ACL festival Day 1...part 1

Wow! I don't know if I have the words to describe how great the first day of the 2009 ACL festival was for me. There were several bands that I wanted to see, however, with the way my day went and with the timing of things I ended up three amazing shows today. I cannot begin to write about them all on one post...so here's part 1, band 1.

Phoenix: I got there about an hour early so that I could get a good spot. I was going to see The Walkmen, but realized that if I wanted to procure a sweet spot for Phoenix, I would have to just listen to them instead. No problem.

I was about 20 yards from the stage which was the perfect spot not to have to see over too many heads. :) They were about 3 songs in when the singer Thomas Mars stated that this was the biggest crowd they'd ever played for. You could tell by the look on the band's faces that they were amazed at the energy being thrown at them during each song. On the jumbo screens to the sides of the stage they would flash up shots of the crowd...I didn't realize how many people were there until I saw it for myself. I felt very fortunate to be standing where I was! My estimate would have to be about 25,000 people, and that is probably on the conservative side. Here's a bit of video so you could see them in action. (There is no sound because I took it from my digital camera, so sorry about that)



It was such a rush of energy...the music was great, the crowd was great and it started my whole festival experience off on a wonderful note.

Part 2: Them Crooked Vultures: Uh, front row? Why yes I was. More later....

cheers!
xo diane