Dryvetyme Onlyne

According to many residents of Austin, TX (and many experienced festival attendees), ACL Festival (aka ACL) stands in stark contrast to its springtime sibling, South By Southwest (aka SXSW). Where as SXSW involves roaming about the streets of downtown, club-centric Austin for 4-7 days attending conferences and seeing an overwhelming number of bands in every possible shape, sort, and size of venue, ACL is contained within the whole of Zilker Park for three straight days of music, music, and more music. ACL is a bit more straight-forward, with everything very easily accessible and hyper-scheduled, while SXSW, though there may be a schedule to follow, is much more loose and free, especially since you have to walk to a varied assortment of places. ACL costs a mandatory amount money to attend, and though you can buy a high-priced wristband, it’s easy to spend 4 days at SXSW and never ever really spend any money. Nevertheless, any decent music journalist and/or fan of music (especially anyone who lives close enough to The Live Music Capital of the World) would be remiss if they did not find a way to be in attendance.

Thus, yours truly will be in Austin for ACL from Friday, September 26th to Sunday, September 28th. My tentative schedule is as follows (in case any of you might want to find me & say hello). Also, be on the lookout for a recap of the events (much like my one for SXSW 2008) on the following week.

BOLD = Premium, Must-See Band
ITALICS = Preferred Choice from the Two Options

Friday, September 26th, 2008
12:30pm – 1:30pm: Asleep At The Wheel (AMD Stage)
1:30pm – 2:30pm: What Made Milwaukee Famous (AT&T Blue Room)
2:30pm – 3:30pm: Vampire Weekend (AMD Stage)
3:30pm – 4:30pm: Del the Funky Homosapien (AT&T Blue Room)
4:30pm – 5:30pm: Patty Griffin (AMD Stage) OR 4:30pm – 5:15pm: M. Ward (WaMu Stage)
5:30pm – 6:30pm: Hot Chip (AT&T Blue Room) OR 5:45pm – 6:45pm: Jenny Lewis (WaMu Stage)
6:30pm – 7:30pm: N.E.R.D. (AMD Stage)
7:30pm – 8:15pm: The Swell Season (AT&T Blue Room)
8:15pm – 9:30pm: Mars Volta

Saturday, September 27th, 2008
12:30pm – 1:30pm: Fleet Foxes (AMD Stage)
1:30pm – 2:30pm: The Fratellis (AT&T Blue Room)
2:30pm – 3:30pm: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (AMD Stage) OR The Drive-By Truckers (AT&T Stage)
3:30pm – 4:30pm: CSS (AT&T Blue Room) OR Man Man (Dell Stage)
4:30pm – 5:30pm: Erykah Badu (AT&T Stage)
5:30pm – 6:30pm: MGMT (AT&T Blue Room) OR Spiritualized (Dell Stage)
6:30pm – 7:30pm: Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band (AT&T Stage)
7:30pm – 8:15pm: The Black Keys (AT&T Blue Room) OR 7:30pm – 8:30pm Iron & Wine (Dell Stage)
8:15pm – 9:00pm: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (AMD Stage)
9:00pm – 10:00pm Beck (AT&T Stage)

Sunday, September 28th, 2008
1:30pm – 2:30pm: Octopus Project (Dell Stage)
2:30pm – 3:30pm: Gillian Welch (AMD Stage)
3:30pm – 4:30pm: Stars (AT&T Blue Room) OR Against Me! (Dell Stage)
4:30pm – 5:30pm: Neko Case (AMD Stage)
5:30pm – 6:30pm: Okkervil River (AT&T Blue Room)
6:30pm – 7:45pm: The Raconteurs (AMD Stage)
7:30pm – 8:30pm: Band of Horses (Dell Stage)
8:30pm – 10:00pm: Foo Fighters (AT&T Stage)

Of course, as any discerning reader must have noticed from the rundown of shows, there is the little tiny issue of the heavy, dense, nearly inescapable corporate sponsorship of this event. As my friend Bob Ham has noted recently (with appropriate disdain), a great many acts, tours, and events are propelled by Big Money. And, it seems that his opinion generated not the most pleasant of reactions from some of the commenters over at Idolator. Suffice to say that I am firmly on Bob’s side in terms of the influence of Big Money upon all sectors of life, whether it be music, literature, entertainment, and politics, but it remains to be seen exactly what will come of these unions. Will the product weaken or might there be a backlash from people eschewing even the hint of sponsorship in an attempt to keep things as “pure and undefiled” as possible?

All of that being said, I’m not sure we’ll obtain those answers (or even a hint of clarity regarding the questions) while at ACL, but I do plan to have a great time listening to great music with some great friends (especially my lovely girlfriend). Again, if you are at ACL & you want to meet up, leave a comment, drop me an e-mail, or glean from my schedule & find me at Zilker. Enjoy!