ACL Festival 2008: Day 1
Note: I'm having some bizarre technical difficulties with this post. I can only assume that Livejournal is acting like a baby because I haven't posted since March.
Another note: OK, I think I figured it out. However, I'm waiting to add crappy photos from my phone for another post after I buy a firewire cable.
A Little Background (Rant) - you can skip this part
I asked off work for the weekend of ACL back in February, when I bought my three-day pass. A few weeks ago, my boss removed my request from the schedule and sent out an email saying that no one can ask off for that weekend. Apparently, the coffee shop/gelato place where I work has something going on with the festival (I don't even know what - the business is not listed at the ACL's Food Court website.) My boss said that he'd need people to work at the store and people to work at the festival, and he couldn't afford to let anyone off. This despite the fact that I am the only employee who asked off for the whole weekend (and in FEBRUARY). He was really trying to sell me on working at the festival the whole time: no, you won't get paid, but you'll get a VIP pass! Truthfully, this would be a pretty good deal if I didn't already have tickets. Since I do, though, I'd rather have my freedom to see the bands I want than access to nicer bathrooms or what have you. My boss originally scheduled me for Friday morning and Sunday night at the store. He later rearranged the schedule to just be Friday morning, and also Friday afternoon at the festival. Then he found someone else to work for me Friday morning. Finally, when I came into work last night, he told me that the festival had moved our loading time till later, and it was my choice whether or not I worked at the festival. I jumped off that ship fast. So finally I got the weekend off I wanted, even though it took a hell of a lot of complaining on my part (as well as quitting my job - more about that in a future post).
So anyway, I wasn't as excited about ACL this year as much as I was last year. Part of this was because of the bands being a little less interesting, but mainly because I was dealing with all this work crap and didn't even know I would have all day off till around 6:30 p.m. the night before.
Day 1: Friday
Because I hadn't even planned on being free for the whole day, I slept late this morning to catch up on my severe lack of sleep from the previous week. Because of my late start and general laziness this morning, I didn't leave home till around 1:15 p.m. I knew I would be pushing it to get to Vampire Weekend at 2:30 - I had to catch the city bus to take me from my apartment to Republic Square Park downtown, trade in my three-day pass for a wristband, and take the shuttle to Zilker Park, where the festival is held. I wasn't too bothered, though, as I'm kind of in a like/dislike relationship with Vampire Weekend. I like the band name, and some of the songs are catchy. Then again, they have this "aren't we clever for being influenced by African pop!" attitude (which just makes them even whiter) and a general veneer of hipster ironicism. I was hoping to finally be swayed one way or another. Due to unexpectedly long lines, though, I didn't arrive until 3:20 - just in time to hear "Oxford Comma" as soon as I stepped off the bus. Hearing it live, I decided I liked it - the melody is lovely, especially in the "Why would you lie 'bout how much coal you have?" part. But then there's the line "Lil Jon, he always tells the truth." Arrrgh. Verdict: undecided.
However, I arrived just in time to see the first act I was sure about: Jamie Lidell. I actually got pretty close up front, which was surprising for arriving less than 10 minutes before his set started. Jamie Lidell is someone whose songs I liked but could never adore, for whatever reason. But seeing him live, everything started to fit together. I already liked him as a singer, but the live setting removed several layers from the studio production and brought the songs themselves into greater focus. He is often accused of being derivative of older soul artists like Stevie Wonder and Al Green, but not very many people are currently doing what he's doing as well as he does. Watching him lay down the vocal tracks and beatboxing to create the loops for "A Little Bit More" was especially cool. Plus, he's an excellent showman, very charming and not too hard on the eyes. I bought a copy of Jim after the show. I got him to autograph it after the show (!) and also got a photo with him. However, the girl taking the photo didn't press the "save" button (even though I showed her how to do it), so I lost it. Oh well. His wife/girlfriend/manager/random woman was also sitting at autograph table, which was kind of weird.
After Jamie Lidell's set ended at 4:30, I checked out Patty Griffin. I've been listening to her a good deal for the past month or two, although my dad introduced me to "Making Pies" two years ago and I knew "Top of the World" even before that. Her performance was one that I was looking forward to the most today, along with The Swell Season. However, I was really far from the stage, and I have a hard time getting involved when I'm just watching a performer on the video monitor. Second, I had just seen Jamie Lidell so I was revved up for something a little more exciting. Third, I knew Jamie Lidell was autographing at 5 so I tried to decide whether I should stick around for a show I couldn't really see or if I should meet him. I think I made the right decision, especially since I could still hear her pretty well in line at Waterloo Records.
