I was on vacation last week when the full schedule was announced, so I am only now getting the chance to review each day and see the good, the bad, and the ugly about each day. While this is likely to be a fluid timeline that will likely change in the next month and a half, here are my thoughts about Friday's schedule, along with a tasty Spotify playlist for you to enjoy to sate your appetite.
Friday:
Dude. Instantly not cool, schedulers. Literally, three of my Silver Medal winner bands (In the Whale, Leopold & His Fiction, and Talk In Tongues) are scheduled for noon or before on Friday. Even assuming I can skip out on work that early, that is going to make for a really long weekend to start in the morning on day one. I mean, come on, man. Saturday morning and early afternoon are a complete wasteland until Father John, can we petition the White House to spread these guys out? Of those three, if I'm there that early, I'm leaning towards In the Whale. I should suck it up and go super early.
1:00 - The Maccabees. My musical taste must be way off base, as this is another band I've listed in my silver medal grouping, but they've got the dreaded early Friday slot. If I can suck it up and head over in the morning to see those guys up above, then I'll likely go check the first half of this set, before...
1:30 - Residual Kid! Yes! I can't believe I am excited about a band playing the Kiddie Limits stage with a 25 minute long slot! Whatever! I'll be the one person there at the Kiddie stage at 1:30 on a Friday afternoon! Woohoo!
2:00 - Royal Blood. I mean, seriously. These guys are in my top ten of bands coming to the Fest, and they're playing early Friday? Did my review of the Q Brothers hurt someone's feelings at C3? The more I consider this early line-up, the more I think I've got to just suck it up and go early on Friday. Sorry to have to miss Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas in this slot, but Royal Blood is kick ass. How are they not slotted later in the day?
3:00 - not particularly fired up about any of the options here, but would likely do Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors here.
4:00 - Leon Bridges. He even gets one of the major stages. I'm psyched to check him out and could care less about the other folks up against him.
5:00 - the first big bummer of the schedule (beyond the earliness of those bands up above) is the battle between Run the Jewels and Moon Taxi. I really feel like I'll be missing out with either choice, but I expect to do Moon Taxi.
I'll likely bail a little early on that 5 o'clock show to go grab food and another beer on my way to the Galaxy stage to see Tame Impala and get posted up for the Foo Fighters. My hope is that a bunch of people leave the Tame Impala show to get treated for an acid overdose go to one of the 7 o'clock shows so that I can get to a good spot for the Foos.
6:00 - Tame Impala. Although I have to admit that I listened to their whole new album a few times today and it has some lags in there that weren't apparent when listening to the first four singles from the new disc. I believe, but I hope I'm not disappointed.
7:00 - hope that Gary Clark Jr.'s show at the Barton Springs stage (which I assume will be the retailmenot stage from last year) is cranked up enough so that I can hear it over in front of the Galaxy stage.
7:19 - realize that none of my texts have sent for the past four hours, and my phone is almost dead, and my wife thinks I am too.
7:32 - really need to pee, but have no option without giving up prime real estate. Wish I'd brought Depends to use.
7:55 - get relentlessly crowded by people trying to get up front who claim to need to get to their friends.
8:00 - Foo Fighters! I'm not skipping these guys for anything. I really hope they refrain from 20 minute drum solos, but I'm in for whatever they want to do.
Sunday is going to have my most difficult decisions. I don't think I have the stomach to make these decisions just yet. My initial impression:
12:15: Going to be another early day. Either MODOC or The Districts. Both are solidly fun rock and roll. Not sure which one I want to see more - I would have leaned towards MODOC before, but after listening to The Districts again, they are pretty dang good.
1:00: Likely do Reuben and the Dark. They just added a new artist in this slot (Vic Mensa) who might be fun to go see, but I think I'll likely go with Reuben.
2:00: Nikki Lane. I may just stick around for half of her show so that I can go see part of Jamestown Revival (another new addition). I have a feeling my buddy Jason is going to want to go see Kongos instead.
3:00: Cults. I have liked their albums even more after listening over time. I hope that music translates well to the big stage. High Road and I Can Hardly Make You Mine are both jams.
4:00: Uggggghhh. (That is not a band name, well, it probably is, but they are not playing this slot at ACL). Fitz & the Tantrums vs. The Gaslight Anthem. Uggghhhh. I've never seen either before. I like both of them quite a bit. I can see myself doing sweaty and very constricted 80's dances to Fitz and enjoying myself immensely. I can see myself pumping my fist in the air and screaming along to Gaslight with a couple thousand other bad ass people. I am leaning towards Gaslight, but I just don't know here.
As a quick aside, have you ever played with Flickchart? I forget who sent it to me a couple of years ago, I played with it a lot then and have not messed with it again for years, but it is a fantastic way to rank movies because it makes you choose between two films, over and over until it figures out their hierarchy. I wish they would do that for music, then I could scientifically determine the answer to my conundrum.
5:00: Real Estate. No hesitation. So great.
