Did anybody else here go to ACL this year?

K.LO

I was just wondering if anyone went to Austin City Limits. Unfortunately, I was only there for Sunday, but was able to see Sybris, Silversun Pickups, Flyleaf, Gnarls Barkley, and Foo Fighters. It was my first music festival...I can't wait until SXSW!!

hoopinman

K.LO wrote:

I was just wondering if anyone went to Austin City Limits. Unfortunately, I was only there for Sunday, but was able to see Sybris, Silversun Pickups, Flyleaf, Gnarls Barkley, and Foo Fighters. It was my first music festival...I can't wait until SXSW!!

dont get your hopes up...SXSW is cool...but not anything like ACL Fest. Unless oyu have a pass, which is expensive....odds are you will get shut out of most shows in Austin....unless its not in conjunction with SXSW...and most of Austin's venues are tied in.

AvocadoLady

That was not my experience with SXSW at all. There's a ton of free stuff going on during the day; free drinks and free food, too. You might have to wait in line a bit for the buzz bands, but I'd say for 85% of the things I wanted to see, I walked right in.

It takes a bit more research than a festival, because you have to figure out which bands are playing when and where, but there are lots of websites to help you do that. Austin360.com is a great resource.

You can get into any of the evening headlining shows with a wristband which is $130 or so. Last year I saw REM, My Morning Jacket, and a Jim James/M. Ward solo show in a church, all with the wristband. Everything else - and I do mean everything, I didn't sit down for five days - was $free.99.

goto_l

yes I went, actually have gone every year since 2004. This will probobly be my last year though. The lineup is getting a bit thin every year, and the orginazation of the show isn't what it used to be. Also I'm not fond of the "hipster" crowd or the meat headed frat boys who have taken over the event. In general that's Austin in a nutshell though, not this oasis of cool, or enlightenment, rather fratty & spin magazine like trendy.

As for SXSW... there is no method to their madness. It's a convention for the labels, not a festival, most shows are bands no one really cares to see, so it's easy to get in. However, all label reps have priority to admission of the general public to ALL shows. With my past esxperience with SXSW...some bands you really want to see will actually only play a 3 song set, while others will play 2hrs.
It's a bit or a crap shoot.

zircona1

I've been to ACL the past two years. I agree that this year's lineup was slightly weak, but that's only because last year's was amazing - Bjork, Arcade Fire, Wilco, My Morning Jacket, etc.

I still saw lots of great bands this year though - Beck, Gogol Bordello, David Byrne, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Neko Case, Tegan and Sara, John Fogerty, etc.

jwillmo

ACL Fest and SXSW every year since the beginning of ACL. Never disappointed (although I live here, makes the decision to go much easier).

I have already bought my 2009 ACL Fest tickets. I'm primed and ready to be duped into thinking PJ is playing, it's not ACL Fest without that perrenial rumor.

K.LO

Next time I go to Austin I have to remember to go to Waterloo Records.;)
I'm awaiting the SXSW lineup, and I'm saving up some money so hopefully I can see several bands. So, do you all prefer SXSW or ACL?

mfc2006

my wife & i went the last 2 years and had a blast both times. this year's was great. we didn't have as many conflicts in trying to decide on which band to go see. the raconteurs were amazing! also..heartless bastards, jenny lewis, m ward, beck, conor oberst, the black keys, sharon jones, gillian welch, david byrne...ah...what a fun weekend!!

next year should be interesting to see who comes back. it seems like a lot of the "every-year bands" took a break in 2008. i expect that wilco, mmj and kol will make a return visit. and if PJ plays....wow.

for those of you that haven't been...you should go. if you do, i'll buy you a big beer!

Cob

I have been to every ACL Fest. and I have to say I had the most fun this year. We went to the David Byrne show in Thurs. night at the Paramount, great show, saw Ian Maclagan at the Lucky Lounge from 6-8 before the Byrne show, for free as always. Oh yea and I also went to the KGSR radio broadcast at the Four Seasons Hotel from 8am till 10am, you pay $5 and bands play and they have food and coffee.

Friday Morning back to the Four Seasons Hotel, saw the guys from Double Trouble play that morning and Black Joe Lewis, later on went to the ACL Fest., saw David Byrne again, Alejandro Escovedo, and The Mars Volta put on a GREAT show that night!

Sat.:ACL Fest.:Robert Earl Keen, Electric Touch, Mason Jennings, John Fogerty, The Black Keys, Rocky Erickson, Some of Robert Plant and Alison Kraus and some of Beck. Then we left early to go to Stubbs to see what was WITH OUT A DOUBT the best show of the week end, The Butthole Surfers, THEY FUCKING ROCKED THE HOUSE, great show and a grand time was had by all.

They finished at about 12 am, we're walking out and one of my friends informs us that And You Will Know Us As The Trail of The Dead are playing around the corner for $8.00, don't know if anyone on this BB has heard of them, but they are AWESOME! the show was great we leave downtown Austin at about 2 am, go eat at IHOP and get home at around 3:30 am.

Sunday ACL Fest. Neko Case, Heartless Bastards, The Raconteurs, a little bit of Band of Horses and finally The Foo Fighters to cap off an ACL weekend that started on Thursday morning at about 7:15 am and ends Sunday night at about 11 am. I have been to every ACL Fest. since it began, but 2008 was the most fun I've had hands down, seeing The Butthole Surfers in Austin is an experience onto itself and hard to describe in words and I have the best wife ever for letting me act like I was 24 again for one LOOOONG weekend!

AvocadoLady

mfc2006 wrote:

next year should be interesting to see who comes back. it seems like a lot of the "every-year bands" took a break in 2008. i expect that wilco, mmj and kol will make a return visit. and if PJ plays....wow.

I agree, mfc - and I could definitely see that happening!

K.LO wrote:

So, do you all prefer SXSW or ACL?

I love them both, but for different reasons. SXSW is cool if you *really* love music because you get to see the bands everyone's talking about before they embark on their first big summer tours - it's like a sneak preview.

But ACL is so chill and laid back. They have such a good mix of acts and fantastic aftershows. And the food's good too

mfc2006

yeah---no doubt that this year was great! we went to the heartless bastards/dead confederate show @ Emo's and met the bands. they even signed a poster for us, which was really cool! and to end the weekend with the raconteurs (we missed foo fighters to beat the traffic) was awesome.

AvocadoLady

Niiiice. Love Dead Confederate. I did the Drive-by Truckers, Band of Horses, and Black Keys aftershows this year.

mfc2006

nice! we tried to get tix the day of the black keys show...no luck:(. but we saw them @ ACL! Well worth the wait to be up front.

K.LO

Those of you that had 3 day passes are lucky!

mfc2006

Buy them early....that's the key! Sure, they cost a little bit. But next thing you know, you've paid for them & the fest is only 2 months away..you start checking the board daily for the lineup...good times! Besides, $130-40 or so is well worth it!

AvocadoLady

Already got my tickets for next year I wouldn't miss it!

Who Princess

I agree, buy your pass early. It's really a good deal when you think how many acts you see. After going for a couple of years now with friends who've been several times, I've worked out a pretty good system that allows me to see as many performers as possible.

This year some of the real highlights for me, besides the Foos of course, were Rodney Crowell, Gogol Bordello (I am a new fan!), Manu Chau, Drive-By Truckers, The Fratellis, Roky Erickson, Gillian Welch, and Gnarls Barkley.

I am already looking forward to next year!