An alternative ACL Fest '07 weekend recap (w/ photo-essay)

A propane tank exploded on the first day of the festival, injuring four. (Photo courtesy Chasing.)

A quick walk through the Barton Creek greenbelt gets me there in no time.

Austin may not be the bike capital of the world, but a couple thousand people did use pedal power to get to the festival.

A view of the "main" stage with the Austin skyline in the background. The festival grounds, Zilker Park, are directly across the Colorado river from the city center.

A view of two of the seven other stages on the grounds.

The crowds turn out for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on Saturday.

Muse takes the stage with a fantastic light show. The festival has seen an increase in acts that use technical effects over the last few years.

More Muse, an LED (?) screen system behind them. The show included moments of strong political statements.

Bloc Party proves a crowd favorite; Kele Okereke later makes security nervous by jumping down to interact directly with the crowd.

Amos Lee on the Dell stage late Sunday afternoon.

Holy crap, but the crowds were thick at Regina Spektor. Unfortunately, we missed most of her set shopping at the Arts & Crap market.

Perennial attraction Wilco provides a solid performance early evening Sunday. They haven''t missed a year yet.

You may not be able to see this clearly, but trust me: EVERYONE showed up for Ghostland Observatory.

Ghostland Observatory light up the dusk of sunset…

…and the night.

Don''t go into the light, Carol Anne!

Ghostland finishes their set, the crowd goes nuts, then heads for Bob Dylan. That smoke isn''t from tobacco, I guarantee you.

Okay, I was wrong. Apparently not everyone was at Ghostland Observatory. They were all camping out for Bob Dylan. This is approximately the same location as picture #4, but with a lot more people in the way.

Sorry, folks, as close as I was going to get for Bob Dylan.

You don''t have to go home, but you can''t stay here.

Last one out, turn off the lights.

Another Austin City Limits Music Festival has come and gone.

Like almost every year, in spite of buying a three day pass at outrageous prices, I rarely show up early for a full festival day (about half the years I haven't even gone every day). My philosophy on events like this is that I'm there to enjoy them, which means no schedules, no pressure. So I missed a lot of the acts. If you want a good recap of each of the day's events, head over to Mel Coulter's column, where she's been providing officially sanctioned (press pass and everything!) coverage for the event. Congrats to Mel, and I've liked the articles she's published so far. Rather than try to duplicate her coverage, I'm going to focus on the acts which impressed me the most.

Challenges, roadblocks, and an explosion!

This years festival will be noted for its inauspicious beginnings, as several eagerly expected acts pulled out, either several weeks ago (Amy Winehouse) and even barely a week before the festival gates opened (Rodrigo y Gabriela, The White Stripes). The first day of the festival also saw a small tragedy, as a propane tank explosion at a food service area behind the main stage injured four festival workers, two seriously (see story linked from photo #1).

Despite the setbacks, this festival was fortunate in a number of other ways, with large, friendly crowds excited to see the acts and cooler weather than had been seen in '05 (with Saturday at a record 108 degrees) and '06. The festival promoters have also worked closely with Austin Parks and Recreation staff to ensure that a repeat of the infamous "dust bowl" festival of '05 didn't repeat itself, seeding the grounds of Zilker Park in early summer with a particularly hardy variety of grass. All in all, this festival may have been the smoothest run ever, with staff settling into routine efficiency.

The one exception might be "the festival crap" store, which ran out of most styles of ACL Fest shirts by early Saturday. Happily I bought mine Friday, but the poor guys who had only Sunday day passes probably weren't too happy. (Admittedly, all the styles will likely be on sale on-line at the festival website in the near future.) Surprisingly, among the first to go were the "green" shirts made of bamboo fiber which were $15 more than the "regular" shirts from American Apparel.

Not unlike ACL Fest itself, I faced my own set of technical glitches. Apparently, I forgot to charge my Li-ion AA batteries for my Canon digital camera, and I didn't have replacements with me. Rather than pay festival prices for standard AA batteries that my camera was just going to eat, I didn't get any pictures on Friday. On Saturday, particularly after the sun went down, I found out that my aging 4 MP camera just wasn't going to cut it. I made out with barely a half dozen acceptable shots. Before heading to the festival on Saturday, suspecting I might be disappointed with the Canon, I picked up a new 8 MP Nikon Coolpix S51 point-and-shoot. I had to let the battery pack charge, but everything was set on Sunday, when I was finally able to score some decent photos. It's no digital SLR, but it is small, thin, light, and idiot proof (the last most important of all).

Friday

I had wanted to see LCD Soundsystem on Friday, but events conspired against me, keeping me from the festival until around 7:30. However, my reporter on the ground told me both Peter Bjorn and John and M.I.A. put on great shows. Near the end of her set, M.I.A. invited the crowd up on stage, which crowd, being the helpful sort, dutifully obeyed. This resulted in the predictable security freak-out by the festival organizers ("Not on our liability policy, M.I.A.") and her mic was cut. From my reporter's perspective, however, it was pretty hilarious.

