There's nothing like the smell of fresh pot in Zilker Park on a late September afternoon. We'd scarcely been on the hallowed grounds of the Austin City Limits Music Festival for half an hour when the pungent fragrance that characterizes ACL made its debut. That's when you know it's all begun. That, along with heat, dust, scantily clad bodies, and music. Lots and lots of music.
The LRLM.net contingent arrived around 1:00 Friday afternoon. Chris Denny from Little Rock kicked things off for us at the Austin Ventures stage, with a little help from Graham Wilkinson and the Underground Township. Seems Denny's band left him high and dry prior to ACL. Despite some minor technical hurdles, Denny and the Township held their own, and held the crowd's attention, for an admirable first-ACL performance. Denny's only regret must have been the good-natured banter he had with some Texas fans over the upcoming football game against the Razorbacks. I'm sure he'd like to take that back.
I followed up Chris Denny with What Made Milwaukee Famous. Although I didn't stick around for their full set, I've got to say this band didn't make a big impression on me. I have no plans to travel to Milwaukee anytime soon. Vampire Weekend was next, and these guys were a pleasant surprise. It's easy to dismiss bands like this (compare Arctic Monkeys) as no-talent, sweater-wearing, pretty-boy hipsters, but I was impressed with the band's unique mixture of musical styles and their offbeat delivery. I'll probably download their latest album. VW were followed by Jamie Lidell, an English soul singer. I went over to the Dell stage asking myself, "What does an Englishman know about soul?" Listening to Lidell's performance brought me no closer to an answer. M. Ward entertained with his smooth voice and deft guitar skills, but Jenny Lewis disappointed. It was only fitting that the best of Friday was saved until last. Ryan Bingham made us remember why he made such an impression when he came through Little Rock a few months ago. Bingham brought the house down and left them begging for more at the end of his oh-so-short one-hour set. Manu Chao rounded out the evening with a show that can only be described as breathtakingly energetic.
Unfortunately for us, we missed Langhorne Slim Saturday morning (although we were fortunate enough to see his incredible show Monday night at Sticky Fingerz). Jose Gonzalez was the first big surprise of the day, though. Swedish-born but of Argentine heritage, Gonzalez has become a hit in Europe with his haunting vocals and classical guitar mastery. CSS, the Brazilian electro-punk band I had such high hopes for, was a disappointment. Maybe it was the heat. Beck wrapped up what ended up being the weakest of the festival's three days with a satisfying performance.
As far as I was concerned, Sunday belonged to Neko Case. Although I can't get enough of her work on Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, I had never seen her live and was prepared for disappointment. After hearing her much-too-brief performance, though, I was left in awe of this woman's incredible talent, both lyrically and musically. Her delivery, timing and pitch in a live performance were as close to perfect as any performer I've ever heard and I was left wondering if they really have to do much editing at all when they record her. I walked away from that performance an even bigger Neko Case fan and am highly anticipating her next album, which she played a couple of songs from. The new material sounded very similar to her material from Fox Confessor, and that's a good thing. The Raconteurs won me over after three or four songs. These guys are wickedly talented musicians and they produce a sound and a performance that can't help but draw you in. Truly mesmerizing. Then the Foo Fighters played some stuff and it was all over.
This was my second ACL in a row and I think I could become a junkie. If it gets to the point that I need a new drug, I suppose there's always Bonnaroo.
- Richie Graham
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