acl day 3: if it doesn’t rain soon, i’m going to die

I am going to be very honest and say that I do not deal well in the heat.  It was a major concern of mine when I learned that we would be attending the festival.  The heat just doesn’t work for me.  It makes me feel horrible and faint and ill and whiny, and I know I’m not alone in admitting all of this.  So when we read the weather reports for Sunday, we were thrilled to learn that there was a 40-50% chance of rain all day.  Score.  Rain at a music festival makes you feel infinitely cooler.  See: Woodstock.

We began the day with a later wake-up call and a trip to Juan in a Million.  This legendary restaurant is famous for their breakfast tacos.  I’d say that we have become pretty huge fans of the things, so we were excited to try it out.  We were meeting with Helen’s friends, who suggested the place, and we had also heard of it from TV, so I had high hopes for the quality of their breakfast.  I have to say, I was a little disappointed.  I got the Con Queso Breakfast: eggs covered in their house queso, carne guisada, refried beans, potatoes, and flour tortillas.  I was surprised that I liked the carne so much, but the eggs…oh, the eggs.  I don’t understand why anyone who can call themselves a breakfast place would cook eggs like they do.  It was just not ok.  While Joellen’s were overcooked, mine were overcooked on one side and slimy on another.  No bueno.  I wound up eating one and a half tacos, which was really one taco more than I wanted/should have and dipped the rest of my potatoes in the queso, but the damage to my appetite had already been done (I know, this upset me too).  They also charged $4.50 for quacamole, aka some unripe avocado mashed up with zero spice.  Bravo for using real avo, but boo to you for all of the other offenses of the morning.  If you’re in Austin, this place is definitely worth skipping–just go to Tacodeli.

We headed from Juan in a Million to our last day at ACL, just in time to see The Head and the Heart, a Joellen pick.  Even though the heat was so intense that I thought I’d pass out, I really liked them.  Check them out here.  I know that I sound really dramatic, but the heat was becoming unbearable, so Joellen and I decided that we would go to the big stage to stake our claim on a spot and enjoy whatever bands were playing ahead of the big show of the festival–Arcade Fire.  We first got in to the very long line for a delicious snow cone from Snowie.  Just what we needed.  Cold and sweet and wonderful.  We also walked through the “Art” section of the festival and got some ACL paraphernalia to round out the whole experience.

We went to the Bud Light stage and found  a nice spot to make our own for the rest of the day.  The first band that we happened upon in this venue was The Airborne Toxic Event, which we all liked.  I can’t really remember much about them, as I was focusing on shading myself, but they had a good sound and were fun to watch.  There was an hour break between them and the next band, so we got to hear some of the Chiddy Bang show, which I thought was fun, but Joellen disliked.  As a rap music lover/appreciator, I thought that they put on a good show, but Joellen made the valid point that rap is often much better when only listened to, and that rap shows are usually kind of stupid.  I don’t disagree, but enjoyed hearing it all the same.  We then watched the Broken Social Scene, which we both agreed were like every other alternative band right now, and definitely were not memorable.  Not horrible to watch, though our attention was focused on the rain clouds that seemed to be heading our way.

I am pleased to let you all know that not long after Broken Social Scene, the sky turned grey and it finally started to rain here and there.  It was so necessary, and the feeling that I was going to pass out soon faded in to a distant and horrible memory.  During the interim between Broken Social Scene and the next band on the stage, Fleet Foxes, Emily, Joellen and Helen decided to get some food and I stayed at our camp to hold our place.  While I waited, I listened to Elbow, a British group that was actually really awesome.  I had heard good things, and had I known how great they were, I definitely would have made more of an effort to actively see their show.  I loved listening to them, though, and Joellen arriving with dinner made the event all the more exciting.  She came back to me bearing a Love Burger from Tim Love’s Love Shack, accompanied with some of the truffle mac and cheese that I had on day one, and for herself bought a Thai style vegetarian pie from Boomerang’s Pies (to share with me, of course) and another avocado taco from Torchy’s.  For me, the burger was just ok.  I heard that Tim Love, the chef at Lonesome Dove and Love Shack, was famous for his burgers, and I was slightly disappointed that the only unique thing was the sauce, a mayo-based tangy aioli that I probably could have found at countless other places.  It wasn’t bad, but definitely did not exceed expectations.  The pie was pretty good, and I really enjoyed the flavor of the sauce (the crust was also awesome), but there was an overabundance of baby corn that made it slightly less enjoyable.  Overall though, it was a nice meal (especially since we finally regained our appetites that were stifled due to the heat).

While we ate our dinners, we watched Fleet Foxes, who we had been looking forward to.  They were pretty awesome.  I am glad that the Bud Light stage was showing some pretty great artists, because our 9 hour tenure could have been pretty horrible if that had not been the case.  After Fleet Foxes, we heard some of the Empire of the Sun show before the main event: Arcade Fire.  Now, as the recent recipients of the Grammy Award for Best Album, I had high hopes for this show and I was not disappointed.  They put on an amazing performance.  They were energetic and fun to watch.  I really enjoyed the last part of the day.  And, at the last minute I decided to participate in the Rock & Recycle program.  I was given a large trash bag and had to fill it with recyclables, at the completion of which I would receive a free t-shirt.  I decided to do this around 9:15 on the last day (shows end at 10), and by closing time, my bag was overflowing and I went to claim my free shirt.  It was pretty exciting.  We decided to wait a while before trying to catch the shuttle, which really paid off, because we were some of the last people to leave the show and wound up not having to wait in line at all before boarding an empty bus.  Score.  Exhausted and exhilarated, we headed home to rest before the continuation of our cross-country trek.

