If yesterday at Austin City Limits Music Festival was the day of rain, then today was the day of mud - acres and acres of the stuff, which smelled quite a bit like dead fish. All the beautiful green grass was covered by the slippery muck, across almost every single section of the park.
There were three categories of people today: those that came prepared with galoshes; those that wore regular shoes and refused to take them off, instead choosing to coat them in layers of ooze; and those that embraced the mud, walking barefoot and feeling the pleasant squish-squish as they walked across the park. I'm convinced that how people reacted to the environment had a major impact on how much they enjoyed themselves. Let loose, everyone!
2:00 PM - The B-52s, AMD Stage
As my friends and I walked - barefoot, if you're curious - over to our first concert of the day, I realized this: I had absolutely no desire to see the B-52s. They made the song "Love Shack," I believe, and not too much else. The clincher was when the lead singer said, "This is a song that's set maybe about ninety years into the future. It's called, "In The Year 3000."
Logic fail, my good man.
3:00 PM - Heartless Bastards, Dell Stage
This group was a great way to really, truly kick off the day. They play with a fairly standard rock layout, producing a sort of blues/funk music that toes the line between mellow and energetic. That sounds a little strange, I know, but it's true. Also: they've got a female lead vocalist, which completely caught me off guard. If you're casually listening to Heartless Bastards, I guarantee you'll think it's a guy singing. It not a bad voice - rather good, in fact, with great range and power - but it's low and husky enough to make for some confusion.
The Heartless Bastards had a much more low-key vibe than a lot of other performers, but played a good set. By the time we left on our way to the next stage, I definitely wanted to learn a bit more about them and maybe pick up an album.
4:00 PM - Arctic Monkeys, AMD Stage
Strong, swaggering Brit-rock is what these guys are, no doubt about it. The lead singer has one of those British accents that all the girls love and all the guys wish they had. He had a habit of sort of mumbling his way through talking in between songs, then belting out full, strong vocals during their songs.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
"They made the song "Love Shack," I believe, and not too much else."
You'd believe wrong.
2 - Doug Hunter
I was scanning the airwaves the other day and skipped past Rock Lobster and my 3yo was like 'Daddy, I want to hear that one!". He absolutely loved it. They got a cool video on Youtube of them performing it at a club in the 70's before their first album came out.
3 - Mark Saleski
"They made the song "Love Shack," I believe, and not too much else."
You'd believe wrong.
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seriously? please, check out the first two cds. i know they came out before you were born, but it won't hurt too much.
4 - Scott Allen
Music history lesson time. The B-52s 1st album came out in 1978 and went platinum with several hits: Rock Lobster, Planet Claire, Dance This Mess Around, 52 Girls, Private Idaho (2nd album), etc.
They were a major part of the New Wave movement, right as it was transitioning from underground (Elvis Costello, Talking Heads) to mainstream (Blondie, The Cars).
5 - Brian M.
That sentence was poorly worded; I meant it as sarcasm. My point was that the band I watched perform was one clearly past its time. The overall tone of their performance wasn't a good fit for the festival, as far as I'm concerned. It was an awkward series of, "Hey you guys remember this one, right? We're going to play it now, but not as well as we used to."
Say what you want about how wonderful they used to be, but it has no bearing on the show they put on this past weekend.
6 - Mark Saleski
Say what you want about how wonderful they used to be, but it has no bearing on the show they put on this past weekend.
i have no problem with you not liking their performance or that they didn't fit with the festival, but your paragraph made it look like you'd dismissed them before they'd played a single note.
if you want to apply Pitchfork-style snotty to something, you should at least make it look like you've got your facts straight.
(note: the B-52's were a part of a pathetic controversy when they played the university of maine a loooong time ago. apparently, people thought they were lip-syncing. i have no idea if it was true because i didn't go that night. saw them about 5 years ago and they seem to be playing)
7 - El Bicho
"My point was that the band I watched perform was one clearly past its time."
Then your point suffered "logic fail" because you didn't even come close to getting that idea across.
8 - Ryan P
Something tells me he was joking when he said "90 years". So to the author: Humor fail.
9 - Big Mike
Critics....Great Article