Jump to content

2023 ACL Festival


nolongerU2horn

Recommended Posts

1-day tix are out now.  Just grabbed a pair for Saturday, Weekend One.  Foos/Shania/Alanis, not sure which of the two ladies will headline.  I've seen the Foos a bunch but might not be able to pass them up.  Shooks is playing, that's the band fronted by Charlie Sexton's son Marlon, they have a big Bowie/Spoon vibe to them.  And, well, Die Spitz.  I'm not sure who else I'll put on my dance card, maybe Tegan and Sara.  Ben Kweller has had a shitty year, I'll probably try to catch his set.  Kingfish could be good, I haven't seen him live yet.

Any tips?

 

image.png.d58564c910c43d49844f34d16ba31acc.png

  • Hook 'Em 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Chad Fuck said:

I always always always watch the TX/ou game in the beer tent.  Great vibe. 

Yup, that's my go-to unless there's someone I really want to see at that point in the day.  It usually costs me about $150 in merch because my wife wanders over to the t-shirt tent and buys something for everyone, but eh, I need the break.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, jimmyjazz said:

Yup, that's my go-to unless there's someone I really want to see at that point in the day.  It usually costs me about $150 in merch because my wife wanders over to the t-shirt tent and buys something for everyone, but eh, I need the break.

Everything in this life is a compromise, my friend.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bummed out that weekend 1 is markedly better than weekend 2, it's usually a tie or a close race.  I can only get a pass for W2 and what's more---Friday is easily the least interesting day of the 3, so I'll probably have to go to work for once.  But Saturday and Sunday W2 good weather, under-butt, and LCS baseball.  Should be fun.  See you bitches there.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got W1 Sat tix so I can see the Foo Fighters. And fuck me, I have always liked Tanya Tucker from back in the day when I was a kid in high school listening to her drinking songs. I loved her lyrics, so I'm excited to see that old wench and hear her newer shit. I heard on NPR that some younger chick named Brandi Carlile sparked her to go back to work and make some good tunes before she dies off. Good for her.

The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile - Where to Watch and Stream - TV Guide

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

There's already a trail of lights at COTA, Peppermint Parkway.  Never mind the transportation, infrastructure, and logistics issues with a 10-day music festival setup out there with tens and tens of thousands of attendees.  What is the name of this all-star group of forward thinkers anyway?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

There's already a trail of lights at COTA, Peppermint Parkway.  Never mind the transportation, infrastructure, and logistics issues with a 10-day music festival setup out there with tens and tens of thousands of attendees.  What is the name of this all-star group of forward thinkers anyway?  

I haven't gotten that far into it yet, but here's a tweet thread about it. And yeah, given COTA's history of logistical ineptitude and traffic/parking fiascos, this seems like a horrifically bad idea based on that alone.

 

Edited by wood
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I live pretty close to Zilker and I'm get more cranky in my old age, but I've never thought the size of the crowd was that big a determining factor.  The damage done to the park by 75,000 isn't that much different than 50,000 (which is probably what it should be capped at).  The footprint, load-in, etc. of all the stages, booths, installations, portas, trucks, catering, utilities, etc.  It's a diminishing rate once you get past the 7 stages and 40-50k people.  I think the real issue that I kind of sympathize with is the park is effectively closed for over a month.  Two weeks+ of site prep and build, 10 days of the festival proper, and then another 10-15 days of breakdown.  One of the few times a year to truly enjoy the park, and 5-6 weeks are 'lost' too ACL.  Then another 10 days of site prep and build for ToL with 3 weeks of festival proper with another week or breakdown.  That's another 5 weeks gone in a relatively nice time of year.  It's a shitty conundrum and maybe the load-in/build process can be improved upon (i doubt it though), but the solution is not fucking COTA for 75,000 sunburnt lunatics making their way back into Austin each night.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, YGIFS said:

 It's a shitty conundrum and maybe the load-in/build process can be improved upon (i doubt it though), but the solution is not fucking COTA for 75,000 sunburnt lunatics making their way back into Austin each night.  

Yeah the idea of moving it to COTA beyond idiotic on various levels, but the good thing is that even if the City were to tell ACL to vacate Zilker, they still can't force them to move to COTA. They'd just go to a different venue, likely outside the city limits, ironically.

Edited by wood
Link to comment
Share on other sites

People would still stay in Austin proper and use our transportation and bars and all that, so City of Austin and Travis County wouldn't be out all that much in hotel fees and sales tax.  But the Parks Dept. would be absolutely devastated.  They rely very heavily on the C3 donation each year.  It could prove devastating.  

