Austin City Limits Festival Announces 2009 Line-up
So for all you yankees who think September in Austin is too hot (it is), the 2009 edition of Austin City Limits Festival has been moved back a bit to October 2-4. Average temps should be in the lower 80's by then with less humidity than in September. We'll see how the climatology works out. If it's too hot for you, Barton Springs is just a few hundred yards away. The water there is always 68-70F.
So here's the line-up. You'll see that I've marked my faves by font size and bold style. The bigger the font, the more excited I am. Kind of Freudian, eh? Bon chance. If you wann get tix, go to http://www.aclfestival.com/default.aspx.
I've also included smart-ass comments as a means of getting in touch with my inner rock crit!!!
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS music festival [Venue: Zilker Park; Austin, TX]
the 2009 lineup:
* Pearl Jam
* Dave Matthews Band
* Beastie Boys
* Kings of Leon
* Ben Harper and Relentless7
* Thievery Corporation (great recordings, but can they do it live?)
* John Legend
* The Dead Weather
* The Levon Helm Band
* Ghostland Observatory
* Sonic Youth
* Mos Def
* Toadies
* Flogging Molly
* The B-52s
* Lily Allen (yee and ha!! She makes me smile!)
* Citizen Cope
* Arctic Monkeys
* The Decemberists
* Coheed and Cambria
* Andrew Bird
* Girl Talk
* STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
* Phoenix
* Bassnectar
* Bon Iver
* !!!
* Avett Brothers
* The Airborne Toxic Event (never heard'em, but you got love Don DeLillo fans!)
* Medeski, Martin & Wood
* Clutch
* Michael Franti & Spearhead
* Grizzly Bear
* Heartless Bastards
* Passion Pit
* White Lies
* Dan Auerbach
* The Walkmen (glad these guys are still at it)
* The Scabs
* Reckless Kelly
* DeVotchka
* Blitzen Trapper
* The Virgins
* Here We Go Magic
* Eek-A-Mouse
* K'Naan
* Asleep at the Wheel
* Dr. Dog
* The Raveonettes (the best damn Scandinavian garage band ever!!!)
* The Knux
* Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
* State Radio
* Los Amigos Invisibles
* The Felice Brothers
* Federico Aubele
* Raul Malo
* Daniel Johnston (Hi, how are you, Daniel? Hope you are well)
* Poi Dog Pondering (They'd better have Abra Moore with them, or I'll riot!)
* Brett Dennen
* Rodriguez
* Henry Butler
* Preservation Hall
* Sam Roberts Band
* The Greencards
* Sara Watkins
* Walter "Wolfman" Washington
* David Garza
* John Vanderslice
* Zac Brown Band
* Todd Snider
* School of Seven Bells
* The Dodos
* Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3
* Alberta Cross
* Deer Tick
* Bell X1
* Alela Diane
* The Wood Brothers
* The Parlor Mob
* Rebirth Brass Band
* Marva Wright
* Terri Hendrix
* L.A.X.
* Lisa Hannigan
* The Low Anthem
* Sons of Bill
* Suckers
* Sarah Jaffe
* Cotton Jones
* The Henry Clay People
* Papa Mali
* Jypsi
* Vince Mira
* Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights
* Mimicking Birds
* Jeffrey Steele
* Jonell Mosser
* Leatherbag
* Keith Gattis
* Damien Horne
* Sarah Siskind
* The Dexateens
* Nelo
* Danny Brooks
* Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
* The Soul Stirrers
* The Durdens
* Palm School Elementary
* The Gospel Silvertones
* Diaconos
* Quinn Sullivan
* Ralph's World
* Q Brothers
* Milkshake
* Telephone Company
* Loose Cannons
* Lunch Money
WHO ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT SEEING????? Is this festival worth the $185-plus?
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ConnieMack
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Comments
Lily Allen, Pearl Jam, Sara Watkins, Arctic Monkeys -- wow, lots of acts I'd like to see.
Bands I would pay 10-percent of $185 to explicitly not have to see: Michael Franti, Ben Harper, Citizen Cope, Coheed and Cambria, Flogging Molly, The B-52's...
And Dave Matthews/Pearl Jam/Beastie Boys as headliners? Really? Two of the three put on decent shows, but we've all seen them already. Come on. Austin's supposed to be weird, not uber-mainstream. What, were the Chili Peppers and the Eagles unavailable? What about U2? Could you possibly get more vanilla than DMB/Pearl Jam/Beastie Boys?
Headliners at Austin should always be like Bjork or Wilco or Stephen Malkmus or something along those lines (I guess Sonic Youth fills that role to an extent).
The hope is that there will actually be grass in the park by September, so the festival won't look like the dirt covered apocalypse it has been on occasion. I think people will be happy with the improvements, and people who play soccer or picnic in the park during the rest of the year will get to enjoy it, too. While growing lush green grass isn't terribly practical in Austin, the park really only relied on rainwater for irrigation. I have my fingers crossed that parks department is putting in as efficient a watering system as possible, seeing that we're still in a drought.
As for the lineup, it's the usual eclectic and rich mix of styles and genres. The lower end of the lineup actually is more interesting to me than the headliners, but that's the way it usually goes.
I used to cover ACL for the official website and went all day, every day for the first few years but only went for a short time last year and probably won't go much this year, even though I live a short bike ride away. After having the VIP/All Access pass to the side stage hospitality tents, backstage viewing areas and free food, drink and air-conditioned bathrooms, it has been hard to go back to being one of the great unwashed, ticket-buying masses. Spoiled? Yep.
But I do plan to go down on my bike to harass the Bible-thumpers who yell at the crowd through their bullhorns (and seem oblivious to the fact that there are several gospel acts on the bill). Also, you can hang out at Barton Springs and hear the music from the main stages while swimming.
As we get closer to the date, I'd be happy to offer any tips to newcomers that I can. As I said, I live in the neighborhood that borders the park and know the scoop on parking, traffic avoidance, etc.