After meeting Jamie Lidell, I had about an hour before David Byrne played at 6:30. I could have checked out Hot Chip or someone else playing at that time, but I decided to get a snowball and a good place at David Byrne's show. It's a little weird to think about it this way, but I wasn't exactly excited to see him play. It felt almost like an obligation, because Talking Heads were my favorite band in high school and "Psycho Killer" is one of those handful of key tracks in one's life that put me on the music obsessee's course that I'm on now. The show was great, though. He was in good spirits, great voice and had dancers on stage completely different (and more interesting) than you generally find in backup dancers. I was surprised how many Talking Heads songs he played - "Crosseyed and Painless," "Once in a Lifetime," "Houses in Motion" and "The Great Curve" from Remain in Light, and "Life During Wartime" and "I Zimbra" from Fear of Music. He also played a couple of songs I know from his upcoming album with Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Happens Today (which I actually thought was out already - it was reviewed on Sound Opinions a while ago, which is how I knew the songs I did), and two songs I didn't know. But the biggest treat was "Help Me Somebody." The song was originally a sort of found-sound collage on David Byrne/Brian Eno's previous collaboration, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. On the album, it was based around a recording of a preacher delivering a radio sermon. Live, David Byrne sang the sermon and transformed the whole thing into something really cool and danceable, in keeping with the Talking Heads tracks.
I left during David Byrne's last song, "The Great Curve," to get to the other side of the park in time to see The Swell Season at 7:30. There were way more people there than I expected, though I'm pretty sure most of those people were there for the same reason I was: Once. They played three songs from the movie: "When Your Mind's Made Up," "Falling Slowly" and "If You Want Me," the last of which was the only song Marketa Irglova sang. With the exception of those songs (well, maybe not "If You Want Me"), though, everything was a little samey - same tempo, same structure, same emotional feel. The show was very much Glen Hansard's act, although I suppose Marketa Irglova was only really thrust into the spotlight because of the movie. Which is just as well, as I'd rather listen to her play piano than hear her sing, and Glen Hansard's songs are a little better than the ones she's written. I did call my mom during "Falling Slowly" and held up my cell phone during the song so she could hear it. Although I liked Once, my mom loved it, and the phone call was a nice surprise to her because she didn't know they were playing ACL.
After The Swell Season, my choices were The Mars Volta (egads!) or Manu Chao. I checked out the latter for about half an hour before heading out. "Bongo Bong" is the only Manu Chao I really know. While the rest of his music was good (punker than I expected), it wasn't enough to persuade me from trying to beat the crowd and catch an earlier bus. Of course, it still took me over an hour to get home, but just think how bad it would have been if I didn't leave till 10 p.m. Plus I hadn't eaten or drunk anything since around noon except for that snowball , so I was hungry. Why yes, I am an old lady.
Day 2: Saturday
I'm going to try to get there much earlier tomorrow - Fleet Foxes are playing at 12:30. Also on the schedule for tomorrow: uhhhhm ... Beck? Saturday's the emptiest looking day of the festival this year. But tomorrow may also be a day of discovery and surprise. I shall report back.
Another note: OK, I think I figured it out. However, I'm waiting to add crappy photos from my phone for another post after I buy a firewire cable.
A Little Background (Rant) - you can skip this part
I asked off work for the weekend of ACL back in February, when I bought my three-day pass. A few weeks ago, my boss removed my request from the schedule and sent out an email saying that no one can ask off for that weekend. Apparently, the coffee shop/gelato place where I work has something going on with the festival (I don't even know what - the business is not listed at the ACL's Food Court website.) My boss said that he'd need people to work at the store and people to work at the festival, and he couldn't afford to let anyone off. This despite the fact that I am the only employee who asked off for the whole weekend (and in FEBRUARY). He was really trying to sell me on working at the festival the whole time: no, you won't get paid, but you'll get a VIP pass! Truthfully, this would be a pretty good deal if I didn't already have tickets. Since I do, though, I'd rather have my freedom to see the bands I want than access to nicer bathrooms or what have you. My boss originally scheduled me for Friday morning and Sunday night at the store. He later rearranged the schedule to just be Friday morning, and also Friday afternoon at the festival. Then he found someone else to work for me Friday morning. Finally, when I came into work last night, he told me that the festival had moved our loading time till later, and it was my choice whether or not I worked at the festival. I jumped off that ship fast. So finally I got the weekend off I wanted, even though it took a hell of a lot of complaining on my part (as well as quitting my job - more about that in a future post).
So anyway, I wasn't as excited about ACL this year as much as I was last year. Part of this was because of the bands being a little less interesting, but mainly because I was dealing with all this work crap and didn't even know I would have all day off till around 6:30 p.m. the night before.
Day 1: Friday
Because I hadn't even planned on being free for the whole day, I slept late this morning to catch up on my severe lack of sleep from the previous week. Because of my late start and general laziness this morning, I didn't leave home till around 1:15 p.m. I knew I would be pushing it to get to Vampire Weekend at 2:30 - I had to catch the city bus to take me from my apartment to Republic Square Park downtown, trade in my three-day pass for a wristband, and take the shuttle to Zilker Park, where the festival is held. I wasn't too bothered, though, as I'm kind of in a like/dislike relationship with Vampire Weekend. I like the band name, and some of the songs are catchy. Then again, they have this "aren't we clever for being influenced by African pop!" attitude (which just makes them even whiter) and a general veneer of hipster ironicism. I was hoping to finally be swayed one way or another. Due to unexpectedly long lines, though, I didn't arrive until 3:20 - just in time to hear "Oxford Comma" as soon as I stepped off the bus. Hearing it live, I decided I liked it - the melody is lovely, especially in the "Why would you lie 'bout how much coal you have?" part. But then there's the line "Lil Jon, he always tells the truth." Arrrgh. Verdict: undecided.
