So, it snuck up on me a bit, but the 2009 edition of ACL Festival is not far away my friends. This year has been a record year for the festival, selling out of 3-day passes almost 2 months quicker than any past years, and achieving a complete sell-out a month before the festival. To what do we attribute this success? I lean to believe it has to do with a little band named Pearl Jam, who still have maintained a rabid following all these years, a bit to my surprise, but I’m sure that The Dave Matthews Band had a hand in achieving the record sell-out as well. Just seeing the name Dave Matthews on my blog, feels wrong.

So, as the next few weeks creep along, I’ll be talking about the bands that I think should be on your list of bands to check out. You know it’s getting to be that time of year, when the frequency of the question “so, who are you excited about seeing @ ACL?” increases daily. To be quite honest, I haven’t put a whole lot of effort into the thought process, as the months pass leading up to the event, are spotted with dropouts and add-ons, disappointing some. The cancellation of Sonic Youth, would be one specific case that I’m completely down about. Does the addition of Dirty Projectors or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs soften the blow? Not really. It’s Sonic fuckin Youth! I don’t care how old they are, they still rule, and always will.

Before I get into specific bands a preview at a quick glance:

Indie Hipster bands that will draw massive crowds and will be the talk of the blogs:

• Phoenix, Fri 4:30 on AMD West: They are French, they been plugging along for a few years now, and seem to have found the audience finally. A blind booking for SNL put them on the map instantly. More on these guys soon enough.
• Grizzy Bear, Sat 3:00 on Dell: Does anything really need to be said about these guys now that hasn’t been said. Get there early and beat Jay Z to the front of the stage.
  
• Passion Pit, Sun 5:00 on XBox360: Their performance last year still has fans reminiscing. I honestly don’t know much about these guys, but on first listen, I might just keep it that way.
• Dirty Projectors, Sun 5:00 on Dell: Ooooh, hipster kids will wish human cloning was legal right about then. Hell, some of them might even give it a try.
  
• Girl Talk, Sun 7:00 on XBox360: From uptown suit to downtown DJ. It’s a guy with some computer equipment and a turntable I’m guessing. What does a DJ do on a big stage towards the end of a festival for thousands of people? Dan Auerbach fear not.

WTF?, Why?, and Who (made this decision)

• Prescott Curlywolf, Fri 11:45 on XBox360: Are there any bloggers in town that even remember who this band is, and when they were somewhat popular in Austin? Doubt it, as the band saw their peak sometime in the mid-late 90′s. I can think of at least half-a-dozen currently active Austin bands that could fill this spot. Are they about to make some huge comeback? Doubt it.
• Poi Dog Pondering, Fri 3:15 on Wildflower Center: Hmmmmm. I didn’t really realize that they were still kicking it around. Another band that seemed to find it popularity at it’s peak, quite a few years ago.
  
• Reckless Kelly, Fri 7:15 on Austin Ventures: I’ll give it to them for maintaining some form of popularity, but they play after Robin Hitchcock? Is there some redneck revolution occurring that I’m not aware of?
• The Scabs, Sat 7:15 on Austin Ventures: Maybe there is a theme here? Austin bands headline Austin Ventures stage? I can understand that. But the Scabs? I get it! You sing dirty songs to chics who like to dance to your music, and make their boyfriends uncomfortable or possibly horny?

No surprises here:

Kings of Leon (festival whores), Yeah Yeah Yeahs (soon to be festival whores), Ghostland Observatory (got to stick with what works), Arctic Monkeys (most boring festival band next to Vampire Weekend), The Dead Weather (being Jack White guarantees your spot on a main stage at a festival).

Now, it sounds like I’m full of piss and vinegar, but not the case. I’ll have a ton of great things to talk about in regards to 2009 ACL Festival coming in the next few weeks. I can’t wait to sink my bare feet into that luscious looking grass. Who wants to join me? We can have a grass party.

stay tuned…………..

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 12:26 pm and is filed under ACL Festival 2009, Uncategorized, recommended.