Friday at ACL

Yesterday we went to the first day of ACL, and here are the bands we saw:

Courtyard Hounds 

This was a fun transition into the day. They were pretty laid back and relaxed and overall seemed to be having a good time. Their songs did start to sound the same after a while, but at this point in the day, we were just so excited to be there that it didn't matter all that much to us.

Fun.

As you may know from our post a few weeks ago about how much we wanted to see Fun., we are pretty big fans.  So when they came out on the stage, there may have been a few tears shed. After we recovered from that, they were one of the best live bands we have ever seen. At the beginning of the concert they announced that they have always wanted to come play at ACL, and both the band and the audience never stopped grinning the whole time.  Singer Nate Ruess (in his very blue eyed, tank top wearing glory) really commanded the stage and everyone was dancing and singing along. My favorite part about them really was how much fun they seemed to be having. The great chemistry between the bandmates is really what makes them stand out, from the way they were messing with each other, trying to shove and distract each other to the general attitude they seemed to have as a whole.

Vampire Weekend 

The happy hoppy hippies and hardcore fans really characterized this show.Overall their songs sounded very similar, but even so they had a great stage presence and were very charismatic. 

Arctic Monkeys 

Even without ever listening to their music before, this show was still really enjoyable. They also had a really great stage presence and brought the audience on their feet (plus...they are super British). Love their Black Keys-ish sound. We will definitely be checking these guys out.

Muse 

Where do we even begin. From the virtuosic solos, to the crazy stage pyrotechnics, to the performance in its entirety, everything about Muse screams legendary. Despite two incidents involving a blown out generator, this was probably the best show we have ever been to.  Go see them yourself to really understand!

ACL's recap of Friday:


-Simone and Maya