From the outset, Day One at Austin City Limits (ACL) Fest was more about getting a feel for the festival grounds at Zilker Park and how a festival of this magnitude would be arranged, since I have only attended South By Southwest (SXSW) in the past. It’s important for any and all festival-goers to have a firm grasp of the ground that is to be covered so that one’s music-viewing schedule is preserved. Because why are nearly 70,000 people converging upon this locale over the next three days? For the music!
Asleep At The Wheel (12:30pm – 1:30pm):
This was an enjoyable set to view as I started the weekend, as AATW is quite the Texas treasure. This talented group has spent the last 30+ years combining elements of Bob Wills’ Texas Swing with old-school boogie-woogie, pulling together quite an admirable fan base. Even at 12:30pm on a Friday afternoon, couples of all ages were dancing and jigging all over the grass, kicking up a nice could of dust amidst all of their fun, while others were singing along at the top of their lungs.
Yeasayer (1:30pm – 2:30pm)
The primary criticism I had with this set had nothing to do with the band itself. As with other set times over the course of the weekend, sometimes a group’s aesthetics were a total mismatch for the time of day when they were playing. Such was the case here because, no matter how much energy the band poured into their music, the sunlight sapped the impact of their overall sound. To top it off, the band performed their very eclectic mix of Afro-beat and electro-pop to a stiff crowd of hipsters, meaning that nearly no one was dancing.
Vampire Weekend (2:30pm – 3:30pm):
Playing to a packed lawn, this over-hyped, yet high quality act was much more fun and engaging than was to be expected. As opposed to their preppy, snobby, East Coast, Ivy League roots (not to mention their style of dress), the four men in the band were quite talkative and peppy and never once gave off the appearance of being too cool for school. They were good performers who appeared to be having genuine fun on stage. The crowd itself was extremely excited throughout the group’s set, as they sung along to the group’s white-kid-friendly afro-indie pop for an entire hour.
Patty Griffin (4:30pm – 5:00pm):
This hometown heroine performed her delightfully moody brand of folk/country music to an adoring crowd. Focusing more on the darker, moodier material from her storied career, Patty put forth a solid set that still delighted her fans.
M. Ward (5:00pm – 5:20pm):
Though I wish I could have heard more of this excellent songwriter’s set, what I did catch was more than enough to remind me of how under-appreciated this guy is amongst supposed lovers of folk music. Matthew Ward really does know how to set a mood, mixing together enchanting, dreamy balladry with punches of fevered intensity.
Jenny Lewis (5:45pm – 6:45pm):
From the moment that initially Ms. Lewis pranced onto the stage in her blue denim overalls-meets-hot-pants ensemble to when her outstanding backing band left the stage, this crowd was into every note that emitted from the stage. And luckily, Jenny & Co. were up to the challenge, pouring forth a fuzz-drenched Southern soul set that gave fresh life to the songs from Jenny’s two solo albums. This was a high-energy set that cast aside the faux nuances in the recorded versions for some electric country-rock. Lewis was quite the outstanding performer who worked the audience well and delivered far beyond my expectations.
David Byrne (6:45pm – 7:15pm):
This set was everything you would and should have expected from the former leader of Talking Heads. As everyone on stage was dressed in white, from David himself to his 3 backup singers and four dancers, the air was filled with a delightful soulful mix of ‘80s Brit-pop and funk world music. It was also fun to watch Byrne dance around in time with his singers and dancers as he played guitar.
N.E.R.D. (7:15pm – 7:30pm):
Even though I only was able to view the last fifteen minutes of Pharrell and friends on stage, it was still highly amusing and entertaining to watch them bring girl after girl on stage to dance with them. What made it worth it was seeing the trio miss the occasional cue for the next part of a song to ogle the women. Granted, women are not to be objectified in any scenario, but it’s more that the group was well aware of how out of place their brand of music was at the festival and so they cranked up the goofiness and silliness of their set to accommodate all of the dancing white kids.
The Swell Season (7:30pm – 8:00pm):
Better known as the duo who starred as the star-crossed songwriting duo in the indie flick Once, the group brought their brand of dreamy, romantically-inclined folk music to a crowd who enjoyed singing along to their favorite tracks from the movie.
Oh, and I did happen to partake of the pretentious (yet still technically impressive) guitar wankery of Mars Volta, but that was because I could hear them playing as I stood in the middle of the park. I think they managed to play through the entirety of their set without once stopping for a breath (or a drink of water) – both a remarkable and slightly crazy feat of endurance.
October 2nd, 2008 00:34