Austin City Limits Festival: Day Two
3:45 p.m.: Owing to a late night, the amount of time it took to draft my Day One blog, and the hour-long wait for a cab (after yesterday's shuttle disaster, I'm not taking any chances), I don't arrive at Zilker Park until mid-afternoon. This means I've missed both Dax Riggs and Sound Team's last ever show (unfortunately) and Paolo Nutini and Augustana (fortunately), and more importantly I've let you down, dear reader.
3:52 p.m.: I am, however, in time to catch the last half of Cold War Kids' set, who are playing to an audience that is significantly larger than yesterday:
4:07 p.m.: Cold War Kids singer Nathan Willett, like every performer before and after him, comments on the heat: "It's a hot one. Y'all must have trained for this!" Actually, Nathan, even native Texans never really get used to it; we just accept it stoically and put up a façade of false pride to intimidate outsiders. Willett introduces the next song as "Expensive Taste," but it comes out sounding a lot like "Expensive Tits," causing the guy next to me to exclaim, "Hell yeah! Make 'em big!" The band's set peaks with its penultimate song, the incredibly catchy single, "Hang Me Up To Dry."
4:43 p.m.: St. Vincent, a last-minute addition to the festival, is playing the relatively small Austin Ventures Stage around the corner. Unfortunately, she didn't bring her band along, but if anyone can make the solo show work it's Annie Clark, one of indie-rock's most talented multi-instrumentalists. Using sampled loops, a drum machine, and her own considerable skill on the guitar, she conjures up droning violins, church organs, and backing choirs, all emanating from her tiny porcelain figure. As the skuzzy throb of "Your Lips Are Red" fades, Clark cheerfully tells everyone, "Eat, drink, and be merry. And get married. Today. Why not?" It's a nice subtle plug for her album (Marry Me), though I don't think it's intentional.
5:02 p.m.: I realize I'm being a little elitist by only checking out indie-rock acts, so I decide to give something new a try that's off the hipster beaten path: Trent Summar And The New Row Mob–surprisingly, not a hip-hop act–is kicking up dust on the BMI Stage with its pedal steel-driven rockabilly, singing songs about whiskey, women, and Nashville (where they're from). When it began, ACL was nothing but bands like this, but the shift away from country, folk, and blues acts has definitely relegated them to the minority. The crowd in front–mostly older folks in those free cowboy hats being passed out by Blackstone Winery–is modest in size but visibly excited, twirling and two-stepping it up. "Here's a love song I wrote about my cousin!" Summar exclaims. OK, that's enough experimenting.
5:45 p.m.: It's official: Whistling is this year's hottest "instrument," exemplified yesterday by Peter Bjorn And John's ubiquitous "Young Folks" (still being passed around in the crowd like a bad cold) and solidified here by master whistler Andrew Bird, who can trill like a human Theremin. Bird's set is perfect for late afternoon, especially one blessed by a light breeze, and he seems to be loose and enjoying himself. It's also unexpectedly rocking, aided by drummer and sampling whiz Martin Dosh. Bird even turns in a playful performance of "Dr. Stringz" to big cheers.
6:15 p.m.: I notice that I haven't seen as many funny hats or bizarre costumes today, which either means that today's crowd is considerably more conservative, or I'm just not looking hard enough. I do spot this guy: