ACL Day Two Capsules: Bell X1, Grizzly Bear, and Bon Iver

It started out well enough. The overcast skies cooled Zilker Park's temperatures, and until about 3:30pm, it appeared that the rain was going to hang back and cut everyone a break. But the heavens opened, the ponchos were donned, and it became 'the day it rained at ACL.' Most people took it all in stride, but the windy rain soaked through raincoats, made beer less appealing, and likely thinned the crowds a bit later in the day. One troubling note is that the new lawn at Zilker looked to have really taken a beating by the end of the day - hopefully it is more resilient than it looks given all the time, effort, and money spent to upgrade the park over the past year.

As for the music - well, everybody played, and the technical side of things went better than anyone could have expected. Early highlights included Ireland's Bell X1, who look to be the next Snow Patrol-style sensitive rock export from Ireland. After a slow start with "My First Born For A Song", the group rebounded confidently (and with tongue in cheek) with "The Ribs Of A Broken Umbrella", and followed that with a number of singles from their most recent albums Flock and Blue Lights On The Runway. Between using an electronic guitar straight out of Rock Band on "The Great Defector" and a combination of mini-steel drums and a cowbell, singer Paul Noonan wasn't afraid to be uncool or silly to sell Bell X1's songs to the audience. The enthusiasm the band showed might not always have been matched by the curious but casual audience, but the band persevered, even trying a disco number ("Flame") as a closer.

We proceeded over to the masses of humanity waiting for Grizzly Bear, who've undoubtedly been one of the most hyped indie-rock acts of the year. After strong shows at Cedar Street (for SXSW) and The Parish earlier this year, expectations were high, and the best did their best to deliver. Unfortunately, the rain storms forced stage hands to set up Grizzly Bear's equipment a significant distance back from their usual stage position, making sightlines tough and forcing many to simply watch the screens. It was nobody's fault, but was an unfortunate consequence of the weather. The band apologized for the distance, and proceeded to plow through much of breakout album Veckatimest. The musicianship on display was solid, and we enjoyed the setlist. That said, having seen the band in a smaller room, the nuance of the record didn't seem to translate that well to an enormous field. Grizzly Bear's sonics are built for theaters, and since some lucky souls saw them later in the evening at Emo's, we're guessing they got a better experience than the masses did. As Grizzly Bear were finishing, the rain really got going, leading to some controlled pandemonium as everyone scrambled for shelter and umbrellas.

Later in the day, we returned to Dell to catch Bon Iver's victory lap performance of 2008's beautiful For Emma, Forever Ago. Since that album's release, Justin Vernon has given us a great EP (Blood Bank) and a cool side project in Volcano Choir, but today was mostly about playing Emma to the many who've discovered it over the past 18 months. Singer/songwriter Vernon looked pleased at the size of the audience given the conditions, and proceeded to pour out some majestic and frankly perfect songs to a wet audience who continued to give him their undivided attention. Vernon's road-weary beard and white-T appearance was also cause for a smile, as he could've been mistaken for a 1975-era Jimmy Buffett album cover. The loudest applause was reserved for "Skinny Love", but our favorite track was a scuzzed up electric version of "Blood Bank", which really transformed the romantic vibe of the original into something made for a field of 15,000 soggy souls. It was, simply put, a special performance.