It is the final day of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The rain appears to be minding its manners, but the damage has already been done. Yesterday's deluge turned the beautiful, green grass into a mushy, gooey mess. And, for some reason, it smells like a cattle ranch after a storm, or like overturned porta-potties. I consider the terrain to be like a fictional place I call the boggy marshes of Poopenshire.
But, you know what? You learn to deal with it, if you want to see some truly amazing music. Austin band Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears (seen above) was sensational. It was like being transported back in time to an old Motown or Staxs concert. Fans of Sam and Dave, Otis Redding or James Brown would be more than satisfied with this modern day incarnation.
The path to David Garza's Austin Ventures stage was a sloppy, dirty, slip and slide event. However, careful trekking got me there in one piece. The onetime Dallas resident was another big plus in a great day of music.
I think the B-52's win the prize for biggest daytime crowd over the last three days. I have not seen so many people in front of one stage at one time. It was like they were the only band playing. I totally understand why the group had such an enormous crowd. The second they started, the entire park was transformed into a musical nirvana. I never thought they'd be able to deliver such a rock solid performance, but they did!
K is for Kiddie Rides, which are specially-designed to provide all the fun in half the size. Tiny Ferris wheels, roller coasters and bumper cars are just a few of the miniature rides available for our smallest fairgoers to enjoy.
The bumper cars are classic entertainment, and there's nothing quite like encouraging the fundamentals of road rage in our next generation of drivers.
There is a reason why I don't wear shorts and flip flops to ACL, and this is one of them. A lot of people went home muddy, and I wonder how the lush new Zilker Park grass is going to hold up under these conditions. They may wind up replanting the entire field, since much of the area was turned into a mushy, messy, mud pit.
It started coming down really hard and I was forced under cover for a while. I almost braved the storm to see Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights. I regret not toughing it out, because I heard the set was killer. I eventually did come back out of hiding, though.
It took forever to reach the AMD stage. the crowds at AMD and the nearby XBOX 360 stage had merged into one giant mass of bodies and lawn chairs. I didn't mind the crowd, as it's a given that ACL will be packed on Saturday. I was just a bit surprised the bad weather didn't scare off a few more people.
As you can see in the picture above, Mos Def owns a watch. He simply chooses not to use it. It's rare for ACL to run behind schedule, but he came out approximately twenty minutes late. His set was worth the wait, as it took hip hop to a whole new level. It's still a shame the delay made me miss John Vanderslice. The San Francisco indie artist is a personal favorite.
Rain wasn't the only thing in the air. There was also a hint of love (unless you were near the potra-potties, then it definitely wasn't love in the air). I saw plenty of couples hugging, kissing and snuggling. It was nice to see so many people enjoying the concert, despite the nasty weather.
As usual, I was left with a decision to make: Dave Matthews Band or Ghostland Observatory? I've seen both live and own albums from each. I prefer to support Texas bands when I can, so I chose the Austin duo. I've seen Ghostland Observatory at their two other ACL Fest performances and loved them both. This time was no different.
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