I am back at work this afternoon after my crazy weekend at Zilker Park. I left two audio posts from the fest, and I was lucky to be able to do that, as cell phone reception was so unpredictable. Leah's phone wouldn't work at all anywhere in the park, even though it showed it had perfect reception. She couldn't call you, and you couldn't call her. You couldn't call out from Melissa's phone in certain areas, but she could get your call. My phone worked all weekend though, which is strange when I consider there are many spots in Austin where I have no reception at all (Hyde Park, my church, etc.) and others do.

I'm-a walking

My legs ache. I feel like an old lady. Why, you ask? Because Friday and Saturday we walked a whole hell of a lot. We parked on 4th and Congress on Friday and took the Gold Dillo to Barton Springs Road. We didn't have to walk too far (about half a mile) to get to the fest, but we walked all the way back that night (1.9 miles). Then Saturday we parked at a lot on 3rd and Congress, thinking we could catch the Starlight Dillo (with its special ACL hours). We instead got on a wrong bus, misinformed by the driver that it went to Lamar and Barton Springs. So we had to get off at the school for the deaf and walk from there (1.7 miles). This walk was HORRIBLE, because it was in the middle of the day and the sun was beating hot on us. We were drenched by the time we got to the fest, so we found a spot in the shade of a small tree and stayed there for most of the day. Then we walked back to the parking lot, which seemed more enjoyable than the night before. Perhaps because we stopped at Wendy's on the walk back. Yesterday, Melissa and I weren't going to walk anymore, so we took the free shuttle and were much happier when we got to the festival.

I did get to walk on the new (to me) pedestrian bridge by Lamar, and it was gorgeous at night. I got to do it two nights in a row, no less!

Alone again or. . .

I didn't get to see all the bands I wanted to, just because it was so freaking hot and I got lazy. I missed Modest Mouse and Gomez. Most of the acts I caught were okay. We didn't get too close to the stage for anyone.

Bands that were so great they inspired me:
Franz Ferdinand (second favorite)
Los Amigos Invisibles
The Wailers
Calexico (my favorite performance)
Ben Harper

Bands that I thought were pretty good:
Bob Schneider
Blind Boys of Alabama
Patty Griffin
Toots and the Maytalls
The Gourds
Ben Kweller (almost in the first category, but I didn't get into his first short solo set)
Elvis Costello
Spoon (verging on inspiring greatness)
David Garza


Bands that somewhat disappointed me:
Neko Case (no New P*rnographers music. Waa.)
Broken Social Scene (didn't get it.)
Sheryl Crow (I was only able to catch a couple of her songs, but she sounded flat and hoarse)
Monte Montgomery (the crowd was a tad too frat boy for me)
G. Love and Special Sauce (huh?)
The Pixies
Wilco (only caught the last part of the act and couldn't get into it)
Cake

I didn't see any awful bands, but the bands in this last category made me wish I'd brought a book to read.

Overall, it was a great experience, and I know I got my money's worth. Whether I have the energy to deal with it next year is another story. It will all depend on who is on the schedule!

| | link