TOP 10 LESSONS LEARNED: ACL 2005

The Top Ten list would not really hold a lot of water without a little bit of back story. In the fateful fall of 2005 my bestie Pris and I made our way to Austin, TX for three days of live music, otherwise known as, Austin City Limits. Whittled from an e-mail I sent to a friend shortly after the festival, here is a quick recap:



Our story begins at the Little Rock airport when Pris stopped to grab a coffee and the tall cowboy in front of us told the lady behind the counter to "get me one of them fat free hot dogs". Who in God's name would want a hot dog at 6a.m. (GROSS). The lady told him they were not on the breakfast menu, to which he replied "You've got a microwave, ZAP that dude". Thus began the quote of the weekend..."ZAP THAT DUDE"!

Day One:

After all the heat, and the walking, and my filthy dirty feet I was all but ready to give up. Seriously, put my ass in a cab, let me buy the album and listen to it in the comfort of my own air conditioning. I was miserable... enter the Black Crowes. And there it was, what that whole live music thing was all about.

Day Two:

We wised up and decided to bring a blanket and hole up in the shade uner a tree, which kept our spirits up tremendously. It also helped that we started drinking fairly early on, which became painfully obvious to all of us when we were full on jamming out to John Cougar Melloncamp, singing at the top of our lungs. That was around noon.

After a full day, Pris and I headed back to our blanket under the tree to meet Chris, our lovely host.

No Chris and No blanket. By this point, both of our phones were dead! So there we were, no host, not even a sign of him, no number, no battery, no address, no nothing. LOST!!! We (as in Pris) asked about 50 people for a battery that would fit either of our phones to no avail. We exited the park and had a rather odd encounter with some police officers. They gave us bottles of water and called us a cab because I believed I knew the name of Chris' apartment complex, Pris did not believe me. One of the nice officers walked us up the hill to catch our cab and according to Pris, I walked directly into a stop sign, I did not believe this. How did I not get arrested for public intoxication? Not in the least bit sure.

Poor Jose, our cabbie, we had him driving around in all kinds of circles. Turn here, no go back the other way! After Pris stressed the importance of my helping to keep a look out I decided to indulge in a cat nap. Somehow, completely out of nowhere, and clearly without my participation, Pris spotted Chris. That was him alright, walking down the street...on his way to the store...to buy mixers...because, yes, he was throwing a party. We finally made it back and it was yet again time for a nap. Needless to say, I missed the party.

Day Three:

All rested up for Sunday and thank goodness because Sunday ROCKED. Arcade Fire, the Decemberists, WILCO, and Coldplay, what a day. I was most looking forward to seeing WILCO and they did not disappoint. Coldplay was hands down the most phenomenal show, no surprise there.

It was 107 degrees and by the third day of 65,000 people stomping the same ground over and over, it was a dust bowl. The dust storm was so horrible by the time Coldplay's set began that everyone was covering their face with shirts and bandanas, even surgical masks. Have you ever heard 60,000+ people coughing at the same time, let me just say, it's not pleasant. Once Chris Martin belted out that first note, everybody forgot about the uncomfortable setting, and there was that whole live music thing again, that indescribable thing...it has the ability to unite the strangest of strangers in the strangest manner.

Incredibly aching feet, unbelievably sore back, and shoulders, limbs so dirty that sweat just turned to mud. Totally worth it! Getting lost and almost getting arrested, still totally worth it!

What did I learn from this wonderful new life experience?

Here's my TOP 10 LESSONS LEARNED...

10) Never wear jeans, way too f-ing hot!!

9) Why did I not bring my chacos? Stupid, very stupid

8)One Word...Blanket

7)Do not underpack, which I did very successfully

6)Write down important information such as the phone number of your host and the address to where you are staying.

5)Keep that information on your person

4)Go ahead and pretend to try to walk straight when a police officer is trying to help you

3)Do not be surprised if you blow your nose and what comes out is BLACK. (Gross by the way)

2)Remember to eat lunch especially if all you had for breakfast was Vodka and pancakes

1)Live music is totally worth it, all of it!

Just a few current thoughts on the subject, mostly regarding #9. See, you have to keep in mind this was '05, on the heels of my departure from Flagstaff and I didn't go anywhere in Flag without my Chacos! Also, I'm not sure why I did not add 'be sure your phone is charged' to the list, but in hindsight that was a fairly important factor.

Wow, five years later and my collection of concert tickets has expanded exponentially. All thanks to my bestie Pris for introducing me to the joys of live music and to the Hubs for carrying on the tradition!

That Austin City Limits weekend, hands down, changed my life forever. Dramatic, but true.

Toodles from this sentimental, music festival loving Smalltownista.