ACL Fest Craziness

This past weekend Madelyn and threw our bikes in the car, strapped some chairs to our backpacks, and walked in to the ACL ready to burst our eardrums. It couldn't have been nicer weather, although when you're standing in the sun, shoulder to shoulder, even 89 degrees feels pretty hot. It didn't seem to matter once you were standing there watching your favorite bands play to huge crowds filled with people who all share the same admiration for the music. There were not so good bands, great bands, and then there were bands that literally changed my entire outlook on what music and live shows are.

For those who care, here is the listing of bands we saw.

Blues Traveler
Black Keys
Black Keys
Beach House
Spoon
Vampire Weekend
Phish
The Strokes
Pete Yorn
Two Door Cinema Club
Broken Bells
The XX
LCD Soundsystem
The Muse
Yeasayer
Flaming Lips
The National
The Eagles


We started the festival on Friday for the Black Keys! I couldn't think of a better way to start then watching these two rock out.

Taking a break after getting rocked by the Black Keys

After ACL on Friday we threw in a free Mates of State after-show. We hustled out of the festival after The Strokes, jumped on our bikes, and rode across town just in time for the Mates of State show. They were amazing as always...

On the 2nd day Madelyn bought a big hat sun shield... fighting the sun and the 70,000+ crowd was a challenge. Walking around the festival takes some serious skill.

We didn't try and get up front for the Broken Bells because...well, look at the picture. The show was still great even from the back.

We did make sure to get up close for The XX... not only because we like the band, but that's where the shade was.

This is us at The XX, I was sporting my Utah hat because it was Saturday... and during football season, on Saturday, you ALWAYS wear Utah clothing.

Madelyn and our friend Sarah, who was responsible for getting us one of our tickets! They enjoyed shows from the chair section, which was a nice break from fighting the crowds.

We had some downtime... and we took some pictures against the really pretty sky. It was a really pretty weekend, we couldn't have asked for better weather.

The Muse had some awesome laser lights that I want to install in our house for Rockband parties. They were incredible, as expected, and were a great end to an amazing 2nd day.

Sunday it was all about the Flaming Lips. We arrived two hours early to get a good spot for the show. While waiting for the Flaming Lips we met some fellow concert goers, although we really had no choice with our close proximity. We were crammed with our new friends for an hour, but it was totally worth it. The Flaming Lips were INCREDIBLE!

Waiting for the Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips blew our minds! Changed my entire outlook on shows. The guy walks on the crowd in a ball... how cool is that?! The band knows how to get the crowd involved and knows how to keep the energy going. Weather it's walking around in the space ball...

...Directly over us...

Or singing an entire song on the shoulders of a guy in a bear costume. The concert was the best show I've ever seen...

Waiting for The National who had a great set, but after getting our minds blown at the Flaming Lips we took the moment to sit on a hill, listen to The National, and watch a TON of shooting stars in the sky. I couldn't have imagined a better end to the day.

It really was an amazing weekend... and we were really sad to see it come to a close. Going back to work after a three day party is hard, but we have the music, the pictures, and the excitement of who will play next year.