ACL Sunday

First I should say that I'm the best music fan ever. After ACL on Saturday, I didn't go home, instead I went to the Carousel to see my favorite Austin band the Ugly Beats. So, that was a late night. The next morning, I ran 4 miles before arriving at ACL around 12:15! I normally show up around 3 or 4, but I had a hunch about Nicole Atkins and the Sea who were playing at 12:30. I'm really glad I made it so early and hope I can do the same for future ACLs. I kind of expected there not to be a big crowd that early, but hadn't really thought how that would translate into a better experience. I saw the last few songs of Sybris, and while I didn't write anything down about the band, it was great to see a band up close without being in a crowd.

Nicole Atkins and the Sea were just awesome. I got to stand in the second row and must say I enjoyed every aspect of that set. The songs were good, the arrangements were clever, and Nicole was very down to earth and funny. And she has quite a powerful voice, full of vibrato. I had seen a video of hers on MEtv, which I recall not liking at first for some reason, but I've completely changed my mind and love it now. I thought there was only one song of hers that I've heard but I actually recognized two. They also did a cool version of the Doors' "Crystal Ship" which highlighted her strong voice. Being the best fan ever, I helped my side of the audience "kick the other side's ass" (her words) in the audience participation portion of the set. I enjoyed the set so much that I also watched her 15 minute set on the Austin Kiddie Limits stage and bought her CD. Unfortunately, I didn't see her at the autograph booth to tell her how awesome we both were.

I caught bits and pieces of band sets after that: The Kills, Neko Case, Blues Traveler, The Racounteurs, Tegan and Sara, but was never close enough to the stage to really enjoy them like that last set. I watched most of Galactic from closer and enjoyed their groove.

Foo Fighters was last, and I wasn't planning on getting anywhere near the stage. I saw them a couple of years ago when they toured with Weezer and thus didn't feel the need to. However, halfway through the set I found an easy way up the left side and managed to get a lot closer than I expected. It was a bit of an angle but I could see Grohl clearly and it wasn't crowded at all. Grohl's behavior on stage is completely opposite of Beck, he just yammers on about whatever, which is fun. They did "Big Me" during their encore, which surprised me because I read somewhere that they never play that one.

That's it, another fun time at ACL. I'll be buying tickets for next year as soon as they are announced!