However, I arrived just in time to see the first act I was sure about: Jamie Lidell. I actually got pretty close up front, which was surprising for arriving less than 10 minutes before his set started. Jamie Lidell is someone whose songs I liked but could never adore, for whatever reason. But seeing him live, everything started to fit together. I already liked him as a singer, but the live setting removed several layers from the studio production and brought the songs themselves into greater focus. He is often accused of being derivative of older soul artists like Stevie Wonder and Al Green, but not very many people are currently doing what he's doing as well as he does. Watching him lay down the vocal tracks and beatboxing to create the loops for "A Little Bit More" was especially cool. Plus, he's an excellent showman, very charming and not too hard on the eyes. I bought a copy of Jim after the show. I got him to autograph it after the show (!) and also got a photo with him. However, the girl taking the photo didn't press the "save" button (even though I showed her how to do it), so I lost it. Oh well. His wife/girlfriend/manager/random woman was also sitting at autograph table, which was kind of weird.
After Jamie Lidell's set ended at 4:30, I checked out Patty Griffin. I've been listening to her a good deal for the past month or two, although my dad introduced me to "Making Pies" two years ago and I knew "Top of the World" even before that. Her performance was one that I was looking forward to the most today, along with The Swell Season. However, I was really far from the stage, and I have a hard time getting involved when I'm just watching a performer on the video monitor. Second, I had just seen Jamie Lidell so I was revved up for something a little more exciting. Third, I knew Jamie Lidell was autographing at 5 so I tried to decide whether I should stick around for a show I couldn't really see or if I should meet him. I think I made the right decision, especially since I could still hear her pretty well in line at Waterloo Records.
After meeting Jamie Lidell, I had about an hour before David Byrne played at 6:30. I could have checked out Hot Chip or someone else playing at that time, but I decided to get a snowball and a good place at David Byrne's show. It's a little weird to think about it this way, but I wasn't exactly excited to see him play. It felt almost like an obligation, because Talking Heads were my favorite band in high school and "Psycho Killer" is one of those handful of key tracks in one's life that put me on the music obsessee's course that I'm on now. The show was great, though. He was in good spirits, great voice and had dancers on stage completely different (and more interesting) than you generally find in backup dancers. I was surprised how many Talking Heads songs he played - "Crosseyed and Painless," "Once in a Lifetime," "Houses in Motion" and "The Great Curve" from Remain in Light, and "Life During Wartime" and "I Zimbra" from Fear of Music. He also played a couple of songs I know from his upcoming album with Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Happens Today (which I actually thought was out already - it was reviewed on Sound Opinions a while ago, which is how I knew the songs I did), and two songs I didn't know. But the biggest treat was "Help Me Somebody." The song was originally a sort of found-sound collage on David Byrne/Brian Eno's previous collaboration, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. On the album, it was based around a recording of a preacher delivering a radio sermon. Live, David Byrne sang the sermon and transformed the whole thing into something really cool and danceable, in keeping with the Talking Heads tracks.
I left during David Byrne's last song, "The Great Curve," to get to the other side of the park in time to see The Swell Season at 7:30. There were way more people there than I expected, though I'm pretty sure most of those people were there for the same reason I was: Once. They played three songs from the movie: "When Your Mind's Made Up," "Falling Slowly" and "If You Want Me," the last of which was the only song Marketa Irglova sang. With the exception of those songs (well, maybe not "If You Want Me"), though, everything was a little samey - same tempo, same structure, same emotional feel. The show was very much Glen Hansard's act, although I suppose Marketa Irglova was only really thrust into the spotlight because of the movie. Which is just as well, as I'd rather listen to her play piano than hear her sing, and Glen Hansard's songs are a little better than the ones she's written. I did call my mom during "Falling Slowly" and held up my cell phone during the song so she could hear it. Although I liked Once, my mom loved it, and the phone call was a nice surprise to her because she didn't know they were playing ACL.
After The Swell Season, my choices were The Mars Volta (egads!) or Manu Chao. I checked out the latter for about half an hour before heading out. "Bongo Bong" is the only Manu Chao I really know. While the rest of his music was good (punker than I expected), it wasn't enough to persuade me from trying to beat the crowd and catch an earlier bus. Of course, it still took me over an hour to get home, but just think how bad it would have been if I didn't leave till 10 p.m. Plus I hadn't eaten or drunk anything since around noon except for that snowball , so I was hungry. Why yes, I am an old lady.
Day 2: Saturday
I'm going to try to get there much earlier tomorrow - Fleet Foxes are playing at 12:30. Also on the schedule for tomorrow: uhhhhm ... Beck? Saturday's the emptiest looking day of the festival this year. But tomorrow may also be a day of discovery and surprise. I shall report back.