I love ACL Fest and that time of year is now upon us. I have a schedule of bands that I want to see, but there’s plenty of room for discovery as well. Discovering artists I’d previously never heard is the best part.
There is one conflict for me. Massive Attack or Willie Nelson? I’ve seen Willie twice (once this year) so I’ll probably check out Massive Attack, assuming they have their visa issue squared away. If not, I’ll happily see Willie again.
Today’s Austin 360 featured an article about key schedule conflicts. Here’s my take:
In the matter of Tragically Hip vs. Ray LaMontagne, I will see the Hip. They’re one of my favorite acts and I haven’t missed a Hip show in Austin in nearly ten years. I will not, however be sporting a hockey jersey.
In the matter of Nada Surf vs. TV on the Radio, I will probably check out TV on the Radio, but I’m not familiar with either band.
In the matter of Tom Petty vs. going home early on Sunday, I will probably go home early. I usually do. I stuck around for REM in 2003, but it just made feel old.
My other picks:
Friday: The Greyhounds, Ghandaia, Nickel Creek, Del Castillo, Thievery Corporation, Tragically Hip
Saturday: Pierre Guimard, Federico Abele, Galactic, Los Lobos, Calexico, The Raconteurs, Willie Nelson or Massive Attack
Sunday: The Black Angels, Husky Rescue, Buckwheat Zydeco, New Orleans Social Club
The weather looks like it will be nice: hot, but in the low nineties it should be bearable.
Check out my wife’s blog for some good ACL Fest survival tips.
The 2006 ACL Fest lineup is out. I’m pleased with the list. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is the Sunday night headliner. I like them when I hear them, but since we usually leave during the last set on Sunday night, I’m glad the headliner is one I won’t feel bad about walking away from if exhaustion proves once again more powerful than music.
Other acts I’m looking forward to seeing: Massive Attack, The Tragically Hip, Galactic, Thievery Corporation, Calexico, Willie Nelson (who’s finally playing ACL!), Buckwheat Zydeco, Nickel Creek, and Son Volt.
The best thing about ACL Fest, though, is the number of acts I discover there. There are many on the list that I’ve never heard before so I’m sure I’ll be making quite a few discoveries.
My lovely wife emailed me today to tell me that ACL Fest tickets are on sale and that she got ours. The schedule hasn’t been released yet, but it’s always worth it to buy the tickets early before the prices shoot up when the schedule is made public.
This will be our fourth ACL Fest. It seems it’s become something of a tradition for us and our friends. We all take four days off and hit the festival on Friday afternoon and use Monday to recover. Friends come up from the coast (last year evacuated was a more appropriate word) and we listen to music and eat out and just enjoy living in Austin.
The best thing about the festival is discovering so much great music. Half the artists I see, I’ve never heard of before, but I often go out and buy their CDs after the shows. Plus, I love that it’s so civilized as far as big outdoor festivals go. The food is great, most of it provided by Austin’s local restaurants. The facilities are clean. The people are not obnoxious. And of course Zilker Park is just a nice place to be. Sometimes the heat can be miserable. 108F on Sunday last year, for instance. But by Spetember most people around here are kind of used to that. Besides it can be nice in September.
Anyways, the main purpose of this entry is just as a place for me to record the bands I saw in previous years since part of the reason for this blog is to help me remember things, and I wasn’t blogging back then, but if you want an idea of who’s been there in the past, check it out. That’s what’s below the fold. I’ll be adding to the lists if I remember anything.
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