Same here. I go to like 50-60 concerts a year. Alot of the times I go by myself, b/c my friends simply aren't interested in the band. Most ppl forget that you are at the concert to listen to music and not chat up your friends.
people give me guff all the time for going to movies and concerts by myself. hell, I'll travel by myself to a concert festival if the bill is right. it's all about seizing the opportunity to see your favorite bands when they are in town. I'm not making a social event out of it or interested in who sees me at said event.
What a fantastic an strange day. The 90% chance of rain became 0%. Walking around Zilker was like a gigantic ice rink and no one had skates. If I would have thought about it, it would have worn an old pair of cleats. At least then I would have had some traction. The weather was perfect, though I did get burned because I didn't expect the sun and didn't bring sun screen. Black Joe Lewis was awesome. The B-52's were great. Heatless Bastards put on a good show. The Toadies rocked. The Rebirth Brass Band was one of the coolest shows I've seen in 8 years of ACL. The wife and I had to finish with Ben Harper and Relentless 7 as we got a call that our oldest was sick. Wish I could have stayed for Michael Franti and Pearl Jam. Oh well.
best shows: friday: kings of leon, john legend, raphael saadiq, andrew bird. them crooked vultures sounded just like queens of the stone age, and it was a bit disappointing. saturday: ghostland observatory - holy crap. they even had the ut band and drumline come out for 'the band marches on.' youtube classic. flogging molly... all else was forgettable. sunday: black joe lewis, rebirth brass band, girl talk
So was it just me or did Pearl Jam suck? Maybe it just that I was too far away and maybe it's cause I'm just a radio fan and maybe its that it seemed like Eddie was wasted out of his mind or something, but whatever it was I left feeling disappointed... Everything else was awesome tho... Toadies rocked my face off... Yeah Yeah Yeahs were bad ass, Karen-O is a nut job in the most coolest of ways... Flogging Molly while getting soaked in the rain and dancing around was a great experience... Girl Talk was pretty entertaining for what it was... Ben Harper rocked his ****... Sucks we couldn't have the amazing weather all three days, Friday was unbelievably nice... So what's up with the grass at Zilker now?? They gonna spend another year fixing it back up to get destroyed again with one unlucky day of rain during the fest?
...I will say that Perry Ferrel coming out for Mountain Song with Pearl Jam was pretty awesome... but that sucks that the highlight of that show for me was basically unrelated to Pearl Jam...
I just got back from Austin, and I had a fantastic time. I started off with Them Crooked Vultures at Stubb's. I had to wait forever before some of my friends showed up, but it was definitely worth the wait. It was such a treat to see John Paul Jones on the bass and keytar. I was kind of surprised that they didn't do any covers, but it was a really entertaining set. Raphael Saadiq's show was every bit as good I thought it would be. I loved his cover of Iggy Pop's Search and Destroy. I really liked how John Legend started his set with "Redemption Song." Saturday got real muddy, but Grizzly Bear, Flogging Molly and Levon Helm were all really good. STS9 and Ghostland were the perfect cap for the night. Dan Auerbach was a bit of a let down in the aftershow, but then again, I was really tired.
Thankfully my friends finally showed up right when the show started (after two hours of wait). The worst part was desperately to piss and not be able to move because I'd lose my spot. You're right though, TCV was definitely worth it. I would've had a great time even if they didn't make it.
From a distance. Sounded interesting, but the lure of Rebirth Brass Band was too much (and well worth it, too).
didn't really care for dirty projectors, but we only stuck around for them for maybe 20 mins. rebirth brass band stole the damn show sunday... they brought the F-U-N-K, and the breakdancers they had onstage were sick sick sick. probably the most fun show i caught all weekend. papa mali brought some nice funk on saturday as well. i thought pearl jam kicked major ass, and was actually glad they didn't play yellow ledbetter and last kiss... way too slow. and they played alive, which i'm convinced is one of the best songs of the past 20 years. wish they would've played black, though.
I'd actually put Papa Mali in my top 3 for the weekend. 1. Rebirth Brass Band 2. Papa Mali 3. Toadies
at antones - me too! probably my favorite band of the last 5 years. i saw them 4 times in 3 days during sxsw - couldnt get enough! they got added to acl i believe to replace sonic youth.
Definitely an acquired taste. I didn't like them when I first heard them, but give it a shot. His vocals might strike you a bit odd on their recordings, but their vocal harmonization is crazy. If you want, start off with "Bitte Orca". Much more accessible than their previous works. Good deal. I missed them throughout SXSW and kicked myself for it. I also missed them when they played at Rudz a good 2 years ago and I kicked myself even harder for that. October 26th will be my 2nd time seeing them. Caught them last time they played in Austin at Red 7. Were you at that show?
I hope some of you guys got to go to the Grizzly Bear show on Saturday night at Emo's. I've been to a ton of shows, but that was freaking epic. I was blown away by how amazingly good they sounded. Ghostland at Stubb's on Sunday was the perfect end to a great weekend. I think on pure entertainment value alone it is hard to find a better touring act right now than Ghostland.
no - i tried to get tickets day of and it was sold out. saw tortoise across the street though, so that was a decent consolation prize. i misunderestimated how popular they had gotten, but that was their only texas show and they were coming off a ton of hype from sxsw and the new album. i think this antones show is again their only texas date, so i bought tickets in advance this time. EDIT: dirty projectors also put out a concept album called the getty address - it centers around don henley of the eagles committing suicide and transforming into the aztec god quetalcoatl (or something to that effect) - for that alone it is awesome!
