ACL 2015: Saturday Recap

After some high stakes little kid soccer games in the early morning on Saturday, we made it out to the festival in time to snag some lunch and go watch one of my friend's requested bands.

Echosmith.  My friend Jason kept making excuses about why he wanted to see these guys, all of which were, quite frankly, unnecessary.  I think their music is pretty good.  And they were really good live as well - with a strong lead singer and two legitimate pop hits in "Bright" and "Cool Kids." However, there is a funny thing with me and some lead singers with how they say "Thank you" after every song.  Sure, we should appreciate her politeness and all that, but (1) say the entire words, not "ThaQ!" and (2) there is no need to say thanks after every single song.  I remember Bjork doing this on her live box and it was distracting.  Whatever, I have issues.  I liked this band and I'm not afraid to admit it.

We took a little break in between shows here, so while I heard some San Fermin and Charlotte OC, I wasn't really listening.  I was eating some BOMB chicken thighs from East Side Kings.  Holy crap, so good.

Father John Misty.  Wins the emotional fire award for sure.  I bet he dropped to his knees in apparent overwhelming emotional pain 50 times during the show.  The knees of his pants were literally grey by the end of the show.  Even though that was a little distracting, he put on a hell of a show. Clearly sang his lyrics (which is the main reason to see the guy) while using the entire stage and making it an event.  He went down to the audience a few times, spun the mic on its cord, shuffled and swayed, it was fun to see him goofing while singing his somber lyrics.  As I figured, "Bored in the USA" was freaking brutal, just so powerful and convicting.  When the crowd joined in to the laugh track near the end of the song, I thought I was going to tear up.  But then I pounded some more Tito's brand Handmade Vodka with my Drake-approved Sprite and looked at my iPhone 6S brought to you by AT&T instead.  Great show.

Houndmouth.  Shaggy, jammy fun.  These guys play a show like they are having a great time together, and I liked the sound a lot.  Kind of Americana, kind of jam, with load of harmonies, this was a good band and a good show.  The crowd singing along to "Sedona" was a highlight.

Sturgill Simpson.  Fabulous show.  I know I already saw him just recently, but he is tight as hell and just caught the whole crowd up in the fun.  I also got to impress those around me by reaching back into the memory banks to note that "The Promise" was a When in Rome song.  Simpson isn't doing a lot of theatrics or movement around the stage, but I honestly didn't notice.  He sounds so great at what he does.

Walk the Moon.  Dude.  People went a little wild for these fellas.  They were good stuff, but people around us were dancing like it was the last night on earth.  I rolled out before the big hits played so that I could squeeze a little closer for Alabama Shakes, but these guys put on a hell of a fun show. When they played "Shut Up and Dance," even the people way over at the Honda stage were jamming out.  Its like a mind control drug, that song.

Alabama Shakes.  Best show of the weekend for me.  Brittany Howard's voice is an amazingly powerful force, howling and cooing and just weaving perfectly within the funky soul rock of the rest of the band.  Their new album is top notch, and they can play the living hell out of it on stage.  While I'm still sore about missing out on A$AP Rocky, Jose Gonzalez, and Rayland Baxter (who's new album is sweet!), I don't regret it after seeing this show.  I was feeling every second of it.  I also made friends with a chatty dude from Mexico named Jorge, who shared some of his bourbon in exchange for some of my vodka.  Foreign Exchange program, baby!

TV on the Radio.  Man, "Happy Idiot" is such a freaking excellent song.  I just can't help but jam out and enjoy myself during that track.  We ended up with pretty good crowd position for this show, but I felt like the majority of people around us were not very into the music.  I thought it was fun - highly danceable and high energy for the most part.

Drake.  My friend and I walked over to Drake, but never even tried to get much closer than the asteroid belt of chairs.  I just can't get my head around Drake.  I fully understand that he is huge and well-adored, but I want him to rap more and quit the R&B sing-song so much.  And all he freaking does is just talk about how cool he is.  The opening track, titled "Legend," literally just repeats how he's the holy one and if he dies he'd be a legend.  Yawn-o-rama.  I'm frustrated by him because I feel like I ought to like him (he thinks I ought to like him too, apparently), but I'm pretty ambivalent about his music.

Deadmau5.  After a handful of tunes from Drake ("Oh my God, Oh my God, If I die, I'm a legend!"  Really, guys, I'm a legend, dammit!) we wandered over to see what Deadmau5 was all about.  Blech. I cannot understand the attraction at all.  Everyone else much be on drugs.  Some EDM mastermind out there understands why Skrillex, Disclosure, and Bassnectar would appeal to me but this sounds awful, but I can't be bothered to go hunt it down.  I do not want to hear these sounds anymore.  We jumped up and down for a few songs while I yelled the word "MOUSE!" over and over, and then walked on home.