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't use Zilker for anything but the hike & bike trail.  I don't care that ACL consumes it for several weeks.  I'm sorry the sand volleyball players and the bad adult soccer teams are inconvienced, their numbers pale in comparison to the ACL attendance.  

This has always pissed me off.  You live in a community, you make compromises.  The park is available the vast majority of the year.  ACL and Trail of Lights are calling cards for the city and yes, they limit use for maybe 15% of the year.  Too fucking bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I have no great sympathy for them...just that I could see that as their one justfiable hangup.  Everything else is just NIMBY bullshit.  Most of the people whining about it live nowhere near the park.  Kinda like listening to people in Pflugerville or Leander complain about downtown or gameday parking, for the 3 times they visit Central Austin per calendar year.  The road closures to  me are as big a pain in the ass as the music and lights festivals more than anything.  But again, it's a small pocket of Austin that is inconvenienced by those closures as opposed to the tens of thousands who get to enjoy the music and the holiday festivities so we just plan ahead a few weeks per year and have our routine down pretty good and take one for the team.  

Like hearing old Austinites bitch about how much SXSW has changed over the years.  Sorry that one time you went in '97 is different than the massive interactive, cultural, creative, technological, and artistic hub of Planet Earth each year for 10 days iT Has evolved into.  

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

That Chromeo, Tove Lo, Bob Moses triad is gonna be one of those times I’m trekking by myself away from our chair camp for a few hours while everyone else in our group catches other bands.

Those little stretches, alone with the sun setting, catching a band/artist I’ve adored for years but never seen live…are some of my favorite moments each year.  

Edited by Homercles
  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try to catch Shooks.  They play right after my daughter's band . . . Shooks is Charlie Sexton's son Marlon's band.  Kinda cool "modern new wave".  There's a whole scene kinda centered around west campus built by a bunch of 20-ish kids.  Nice to see the young guns taking over.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Homercles said:

That Chromeo, Tove Lo, Bob Moses triad is gonna be one of those times I’m trekking by myself away from our chair camp for a few hours while everyone else in our group catches other bands.

Those little stretches, alone with the sun setting, catching a band/artist I’ve adored for years but never seen live…are some of my favorite moments each year.  

this is how we know we're getting old.  I've got all kinda 3:00p scheduling dilemmas but no worries about leaving long before 10:00p.  I think I'm going weekend 2, but I never know until right before W1.  And I just realized earlier this week Saturday W2 is the solar eclipse which I want to see from outside the city with the kids.  Not like a meteor shower where you gotta be away from lights, but just a tad outside the city so we can spread out and enjoy it.  So all that to say, Saturday has really got some challenges.  Rattlesnake Milk v. Devon Gillifian v. Eddie Zuko v. Declan McKenna.  Then Calder Allen v. Ben Kweller v. Mt. Joy .  Friday has many similar challenges for once, has been the weakest day for a decade but solid this year-The Altons, Three Sacred Souls, Nessa Barrett, Oliver Hazard, Abraham Alexander, Testky Btothers, the Moss, Maggie Rogers, The Revivalists, and the Lumineers.  Sunday is just weak top to bottom.  Probably means my old ass is just staying home

5 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Try to catch Shooks.  They play right after my daughter's band . . . Shooks is Charlie Sexton's son Marlon's band.  Kinda cool "modern new wave".  There's a whole scene kinda centered around west campus built by a bunch of 20-ish kids.  Nice to see the young guns taking over.

Wait, her band is playing ACL this year?  That's fucking awesome.  I've enjoyed listening to the songs you've posted but I had no idea.  Congrats to them.  What's the time/stage?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Wait, her band is playing ACL this year?  That's fucking awesome.  I've enjoyed listening to the songs you've posted but I had no idea.  Congrats to them.  What's the time/stage?  

Weekend 1.  First band up Saturday, Tito's stage, 11:45 AM.  They hit the road for a month the next day.

Edited by jimmyjazz
  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My bad, wasn't looking at W1.  I still forget about the fact that even if a band is playing both weekends, they can still be moved stages/times.  But that's cool to be opening up Saturday for the festival.  They should be the biggest draw at that time slot looking at the cubes, aside from us maybe beating the shit outta OU around that time.  Looking at their road slate after that, those are impressive venues. Must be a cool as hell time for them.  

