A Few Random Observations:
I never though I would find an airport I liked less than Atlanta... then I met Dallas' DFW... and Atlanta is a close second.
At one point I was in an airplane that i literally smaller than a school bus... I am not just saying that for effect... I literally could not stand up inside of it, and leg room... forget it.
Texas is a Southwestern state and not a Southern State... I know this because I couldn't find a glass of sweet tea to save my life.
On to the festival...
Friday:
The wife and I hit Zilker Park just as LCD Sound system hit the stage, and we were pumped... that lasted about three minutes... then we realized that there may not be a single sober person on the stage... so we ducked out early to catch the last bit of the MIA show... I regret not seeing all the MIA show... talk about energy.
Spoon was next up in the line up, playing the same time as Queens of the Stone age... bummer, Once again we were pretty geared up for the deal, but I quickly became bored as I can only bob my head and sway in a hipster cool manner for so long before I actually fall asleep. Now I remember why I can never justify buying an entire Spoon CD... these guys are too cool for their own good.
We didn't see it coming but catching the Kaiser Chief's show next was the highlight of the night! Honestly they are a bunch of bloated brits who play music from the gut. The really got me going, even though the lead singer sprained his ankle in a strange stage move that involved climbing up and down the scaffolding and then running across the stage to crash into the guitarist... whatever I suggest you check out "I Predict A Riot" "Ruby" and the "Angry Mob" all Kaiser Chief songs I guarantee you will love.Before we headed over to see Bjork we decided to stop for a moment to see the opening of the Killers set... well we wanted to but instead we saw ten minutes of hype video and then a group of what looked like Vegas Show Girls took the stage to play less than catchy electro-pop... gag... bring on Bjork.
Bjork was and is the most interesting performance I will ever see... a spectacle yes, but a spectacle built on a pretty amazing talent.Saturday:
Kick off the day with the most over hyped band of recent memory... the Cold War Kids... yeah there was no way their show could live up to the hype... but I still like their music... I just wouldn't pay money to them live.
because of the White Stripes backing out Damien Rice got bumped back in the day and we ended up missing him all together, but we did manage to see then end of the St. Vincent set and yes she humbly sung her little heart out to a crowd of new converts.
After some expensive festival food we enjoyed the completely nominal sounds of Andrew Bird (he likes to whistle) as we waited for the Arctic Monkeys to take the stage. I will admit that I was disappointed by these boys' second album,. but they took that disappointment right out of me... opening with a ridiculous Zeppelin-esc riff that cut right into the meat of their set... I think they played all of three tracks from the new album, but those sounded as great as the rest of the deal... and to top it all off I could barley decipher their stage banter through their thick cockney accents... which of course is the most rock n roll thing you can do on stage... all of that to say that you should go pick up every Arctic Monkeys album ever and enjoy.
After Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah did their little pop diddy thing Arcade Fire took the stage among the deafening buzz of anticipation. So if the Cold War Kids were a disappointment because of their hype the Arcade Fire were amazing inspite of the hype... sure everyone was going on about how great these guys were, but no amount of talk or type could really describe the amazing passion with which they played their indie anthems. I am still sore about not getting to see Jack and Meg, but the Arcade Fire was a great consolation prize.Sunday:
We started the day of with Mr. Nice Guy, Ben Kweller, yep he was as nice as everyone says... and yep that's about all I can say.
Next we rolled over to see DeVotchKa play... next to the Ghostland Observatory these guys were creating the most buzz on Sunday... and well the stunk. I would rather see Gogol Bordello do their own punk version of Gypsy music... this was not so much gypsy punk as gypsy lounge act... gross right?
The most humble performer of the whole festival had to be Regina Spektor who absolutely floored the crowd with her charm, wit, and amazing vocal talent. She was nothing if not enchanting... so much so that I now must see her when she comes to Richmond in November.
Dylan closed out the night, but before we could see the Legend himself we needed to see a legend in the making. The Decemberist were amazing... okay so I am totally bias, and so every bit of pomp and swagger took me right in... Meloy is the best story teller in the industry right now, and the the assembled band has all the musical talent to make sure those stories are heard... literally this was the only band that had me wanting more by the time they left the stage... ah yes... there will be more...
Finally Dylan closed the festival... his voice may be fading, but his genius is still here and that is all there is to say about that...After thoughts:
I was bummed I missed Ghostland Observatory and Damien Rice... but it happens... so here is hoping I win the raffel to fifty dollar tickets to next years event.
