I hadn't been back to ACL since the very first festival and missed a ton of great shows but also some blistering heat, dust storms, and the inescapable humanity. When Dylan and Björk were announced for this year's lineup it convinced me to give three days at Zilker another go-round. In the end, only one of those two acts really delivered, but I'm still quite satisfied with my decision. The White Stripes were also part of the impressive package but given their scheduling conflict with The Arcade Fire, I wasn't terribly broken up when they cancelled.
My favorite show was probably Blonde Redhead. It was the first concert I caught on the first day and even though it was hot as hell they really entertained me. After an introduction from our favorite weatherman Burt-on Fitzimmons, I believe they started with the title track off of their last album, "23," and right away I felt like it was going to be a great weekend. "Dr. Strangeluv" came close on its heels and just kept it going. That is such a great album, and right now it's looking to come in at the top of my annual list.
After that, shit, Björk, no contest. I was late in appreciating her talent, but after watching some documentary about her shortly after Homogenic dropped I was hooked, so I scooped up all her excellent earlier work (OK, I wasn't such a huge fan of the Sugarcubes). She exceeded all my expectations for her ACL appearance and then some. Great song selection (it wouldn't be Björk without a few experimental pieces) and an awesome costume and lightshow design. She must have been hot as hell in her frilly gold lamé outfit but she never showed it. Her voice kicked ass the whole way. Even though the show blew Dylan's totally out of the water, I still must protest her comments regarding Bob earlier this summer. It really was a moebius strip of musical elitism. But what can she do, after all she's just random sparkly lights brought to life.
Both Arcade Fire and Midlake were incredible shows, but I didn't get as much out of The Decemberists' performance. Midlake played a new song and I liked it immediately, can't wait for the next record. The Arcade Fire had a great backdrop on which they projected blown-up, live footage from various stage cameras, including one in the drum kit looking up. Wilco was cool I suppose, got to hear "Via Chicago" and "Impossible Germany," but I've seen or heard them live so much in recent times that I probably should have gone for My Morning Jacket instead. It was one of the backdrop shows, like Ben Kweller, Yo La Tengo, and Spoon, that were enjoyable because I knew and liked the original material, but otherwise I didn't get too into them.
I only ate at the festival on Sunday, choosing from the wide variety of booths a $5 bratwurst sandwich (sandwich? just a brat on a bun). It tasted ok and was probably the cheapest decent food item, but it was still too expensive when you're already paying $4 for each beer. I think it's best to just eat a large meal before going out, sneak in some snack mix, and live on water, beer, and advil the rest of the day. Delirium makes the late headliner performances that much more delightful. That said, just going to the late show on the second day let me pace myself quite nicely for the two long days. The tripod chair and umbrella I brought came in very handy and with a fan and a beer buzz you can get relatively comfortable even in the middle of the grassy field with zero shade. The heat was worst in the dense crowds close to the stage; I found it best to just remain in the more sparsely crowded areas further away and enjoy the large screens.
