September 19, 2003 11:16 pm
Workday at ACL
Today was great. I'll tell you about it so if it is lousy tomorrow it doesn't color my view of the whole weekend.
I had some parking issues when I got to Zilker which started me into an anxiety spiral, but I breathed deeply and knew it would be alright. It was. I had a great spot up close to the event, which save me the walking and shuttling that so many had to do.
The weather couldn't have been more perfect. A high of 82, a soft breeze blowing through. Clouds through a lot of the day knocking down that sun.
My first responsibility was to introduce the Pauline Reese band. I had a heck of a time finding the little stage she performed on. They had changed a couple of the stages from last year and this was a new one. I ran into Devota (devota.org) and she helped me find my way. It was fun to run into a friend at this big festival. I know last year I assumed I run into lots of people I knew but it didn't happen that way. I did the little intro for Pauline and got to stay and enjoy about 15 minutes of her music.
I dashed off then and saw a little bit of Craig Ross, I think it was. I don't have my schedule here so now I may become a liar. Didn't care much for his stuff, so I went on to get some food. There were many more food vendors this year than last and it was much more organized. I had some stuff from Maudie's that was good. What I really liked was when you tipped them they all cheered and clapped and really drew attention to you. That was a surprise.
I went on around to hear David Garza and enjoyed his music. His drummer is also Guy's new drummer that took Mark's place so I was interested in hearing her. I don't know a good drummer so I couldn't tell if she was any good or not. But I enjoyed the band.
Now back to my broadcast booth for a full afternoon. It was pretty busy since I had the usual traffic and weather and usual Friday afternoon things to deal with. It wasn't like Willie's picnic where it was a holiday so we didn't have those normal workday things. Tomorrow will be an easier broadcast since it will be Saturday.
There was one particularly weird twist in the afternoon. There is apparently a man in Illinois that is very angry with our company and has made threatening phone calls to our stations there. They have all been warned to be on the lookout for him and not allow him in the station and be prepared to call 911, etc. That, of course, wouldn't seem to affect us except that when the police went to question him, his family said he had come to Austin to our festival! And, the guy does something with monster trucks and there is a big monster truck rally in town this weekend, too, so it does sound likely that he could be here for both events. We had his picture and the warning and were on the lookout throughout the day. Fortunately, we didn't have our company logo on any of our posters, and our broadcast facilities were very behind-the-scenes and nondescript. You will not see where we are just by walking around. There was no incident today, but we were all on orange alert.
I had a nice reunion with an old friend, too. I saw a guy with KLBJ nearby. I knew I knew him but couldn't put a name with him. I checked with someone but the name they gave me didn't fit. Finally figured out I had worked with him at ABC in Dallas when he was with Z-Rock but he used an airname there ("Wipeout") and now he uses his real name. He's been at LBJ for four years so we probably crossed paths when I worked for them, too, but I didn't notice him if I did. Very nice guy, very soft-spoken. I'm glad he's working.
After the broadcast I went to the big stage and introduced Robert Earl Keen. Met him again and got my picture made with him. He is low-key and introverted, which is fine. I understand. I don't expect him to be my best friend. He started his show and it sounded great. Having the big video screens was very nice. But, I've seen REK before so I went down to the other end of the world to see Steve Winwood for a bit. Enjoyed a few of his songs then moseyed on over to catch a song by Mavis Staples. That gospel tent was crammed full so I only listened to a bit of her and then went back to the broadcast area in pursuit of a beer. Visited with interns and PAs from the station, then back to the REK end of things.
I got to introduce Dwight Yoakam, which was cool. I've seen him but have never met him. Didn't meet him tonight either. He is one of those straight-to-the-stage guys. Again, okay by me. He did a great show. Once again, having seen him, I had to make the trek to the other end of the world so see some of Al Green's show. I wish I had heard I'm So Tired of Being Alone or Let's Stay Together, but I was wearing thin at this point. I can say I saw him and that was all that seemed important now. I went on toward the exits watching and hearing Dwight on the big screen from that end of the park.
Easy exit, grocery store stop for kitty litter, and I'm home at a reasonable hour and because of the cool day I'm not even worn out. That's the way a Friday on the job should be every week.