Austin City Limits Festival

When I saw the Roky Erickson was playing the Austin City Limits Festival, I knew I had to go. I found a friend in Dallas that was going with a couple of other people and booked my flight and festival ticket. I had planned on flying into Dallas and then riding with my friend to Austin as the ticket was much cheaper. So the day before I'm supposed to leave we get a call that our hotel reservations have been canceled due to hurricane Katrina evacuees. There was available in a 2 hour radius because of the Galveston and Houston evacuees as well. So pretty much everyone canceled. And I couldn't get to Austin without my friend in Dallas. So I was bummed to say the least, canceled my flight and everything. At about 1pm on Friday I got an email from the friend in Dallas that said, if you can get down here tonight I found us a place to crash. I was on a plane at 4:45 and heading to Dallas which cost me an extra $140. We drove to Austin from Dallas on Saturday morning and spent all day in 101 degree weather. But when Roky went on it was all worth it. The set was great, his voice has really held up and you can tell he was really into the show. The backing band the Explosives were very stellar with a set list that included Don't Shake Me Lucifer, You're Gonna Miss Me, Two-Headed Dog, I Walked With A Zombie, Bermuda, The Beast, Starry Eyes, Splash 1, White Faces and Creature With The Atom Brain.

I made two days of the festival so yes I did see other bands. Bob Mould's band was another highlight for me. He seemed in such a great mood and the band was tight and quick. The addition of Brendan Canty on the drums was a strong move. The guy just rocks. The Husker and Sugar songs came off really well and his newer stuff sounds a lot better live.

Other acts I saw:

Kacy Crowley
Split Lip Rayfield
Mike Doughty
Built To Spill
The Frames
The Walkemen
Ambulance LTD
Eisley
Doves
Arcade Fire
Dave Alvin and the Guiltymen (Another highlight, such a great guitarist)
Wilco