Austin City Limits Music Festival 2008

photo by Chim Chim

Suffice to say that my initial predictions, based upon the experiences of friends whom have extolled the virtues of and enjoyed ACL Fest in the past, were borne out as true. As Austin is the purported “Live Music Capital of the World,” it did have a reputation to uphold, so there were lots of great bands to see play across six or seven stages. With headlining acts that included Mars Volta, Manu Chou, Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Beck, The Raconteurs, and Foo Fighters, as well as all of the blues, bluegrass, and variations of Texas Country you can handle, no one was really ever at a loss for music. But, this being a music event held in Texas, one has to make mention of the immense amounts of tasty food that was always at hand – whether it was barbecue, tacos, feta, hamburgers, or a whole host of vegetarian-friendly options, there was no reason to go hungry at ACL. Both the music and the culture of the event served to provide a great many outstanding memories

The Music:
From Jenny’s ramped-up, Southern-esque country-rock, Neko’s powerful voice and achingly mournful songs, and Sharon Jones and her ridiculously unstoppable energy to the waves of shoegaze-y feedback from Spiritualized and the cool-kid indie-pop sheen of Vampire Weekend and Fleet Foxes, these were the standout performances from my perspective over the course of the weekend.

Vampire Weekend (Friday, 2:30pm – 3:30pm):
Playing to a packed lawn, this over-hyped, yet high quality act was much more fun and engaging than was to be expected. As opposed to their preppy, snobby, East Coast, Ivy League roots (not to mention that their apparel lent weight to the cliché), the four men in the band were quite talkative and peppy, never once giving off the appearance of being too cool for school. They were good performers who appeared to be having genuine fun on stage. The crowd itself was extremely excited throughout the group’s set, as they sung along to the group’s white-kid-friendly afro-indie pop for an entire hour.

Jenny Lewis (Friday, 5:45pm – 6:45pm):
From the moment that initially Ms. Lewis pranced onto the stage in her blue denim overalls-meets-hot-pants ensemble to when her outstanding backing band left the stage, this crowd was into every note that emitted from the stage. And luckily, Jenny & co. were up to the challenge, pouring forth a fuzz-drenched Southern soul set that gave fresh life to the songs from Jenny’s two solo albums. This was a high-energy set that cast aside the faux nuances in the recorded versions for some electric country-rock. Lewis was quite the outstanding performer who worked the audience well and delivered far beyond my expectations.

Fleet Foxes (Saturday, 12:30pm – 1:30pm):
I wasn’t too sure what to expect here, as I was concerned that the band’s overall Gram-Parsons-meets-Beach-Boys aesthetic wouldn’t work well at a large outdoor event in the daytime. Yet, while the guys themselves weren’t too enamored with playing such a big stage so early in the day, they proved to be more than able to convey their music through such a medium. Mixing in a host of humorous jokes and references to domestic fiscal policy (“I wish we were playing at the WaMu stage right now – we could use some of J. P. Morgan’s money.”), the band’s four-part harmonies and reserved, subtle musical nuances were performed with a strength that allowed their songs to really connect with the crowd. They came across as a very talented, yet self-aware group of musicians.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Saturday, 2:30pm – 3:30pm):
It’s difficult to contain the joyful glee I felt during this entire set. Courtesy of Amy Winehouse and the most recent Al Green record, I was familiar with the amazing abilities of The Dap-Kings, but to see their soul-funk-R&B goodness merged with the energy of Sharon Jones was a glorious sight to behold. Ms. Jones displayed a level of passion and dynamic showmanship that the most spastic punk rocker and/or psychedelic indie act could only hope to mimic. She danced, strutted, and pranced around the stage for an hour, belting out her songs over the band’s smooth grooves: she could have played for another hour and no one would have complained. White kids who have never set foot inside a black gospel church service couldn’t help but dance for the entirety of her set.

