Austin City Limits 2010

ACL-goers could not have asked for a better weekend, as the weather was nothing but perfect the entire weekend, leaving only this year’s loaded lineup to surpass this beautiful October weekend in Austin. These good omens resonated throughout the Texas air from the moment my friends and I approached Zilker Park, we approach with the glorious romp of The Black Keys’ “Everlasting Light.” After finally making it into the festival, Beach House took the stage sandwiched in between highly anticipated performances by The Black Keys and Spoon. Lead singer Victoria Legrand crooned her way through the now quartet’s set, providing a despondently warm and delicate compliment to the driving rockers of that afternoon. The Baltimore group recently added two new members, and a choice that has made all the difference in their performance. Songs like “Take Care” and “10 Mile Stereo” were brought to life with the additional support of a drummer and auxiliary instrumentalist. Beach House were at their best, holding their own against the rest of the established indie-rock acts playing on late Friday afternoon.

Spoon and Vampire Weekend continued the solid string of acts on night one of ACL. Britt Daniel and Jim Eno always put on a great set, let alone in front of their hometown crowd. The Austin natives brought it all on song after song in relentless fashion, including the brass-laced “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb,” the vastly underrated “Trouble Comes Running” and the infectious groove of “I Turn My Camera On.” Across the park, Vampire Weekend blasted off to a quick start with a blistering version of “Cousins.” While I’m not the biggest fan of the band, there was little if any doubt about their ability to perform. Ezra Koenig and company provided the perfect transition into the first evening’s headlining acts.

While both The Strokes and Phish provided two different and compelling choices for the Friday nightcap, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see this generation’s premier jam band. Also, on a personal note, the Vermont quartet was one of my favorite bands back in the day as I made my way through my one-time jam band phase. So while I have not actively listened to them in quite some time, I finally took the opportunity to see my once beloved band in their element onstage. To put it simply—they were fantastic. As the all too familiar bass line of “Down With Disease” opened their ACL set, my once idle Phish-dom quickly reemerged. Granted, it was a short set time by Phish standards, but they managed to squeeze plenty of their classics, including “Wolfman’s Brother,” “Chalkdust Torture” and “You Enjoy Myself.” Combined with the prevalent amount of Phish fans that came to Austin just to see their band, this was hands down one of the best shows of the weekend.

Whereas Friday night ended with one of the chilliest of bands at ACL, my Saturday kicked off on an entirely different note with the Black Lips—a band largely known for their onstage antics and debauchery. A lot of this, however, was toned down given the 15 foot gap between the Lips and the crowd. They still brought the EAV-brand of garage punk in full force, getting their rambunctious crowd going despite the somewhat early set time. Guitarist Ian Saint Pé would continuously spit into the air and try to catch his own saliva while mid-song at one moment, while briefly making out with fellow Black Lip member Cole Alexander during another track. Even as their stage antics were “toned down” (as they told me later when I spoke in person with them), there was just enough taste of their almost mythical act to guess what an intimate show with them would be like.

Following the Black Lips came one of the more intriguing groups of the weekend in Broken Bells. The well-known collaboration between mega-producer Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) and The Shins frontman James Mercer, was a top stop for many at ACL, given Burton’s penchant for short lived projects and constant sonic exploration. While their ultra-cool compositions resonate great on record, their live performance underwhelmed. After a few songs, I left to wander around, briefly checking out the Local Natives and sitting down to chat with the Black Lips, before rushing over the catch The xx. The recent Mercury prize winners led off the most logjammed portion of the weekend, as they, Monsters of Folk and LCD Soundsystem all overlapped. I caught bits and pieces of all three acts, wishing I could have heard more of each. These three acts are all at the peak of their musicianship, and in case of the latter two, questions surround the future of the respective bands. I can’t complain though. Hearing the the alt-folk supergroup exalt out on “Say Please” and “Golden,” and then running over to the majestic 10+ minutes of “I Can Change” and “All My Friends” played back to back—these are the moments that define live music in all its magnificence.

