Jump to content

2021 ACL Fest - it’s back baby!

MidTexHorn

By MidTexHorn
in Music

 Share

Recommended Posts

Homercles

Homercles 10205

Posted
Posted

So glad I took today off work.  Rest of my crew are hurting.  Vaping, yelling, dry air, dehydrated from booze, etc has my throat worn out.  
 

Got there at noon, easiest security ever.  It’s always wild walking in the Barton East entrance and not hearing any music.  
 

Watched Dallas in the beer tent for a bit before asking over to Mother Mother…those guys bored me to tears, despite displaying tight musicianship.  Felt like all their songs were the same three chords and the lyrics were a bit bland.  They’re Canadian though. 
 

White Reaper were good, doing a drive by for 070 Shake had me wishing I woulda stayed longer to watch. 
 

Band of Horses was outstanding.  Despite being that mid-afternoon sweaty ballsack timeframe we really enjoyed it.  Can’t imagine playing with the sun in your face like that. 
 

After that we recovered back at base camp listening to Marc Rebillet…hadn’t really heard of him before but he improvised some wild shit and really produced a lot with what appeared to be minimal equipment.  Some of the ‘lyrics’ were just endless raunch though so kinda got tired of that.  
 

Greta sounded great.  Lane 8 was some great house/trance action but the Tito’s tent was too small for the crowd and we left after waiting 15 minutes for a real drop to hit vs the endless tease.  
 

Duran Duran was a great show but we were all beat to hell, left about 9p.  
 

We all now have dozens of disposable ponchos.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dcar00

dcar00 14181

Posted
Posted

missed white reaper unfortunately

caught Cam(kinda generic but good female country/pop, nice cover of Zombie)

Band of Horses - great

Greta - outstanding - yeah I know Zep wanna-be's but the guys can play and sing(actually sounds more like Geddy Lee than Plant) and to be honest, its actually different than everything else out there now.

Badu - good but a bit too slow after Greta

Duran Duran - Simon is a good showman and can still sing decently, should have given them another 15-20 min but White Lines and Rio were a good cap to the weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
C-Man

C-Man 27217

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Homercles said:

Band of Horses was outstanding.  Despite being that mid-afternoon sweaty ballsack timeframe we really enjoyed it.  Can’t imagine playing with the sun in your face like that. 

Seeing Band of Horses tomorrow night here at House of Blues in Dallas. I've seen them live three times (ACL and Dallas back in 2016) and at High Water Fest (Charleston in 2018) and they've been spectacular every time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Homercles

Homercles 10205

Posted
Posted

Anyone ever do VIP?  We’ve been kicking the idea around for a decade…but prices are outrageous now and way back 4 passes would get you a parking spot where the VRBO stage is now located.  
 

Understanding it comes with food and drink, and obviously wouldn’t get $1k worth…we mule in liquor and get our little camp in the shade setup early so I just don’t see the value outside of trying it once. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

I don't really think it's worth it, IMO.  the food is basically just glorified snack food.  After a day of trekking in the heat and boozing, you end up buying substantive food at the main food court.  The non-stop free cocktails and beer are nice, but you can't take them out with you to the stages (maybe ladies can in their purse), but it's damn near impossibly to smuggle out two vodkas in open top cups if you're just a dude in shorts.  The VIP grove is a nice place to relax in the shade, A/C bathrooms, and you can hear the T-Mobile and Ladybird stages really well (but you can't see them).  I'm not sure you can get into the elevated viewing areas or side viewing areas anymore with just a VIP pass either, that was a nice perk. I had no idea you could get a parking pass with them.  You can certainly make a serious dent in the price difference if you sling a lot of drinks at ACL, but otherwise it's not really work that massive uptick IMO.  You still end up spending $40 a day in beers so you can actually enjoy a cold one while watching the stage head-on.

I think they did away with the Artist Lounge passes a few years back, those were a better experience.  I think there's a new Platinum experience as well which is basically just VIP with more drinks and side viewing privileges, but I'd imagine that price delta is just ridiculously massive and only used by industry insiders who get it paid for by work.  if you can ever score a Producer's wristband, that's the one to get.  You even get a golf cart to ride behind the stages to get from A to B faster.  And there's Tim Love's secret kitchen for dinner, side stage access with drinks, and much easier entry to start the day.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18006

Posted
Posted

I did the VIP wristbands back when Metallica headlined. Bought them on stubhub a few days before at a decent discount.

With a kid in tow, having a nice place to sit in comfortable chairs in the shade was invaluable. Watched the Baylor game in the VIP lounge that year. Food was decent. Lunch and dinner was catered by Central Market. Unlimited drinks and snacks was nice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dcar00

dcar00 14181

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Lobo said:

  The non-stop free cocktails and beer are nice, but you can't take them out with you to the stages (maybe ladies can in their purse), but it's damn near impossibly to smuggle out two vodkas in open top cups if you're just a dude in shorts.  The VIP grove is a nice place to relax in the shade, A/C bathrooms, and you can hear the T-Mobile and Ladybird stages really well (but you can't see them).  I'm not sure you can get into the elevated viewing areas or side viewing areas anymore

 

thats what the "water" bottles you bring are for.    agreed not worth it.  I can't see making up 1000.00 difference per person.

the Artist Lounge was awesome.  we got a couple off craigslist the year the Foo Fighters played for the price of a regular GA.

did anyone do GA+?  what was the price difference for alcohol?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Homercles

Homercles 10205

Posted
Posted

That’s about what I expected for VIP.  Keep in mind we’ve been going since 2005 so when I do a callback on parking that may have been over a decade ago…but I recall them giving you an on-site parking space if you bought 4 vip wristbands.  
 

