acl weekend!
this weekend i indulged in the musical delights of the austin city limits music festival. luckily for me, it’s about a 10 minute walk from my new place. walking there is really something. the streets were closed off, and all day long there was a constant flow of hundreds of people making their way to the giant neon guitar at the entry way. one would think all these people were making some kind of holy pilgrimage. i guess in a sense they were.
over the last three days i learned that when talented musicians look excited to be performing and thankful and happy and having fun, it really really hits me. regina spektor had me welling up after every song. she was so genuinely thrilled to be doing what she was doing. i don’t blame her. it was really neat to be so totally surrounded by different musical tastes and talents. very inspiring. very humbling.
some highlights:
- st. vincent, in her adorably possessed state, cut her hand by agressively ripping all of the strings out of her electric guitar. it bled for the rest of the set.
- a friend hooked me up with a vip pass for the last day, which meant free food and drinks and access to really fancy porta-potties.
- some guy proposed to his girlfriend on stage during midlake’s set. nothing kills me like a proposal.
- people watching. lots and lots of people watching.
time for me to go sleep and dream lovely dreams of playing on one of those stages someday…
