I don't want to freak you out or anything but Austin City Limits Music Festival Round 1, is NEXT WEEKEND. I feel like I don't even know where to begin so I'm just going to focus on Tame Impala. Chances are, if you're hip to Austin Bloggy Limits then you are fully aware of, Australian band, Tame Impala but pretend for a moment that you are the typical festival goer. Uh oh, did he just generalize all festival goers? You're damn straight he did. I feel like the typical person who goes to ACL Festival year after year doesn't really care who is playing. They trust the curation skills of C3 Presents and/or they know they are going to have fun regardless of what's happening on stage.
I guess what I'm saying is your typical, non-music-blog reading, festival goer uses an event like ACL Festival for discovery. Jaded, douche-nozzles like me have seen the majority of these bands already by the time they get to the big stage so we're mostly just hoping the people around us will shut the fuck up long enough for us to hear this guitar solo. SPOILER ALERT: They won't.
Tame Impala - Mind Mischief video via YouTube
So, as a jaded douche-nozzle, one of the things I have grown to look forward to is seeing the crowd's reaction (or lack thereof) to artists whom I am already very excited about. For instance, seeing Cults win over a large group of people who had no idea who they were was pretty great.
This year, I feel like Tame Impala will be the discovery story for many a festival attendee. Stop rolling your eyes and hear me out. Tame Impala has only recently been added to many "alt rock" radio stations, which means your parents are only marginally aware of some of their songs. I saw Tame Impala when they played Stubb's but the really cool kids were at their Emo's Inside show when they toured Austin behind their first record. I really kick myself for skipping that show.
If you are unaware, or only marginally aware of, Tame Impala they need to be at the top of your must-see list. These guys are seriously kick-ass musicians and their sound is going to wash over the crowd like a fog of, 'Holy shit this band is fucking awesome!' That's a fog now.
I guess I kind of fucked up by featuring them first since they don't play until 6:30p on Sunday of ACL Festival but that is how important Tame Impala is to me, you, and the greater Austin metro region. So plan to grab something to eat on your way over to the Honda Stage and get yourself a good spot somewhere between the stage and the soundboard and then shut the fuck up for the duration of the set. It's as easy as that. Oh, and if you want, you can have these Aussies sign your tits (allegedly) at the Waterloo Autograph Tent at 4:30p on Sunday.
