We’ve been to a lot of festivals. And we’ve made a lot of mistakes. I recall the biggest one was forgetting my eyedrops on day 2 at Coachella when the dust storm moved in and blew sand into our eyes for 6 hours. We were blind by hour 4 making the walk back to the pick-up area impossible. We ended up on the far end of the festival grounds and had to beg a security guard for a ride on his golf cart. Fortunately, CeCe has Jedi mind powers that work especially well on male security guards. She’s gotten us out of several jams that way. I don’t have that ability, but I can drink a whole bottle of Makers Mark in one night and not even get drunk. I don’t think it’s any big deal, but CeCe thinks it is. I just call it being Irish and staying well hydrated.
Getting back to what’s at hand…ACL is here! Looks like it’s gonna rain this weekend, so pack your Wellies!
Aren’t we lucky to catch Lorde, joining the roster from last weekend. I’ve never seen Eminem or Pearl Jam and we get to see them both! And while The Replacements have been hitting the circuit hard this year, the one band I can see again and again is Belle and Sebastian. Just saw them last night at the Orphium. Wow! Wait til you see their stage show. Awesome. Check out the whole ACL Lineup.
What the pack for ACL 2014? Here is your Austin City Limits 2014 Survival Guide:
• Earplugs – for late night and sleeping!
• Hot clothes – do the crowd a favor and look cool (with comfy shoes)
• Chilly night layers – again…make it cool. I don’t want to see you in a Nike track jacket.
• Sun gear – you know the list…sunglasses, sunscreen, bandana
• Hat – not so much for sun protection as to make your statement. So pack something good
• Rain gear – and I don’t mean an umbrella. (See Wellies link above and bring a poncho)
• Bug spray – the mosquitoes are out en force this year
• Swimsuit – Barton Springs runs through the festival grounds. Don’t think about it if you have a biker tan, or no tan. That hurts the eyes.
• First aid kit – Hand sanitizer, tissue packs, eye drops, gum/candies, lip balm
• Water and cash – refillable bottles work and if you run out of cash there are ATMs. A fun ATM game I like to play is rummaging through the discarded ATM receipts (they are always littering the ground) to find the poorest person at the festival. It always makes me feel better about myself. At Coachella I found one from a sad sap with only $6.35 in his savings account. Haven’t beaten that record yet. Maybe this weekend!
TIP: Try to rent a locker for the weekend. We had one at Coachella and it was the bomb. And get in line EARLY! The lines are outrageous, no joke.
That’s it for the standards. Add your extras and we’ll see you there!