems that he chunked his keyboard to the ground and smashed it. heads up for anyone going today-richard buckner is going to be backed by some loud punk rockers featuring king coffey from the butthole surfers on drums. might be worth checking out
Day 1 review: Liz Phair - Marry me Liz. Marry me. Good mix of songs. Great to look at. Charlie Hunter Trio - Dude plays a guitar/bass combo thing and kicks some serious ass on it. Kind of a jazzy relax vibe that would have done better when the sun came down, but still a good show. Robert Earl Keen - Amazing as usual. Dude knows how to put on a show and always brings top musicians to back him up. Spoon - The next BIG thing in music (if anybody has any sense left). One of the tightest bands Ive heard. Al Green - Dude can still bring it. Crowd was great.
does he play the chapman stick? just a long stick looking thing w/ like 8 strings. there was a band from houston called joint chiefs and thier bassist played one.
Good call saw everyone you have listed - Spoon was really tight last night - a nice change of pace before the Al Green show. Two more to go i'm already worked, just about time to start up again...
Just got back from Saturday. I decided to skip String Cheese's second set and get a jump on the traffic for my drive back to Houston. I Saw: Old 97s: Hadn't heard of them before, but this girl I met on the bus over was raving about them so I decided to check them out. Eh. Not GREAT, but pretty good. I'd see them again, but I don't know if I'd start buying CDs or anything. Tift Merrit: She's got a great sound and should make a name for herself. This was pretty much background music as I was reading the tour guide. Los Lobos: Got a spot right up front, underneath the left speaker. WOW. Great show. Especially awesome when Sara Watkins came out and played with them. The whole show was fantastic. I've seen them live on TV, but never in person. I'll DEFINITELY make it to any shows they do in Houston. Robert Randolph and the Family Band: Rather than risk losing my front-row spot, I stuck with it and just hung around, as RR was on the same stage as Los Lobos. An hour later we were treated to the most high-energy show I've ever seen. Robert Randolph is just flat-out amazing. I think everyone in the whole world should be forced to see this band play. If the Palestinians and Israelis were to all attend a Robert Randolph concert, they'd leave as friends. Robert Randolph just takes you on such an incredible journey when he's performing, he just draws you in, and everyone in the crowd shares in such an unbelievable experience. It's like watching a Rockets Championship game at a sports-bar. Everyone there is automatically "friends" because of your common desire and experience. I don't know that they could ever make it HUGE, as the music isn't instantly accessible, but a live RR performance is truly unforgettable. Nickel Creek: I've been a big NC fan for about 6 months now, and they certainly didn't disappoint. Again, I went early to that stage and stood at the VERY FRONT. Not the high-energy of Robert Randolph, but still very strong and vibrant. Lots of new stuff that should be on their next album. These are the folks I HAD to see today, and it was well worth the trip to Austin. Next time they come to Houston, I'll be front and center. I flat out love their music. It's so fresh and entertaining. BTW, am I the only one who thinks Sara Watkins is beautiful? She's not HOT like Britney Spears or someone like that, she's just a natural beauty. Which reminds me of one more thing -- they didn't play "Beauty and the Mess" which I was really hoping for, but they did play something AWESOME: Lighthouse, then into a cover of Wilco's "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" (American Aquarium Drinker) then back into Lighthouse's ending. OMG, it was insanely AWESOME!!! All in all, it was well-worth the trip. Parking was a BREEZE, and the busses were great. I will SO be there next year. Hopefully they'll release a DVD and a live CD with clips from this festival, because I'd love to get some of this stuff on CD. I can't think of a single thing that could've been done better. Now, I was only there one day, so I suspect people who make it to all 3 might see some problems, but in my experience, it was a perfect day.
my day 2 review- got there late again (dang work). sorry i missed los lobos-saw them last year and they were great. robert randolph-dude is the hendrix of the pedal steel. funky band. the highlight was when jeff "skunk" baxter, guitar bad-ass and missile defense expert (he is a contractor for the defense dept ) played purple haze and voodo chile w/ him. bright eyes-country tinged emo-indie pop from pasty nebraska kids. not a huge fan, but they were really cool. good songs. beth orton sang backup on a bunch of tunes and brit from spoon played bass and jim from spoon played drums. nickel creek-only saw about 15 minutes of them. adult-contempo bluegrass. some decent playing, but they didnt do it for me. i liked the instrumental stuff better than the singing stuff. rebirth brass band-saw them last year. i was up front and it was one of the loudest things i ever saw. 8 piece new orleans brass band-very energetic-crowd was eating out of the palm of their hands. they played in the tent and it was like a gospel revival. i dont dance, but listening to these guys you cant help it. cafe tacuva-wierdos from mexico city. part beck, part radiohead, part manchester-style rave-up (happy mondays, primal scream)-tejano style. these guys have been my biggest pleasant suprise so far. despite the language barrier they really had the crowd moving. high energy act w/ fun songs and great players. string cheese incident-not as bad as i thought they would be. i find most jam music really soul-less and cheesy. it was o.k. for about 15 minutes, when they got all spacey and stuff, than i got bored and left.
Day 2 fun: Robert Randolph (good call JoM amazing on the pedal steel) Bright Eyes - first time i've seen them cool band. Rebirth Brass Band- Blew the roof of the place, jazz fest Austin. Spearhead- Best show of the festival so far. String Cheese- A let down after Spearhead, didn't like their set. Day 3 -Whew I am freaking tired- too many after show/ after hour parties... Hopefully: Shins ??? G-Love Polyphonic Spree Jack Johnson ??? Why are Ween and Ben Harper playing at the same time? GRRRR... Beth Orten REM
Here's a link to photos from Saturday. I couldn't cut and paste them for some reason... must be technologically challenged! www.austin360.com/lifestyles/content/services/pets/360pets/acl_20_3.html Man, Tift Merritt looks great!
