ACL day 3
Day 3 had us moving a bit slow. But the good news, Sunday was the hottest day yet! Fortunately there was an Empire & DFA waiting for us so march on we did.
This is the third time we’ve seen the Walkmen at ACL and I’m not sure I’ll ever get sick of it. Love these guys and the droning guitars. Plus, “The Rat” is a great song to hear live and in the blasting heat, it’s even better. Mona was next, though simply a pass through to get to the guest lounge. After a quick cool off, a clean restroom, and a frosty beverage, we were back out in the festival just in time for Chiddy Bang, also a pass through act offering little to keep our attention.
DFA 1979
Looking for shade in the crowd, we stopped by the Vista Equity tent to catch a very excitable Bomba Estereo. I knew little of these guys and their energetic front woman. They kept my attention for the entire set with crazy beats, easy singalong vocals and a dancing crowd — which made me forget the heat for a moment or two. Ryan Bingham and Dead Horses filled a gap in our schedule and to my dear friend Kenneth, I offer a nod to you, Mr. Bingham and those Horses, dead though they may be.
Then came the crunchy guitars and kicking drums. Death From Above 1979 (DFA 1979) were nothing short of amazing. How often do you get to scream to good music? I mean really scream. Primal scream? In fact, the screaming brought the clouds and the clouds brought a nice sprinkle that cooled the crowd off for the remainder of the festival. Oh DFA. You even impressed my friends into country music. I’ve heard it twice now from the least likely sources “DFA was the best thing I saw”. That makes me happy. Very happy and again, very hopeful for Austin’s musical taste.
Arcade Fire "We Used to Wait"
Elbow… what can I say. We heard one song and I’m pretty sure it was “Hey Jude” with a few new lyrics. “Na-na-na-nananana, nananana, Elbow!” I was told this criticism was blasphemy…but if it sounds like the Beatles, and it sings like the Beatles… Sorry all. I’ve always enjoyed Elbow but this was not great.
And then the crowd changed. Headdresses. War paint. The Empyrians were here. Oh yeah. Having seen them on Saturday and logging that as one of my top five concerts of all time (seriously), my expectations were high and I was very excited for our friends to witness the heaven that is Empire of the Sun. Luke and gang were great. The sound from where we were, was not. This was clearly not the fault of EOTS as we had a similar experience with Foster the People on the same stage and Cut Copy on a different stage. My advice to those leaving because of sound, buy the record and catch them when they are not playing a festival. I’m counting down until the next EOTS album and show… already.
Sprawl II ~ with a big transparent hand. Jerk!
Arcade Fire closed the festival down and as usual, blew the crowd away. Thanks to Mr. Drew, we landed about 10 feet from the stage and had a fantastic view. What a perfect run of shows to end an amazing festival.
The Best: Empire of the Sun (both shows & obviously), DFA 1979, Arcade Fire, Fitz & The Tantrums, Cut Copy, Santigold & Bomba Estereo.
The Worst: Whoever was responsible for the sound on the Google + and AMD stages. Truly, truly the worst!
Scott In ATX, you're on the air. 