September 26, 2008
ACL, Day 1
As promised (not 'officially', but through e-mail to several of you) here is my very brief report from the first day of the 2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival
- Vampire Weekend -- Fun, but disappointing. Like having someone blast their records really loud in front of a huge crowd. Technically fine but I like bands that do something different or take it to another level live. But not bad. They had strings for 'M79' and it was fun to sing along to 'Walcott' and 'A-Punk' (hey! hey! hey! hey!)
- Del tha Funkee Homosapien - Fantastic show; the crowd really got involved. A-Plus even treated us to some '93 til Infinity'. Good stuff.
- M. Ward - I was worried about this one, but I'm glad I took the risk and skipped Gogol Bordello. It was very energetic, and the songs (often so mellow and nuanced on the albums) translated wonderfully to the venue. Matt's guitar work is simply incredible.
- David Byrne (photo below) - Highlight of the day (possibly the festival; we'll see). I can't say enough good about this show. (I managed to get a spot in the front few rows, which helped.) Byrne is a legend and genius who never disappoints. I don't know how he does it. No one knows how to put on a show like he does. Very few musicians understand how much movement and visuals contribute to the show. Musically, Byrne always tweaks the songs and takes them to new levels live. He started out with 'Strange Overtones' from the new Eno-Byrne album. It's a great tune, but the live version was different from - and I think better than - the album. He followed up with 'I Zimbra' (one I've never heard live), belted out a stirring rendition of 'One Fine Day' (from the new album), and then completely shocked me by doing a version of 'Help Me Somebody' from the first Eno-Byrne album. A cool song from a legendary album... Byrne did the vocals of the crazy preacher guy sampled in the original and somehow made it work. He also did the creepy 'I Feel My Stuff' from the new album, three of my favorite 'Remain In Light' tunes, and 'Life During Wartime'. It was a total shame that the show had to end.
- Antibalas - I love afrobeat, so I thought it was a great show, but sadly I only caught part of it because it overlapped with Byrne's.
- Manu Chao - The crowd really got into this show, and Manu does a good job of revving people up when their excitement starts to fade. I've always felt that his albums can get quite repetitive. The show was no different, but it was still a great way to end the day.