Over all, I am so pleased with our ACL experience.  With the exception of a few hot hours, we could not have asked for better weather, and our music-loving companions were wonderful.  We’re already talking about the next festival that we might go to.

❤ Amy

we get on (acl: day 2)

There is one huge reason to skip music festivals:

• The Porta-Potty.

There are, however, so many reasons to do it:

• Great bands you know
  • Iron & Wine was a good show. Not sure if it was our location or the sound or the distractions around, but it wasn’t what I expected. I was thinking more along the lines of slow and acoustic, but they jammed out! They played on one of the two large stages (AMD) and we were pretty far back – still awesome to see them live.
  • Gillian Welch went on stage about 20 minutes late (which is not festival-like timing – something really pleasing for a rule-follower like me). We stayed for about half of her set and it was really enjoyable. She played at the only covered venue, which was not exactly to her liking. I agree, though, it would have sounded better on at one of the outside venues.
  • We left GW and headed over to see Cee Lo on the other main stage (Bud Light). Amy wanted to hear “Forget You” and I was more than excited to see half a dozen middle age women singing “F#%@ You” at the top of their lungs and dancing around. I suppose we can’t really count him because we only saw one song and it takes three to make it count.
  • Stevie Wonder was challenging, but he is a legend. I was fortunate enough to see him last year at Bonnaroo, so this time it was for Amy. Unfortunately, the sound was set too low and it was difficult to hear. Also, we were quite far back. If you’re going to a music festival with so many stars, don’t expect to see everyone up close. It’s much better to relax and make the experience about the live music. Another Bonnaroo lesson learned.
  • We stayed for about three of Stevie’s songs (counts) and the headed over to My Morning Jacket. I had recently seen them as they passed through Cincinnati. Great performers and a very energetic show. We stayed for a few songs and then listened to the final songs walking to the shuttle pick up.

• Even better bands you don’t know
  • We arrived late morning and headed right for Telekinesis. I found this indie rock band out of Seattle quite entertaining. The lead singer’s voice was sweet and he played the drums (Phil Collins anyone?). I think this is an album that I will probably check out. If for no other reason than to support their endeavors – I felt they were genuinely honored to be a performer at ACL.
  • We caught a set from Alexander, at Emily’s suggestion/demand. I’m so glad we did. He was really amazing and I will definitely be a fan…already am.
  • The Antlers and Young the Giant were both new to me. They were really good shows and the crowds for both of these were expansive…made me feel cool and old at the same time.

• People watching
  • Man, it’s so good here at ACL…one because it’s a festival and two because it’s Austin. Some of today’s highlights were: A Where’s Waldo lookalike (on purpose), so.many.raybans., children running around and playing (a useful place for light up shoes), grown men passing time with potentially dangerous child-like acrobatic moves (superman), a young boy celebrating his 13^th birthday with his parents (awww), and so, so, so many kids ages 12-17. (I could keep going, but it would take all night.)
  • Speaking of people, I got the chance to reunite with a friend from high school today. Brian lives in Seattle and was making the trip to purchase a 1987 VW Westy and decided to hit ACL for a day. Had a great time catching up and hanging out with him (along with introducing him to some new music). Looking forward to visiting him in Seattle!

• The flags
  • As Amy identified yesterday, the regulars use flagpoles topped with unique flags/items to serve as a marker and sometimes show who’s cooler than the next person. Today we saw some interesting things like a blow-up doll, a flag that simply reads “Yogurt”, a plea to Legalize Armadillos, a lamp shade, and one with a highly debated rodent-like creature (Amy asked, it was a ferret…I still think otter). Let us know if you have any ideas for our future flag.

• The food
  • When heading to the shuttle bus this morning something caught my eye. It was iced coffee. In a dispensable Igloo cooler – you know the ones that you could get from McDonald’s filled with their Orange Drink? It was awesome. Then I look over and Amy is already standing by the Tacodeli tent. We shared one taco with Mexican mashed potatoes, black beans, and cheese and another one that was Migas style. Added a little spicy avocado sauce to both and that made our morning so much better – breakfast tacos are magical. At the festival we tried not to repeat too much of yesterday, but its just so good. We first shared a goat cheese and black bean tamale. I am growing more and more fond of tamales…which is good because if you know Amy, you know she loves those little masa packages. It was good, but I think we can do better. Next we divided and Amy got chicken biryani that got her stamp of approval (see the mint chutney validation from yesterday’s entry) and I got another fried avocado taco from Torchy’s (yum). For dinner we decided it would be fun to eat when everyone else did. This meant standing in line for 25 minutes for Amy to try the fried chicken from Lucy’s. I think she really liked it – all I know is that it was half gone before I got back with my veggie burger and fries from P. Terry’s. I enjoyed both items a lot.

• Personal challenges
  • Attending a music festival in the summer (in Texas, no less) means that you need to be ready to sweat. And pray a lot for rain. We had pretty good weather the first day and today was looking hopeless. The clear blue skies and burning sun were already having an effect on us. Well, me. I learned that heat makes me angry. I think Amy learned that as well. Thank goodness the rain rescued us from further anger – I’m a little scared to think of how the day could have gone. It rained for a good hour and we were all so glad to be cooled off and enjoying the good music and food.
  • We learned a lot from day 1. After waiting in line for so long Friday night to catch the shuttle bus back to downtown, we made a smart move and left the festival a little early tonight – what a great move on our part! We barely waited at all and were home by midnight.

Day two was a huge success! Can’t wait for day 3.

Joellen