ACL 2018 in Photos: WE2 Sunday

Sunday was the chill day for ATH for ACL WE2. I wasn’t approved by St. Vincent or Arctic Monkeys. Day six was even steamier than I would like to remember. Consider the wall hit, but it by will alone I set my mind in motion….and Janelle Monae’s extraordinary presence.

Thunderpussy was a shot of plain old rock and roll. I did need that little pick me up. Also, Mike McReady was rumored to be lurking backstage so, why not see if the Pearl Jam bro comes out to jam pearls. He did. He also joined Brandi Carlile. A guitar and a plaid shirt will get you far in life.

My buddy and I got our ears molded by Project Decibel. They then make 3D scans we can use to have custom earplugs or in-ear monitors made. That’s cool.

Twin Shadow was up next and I thought this weekend’s set was better. No real reason why, just felt more fun. Speaking of fun, this weekend’s Parquet Courts set featured a bit of a circle pit. This is dangerous given their long-form punk rock song duration. Set was crunchy. I offset that by witnessing a proposal in the big ACL picture frame; she said yes.

Which leads me to the queen of ACL, Janelle Monae. It was just plain impressive. The bright sun pushed the contrast of red, black and white on the performers while images floated behind the choreography. It was powerful stuff.

Without really realizing it, ATH’s ACL was dominated by strong women. Be it in the backing band or as the front-person, most of the sets we saw blasted the averages seen in many festival lineups; Alvvays, Big Thief, CHVRCHES, Sylvan Esso, Japanese Breakfast, The Breeders. Then add in Lily Allen, Mon Laferte and Janelle – it wasn’t a conscious decision. It was just the best music.