Spiriitualized (Saturday, 5:30pm – 6:30pm):
This set was better than expected, mostly because I had no idea what to expect. I was curious to hear how Jason Pierce and friends would be converting the brilliantly sad folk-tinged pop songs from Songs in A&E to play ACL and they responded with an hour-long amazing career-spanning retrospective, complete with all of the shoegazing waves of sound beloved by long-term fans of the band. Depending upon the song, rockabilly, country, and shoegaze all came out to play, but there were instances where it was evident that the band would have sounded much better inside where the sound could have bounced freely off the walls of a venue. It was still an excellent performance.

Neko Case (Sunday, 4:30pm – 5:30pm):
This set was a delight as Neko and Friends wowed the crowd for their entire time on stage, singing songs primarily from Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, while also introducing four new songs destined for inclusion on her new album. The first new ditty was a Blacklisted-type torch song, the second was reminiscent of Springsteen and The New Pornographers, the third was a quirky country-pop ditty about a killer whale going on a hunting trip, while the fourth was a Harry Nilsson song turned into a country ballad. Her booming voice and her melancholy songs were absolutely huge live, bigger than I imagined them to be, and the band pulled no punches in delivering the music with superior musical skill. Ending with “John Saw That Number,” Neko left me a happy man and my weekend more than complete.

The Event:
On top of the music, what stood out was the quantity and quality of dining options from a plethora of great Austin-area restaurants and how it was much more economical (i.e. costing not much more than they would at the actual restaurant) than I had envisioned. Moreover, not only were the beer, bottled water, and tea prices more than reasonable, the festival coordinators provided two different stations for free tap water. The high level of organization supporting this event (including the ushering of people onto the city and charter buses to reach their cars for the drive home) proved to be extremely impressive from a logistical standpoint.

However, as there is a true downside to everything, let me discuss my two principal concerns. 1) Despite the presence of offerings from indigenous Austin restaurants, the entire festival was underwritten by mega-corporate sponsors like AT&T, Dell, AMD and Washington Mutual (of the recent buy-out by J.P. Morgan). While the logos for these sponsors weren’t oppressive in their ubiquity, it was hard to ignore their presence on every advertisement, banner, and announcement. If you can feed tens of thousands of people on the backs of hometown food purveyors, couldn’t the ACL people put on this festival under the same conditions? 2) The choice of musical acts and the arrangement of their times and locations for their performances was a constant source of curious frustration. Yes, I know that people enjoy a wide diversity with their music tastes, but is it really necessary to position a left-of-center R&B singer like Erykah Badu at 4:30pm on a wide-open field where the subtle quirks and nuances of her songs would get lost in the vast expanses of open air? I personally enjoyed her set (and her politics), but it appeared that the impact of her music was lost on the average country/rock/blues/folk-loving hippie/cowboy/college student/Austinite.

Nevertheless, the primary component of any and all festivals of this nature is that the activities surrounding said event take precedence over the music. Yes, the music is wonderful, and yes, the attendees love the music that they hear over the course of the their time, but what’s more important is that you’re there and soaking in the energy of the event. As opposed to the never-ending walking that is intrinsic to SXSW, someone could literally see a great collection of singers and bands over the course of three days from the comfort of his/her folding chair. And while there’s nothing wrong with such an approach to concert going, it’s certainly not my preference.

Thus, what sets the SXSW experience apart from ACL is that while SXSW caters to club-hopping hipsters, ACL fully embraces Austin’s hippie culture: hacky-sacks, Frisbees, tie-dye, and Birkenstocks were in heavy abundance. While they had no problem bringing in worthwhile buzz bands, Austin City Limits (the long running TV show, aired on PBS) stands out even further as it openly accepts and propagates its role as being the primary source west of the Mississippi River for both preserving and deepening Americana/roots music. Thus, this dedication to these regionally specific styles of music skews the core audience in a certain direction, leading to a particular brand of attendee. All of that aside, my time at Austin City Limits Fest was more than enjoyable, as I was graced with the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful combination of great music, good food, and great friends. ACL 2008 was well worth my time and energy, both as a fan and critic of music.