ACl v. Rita, Day I

Atmosphere through-out the day was conservative, dusty, and forboding. If the backdrop of a very laid back Austin community wasn't enough of a setting to really make things interesting, the extreme heat and dancing gusts of wind really put you in your place.

A good first day of a festival like ACL is best summed up as, "...and this is only the first day." Sometimes that comments comes at the end of an extend conversation, maybe about a show you just caught. Sometimes they where spawned my a musical apex and a fleeting glance.

Todays Best:

1. Theivery Corporation. I was close enough to see the dirt shake as the bass dropped. 6 vocalist, two horns, a zitar, and three various percussion kits. The extreme heat made it a karmatic experience.
   
2. Barton Spring. 30 minute swim break from 100 deg heat is always a highlight.
3. Communication Ingenuity. With Katrina, Rita, and an extra 200 Thousand people trying to use the cellular networks, meeting/finding a person was a task. Top award goes to the guy by the SBC tent yelling the name of his contact for 35 minutes. Fuck text messaging, that shit never works.
   
4. Allman Brothers. Best set of the day, the sound was constantly being fucked with, either by the soundman or by Rita-winds and distance; but, they played 'em all. Jessica, Statesboro Blues, Whiping Post, Midnight Rider...you get the picture.
5. A shower.
   

So, tomorrow Rita arrives, bring cooler weather, hopefully some clensing rain, and light winds. It'll make Oasis, Robert Randolph, and John Butler Trio something like a religious experience.

Ok, food, Anderson Cooper does Rita, and bed....

In the next episode. More on shows, t-shirt awards, and who the fuck are you awards.