September 16, 2006
ACL Fest | This one's for Dougie G
We went down to the ACL Fest, parked downtown and walked to the shuttle bus park to get transported (like cattle) to the giant Zilker Park in Austin for the fifth annual Austin City Limits Festival, which is run as smooth as ever. The giant park (which usually holds several soccer fields) is surrounded by trees and features 7 giant stages interspersed throughout the grounds to give the sound system enough room to fill the air, but not bleed over too much into the other stage areas. There's lots of free water spickets and "sister mister" areas to cool off from the Texas heat.
By mis-estimating how long it would take to park and shuttle there, we missed the set by Guster, who keeps eluding me as an artist. I can' remember how many cool shows of his I've missed (like a taping of the ACL show), despite my efforts otherwise.
We did get to see Wolf Parade on the AT&T Blue Room Stage, which is one of many with giant video screens to service the crowd that extends far back and away. They were quite good, with really infectious melodies and a driving, energetic vibe. We met up with 2005 intern Tim Halllila there, who caught us up on his summer in Russia and his senior year at Stephen F. Austin University. He was there with a one day pass and most wanted to see Nickel Creek, who were up next. This band's jamming ways were in full tilt, with the violins and guitars competing in speed, melody and riffing contests. Not exactly a hootinanny, but definitely an earthy, bluegrass vibe taken to jam band and alt country and rock songs.
We heard Danielia Cotton cover AC/DC's "Back In Black" quite well, with her drummer pounding away in perfect time. Del Castillo played in the Washington Mutual tent/building, putting out an incredible amount of passionate jamming. Their two flamenco guitarists are about as fast and blazing (in harmony, too) as I've heard. Their singer is quite the frontman (imagine a Latino Tom Jones).
Trish Murphy played a spirited set with a full band on the BMI Stage, where she basically schooled anybody listening on the art of writing good blues songs. She tells a story in just about every ditty. She started off with one insightful song from her catalog -- "The Trouble With Trouble," which offers the life lesson: "the trouble with trouble is it starts out as fun..."
I was quite impressed with John Mayer. Charlotta had told me that he was good, and I knew him to be quite popular, but I had no idea what I was getting into. This little kid on guitar conjures the ghost of Stevie Ray Vaughan at a place that reveres the man, wailing away on guitar. Supported by a band loaded with talent, he had a solid rhythmic bed upon which to wail and sing. While sometimes his solos never took off the ground, they moved as smooth as any great blues player.
Van Morrison closed out the night with his wise old songs of truth. While the humidity and heat combine to make this an endurance test, by the end of the night (at only 10 pm) we were spent. Several thousand revelers probably went to clubs for many infamous star-studded sets all across town, we were only too happy to hit the sack.
On the way out of the festival towards the shuttle buses we saw a sign holder that I expected to see again (remembering from last year). His sign said something about "broad is the way to destruction." In his eyes was a penetrating, steely stare. I felt like telling him what was missing: his tears. If he really loved this city and really cared about their souls, wouldn't he be crying? Instead he looked like he was fighting. He definitely had a "game face" on. I thought about Jeremiah -- the weeping prophet. Jesus talked about Jerusalem and how it made him weep, wishing He could hold the people under his arms like a hen to its chicks. Maybe this guy was fighting. Maybe he was talking to demons, who might've only been too happy to torment the guy and his efforts, but judgment and hatred were probably the chief impression from each person that passed him by. I wonder if this man was a jerk, hated by his family. It wasn't hard to judge him in my imagination. I wonder how he was saved. Surely it was from someone showing him love and not a big sign that talked about hell. While he probably means well and it took some courage to do what he did, I imagine he won't bear much fruit. Perhaps he could rethink his approach.
Photos & Review by Doug Van Pelt & Charlotta Van Pelt
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