Thursday, November 21, 2013

Throwback Thursday to Austin City Limits!


Thinking back to October fourth through sixth, I start to smile.  Austin City Limits was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. The sheer fact that about 75,000 people attend each day was crazy to me having come from a small town.  However, with bands like Muse, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Kings of Leon, Kendrick Lamar, Phoenix, Artic Monkeys, Lionel Richie, and many more, who can blame the crowd? 
            The first band of the festival I saw was Jimmy Eat World. From “The Middle” and “Sweetness” to their newer songs like “I Will Steal You Back”, I was thoroughly impressed with Jimmy Eat World.  They had a great upbeat vibe and the crowd loved it judging from all the heads bobbing and the hippie mannequin someone held on a stick, dancing around to the songs.
            One band I just have to mention was Muse. Now I’ve always heard they put on a great show, but I certainly underestimated these claims.  After about a thirty-minute technically difficulty with a generator, Muse was up and at it. The light show was incredible, especially to the song “Madness” where Matthew Bellamy had sunglasses on that typed the lyrics to the song as he sang them! I was extremely elated when they played many songs from the album Absolution including “Time is Running Out” and “Falling Away With You”.  I don’t think I could pick a favorite song they preformed but,  “Follow Me” was very well done by Muse. Overall, Muse created a hauntingly perfect rock ambiance that I enjoyed greatly from the fifth row, and it definitely made up for the thirty-minute delay.
            Kodaline, a small band from Dublin, Ireland that I have admired for a few years now, came to ACL on the third day. I woke up early Sunday morning to be in the front row of their show and it definitely paid off! With their Irish wit, nice looks, and great musical talent, I loved every minute of it. I did not want it to end, but another great band was up next. MS MR was unquestionably not what I expected.  As Lizzy Plapinger, lead vocalist, strutted out on stage with her—I kid you not—lime green hair, I thought, “This is going to be a great show.”  I was right.  The energy of the performers and the crowd was so in sync. It was basically like a big party. It felt like more than the band was performing to perform, it band was performing for fun, because they liked doing it.  That is what I love seeing, so MS MR was definitely one of my favorite shows of the festival.  The all-girl, indie pop band Haim, which I adore, was so entertaining.  Even with a few guitar mishaps these sisters didn’t let anything get in their way. You could tell they were having fun too; Este talked about how she just wanted to dance and Alana beat on her drums like it was a game.  I loved the free spirit these girls gave off and it made for a great rest of the festival.
            There are so many other bands I could go on and on about! ACL was truly amazing and I am so happy I attended this year. I loved seeing all my Zeta sisters throughout the festival and hanging out! I cannot wait to go back with them next year. I encourage everyone that goes to ACL to check out the smaller bands earlier in the day because they have some great talent and potential to be huge in the near future!

ZLAM,
Riley Anderson PC ‘13 

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