Although the lower temps and heartier grass at Zilker Park have gone a long way toward curtailing the refugee camp vibe of last year's ACL Festival, it still requires a stoic resolve to stand there and get cooked. This is true even when you're watching a performer that's somewhat enjoyable like Denmark-based Maximum R&B outfit the Blue Van. God bless those wiry Danes for rocking out in such inhospitable weather, but I'd still rather be watching them at a club. Fortunately they'll be back here to play at Emo's in just over a month.
Gnarls Barkley was pretty good, but the only truly superlative show I've seen so far this weekend was Van Morrison's Friday night set. He never appeared to be putting forth much effort, yet every soulful note he sang rang true. Morrison's band was equally spectacular in an understated way. Who needs flash when you've got enough meat to end your show with "Brown-Eyed Girl," "Wild Night" and "Gloria?"
Saturday, September 16, 2006
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I've noticed that once the temp gets above 95 or so, it feels the same as 108. Funny you mentioned the Blue Van...I also noticed that, during their set, the clouds seemed to part right over their stage and the sun hammered everybody. I think I sweated off the sunscreen I'd just put on before the first song was over.
Glad to hear Morrison was great. When he did his ACL taping on Thursday night, he was professional but (in my opinion) uninspired. He ended the set with the same 3 songs, and looked really unhappy to be singing "Gloria" and "Brown Eyed Girl" for the millionth time.
But it's fairly well-known that he hates to be filmed, so he was probably more uptight than usual.
Michael
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