Austin City Limits >> just became my new favorite music festival. It's possible I may still be on the standard post-festival high but that is to be expected or something is wrong, right?
Well, now that I've been back home for a week and back into my rhythm of life I can reflect and truly assess. ACL is the best music festival in the country and here is why:
Austin is THE SHIT >> let's just start with ACL being an excuse to visit one of the most fun cities in the world on top of being incredibly music-savvy inside and out. I'm sure you've heard of what fun 6th Street is on both the 'West 6th' and 'Dirty 6th'. On top of that the capitol city has a ton of great places to eat, shop and check out live music practically everywhere. It has it's own 'weird' style, attitude and vibe totally different from the rest of the state and you'll certainly want to mess with this part of Texas.
After Party >> piling onto the aforesaid great places to go before and after the festival there are very unique after parties in celebration of the esteemed gala now in its 14th year. It pops almost everywhere and each place is unique in its own way. My favorite post-fest party was at some huge house converted into a venue to accommodate a few hundred peeps inside and out. Inside on the second floor Walk The Moon and Nabiha took stage with a DJ set by Penguin Prison before, between and after. It felt like high school all over again and someone you didn't know's parents with the awesome house just left town so your band friends set up a gig and everyone joined forces to rage and wreck shit!
Zilker Park Terrain >> okay this is the least cool reason to top the list but it's absolutely a lifesaver and the previously mentioned can hardly be enjoyed otherwise. The festival grounds are really big but not too big and the soft grass throughout is flat all the way across the park. What does this mean? It means your legs are not sore like post-marathon status and you're not aching to get to your hotel room bed as soon as the festival ends. I love Lollapalooza and Outside Lands but speed-walking a mile between stages at Grant Park and hiking up and down hills at Golden Gate Park is exhausting in itself for 3 days let alone making it out after to enjoy the great cities of Chicago and San Francisco. ACL allows for your phone to be the only one low on juice.
Full Bars For Reals >> speaking of phones, reception and connection are huge, right? I mean, how the fuck did we ever manage to meet up with friends and not get lost in thousands upon thousands of fellow festival goers prior to mobile phones? Well, now we have that privilage but what good are they if they don't fucking work inside? I had no problem connecting, Tweeting, posting, texting, etcetera-ing the entire duration of ACL. I got full bars of service at many other festivals but it was all fools gold as the texts and what nots don't actually go through until the bulk of the crowd dissipates.
*Weather?* >> okay I may have brought the perfect weather with me from the desert because it was about 80 all weekend with just a few friendly clouds and very manageable humidity. I am aware this is unique because my previous trips to Austin were muggy as balls and the locals tell me ACL is known for getting rain at least 1 of the days each year. I've seen plenty of mud-pics and saw today that Day 3 of Weekend 2 at ACL was canceled because of flooding. Hence, the *asterisk* okay?
If you're going to be selective about which music festivals to go to in the upcoming years, definitely take heed to this word. I sincerely enjoy all the festivals I attend but that's not to say they are perfect. ACL is damn near it though. Amen.
marc
