ACL Festival 2011

First off let me start by saying...OWWW followed by WOWWW! This year was my first year attending all three days of the festival and everything was sampled from the food, to the drinks (lots) and all the music I could get to!! This festival had a lot of people saying that it wasn't that great of a lineup, "nobody really good was playing this year". BULLL!! This year was so eclectic and fun, there was something for everyone. Some of my favorite performances, Stevie Wonder, Foster the People, Empire of the Sun, Cut Copy, Young the Giant, Chromeo, and  Broken Social Scene. One the most awesome experiences is hearing bands I have heard of but had never heard. I found Delta Spirit, Smith Westerns, The Cave Singers, Pretty Lights, City and Colour, Fitz and the Tantrums, Elbow, Chiddy Bang, Electric Touch, The Antlers, Cowboy and Indian, Theophilus London. My ears were inundated with delicious sounds from everywhere I walked, stood and layed. One of the setbacks of these festivals is having to choose between conflicting bands and then second guessing your decision. But I read you have to make a decision and commit because you always end up missing something. The beauty of YouTube allows you to view performances you may have missed. The people of the festival couldn't have been more communal and cool than they were at ACL. The weather also made people more happy considering one of the days was the end to the South Texas drought, somewhat. Friday started off with Delta Spirit, which was a nice start to our first day. The day was made even better by the performance of my favorite summer band, Foster the People. I have to admit though, some bands dont really translate well to festivals. I enjoyed their performance this summer in Houston at Warehouse Live, where the venue was more intimate therefore, they seemed louder!! But still awesome to see this group getting mad love from the crowd.



NAS & Damian "Jr Gong" Marley

NAS and Damian " Jr Gong" Marley were a major highlight of the first day. NAS performed all his hits and Marley actually sang his dad's song "Could You Be Loved" at the end of the set.It was a perfect song to get ready for Pretty Lights!! I really like Pretty Lights and will continue to follow them. The final performer of the night was Kanye. I really don't like Kanye but he can perform. The set was pretty cool and he had dancers that were pretty entertaining.

We actually ended up leaving early to catch the aftershow at Emo's with Theophilus London, Twin Shadow, Wax, and Cut Copy DJ set.

Theophilus London@Emo's

Theophilus London was super cool and the show was kicking!! Saturday@ACL was almost magical because of the weather, the shows and just how everything just came together in the most perfect way. We were planted between the Honda and AMD stage which had a majority of the bands I wanted to see. Young the Giant performed at 2pm and that is when the skies decided to open up and shower us while the band performed. I laughed as I actually saw people running for cover. Are you serious, it was just what we needed. It made the day so enjoyable!! City and Colour is a band from Canada that was a perfect anecdote to the late afternoon. It was relaxing and chill just like the weather. Iron and Wine kept the chillax vibe going and it was nice until I started to doze off because I was so full, buzzed and happy. Fitz and the Tantrums were a really cool band that I really was into and will definitely follow them because their show was cool and very fun!!!
 

Cut Copy

 Cut Copy was next and they made sure to wake the crowd the F*Up ! I was jumping and dancing. The lead singer of Cut Copy is one of the most animated performers and really got the crowd going. I also caught the Cut Copy DJ set@Emos, the night before. I watched Cut Copy this year at Free Press Summerfest in Houston and they were unbeleivable then too!! I really have to admit this band has become a favorite and I will definately be at every show within a 300 mile radius any chance I get.
 

Chromeo


Chromeo kept the party going with their energetic performance. Chromeo was also an artist at Free Press and again they did not disappoint. The crowd was dancing and singing along to every song. These last two performances were the best of the festival, in my mind. Stevie Wonder ended the second night with some of most popular songs and jammed with his band and famoulsy humped a keytar!! He was working overtime for a 60+ year old. For over two hours, Stevie let ACL know he ain't dead yet!! The last day of ACL we were struggling. The weather went back to being hot as hell and finding shade was a necessity. The Airborne Toxic Event started off the day for us with a little "Changing" and played a pretty energetic performance. We decided to stick around under the shade instead of going to AWOLNATION and Im really bummed about this because I heard they put on a great show! We wanted to see Broken Social Scene. DFA 1979 rocked our faces off. That band can rock!

Broken Social Scene

Most of the day was lazying around because the sun had depleated me of any energy but that all changed at the Empire of the Sun concert. OMG!! They know how to put on a show, especially with one hell of an encore. Most people had thought the show was over and started to leave which gave us prime space up front when the encore started. People never give up on your band until the house lights come on, Concert 101. Oh well, their loss!! Arcade Fire closed out the festival and even though the concert started kinda weak, it's still Arcade Fire. But they pleased the crowd with favorites and ended the show with a bang.

Empire of the Sun

Overall, great festival. The people, the atomosphere, the food and most of all the bands made this an awesome event. Im for sure trying to score the $50.00 tickets for next year. Super excited that ACL decided to move the festival back to October. I look forward to hearing all the new bands that will possibly play next year and hope the favorites make it there too!! Thanks for the memories and keep rocking ACL!!





Welcome!!

Hey Everyone,


I started this blog because I want to share as many COOL bands with my friends!! This year has been super incredible and I have been so lucky to see so many great bands live. I have seen Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids, Chromeo, Weezer, Cut Copy, The Kills, Kings of Leon, Band of Horses, Matt and Kim, Of Montreal, Ghostland Observatory, Peter, Bjorn and John.  I really want to share those experiences with anyone who wants to know!! I will being taking pictures and video and sharing. I have several really BIG events that I'm super stoked about. Austin City Limits (ACL) is Sept 16-18@ Zilker Park. This year is the 10th anniversary and the line-up is AWESOME!! Foster the People, Cults, Theophilus London, Ray LaMontagne, Big Boi, Cold War Kids, Bright Eyes, Santigold, NAS and Damian Marley, Pretty Lights, Kanye West, The Antlers, The Belle Brigade, Twin Shadow, Young the Giant, City and Colour, Iron and Wine, Fitz and the Tantrums, Skrillex, Cee-Loo, Cut Copy, Chromeo, TV on the  Radio, My Morning Jacket, Stevie Wonder, The Vaccines, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr, MONA, The Airborne Toxic Event, AWOLNATION, Broken Social Scene, Death from Above 1979, Elbow, Fleet Foxes, Empire of the Sun, Arcade Fire, Social Distortion. This is just to name a few and I'm excited to find new bands as well. Following ACL with be Portugal. The Man, a really great band based in Portland. Holy Ghost! is in November. They are a really cool band from Brooklyn, NY. I will definitely keep my blog updated with all the newest sounds I'm enjoying. Please comment and let me know what you think or if you are digging the bands too!! Music is a uniter!! Bringing people together!!