The Shins, who released their fourth album “Port of Morrow” in March, played Saturday evening at Austin City Limits. | Maria Romero/The Daily Cougar
On Friday, Austin City Limits, the annual popular music festival at Zilker Park, brought out concertgoers to enjoy a weekend of live music, alcohol and unpredictable weather.
Attracting more than 70,000 people to performances by Florence + The Machine, The Black Keys, Metric, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, to name a few.
Aside from choosing between performers who shared the same time slots, the unpredictable weather played the most frustrating role of the weekend. Saturday’s audiences were greeted with bad luck. Following a morning overcast, the rest of the day supported the golden rule of festivals: Never wear valuable shoes.
The grounds were drenched and muddy, which made it difficult to find a place to sit. But it wasn’t enough to break the ACL spirit.
When the rain hit the hardest in between performances at the Advanced Micro Devices stage, attendees united under shared cover. Instead of protecting their personal bubbles, complete strangers were huddling down under umbrellas, ponchos and backpacks together.
Following the rain, Saturday’s lineup continued as the mud conglomerated.
During The Shin’s anticipated performance, audience members sang along to their classics “Caring is Creepy” and “Know Your Onion.” The good vibes continued after the band’s performance as the beginning of disc jockey Bassnectar’s show drew in the crowd.
Bassnectar pumped up the audience with his infectious electronic beats — the most energetic show on Saturday. His well-known lasers and large video installations during live performances proved to be key elements that drew in fans.
For Saturday the audience split up for separate shows by the headliners following Bassnectar — classic rock legend Neil Young and alternative rock hero Jack White.
White’s ACL performance was his first as a solo artist. Previously, he performed with The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, two bands he started.
He treated the audience with The White Stripes classics and new songs from his debut album “Blunderbuss,” closing the festival’s eventful second day.
If people can still get pumped up on a rainy day, then there’s no denying ACL was and will always be a raging success.
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