And as the old expression goes.  Power Corrupts.  And Absolute Power Corrupts, Absolutely.  But it Rocks Absolutely, Too.  My oldest girl loves one thing outside of school-loud music.  We've got a hint of musical talent in our DNA, and I never want to pressure her to pursue anything.  But she has keyboardist/bassist/enforcer written all over her soul.  I bet it's beyond cool to see your daughter rocking out.  Mine is getting a little into volleyball and gymnastics lately too, but if I got to pick-I'd have her pursue rock 'n roll (but not my call).  Trophies fade, nets deteriorate, gym mats fall apart.  Rock 'n Roll is forever.  Or so says the guy whose back starts to hurt at 6:00p each year at ACL.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

I bet it's beyond cool to see your daughter rocking out.  

It is.  She's living the dream I . . .  dreamed.  I am mildly chagrined that her undergrad studies at UT are slowing down, but they haven't stopped and her grades are still stellar, so I can't really get too heavy about it, other than I'm tiring of paying rent for someone whose band routinely pulls in $1K-$2K per show.  Uh, a little help here?  LOL.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/18/2023 at 5:10 PM, jimmyjazz said:

It is.  She's living the dream I . . .  dreamed.  I am mildly chagrined that her undergrad studies at UT are slowing down, but they haven't stopped and her grades are still stellar, so I can't really get too heavy about it, other than I'm tiring of paying rent for someone whose band routinely pulls in $1K-$2K per show.  Uh, a little help here?  LOL.

Just noticed that Saturday W1 is already on a waitlist.  With that kind of pull, your daughter's band will be headlining ACL in a couple years.  (I was checking on Christone "Kingfish" Ingram who I thought was playing W2, but is only playing W1.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

Just noticed that Saturday W1 is already on a waitlist.  With that kind of pull, your daughter's band will be headlining ACL in a couple years.

Whoa, Nelly.  Let's dial back the expectations.  If they're still a band in two years I'll be impressed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

bump bump bump... we're about a week away and this needs to come back front and center.

 

First, reminder of the usual road closures.  

Second, I am trying to find this one dude's blog who literally goes through every single band playing at ACL.  Will post when I find it.  Meanwhile... lots of good insight here:

https://thecosmicclash.com/2023/09/22/live-music-preview-11-bands-to-see-at-acl-festival-2023-weekend-one/

https://qromag.com/austin-city-limits-festival-2023-preview/

 

CDN media

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haven't been in a few years -- what's the best transit option these days when one prioritizes how the hell to get OUT after the headliners?  Getting there has always seemed to be less of an issue.  I can't imagine rideshares are anything but a nightmare.  Shuttle busses?  Park in a friend's driveway in Rollingwood?  (That's actually an option.)

Edited by jimmyjazz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Haven't been in a few years -- what's the best transit option these days when one prioritizes how the hell to get OUT after the headliners?  Getting there has always seemed to be less of an issue.  I can't imagine rideshares are anything but a nightmare.  Shuttle busses?  Park in a friend's driveway in Rollingwood?  (That's actually an option.)

Interested in the same.  I usually buy a parking spot, but I waited too long and my usual spot is sold out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, texasdago said:

The Rollingwood option is not a bad one.  Based on experience last year, my inside tip is to "get out" on the north side of Town Lake so find a way to leave from there rather than the south side.  Back entrance by the pedestrian bridge under Mopac is easier in/out

 

Yeah, we live north but Rollingwood works because we're near 360/2222.  We can just bolt out towards 360. 

Street parking north of the river blows, though.  Way too much "resident only" bullshit.  That's a huge pet peeve of mine, it's not my fault you don't have a big enough driveway for all your vehicles, I pay taxes to fund those streets but I can't park on them?  I hate Austin.

  • Like 1
  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yeah, we live north but Rollingwood works because we're near 360/2222.  We can just bolt out towards 360. 

Street parking north of the river blows, though.  Way too much "resident only" bullshit.  That's a huge pet peeve of mine, it's not my fault you don't have a big enough driveway for all your vehicles, I pay taxes to fund those streets but I can't park on them?  I hate Austin.

Well get ready for more restrictive parking on the south side with people who build bigger places on small lots (mind you, I like what's being built in some cases) but crap for parking.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, we live north but Rollingwood works because we're near 360/2222.  We can just bolt out towards 360. 
Street parking north of the river blows, though.  Way too much "resident only" bullshit.  That's a huge pet peeve of mine, it's not my fault you don't have a big enough driveway for all your vehicles, I pay taxes to fund those streets but I can't park on them?  I hate Austin.

8613f46872b6e858fd0c649fd54633d7.gif
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...