It is probably the best music festival in the South, and this year it lived up to its reputation and upped the ante for any future challengers. Bringing an eclectic mix of artists to Zilker Park, Austin City Limts Music Festival offered too much for one person to cover, so here are three different versions of the weekend for those who were unable to attend.
While underground acts were plentiful and fulfilling at ACL, many headlining acts gave performances that justified their large audiences and rock star statuses.
The most anticipated act played to the only sold-out show of the weekend on Saturday night. The Pixies took the stage in front of an audience that numbered nearly 75,000 people.
The group is reuniting after over a decade on hiatus. The band played hits from all over their discography, and for fans of the Pixies, this performance was a long time coming. Houston fans who have still not purchased tickets to their show on Oct.17 at Reliant Arena should act fast because unlike a high school reunion, this is definitely a past worth revisiting.
Elvis Costello offered one of the best performances of the weekend and proved that age does not kill the rocker within. Opening with his preferred first number "Accidents Will Happen," Costello went on to pull a majority of his set from his first album, My Aim is True. He also played hits from Armed Forces, Blood and Chocolate and his new album The Delivery Man.
His voice sounded just as biting as it did 27 years ago when Aim was recorded. The only disappointment was the unresponsive crowd who rarely joined Costello in song. Perhaps they wanted to hear "The Man" sing the songs instead, or maybe they didn't know the words. Whatever the case, it didn't manage to dampen the veteran rocker's spirit.
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