I like the idea of getting it off Craigslist a few days before for a single-day and trying it just to get everyone to shut up about it.  And as much as I love the beer tent atmosphere, sitting there on that shit faux grass plastic floor crap or standing for hours at a time at one of those stupid tables ruins my back…VIP football sounds good to me.  
 

I’m perfectly comfortable in our shaded space, and all 8+ of us bounce around as needed during the day…it’d be awkward to leave much of the group behind for long stretches aa I’d feel inclined to get usage out of VIP perks.  
 

BRB gotta google producer wristbands.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

Be skeptical if you see any of them listed, could be forgeries.  There aren't many in circulation and they're rarely sold, usually given as gifts/comps.  If an employee is caught selling them (which is usually the only way they end up in circulation), they can get in a world of shit.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dcar00

dcar00 14181

Posted
Posted

I'm seeing some platinum on craigslist every once in a while for second weekend.  If there was a day that stuck out like a sore thumb for the most bands you wanted to see you might be able to score a decent price for a single day and match that with some GA single days.

the golf cart thing sounds like the bomb.  get there first thing eat, start priming the pump, and get your own driver.  front of stage viewing every stage.

of course you'd have to meet the person and make sure its legit/activate the band with them there.

I'm sure some of the "made of money" surly lawyer crew can tell us how good Platinum is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Homercles

Homercles 10205

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Lobo said:

Be skeptical if you see any of them listed, could be forgeries.  There aren't many in circulation and they're rarely sold, usually given as gifts/comps.  If an employee is caught selling them (which is usually the only way they end up in circulation), they can get in a world of shit.  

Yeah I went down a rabbit hole. There are apparently tons of different bands/badges, with Producer being a laminate badge…crew chief, artist, artist guest, C3 guest, etc are also available with varying levels of access.  Apparently Plat gets you the most priority for stage views given you paid out the nose for it.  
 

I’d love to see how things are done behind the scenes.  I’m assuming that’s what the Y’all Access gets you for an ‘if you have to ask you can’t afford it’ with some Reddit folks saying they never even got a reply from the mailbox so assumption is it’s very selective. 
 

I dunno, especially in years like this with a meh lineup, I go as much for hanging with my friends or at the football tent or just wandering around with a beer in my hand listening to random music as I do get hardcore about which acts to see. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

Yeah, 2-7 each day gonna be rough.  Bike ride home gonna be brutal.  I should start hydrating now, but I'm also pretending I'm still in college and it's OU weekend so Thursday evening drinking seems more like the play.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

Who's playing down there right now?  Can't make it out, 2030hrs-CDT. It kinda sounded like "Lola" by the Kinks for a second, but it's not.  Somebody is playing live though.  I thought Party for the Parks was last night?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

I was thinking about that Guns 'N Roses set a couple years back.  I didn't get down there until 5:00p or so for a few other bands and felt okay until the sun went down.  For the first and only time in my ACL history, I was wearing closed-toed shoes and a jacket.  And about halfway through the GnR set, I was up on that viewing area on the south side of the park and the wind whipped up and I remember thinking, even with a thick jacket and hiking shoes, "Holy shit, I'm still cold.  This is impossible."  And now today, I'm trying to hydrate and figure out how to bring some sunscreen with my limited pocket space (mask, vaccine card, sanitizer, charging stick for phone, 8 pounds of crystal meth, etc.).  It's already hot at Zilker Park.  Shoulda gone last weekend.  But the talent out in the park and on stage is insane.  Heartless Bastards at 2:30p.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted (edited)

45 seconds?  I thought it was several minutes?  I don't think it was because she was on a political rant because they let that Marc Rebillet (sp?) guy go on an 14-minute club mix about Gov. Abbott.  But yeah, that was weird...they issues a public apology and gave her more money.  Kinda weird.  

Saturday had some surprise new bands, I really enjoyed like Aaron Frazzer and a couple others.  But yeah, i got in a sullen mood after the OU loss from 3-6 (the ridiculous eye candy in all the private lounges really helped take the stink off...god bless the mesh/fishnet cape/skirt thingy with the trashy thong underneath on all the chicks looking to meet someone pretending to be a "music executive"...my god how easy it must be you unmarried youngsters these days)..  Modest Mouse closed strong but I was home by 8:00p.  And it was the hottest day of the three i terms of heat/sun/humidity.  

Was a blast overall given the challenges of Covid, weather, football.  If you're ever in the area, I'd highly recommend checking it out next year.

Edited by Lobo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...