acl - day two

jen and i woke up early to meet my cousin dawn at trudy's - a good austinian place for brunch, she said. after my breakfast taco of egg and potato, i was ready to see some shows. i decided to forgo the stage jumping of the day before and camped out at the cingular stage for jet and oasis. jen and i positioned ourselves on the second or third row

kathleen edwards was up first. the announcer came and said that because of traveling conditions due to the hurricane, kathleen edwards was not coming. instead, we heard deadboy & the elephantman. they weren't bad. they held my attention for the most part, but i don't know that i would have set out to see them if i had heard them before. after them, i was able to hear a band i have wanted to see for a long time. built to spill did not disappoint me. they only played a couple of songs i knew, but i really enjoyed the concert. if you haven't heard them, you should definitely listen to some of their music. i realized after i had to endure death cab for cutie that what i appreciate most about built to spill is their courage to be bold and unique in their music. death cab was so BORING! and their fans were even more annoying. to my left was a drunk 18 yr. old yelling to a cute girl across the way that he wanted "to be on" her and quoting napoleon dynamite lines, behind me was a girl really wanting to get past me. "i'm so sorry. i feel so bad," she said with a smile on her face, "i'm just so short. everyone's been letting me get in front of them." i looked at her and told her she was just about the same size as me, so she should be fine behind me. the smile disappeared from her face. later she tricked some guys into letting her get in front of them by saying she was just going to take a picture, but she never moved back. i told her it was rude to lie like that. she looked at me scared - her eyes got really big. i was happy, though, that i didn't have to listen to her sing loudly and off-key behind me. the members of death cab are talented musicians, they're just doing the same thing. it was nothing new, and they just stood there and played. no energy, no interaction, no passion. their lack of enjoyment made me wish i was anywhere else, but i had to wait out for jet and oasis.

after the death cab show, people started pushing in like their lives depended on being as close to the stage as possible. i found myself wedged between lots of people yelling, "hey! wait! don't push! we still have an hour before the next concert!" but they're weren't hearing any of it. i used my best skills to endure. i stuck out my elbows, pushed back, yelled, but nothing helped. it was the hottest and most uncomfortable i have ever been. i told myself that i could leave or stay, but either way i wasn't going to see oasis because if i stayed i was going to die. as soon as i announced i was leaving, people backed up off me, eager for my spot. by this point jen had already left, so i called her and found her at the capital metro stage. by the time i reached her, i had chastised myself for not being able to hang with the other concert goers and had spilled water on the ground, splashing the newly formed mud all over my feet and pants. jen was sitting pretty under some shade on bleachers. the capital metro stage had a covering and places for people to sit. the dirty dozen brass band was playing, there was a lot of room, people were dancing and having a good time. i was in a different world - away from the disgruntled, angry at the world fans who were too cool to show that they actually enjoyed the music. i cleaned my feet, hands, and face and voiced how grateful i was to be gone from the other stage. after the brass band we explored the merchant booths. we bought a gift for our roommate (who was watching our dogs)and i purchased a necklace (which i'm wearing today!).

we went back to the capital metro stage to watch zap mama and eat our avocado wraps. zap mama was amazing. sounds from all over the world seemed to emerge from her band and were supported by her energetic voice and performance. everyone was dancing and enjoying themselves. they actually tried to get her to come back out after she ended (i've never seen a crowd try that at acl), but the stage crew came out and started tearing down the sound equipment.

jen wanted to try and buy a zap mama cd so we went to the waterloo store to see how much it was. during that time, i watched a little of oasis on the big screen from far away. they sounded good, and i was a little sad that i was missing it from my original second row viewing area, but i went home content.

we met zach and amy at their house were they had hot, vegetarian pizza awaiting us. they were such gracious hosts. we sat around and talked and shared stories of the day. it was a good way to end what could've been a bad day.