As this year's ACL Festival was approaching I was getting less and less excited.  There just weren't enough big names for me to get excited about.  As it turned out though, I had a great time and by the time Monday morning rolled around I was left wanting to experience more.  The difference between this year and the last couple of years was that this year was mainly about trying out new bands that I haven't much of or some that I've never heard from. 

Friday

I spent most of this day by myself which has usually been the case for Fridays in the past.  It gives me a chance to adjust to the goings on and to the sheer number of people that I get to spend the entire weekend with.  I did get to hook up with Travis for a couple of shows.  It is always more fun to watch shows with someone else so you can have a shared experience.  At any rate, the bands I saw were: 

Guster - enjoyed these guys last time at the Barenaked Ladies concert a few years ago.  Still have a great sound.

Gnarls Barkley - sat through about half of their set and actually got bored.  I just didn't get the vibe that some others get.  Crazy is the only song I really like of their's so off to catch the second half of...

Nickel Creek - I love this band.  I was sad to hear that at the end of next year they will be breaking up and doing solo stuff.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed their second half.  Their musicianship is top notch.  They did a great rendition of Brittney Spears' "Slave."  Yes, that's right...hilarious!

Gomez - It's hit or miss with these guys mainly because they have so many different sounds.  I really like the main guy's voice and enjoyed the songs that he sang on.

Thievery Coporation - I wasn't close enough to really get into these guys but appreciated something different.  It was an interesting site to see fans from the audience dancing on the stage at the end.  Did I see Leonard up there?

John Mayer - I was reminded how good this guy is on guitar.  I enjoyed his set but wish Jan was there to enjoy it with me.  I'm probably a fan thanks to my bro-in-law Kevin.

Saturday

After working until 4:00 I got a later start than I had hoped for.  I was able to hook up with Chris, Liz, and Kristen for a couple of shows which was fun.  It's a good tradition to hand with Len for at least some of ACL.

The Shins - I enjoyed hearing some of their non-Garden State stuff.  They have a really cool sound fueled by the lead singer's voice and their drummer's style.  I caught most of their set but missed my favorite song of their's, Caring is Creepy.

Aimee Mann - She was smooth and expressionless which is what I expected.  But she knows how to sing a simple accoustic guitar song and just make it work well with just her voice.  I was sad to miss Calexico.  I'll catch them next time.

The Raconteurs - Leonard and I accidentally made it up fairly close for these guys.  I only knew two things about this group going in:  Jack White is in the band; and the song Steady As She Goes.  I'm now a fan and just bought their album on iTunes.  They have a great southern rock, blues sound that isn't quite one or the other.  They are a modern day Zeppelin and am enjoying their album immensely.

Iron & Wine - just caught a couple of their mellow songs as the sun set.  I enjoyed what I heard but Willie was coming up soon so I split.

Willie Nelson - I've seen him twice and now three times.  This was the highlight of the day.  He sang 25 songs in the hour and 15 minutes he was on stage.  The 73 year old is amazing and I hope he lives and performs until he's 103.

Sunday

The threat of rain was imminent throughout the day, but luckily the storms went on both sides of Austin without really affecting us.  This was the best day of the festival mainly because I spent most of it with Jan, my sister Jana (first timer), and Chance (first timer.)  It was fun to see Jana and Chance experience their first festival.  Chance was able to bring up the local radar on his phone from time to time which helped in relieving any rain fears.

Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - I decided that I like reggae when it is live.  There's nothing like the feel of the bass in your chest as you watch people dance (I danced a little groove myself from time to time) and dodge their weed smell.  This was a great show from start to finish.  It featured one of Bob Marley's many sons, including a last song performance from Ziggy.

Matisyahu - This was a highlight of the weekend for me.  I thoroughly enjoyed his set and am now a bigger fan.  If you listen to the lyrics of his songs, they are basically praise songs, some of which seemed to pulled directly from Psalms.  My favorite line of the whole weekend was "God is even in those people on the Porta-Potties..."

New Pornographers - I wanted to check these guys out because Neko Case is in the band.  I didn't feel like I really got to focus enough on the music since this was kind of a transitional time of meeting up with people.

The Greencards - This is a family favorite of the Wilsons.  My parents introduced us to this great bluegrass band a few years back at Mother Egan's in downtown Austin.  This was a fun show as we were on the third row.  That's a good thing too, because during the slower, quieter songs it seemed like all I could hear was Ben Harper singing on the stage next door.  They really need to fix the sound battle between the AMD and Austin Ventures stage.

Muse - Whoah.  Jana and I got to experience our heaviest show ever at the same time.  I knew they were good, but I had no idea it was going to be that cool!  Great sound, great lights, great music all around.  I probably won't buy their entire album but I've got a few of their songs downloaded and am enjoying them. 

That's it!  We decided to skip out on Petty because we couldn't get close enough to hear anything.  That's a good thing too, as a storm blew in right as we were walking back.  So, next year?  We will see if it's worth another 3 days.