Hangover Prescription: An ACL Weekend 1 Recap

Well, ACLers, weekend one is in the books. You screamed, sang, and some of y’all avoided the rain. For the second year in a row, the on-site sign matched Austin’s recent trend in a cringe-worthy copy of Hollywood. You danced til you dropped, and dammit there’s still one more weekend to go. While you nurse that hangover with sweet sonic memories, and before we dive head first into weekend two, here’s a recap of some of the music that made this weekend special.

Japanese Breakfast

Michelle Zauner wowed the crowd with her effortless transitions from bouncy, energetic tunes to painful, sorrowful ballads. Leader and band gelled seamlessly on stage, connecting to transform meticulously distorted sounds into a melange that kept the fans transfixed from start to finish.

Cuco

The chicano crooner, his trumpet and his California band beat the “sweaty as fuck” Texas heat to make the crowd move. The band played a key heavy new track that sounds like an old Sade record, and spent the last three minutes of the set building up a unique wall of distorted sound. The group are clearly growing and changing together, and we can’t wait to hear and see what’s next.

St. Vincent

St. Vincent’s beautiful combination of viciousness and vulnerability electrified the Miller Lite stage on a day when a powerful female roar was exactly what we needed to hear. Her faceless male band members brought the boogie as she and her badass bassist held their fists high and lifted the frenzied crowd above all the outside noise. Thank you.

Smino

Smino-shima and his five piece band fought through some early sound issues to put on one helluva show. His back-up singers complemented each other in harmonious balance, leading and following with grace and undeniable vocal talent. Not to mention Smi-yea hit the crowd with a five minute cover of N.O.R.E.’s Nothin’ and almost tore the stage down. Two thumbs up.

Khruangbin

The Houston crew “came to stay in the cut,” and that’s exactly what they did. Drummer DJ Johnson kept that shit clean and tight as Laura Lee mesmerized on the bass and Mark Speer worked his groovy guitar to the limit, at one point de- and re-tuning his low E in the same solo. The band took a smooth strut through their own catalog before covering a slew of west coast rap classics (think Dr. Dre, Luniz) and mellowing out with Summer Madness.

Illenium

The Denver DJ brought an eclectic mix of emotional tracks and hard bass to the stage. Perched atop his riser, he directed a four piece band and took the crowd on an undulating ride through heartbreaking melodies, shrieking guitar riffs, and dramatic drums. This ethereal-trap set was peppered with heavier dub drops than anyone expected, and the crowd roared with excitement. Said the Sky killed it on the drums to his right, while Dabin crossed the stage at several different intervals, shredding on guitar and bringing energy to the stage that grew more and more wild until he finally smashed it to pieces in a huge metal drop.

Jungle

The hits keep coming. Every blast of sound and light brought the crowd deeper into the jungle groove these falsetto fellas bring to the stage. Their band dazzled as well: the two ladies singing backup blew it out of the water, and the supporting guitarist shredded in his own right. They played new tunes, they played old, and they still bring the heat.

Travis Scott

There’s no denying it- this Mo City native churns out bangers. Excited to see his notoriously high-energy performance, we approached the American Express stage early to grab a good spot. He entered the spotlight (20 minutes late) screaming  “I’ve been waiting for so long to play this festival.” Travis screamed in autotune and jumped across the stage with the insane fervor of the Tasmanian Devil as jumbled, Sadboys-esque graphic reading “GARBAGE” flitted across the screen behind him. Then he left, 20 minutes early. What a show.

Blood Orange

Dev Hynes’ ballads on the baby grand and his Prince-like perfection on the guitar had the crowd begging for every second of Blood Orange’s time slot. The back-up singers held the audience captive for their own round of goosebump-inciting, vocally vivacious tracks. The brass/winds player brought a full complement of saxophones and a flute, and masterfully moseyed through tracks on them all. The drummer and bassist kept it tight and funky from jump to slump. Even the background visuals, homemade videos of parking lot parties spliced with old Outkast and Aaliyah videos, were on point. This was a complete show, a meaningful show, and we highly recommend the experience.