Woohoo!

Wristbands have arrived, baby!I always sweat their arrival - like someone out there would target my unassuming house and come after my mailbox to score my wristbands - bit now I am super psyched they are here!

Three things I am the most pumped about seeing:

• Pearl Jam.  I haven't seen PJ in like 15 years.  I think Eddie Vedder was still railing on the original George Bush (when he had the crowd chanting "F*** Bush" when I was in high school, that was the height of comedy) the last time I saw them.  Really excited about it.

• Spanish Gold.  Never seen them live, but I just can't get over how great I think their album sounds.  If they suck, I will be pretty devastated.

• Chvrches.  Kind of like Spanish Gold, in that I have built them up so high in my head, it may be a sad let-down to see them for real.

Best day?  For me, Sunday.  Funday.

• Friday Schedule Thoughts (Temples, Chvrches, Outkast!)

• Saturday Schedule Thoughts (Spanish Gold, Kodaline, Avetts, Eminem!)

• Sunday Schedule Thoughts (The Districts, Nikki Lane, Cults, Real Estate, Fitz & the Tantrums, Pearl Jam!)

Things I have become less pumped about seeing since announced:

• Eminem.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I dig old Eminem.  Or at least my memory tells me I do.  But when I listen to new Em, it sounds tired.  And when I listen to old Em, it just sounds like he is trying so hard to be hard.  And angry.  And shocking.  This might be the first sign I am getting old.  All of that being said, if he stays away from Monster and Love the Way You Lie to stick to stuff like My Name Is, Brian Damage and My Fault, I'll be able to jam along.

• Outkast.  Again, I love old school Outkast.  But the more I read about their tour this year, the more I feel like this is just a cash grab.  Andre 3000 had a short interview in the most recent Rolling Stone where he gripes that rapping the same stuff he did when he was 17 is boring.  Makes me worried that neither he nor Big Boi are going to be all that excited about yet another festival show.

• Lake Street Dive.  I think I'm going to have to go see Hozier instead.  The more I listen to Hozier, the better I think he is.

Things I am super sad about missing:

• #1, no doubt, is Benjamin Booker.  That dude's brand new album is hot freaking heat.  But I want Spanish Gold real bad, so you just have to make choices in life sometimes.  I'd love to go see him on the 10th when he is still here to play an after-show, but I'm going to be seeing SKRILLEX like a big, fat, fratty, dumb goon that night.  Jeah!

• Beck.  Dammit.

• Blackberry Smoke.  These dudes sound like the best kind of party I've never heard.  But I just don't think I can make it happen between the other shows I want to see.

Things that truly terrify me:

• The children (and I do mean children) who I will absolutely see smoking dope right in front of God and the world.  Stresses me out every time.  Especially when they remind me of my kids.

• The ACL Cashless thing they are doing where I can buy ALL THE BEERS, by just swiping my wristband at the bar.  I am extremely scared about what I will do once I have had three warm Heinekens and decide I need for all my "friends" to have some beers.  I hope they take an eyeball scan or sobriety test too.

• Peoples' daughters not wearing sufficient clothing.  Oh man.  My girls are never going to ACL without me tracking their every move.  I may even use a leash.  And about 75 nannycams.  And they'll need to come home with me at 7 every night.   

Two weeks!  Let's do this!