While early Sunday afternoon was one of the hotter points of Austin City Limits, Blind Pilot helped eased the crowd into the festival’s final day with their mellow and laidback folk. Pleasant would probably be the most appropriate description for the Portland natives, as songs like “Oviedo” and “Go on Say It” were both equal parts plain and beautiful. The mellower acts continued throughout the early part of the day as both Devendra Banhart and The Morning Benders serenaded their respective crowds with lovely and mild-mannered performances. In particular, Morning Benders frontman Chris Chu led the San Francisco rockers through a soaring, layered set including the dynamic “Promises” and the swaggering “All Day Daylight.” Indeed, all three of the bands laid the foundation for what would be the best musical stretch of the entire weekend.

What came next was a back to back to back to back series of four artists that not only are among the best that indie-rock has to offer today, but all that flat out nailed their sets on late Sunday afternoon and early evening. Yeasayer kicked this period off with a bang, exhibiting their yearlong transformation from indie-breakouts to mainstays. Sure, the band showed their promise with their 2007 debut All Hour Cymbals. But as soon as the band released “Ambling Alp” about this time last year, everyone could sense something special with the direction they were taking. Fast forward a year and Yeasayer have truly come into their own. Playing much of their sophomore record Odd Blood during their one hour show, Chris Keating, Anand Wilder and Ira Wolf Tuton have expanded their act into one standing among the finer electronic acts today. Everything in their set, from “2080” to “Grizelda” and everything in between showed what they’re all about these days.

As good as Yeasayer was in the 4:00pm slot, they stood as no match to the entrance Edward Sharpe and the Magenetic Zeros made an hour later. Despite the fact that I have seen the group three times in the past three months, and each time have seen their show open with “40 Day Dream,” that moment never ceases to inspire and amaze me. Frontman Alex Ebert (aka Edward Sharpe) has something going here—his energy and delivery are unparalleled by anyone I have seen in recent memory. Whether or not you enjoy the band’s music, or disagree with their penchant for commercial licensing (most notably with the NFL), their shows possess an unequivocal power that is both transcendent and representative of everything good within live music today.

Just when I thought that no one could surpass the show put on Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, enter the Flaming Lips. Of course, I had heard of the psychedelic, legendary shows that Wayne Coyne and company put on, but I honestly could not have expected the sights that soon came. After making a public service announcement about being orderly and being mindful of others, the craziness soon ensued in what apparently was in typical Flaming Lips fashion. Besides getting rolled over by Coyne’s human hamster ball, this show blew away the crowd both on a visual and aural level. From bright pink chalk dust spewing out of his megaphone to riding atop a man dressed in a black bear costume, Coyne not only upstaged anyone else at Zilker Park this past weekend, but put created an ethereal performance that words can only fall short of capturing (good thing I took plenty of pictures!).

After the Flaming Lips came The National—one of the few bands I could see over and over again without fail. It was a complete one-eighty from the euphoric sounds preceding them, but equally compelling nonetheless. Where the Lips push the bounds of the experimental, The National continue to stand among the most awe-inspiring bands over the past decade. I’ve had the privilege of seeing them twice in the past week, leaving me taken aback both times. Now with the festival approaching its end, Matt Berninger and the pair of brothers flanking him, the group once again astounded those who opted to stick around for their set. I left a few minutes early to see The Eagles, walking away to the uplifting buildup of “England.”

Last but not least, The Eagles took the main stage with everyone’s undivided attention as the final show of Austin City Limits began. Admittedly, I have never had a close affinity with The Eagles’ music, but after the musical blessing the previous four hours had bestowed, I was more than willing to stick around and catch a glimpse of the legendary classic rock band showcasing their hit-ridden performance. From greatest hits like “Take It To The Limit” and “Hotel California” to solo songs like Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” and “Dirty Laundry,” The Eagles provided fans and onlookers alike with a flashback through the band’s catalog. It was a great way to finish an amazing weekend in Austin.

Here are all of the bands schedule to perfom this year.