photo credit: hey reverb

Just day one of Austin City Limits was an overheated, exhaustive affair, fueled on enthusiasm and Torchy’s Tacos. How could I brave a second day when the weather (sun and rain? C’mon, Austin) and overcrowding blunted that prior live music-lovin’ zeal? Easy: Cut Copy, Iron and Wine, Aloe Blacc, My Morning Jacket and of course, the illustrious Stevie Wonder, the festival’s token golden oldie.

Recap after the jump:

-sunbear


photo credit: brooklyn vegan

Up bright and early and greeting me an amiable “Hello!” was Seattle’s Telekinesis. From behind his drum kit, which was pushed up to the forefront, Michael Benjamin Lerner, led his band through a high energy set loaded with earnest summer jams. “Stay hydrated guys,” advised Lerner, “one water per beer.” Check.

A return to the gargantuan Bud Light stage where Stones Throw signee Aloe Blacc, was ambling onto the stage to the tune of his well-known hit “I Need a Dollar.” Keep in mind though, that Blacc’s band, The Grand Scheme, would tease the crowd with that favored tune, baiting us with the famliliar plinks of the opening piano line before diverting into another of Blacc’s songs from his Bill Withers-esque album Good Things. Blacc was a beacon of positive energy, wrapped up neat and prim in a slick vest and fedora. One of the set’s highlights was Blacc inciting a real-life Soul Train line down the middle of the crowd. Hustles were got on by all.

photo credit: brooklyn vegan

A few hundred yards away from the Soul Train conductor on the Google+ stage, Twin Shadow frontman George Lewis Jr. and his chic Flock of Seagulls ‘do, were bringing on a whole different kind of nostalgia: one laced with 80’s production over Lewis’ bittersweet croon. The band sexed-up the crowd with cuts from last year’s Forget, performing the sexy “Slow” and the amusingly titled “Castles in the Snow.” There was something about the band’s nonchalant professionalism, their refined way their music dabbled in the dramatic that begged a move to a larger stage.

Back on the Bud Light stage, a blitzkrieg romp of southern rock, equal parts The band and Led Zepplin (yes!), was being doled out by J. Roddy Walston & The Business. The hairy namesake was tearing up a piano with Queen-like ferocity with the whole of the viewing audience having no choice but to hang for dear life. Walston’s southern romp is nothing new here in Texas, but no one did it quite as fiery, as spirited as he.

photo credit: soundspike

Admittedly, I had never heard of Alexander, which was actually the title of the solo venture of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes frontman Alex Ebert, who I had heard quite a bit of. Imagine my surprise when i saw the whimsical Jesus lookalike onstage sans any Zeroes. The sound was familiar, though: carefree 60’s inspired folk; a hippie extravaganza, if i’ve ever heard one. The material was just as strong and should be as notable as Ebert’s other groups.

photo credit: soundspike

Back on the opposite end of the park, City and Colour‘s earthy, country-tinged indie pop was winning the hearts of the festival’s younger generation. Frontman Dallas Green and his band sounded positively Whiskytown, pining away on their acoustics and broken heartedness. Hard to believe this was coming from the former frontman of the post-hardcore Alexisonfire.

photo credit: soundspike

Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam put aside the one-man acoustic act and traded it in for an extravagant sounding band, replete with a massive horn section and a familiar backup singer in the willowy-voiced Markéta Irglová. The band themselves were so prominent that they were just able to churn out a scant eight songs in their hour-long set. Elaborate jams, notable Kiss Each Other Clean’s “Your Fake Name is Good Enough for Me” embellished beam’s poignant voice. Where Beam was restrained, the band was fervidly expanding their sound, expanding their widescreen, second line sound. The Iron and Wine or yore is almost unrecognizable to the indulgent modern setup and for an outdoor music festival, the better for it.

Mirroring Aloe Blacc’s neo-soul, Californian positivity, Fitz & The Tantrums were bringing down the house over on the Honda Stage. Michael Fitzpatrick was all stylish swagger as he and vocal partner and ray of sunshine Noelle Scaggs rollicked though “Pieces of Love” and Raconteurs cover “Steady as She Goes.” The crowd ate up every second of the band’s fun-loving nature, notable when Fitzpatrick expressed truism that “Rich girls, they break your heart while poor girls, they take all your money.” Amen, Fitz.

photo credit: hey reverb

Cut Copy brought something different with them to Austin, something not in the vein of their electro dance-pop: the jungle. Indeed, in stark contrast to the band’s slick synths and ethereal melodies, the stage was littered with ferns and foliage, but a closer inspection of lyrics like “Take me over, take me out. Through the jungle through the night to paradise” brings clarity to the band’s decorative choices. Songs off the bands’ latest Zonoscope had everyone at the AMD Stage jumping and even mirroring singer Dan Whitford’s expressive arm movements. That guy is one infectious frontman.

Chromeo didn’t deviate much from the last time I had seen them roll through Houston’s Summerfest, but with the recent passing of their friend DJ Mehdi, the duo dropped the pomp for a moment to perform the Mehdi collaboration “I Am Somebody.” Three new sexy backup singers primped up like Robert Palmers’ “Addicted to Love” girls flanked Chromeo as they cheeseballed their way through Fancy Footwork and Business Casual hits, providing some extra eye candy (as if Dave 1 wasn’t enough!).

photo credit: hey reverb

Finally the moment came for the legendary Stevie Wonder to take the Bud Light stage and show Austin City Limits how he achieved such status. Shame his set was marred with terrible sound, causing anyone past the soundboard speakers (which themselves, weren’t even on) to chant turn it up. Oblivious to the sounds, or lack thereof, Wonder laid out classics like “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” “Higher Ground” and a cover of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Impressive as he and his band were, and believe me, they put it down, the set was just an inaudible whisper to anyone who wasn’t directly in front of the stage which was to say, eighty percent of the ACL crowd. You did Stevie dirty, ACL. Shame.

photo credit: ed spinelli

Those who gave up on trying to hear anything from Wonder’s set, found themselves nestled in the Olympian thunder of My Morning Jacket. With a stage show just as impressive as Kanye’s the previous night, what started as a whisper with the Circuital one-two of “Victory Dance” and “Circuital” amplified into the festival’s loudest and most impressive set. Wonder’s set simply could not complete with the rock ‘n’ roll juggernaut of MMJ. The Heavens themselves parted ways and bolstered the band’s set into something for the ACL record books. Jim James was both James Hetfield and James Brown in a single night, waffling back and forth through the band’s later, experimental catalog. By the time the band were assisted by the Preservation Hall Jazz band for “Holding on to Black Metal,” a revelation had been had by those lucky enough to bear witness: My Morning jacket are the best live band in the universe. Yes. Yes, indeed.

Stay tuned for Day Three coverage!

-sunbear