Friday, October 15, 2010
Austin City Limits - Day One
Posted by Nora Spitznogle on Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 8:29 PM
Nora goes to the Austin City Limits Festival - day one, Friday, October 8
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This is my third year attending ACLF and my second with a super-nifty photo pass - I almost felt like a pro!
I hate to admit that I've taken more public transportation in Austin than I have in Indianapolis. Today I took the public bus ($2 for 24 hours of unlimited rides) to Republic Square to to catch a shuttle to Zilker Park.
ACLF is also very bike friendly. This year you could also juice up your phone by pedaling a stationary bike thing in the Honda Hybrid Zone. I was lucky enough to have access to a electricity in the media area, so I didn't have to test out my pedaling prowess.
The big difference this year was the 10,000 extra people. I gave myself half of an hour to get to the Black Keys stage The photo pass allows you into the photo pit for the first three songs, so if you're not there in time you're screwed. I couldn't get through the crowd - and I pride myself on my waitress-like ability to slither through a throng of people.
I wandered into the Waterloo Records tent and spied on the Blues Travelers signing CDs.
I made it the stage where The Ettes were going to play with plenty of time to spare. This young man ran up to the stage when the band walked out to get his hat signed by Coco.
The Ettes hail from Nashville, TN and are a fine example of bass driven garage rock.
The Band of Heathens are Austin based roots rockers and have exploded in the past year with an AMA nomination and a slot at Lollapallooza.
They have beautiful harmonies and a southern-ish rock vibe (think the subdudes).
- Nora Spitznogle
- Spoon
Speaking of Austin bands, Spoon formed there fifteen-ish years. They are celebrating the release of their new record, Transference and letting themselves go a bit - they sounded a little rougher around the edges - in a good way.
- Nora Spitznogle
- Sonic Youth
Next I hopped over to the Sonic Youth stage. I've been a Sonic Youth fan since my noise-rock-punkish phase (if you call the last 25 years a phase). I last saw them at Lollapalooza 1995 in Philadelphia.
I only shot one Sonic Youth song because I didn't want to miss a bit of Ryan Bingham....
- Nora Spitznogle
- Ryan Bingham
Two years ago I got to stand on the stage of Ryan's ACLF set and I've been writing about him for NUVO for several years. When he won a Grammy for "The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)," this year I actually jumped up and down on my bed.
- Nora Spitznogle
- Ryan Bingham
My friend Aaron thinks that my (very appropriate, proud aunt-like) love of Ryan is a little obsessive and I think he might be right...so I won't post any more of the six zillion photos that I snapped during my ten minutes in the photo pit.
ACLF also features an artist area - cool handmade goods and some perfect-for-music-festivals booths (hats, skirts that can be twirled in and vegan shoes). The ART letters were knit by artist Knitta Please.
- Nora Spitznogle
- Strokes
I had to choose between Phish and The Strokes. I'm not a Phish fan (and you can't make me) even though I was intrigued by the thought of seeing them up close - and I wondered just how long three Phish songs would last, I opted for the The Strokes stage. I'm not sure I made the right choice. They started late, which is the only time I remember that at ACLF, and fifteen minutes is a long time to wait for the fans squished in to each other to hear them. The Strokes are touring for the first time in four years. They sounded and looked great, but I didn't connect with them.
- Nora Spitznogle
- Water Bottle Refilling Station
On the way out I finally got to see the water refill station with out a crowd ten deep refilling their water bottles. What a great idea!
All and all a great first day at ACLF. The weather was perfect and the crowds were huge.
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