6:00: Uggghhhhh again. Why is Lettuce playing during this time slot? Can't they play during an early afternoon slot against Bernhoft and Steve Songs? I think they would be an amazing funkified party. And even more than that, I really want to see Spoon play. But I bet I need to just go see The Replacements at the Samsung Stage so that I can be reasonably close to Pearl Jam for the headliner slot. Dammit. if only Spoon was at that stage... Oh well. My guess is that I see Paul Westerberg and his buddies tear through their set and like it anyway. I'll just have to see Spoon another time.
7:00: Which leads me to the depressing conclusion that I will not get to see the Turnpike Troubadours. Such a bummer. I have come to like them quite a bit, but if I am going to squeeze my way up to the 98th row to see Pearl Jam, then there is just no way I'm going to get to hustle over to the Austin Ventures stage and then get anywhere near the Pearl Jam show.
8:00: Pearl Jam. I am really excited about this show. Saw them three times back in the 90's, but haven't seen them since. I expect greatness.
Saturday is going to be a fantastic day. It is going to be long, and I'll have to gird my loins, but I think it is going to be awesome to see some of these new bands for the first time.
12:30: I'm going to go see Spanish Gold. I don't care if it destroys me for the rest of the weekend to get there at lunchtime. I'm kind of bummed to not get to experience Benjamin Booker, but I'm going to survive. Spanish Gold are already making an individualized plan to rock my face off and make sweet sweet to my ears. Unbelievable that they are in the early slots - they should be headlining the whole damn thing.
2:00: Falls. I can imagine how this scene will look, because it is exactly how I watched Dawes last year. Sitting back from the stage, enjoying this band's beautiful harmony while sipping on a cold and extremely overpriced tallboy.
3:30: Kodaline. I plan on taking some kleenex, for all the grown men standing around me who will be bawling and thinking about their long lost loves and favorite pets and stuff.
4:30: Head & the Heart. Although I might be talked into seeing Interpol, who have grown on me more and more as I have listened to their last two albums over the past month.
5:30: Lucius. Speaking of growing on me, these guys are like my beer gut. Sneaking up on me until I hardly notice they are always with me. I started off unimpressed, but I have listened to their album a few more times recently and it is a damn fine thing. I know I should probably go watch the train wreck that is Iggy Azalea, but I just can't get over the thought that she is Vanilla Ice for a new generation. #Vanilliggy
6:30: Avett Brothers! Damn right. I hope they come strong like a few years ago when their set was the perfect pre-show party before the Chili Peppers. Loving their new album. Also, a very easy decision, to not go see Lana Del Rey, Johnnyswim, or Beats Antique. Easiest decision of the entire weekend.
8:30: Eminem. I am very hopeful that he sticks to his old school music and not his newer Rihanna ballads. I fear that, because they are touring together this summer, she will be there and we will have to hold hands and sway through Love the Way You Lie and Monster for 20 minutes instead of hearing about drug-addled murders and other happy things. His most recent set in London (http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/eminem/2014/wembley-stadium-london-england-5bc1db18.html) looks promising, but he only has an hour and a half in Austin, so there is no way he'll be able to do all 35 of those songs here. I know I'll go for Em in this slot, but I am definitely bummed about missing out on Skrillex. Even though I don't know much about Skrillex. But that one Bangarang song, man, if I ever make a jillion dollars somehow and throw myself a huge birthday party on a private yacht in my private ocean, I'm definitely going to have him come and play that song on repeat for 2 hours while I kick people overboard.
It is going to take me some time to digest all of this, but the schedule for each day was just issued and I wanted to weigh in on my path through the weekend.
Friday:
Noon - Not sure if I will go out first thing on Friday, but if I'm there by noon, then I'd like to see Sphynx. I think their live show will be fun and big energy. If you haven't gone to my post about them and watched that grandma get crunk in their video, I think you are missing out.
1:15, I'd really like to see Temples. Going to the park that early will likely lead to a brutal weekend, but Temples is freaking awesome. I really hope I can take the time to go see them jam.
3:15 - Lake Street Dive. I may go for Hozier instead, but I feel like LSD is the one I'd rather see.
4:15 - Chvrches are the first band that I feel like I must see. Thankfully, I don't much care about the bands they are up against at this time.
5:15 - St. Vincent. Looks like I'll be deep in the Lilith Fair experience of lady bands by now. Maybe go see J. Roddy Walston & the Business instead, but I doubt it.
6:15 - I think I'll take a break to eat something here. I could go see Foster the People, but I think I'd rather go get some grub or go see Childish Gambino just to get into position for Outkast.
7:15 - either Blackberry Smoke or get into position for Outkast.
8:15 - Outkast. I truly hate skipping out on Beck. I have dug Beck's chili ever since Odelay, but I have also seen him play live before and expect that I'll get to see him again someday. His show at ACL Fest a few years ago was fantastic - great retrospective of classic songs, new stuff, and a few fun covers. On the other hand, Outkast was one of my favorite rap groups in college and I've never seen them play. I also expect that they will not tour again after this final money grab of 40 festivals this year.