I walked into the festival soon after Kaiser Chiefs began their set. A round of text-messaging with Chasing completed, I met up with him and caught up on the day's events. I also filled him in on the news reports about the propane tank explosion (apparently news at the actual festival was scarce). Our group trekked up to a spot for The Killers and caught a half dozen songs (eh) before walking across the park to watch the rest of Björk's set.

As I told Tommy, I'm really more of a fan of Björk's older material. But as Tommy told me, Björk isn't getting any younger (or saner), and who knows when we'll get a chance to see her again. Easily convinced by this line of (il)logic, we made our way down to watch Björk's unique brand of performance (complete with an all-female horn section dressed up as…well something vaguely fairy-like).

Saturday

After a late lunch with the roommate and a detour to Best Buy where I picked up the aforementioned Nikon camera, I again got to the festival grounds late. Luckily, due to the White Stripes cancellation, Muse had been bumped down to the closing set for Saturday, and there weren't many other big-names I had to see Saturday.

Another round of texting with Chasing, and we met up for the finishing bits of the Arctic Monkeys' set. Chasing's brother Skip then wanted to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, who were surprisingly good (my first exposure), but perhaps not suited for the size of the venue. I can imagine them rocking one of the smaller stages, though.

Here we split ways with Skip, who wanted to see The Arcade Fire, while we wanted to see Muse. Having seen Arcade Fire in '05 at ACL Fest, and being a little underwhelmed by their latest CD Neon Bible, I've got to say that those of you who caught Arcade Fire missed out (in my opinion) on the best show of the festival. Muse was nothing short of a revelation, putting on a high energy, loud, raucous show. If Radiohead and Slayer had a bastard child and made Meatloaf its godfather, you might end up with a band like Muse. Good stuff, and I bought one of their four CDs at the festival store (the rest were completely sold out!).

Muse may have been filming a concert DVD, or so I heard. Of note was that the video feeding the "jumbotron" stage monitors on either side of the stage, unlike almost every act, was processed with special effects in real time. If a DVD does in fact come out, I plan to get it. You should, too. (And it's not just the contact high from the copious amounts of pot smoke taking place around me talking.)

Also of note, the set involved an intermission of sorts during which a portion of a speech by John F. Kennedy was read (probably this one). The crowd ate it up, and a part that I remember being read follows:

It is the unprecedented nature of this challenge that also gives rise to your second obligation--an obligation which I share. And that is our obligation to inform and alert the American people--to make certain that they possess all the facts that they need, and understand them as well--the perils, the prospects, the purposes of our program and the choices that we face.

No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary. I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed.

I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers--I welcome it. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as a wise man once said: "An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it." We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them.

Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed--and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment-- the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution- -not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply "give the public what it wants"--but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.

Chasing noted that there is probably a bit of unappreciated irony in this speech, but I don't think it matters too much for the point Muse was trying to make.

Sunday

Another late lunch (what can I say, on weekends I sleep in), but I did get to the festival grounds around 4:30. A bit of criss-crossing the grounds to locate Chasing, and we made it over to meet his brother for the Bloc Party set.

The Bloc Party crowd was one of the more enthusiastic of the festival, and Kele Okereke made sure they got their money's worth. At one point he jumped from the stage, mic in hand, and ran the length of the fence separating him from the crowds several times, undoubtedly making a good number of fans very happy.

Chasing had wanted to see Regina Spektor, but we made a detour through the festival arts & crap area. A very talented artist by the name of Collin Welsch sucked us in with his wonderful Dia De Los Muertos images, and we all left with something. A bit of t-shirt shopping also complete, we only caught the last five minutes of Regina Spektor.

A little disappointed, hot, and somewhat tired, we took a break in front of the "second main" stage for Wilco. Afternoon was well on its way to turning into evening, so shade was blessedly plentiful. The guys in Wilco were their regular wonderful selves, although I was admittedly not paying much attention, instead recharging myself with a quick rest before the sprint to the end.

Chasing's sister and I made a detour to grab some grub, and then we met up again for Ghostland Observatory, a local band that has seen a lot of exposure over the last year, including '06 ACL Fest and '07 Lollapalooza. This was another band that put on a fantastic show, and the crowds proved it. Another CD purchased at the festival store. Playing opposite Ghostland in this timeslot were The Decemberists, but I think most people were at my end of the park.

…Or maybe not. After Ghostland Observatory finished up, we moseyed over to watch Bob Dylan. Chasing and I both hold a certain amount of respect for Dylan, but we're not fans. Tommy and Chasing's sister, however, ditched us early on and pushed for the front. Luckily, the closing set of ACL Fest is always scheduled alone, and the main stage is built at a spot where the terrain acts as a natural amphitheater. Bob could be heard throughout most of the park, so Chasing and I held back and just relaxed.

Dylan went a little over his scheduled time (city noise ordinances proscribe festivals from playing past 10 PM), but it wasn't too much after this that it was all over. Tired, dirty, sneezing, but happy, satisfied, and full of new ideas for music purchases, we headed back for our cars through the greenbelt. In all, this was another successful festival, and despite ever-increasing ticket prices, I'm sure I'll go again next year.

(Hint, hint, ACL Fest would make a great VineMeet. Y'all start saving now, y'hear?)

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