Austin City Limits 2013 eased into Day One like a sunrise, with the first of its two weekends offering pre-noon sets that inspired an early migration to Zilker Park before an intensifying run of bands. A day full tremendous music followed, featuring Queens of The Stone Age, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Electric Six and more – a third of what could very well be ACL’s finest lineup yet. The leaves may be changing elsewhere, but down in Texas the sweat was still pouring as temperatures topped 90 degrees.
British drama goddesses Savages have been a hard sell on record for me, but translated with perfect gravity live on the Honda stage to start the day. Jehnny Beth defied the scorching sun with a frantic scowl alongside bassist Ayse Hassan, guitarist Gemma Thompson (who showed impressive nuance in atmospheric design) and Fay Milton’s skittering drums, as they presented the strongest material from this year’s debut album Silence Yourself.
Hometown heroes The Black Angels were entirely in their element, delivering a tighter and more confident performance than any time in recent memory. Frontman Alex Maas was clearly in high spirits, smiling at the crowd and announcing “It’s good to be home.” Drummer Stephanie Bailey, however, was all business, barely looking up from her kit as she built a beat framework around the band’s remarkably hypnotic rock psychedelia.
It’s been a few years since we’ve seen Electric Six on a festival stage, but there are few bands better built for such a musical melting pot. Frontman Dick Valentine, a casually sardonic wizard with a kaleidoscope of weird for a mind, led the band through a career-spanning dose of dance blasters with gutbuster lyricism and purely awesome rockscapades.
Peppering in material from their new album Mustang, the band made certain to keep even diehards on their toes, throwing an “Adam Levine” for every “Gay Bar” or its beloved sequel, “Gay Bar Part Two”. Yes, these are real song titles.
Whatever happened to the Arctic Monkeys in the desert a few years back, under the demonically gifted tutelage of QOTSA nucleus Josh Homme, has spawned an entirely different course of evolution. These formerly snap-charming lads from Sheffield have become full-blown rock heroes, gemmed by lead primate Alex Turner’s ten-foot-tall confidence and wry wit, sharply accented by a fairly recent future-rockabilly style.
They’ve grown into monsters, pure sex-rock champions that have become the single greatest rock hope out of the UK. It’s a joy in itself to watch drummer Matt Helders pulverize his kit, for the simple fact that he’s clearly thrilled to be living every moment these days.
“How does it feel to be watching the Arctic Monkeys with such a beautiful sunset behind you?” Turner belted to the back of the massive crowd, many of whom were preparing to turn a 180 for the oncoming Queens of The Stone Age set just across the way.
Spirited celebration met new songs from last month’s excellent album AM, such as “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” Of course, breakthrough hit “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” brought the most uproarious response.
Moments after the Monkeys’ set end, and with it a gorgeous sunset, Queens of the Stone Age took to the Bud Light stage with the sexiest pharmacological mantra in existence: “Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol,” the only lyrics to the band’s early favorite “Feel Good Hit of The Summer” – besides “c-c-c-c-c-cocaine,” that is.
It’s a fitting end for Summer’s tail-end festivities, QOTSA expertly mixed danger and sex with blasting runs through “You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar But I’m A Millionaire” and “My God Is The Sun,” the hugely well-received lead single from …Like Clockwork. While “No One Knows” kept the hitriders light on their feet, they were swept into far deeper waters with a hypnotic, churning extended version of “Burn The Witch”.
“I’m your drinking buddy Joshua, how’s everybody doing?” frontman Josh Homme inquired playfully, introducing the band after Jon Theodore broke a drum. That tends to happen when you’re enough of a monster to have played with The Mars Volta and One Day as a Lion.
Fans a bit long in the tooth set up a network of blankets, lawn chairs and flags, making it damn near impossible to get anywhere near the stage for headliners Depeche Mode. Comfort was key among pumped through a hit filled ninety minute set, with fans staking out spots for the rare experience from early in the day. The nostalgic singalongs were, of course, deep and wide, running particularly strong through mandatory renditions of “Personal Jesus” and “Just Can’t Get Enough”. I’ve been trying to escape the 80s since I was a kid, so after a few more tunes I hustled over to shoot the day’s unluckiest rockers.
Across the field, Muse rebounded quite well from a 25-minute sound blowout in the first moments of “Supremacy,” opening their set. Crowd chants of “fix this shit! Fix this shit!” gave way to impromptu singalongs of “Bohemian Rhapsody” before the band returned with grateful determination.
A jutting, emphatic “Supermassive Black Hole” brought the set up to speed, with frontman Matt Bellamy turning on the intensity alongside bassist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard.
The lightning of bad luck struck twice as sound issues again jacked the band’s set-closer “Survival,” after a beautiful rendition of “Starlight”. After a few tense moments, the band returned for a final encore of “Knights of Cydonia,” running twenty minutes past curfew.
ACL 2013 continues today with sets from HAIM, Kendrick Lamar, The Cure, Kings of Leon, Vintage Trouble and more. And of course, we’ll be bringing you the goodness with full reviews, galleries, interviews and more. Keep up with our Austin City Limits 2013 coverage below!
Photos: Johnny Firecloud
