Over the Limit

Congratulations to everyone who attended Austin City Limit's seventh annual outdoor music festival this weekend. I hope you had fun. I hope your three day badge was worth it's $180 price tag, and that the $4 bottles of water were cool and refreshing.

I really, really hope that Pearl Jam and the Dave Matthew's Band rocked your socks off. Congratulations on your good time. This article is not for you.

This article is for everyone else, all the other Austinites who didn't feel like cramming into overcrowded shuttles with out-of-towners or walking the length of Zilker Park until their feet blister. For those who stayed home, but worry that they missed out big time, I am writing to assure you that you did not. You made the right choice. Here is why.

Truly great live music can be a transcendent experience.

Even without the assistance of illicit substances, the energy of the crowd, the manic dancing, and the sound waves blasting out of the 20 foot speakers combine to lift the listener out of their humdrum existence into a different world.

Dancing until your toes turn black and blue is probably the closest us civilized folk come to the primal, ritualistic gatherings that bound our ancestors together.

It's odd to imagine reaching that sort of tribal epiphany in the midst of a Crystal Castles concert, but since modern drum circles tend toward anti-rhythmic Eeyore's Birthday obnoxiousness, people have to work with what is available.

When Dr. Timothy Leary first began proselytizing the benefits of LSD, he stressed the importance of set and setting.

Set is the state of mind of the experiencers, their thoughts, feelings, and emotions going into it.

Setting is the surroundings, the other people wandering about, and the vibe in the air. While a concert is by no means equivalent to hallucinogenic drug use (though the two have crossed paths rather frequently) it is useful to heed Leary's words of wisdom.

At a festival, especially a large one like ACL, the bands and music only provide a fraction of the setting.

Heat, dust, massive crowds, vendors, and whatever the day's weather is add up to a larger portion of the experience than watching the bands.

Some people love it. They enjoy the overpriced food stands and long waits for the port-a-potties, and be it rain, sleet, or snow, they will stand in the field and sing along to every song.

However, other folks tend to get bogged down by these inconveniences and their set ends up being cranky, exhausted and aggravated.

Ignoring the problems of parking, cost, walking, heat, and every other minor annoyance, there are still issues surrounding the colossal size of the crowd.

Odds are against your favorite bands all playing on the same stage, so in order to catch every act you are going to have to do a lot of walking, pushing, shoving, and ‘excuse me can I get by?' ing.

Whether you push your way to the front row or linger toward the back, the crowd will be a distraction.

Being immersed in a sweaty throng means having to elbow for stability constantly, an effort that detracts from the music.

Watching from a distance means looking at the Jumbotron more often than the tiny figures prancing about on stage, and if you are going to stare at a screen you might as well be watching a DVD in the comfort of your own home.

There is an intangible quality to live music that can not be replicated in recordings, but DVDs do offer certain benefits.

Multiple cameras with zoom lenses let viewers experience far more of the action on stage than a stationary position in the crowd without the distractions of second hand smoke and incessant chatter. But, sometimes it is the energy of the crowd that makes the experience, and Austin offers plenty of chances to encounter that without surpassing critical mass crowd capacities.

As residents of the "Live Musical Capital of the World," we benefit not only from great local groups, but also frequent visits to smaller venues by many of the acts playing ACL this year.

So, if you are bumming because your favorite band played Zilker Park this weekend while you were stuck at home, do not sweat it. They will be back again in a couple months, playing a tiny bar for a tenth of ACL's ticket price. You will be able to stand two inches from the stage and revel in every moment, getting the real rock experience that you deserve.

And if not... well, there's always SXSW.