ACL Recap & Photos: Day 1
Weekend one of ACL is now over, so naturally it’s time to reflect on what went down during the 3 day festival. Today we’ll be focusing on Friday of the first weekend and offering our thoughts on bands that played along with the general atmosphere. Each ATH member will share their opinion and we’ll also get some fancy photos from our man B.Gray.
Follow the jump for photos and recaps.
BGray – Jimmy Cliff = Legendary. Temples – Their festival set strength is high. See them this weekend or when they come to your town, very good, getting better. Belle & Sebastian – Just so damned charming. Outkast – Nobody sat and watched Beck. Nobody.
Nathan – I’m with Nicole. Friday felt sort of sparse for me, musically speaking. I mean, I like Temples, especially on record, they just haven’t done it for me (personally) on the live level. Of course, I could have been blinded by Belle and Sebastian adoration. Stuart’s always charming, they always bring folks on stage (a wee little lass on this evening) and you can’t find a legitimate bad thing to say about the act. For me, Friday was the teaser day….some good tunes, but mostly I was just feeling out the festival. Weather was great. Met some new friends. Had a few Drinks. Didn’t take the molly. Found a piece of my Chilito taco stuck in my beard four hours later; I ate it and washed it down with yet another drink. Plus…the folks at ACL take care of you something fierce. Loved every minute of Friday, despite slim musical pickings for my ears. (For the record; I had already seen Beck within the last six months. I’ve seen Outkast way long ago, and they’ve remained one of the least interesting hip-hop acts in my opinion, but I’ll always love ATLiens.)
Nicole – The best part of Friday had to be Belle and Sebastian’s sunset set on the RetailMeNot Stage. Stuart Murdoch’s infallible dance moves and delicate voice combined with the string section of the band to remind everyone just what they had come for—a mastery of music and artistry. Runner up to this on the same stage, just the set before, goes out to Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent. She weirded out the crowd with not only her intense shredding of electric guitar, but also by straddling the shoulders of a security guard, donning a faux-hippie headband stolen from some girl in the front, handing her guitar to the audience with the instructions “play this” and using her free hands to wave a flag majestically with eyes wide and a maniacal smile. Annie Clark combined a small dose of spectacle with her talent. Third ‘high’ light goes to the group of kids passing around a joint the size of a lollipop stick. In fact, I initially thought it was a lollipop. TweenCL, you keep it real.
RayRay – Friday was honestly the weakest lineup of the weekend for me. Not to say I didn’t see some good things, the bill for the day simply didn’t do it for me and my snooty musical tastes. As BGray said, Temples were definitely a highlight for the day. Put them on your must see list for the weekend. Never been a big Belle and Sebastian fan myself so that set was pretty boring in my opinion. Bailed before headliners, but I heard Outkast struggled to keep it together. Number of times I was offered Molly = 3. Number of drinks I had before 5 = something like 8? My highlight of the day had to be hanging with old friends and catching up.
