Just came back from ACL, here's my shit:
FRIDAY:
First Aid Kit- Saw these gals two years ago at ACL and they were awesome. Now they have a legit backing band and expanded their sound and audience and sound as beautiful as ever. Wouldn't be surprised to see them break out soon in the mainstream. Easily the best harmonizing of the weekend by anyone.

The War on Drugs- Absolutely love these guys. At times it sounded like they were the Dire Straits fronted by a Bob Dylan in his prime. Long songs with awesome build ups, perfect for the hot as hell weather that we got on Friday. Awesome performance, even if they did take a swipe at the Texas Rangers for sucking.

The Afghan Whigs- Holy fucking shit was this the set of the weekend. Greg Dulli is still in rare form, his voice is great, he can still scream and the three guitar assault was amazing. Every song off of 1965 and Gentlemen were perfect. This is how reunions are done kids. Dulli is still one of the last legit rock stars left and this solidified it. We then saw them the next evening at an aftershow and they tore that motherfucker down, easily a top 10 show for me. They included a Frank Ocean and a Drake cover on that show and cranked it even louder. They opened with "Crime Scene, Part One" and I got goosebumps that stayed till the show ended. If you want real rock and roll in your life, see this band.

Alabama Shakes- I love these guys (and gal), but the sound at the stage was awful so I couldn't hear much. They were also on a much smaller stage which is bullshit considering they're a legit popular rock band. I'm sure they wrecked it, but from where I was standing, it sounded like nothing.

Black Lips- My third favorite show of the weekend. If you haven't seen them, you need to. High energy, great pop punk songs and shenanigans including making out, vomiting, and humping blow up dolls. I was in the pit the whole time and shit went off during "O Katrina", "Modern Art", "Bad Kids", "Raw Meat", and "Family Tree". The crowd broke into a "Weezer Sucks" chant who were playing at the same time on a stage nearby which caused the members to say "the Blue album is okay". Quite possibly the most fun I had all weekend at a set.

M83- ACL made the mistake of putting them on the same small stage as Alabama Shakes earlier in the day, so the sound was an issue at the beginning. "Midnight City" was killer of course, then 70% of the crowd left and I got up front and they were awesome. The closed with "Colours" and everyone still there was shaking their ass. If any band deserves the success they've had in the past year of growing into a near arena act, it's M83.

Black Keys- Okay, so they're one of my favorite bands obviously, I've seen them more times than I can remember, and well their performance left a lot to be desired. There were sound issues, Dan didn't seem too interested, and they've played a set that they've been playing since El Camino came out. The best part of their set is in the middle where Dan and Pat do a bunch of pre-Attack and Release songs and even the songs off El Camino are good, but it just seems like they've gotten lazy with all the fame, not to mention the fanbase has changed drastically (those in the Muse forum know what I'm talking about). They've worked their asses off to this point, and I'm glad to see them as one of the world's biggest rock bands, but I'm ready for them to go away for a while because at this point, it's overload.

Metric (aftershow)- We saw Policia and Metric after the festival and it was a good gig, it was a short set, but Emily was energetic, they played a greatest hits set sans "Stadium Love" and the band is extremely tight. I've never been the biggest fan of them, but they sure did impress me and would see them again. Plus, I would do unforgivable things to Emily Haines.

Saturday:

Rufus Wainwright- Such an awesome performer with a voice to match. Homeboy sings standards better than anyone and looked humbled to be there. Who else can hold a Liza Mineli cover and have the crowd eat out of his hand? It was a rare treat, no other festival got him and he nailed it.

Big K.R.I.T.- This one was meh, may be my least favorite set of the weekend. He had energy, but the crowd wasn't very responsive (hip-hop usually doesn't fare well at ACL), and seemed like every other hip hop show I've seen. The best part of his set was when his DJ played "Never Scared" by Bone Crusher. Imagine that.

Andrew Bird- Another surprise, his band was awesome and he was probably the most accomplished musician all weekend. The new songs sounded great, and he can whistle with the best of them. It was raining for most of the day, but the sun was shining throughout the set. Like Rufus, it was a great set with two men who are some of the best at their craft, delivering and not looking back.

Band of Skulls- I love their first album, their second sucks. It started raining and their set was cut short after 10 minutes which means Mother Nature thinks they suck.

The Shins- Another disappointment. The first half of their set was great, but it got boring after a while since they front loaded it. I saw them do a taping earlier this year and it was great, saw them at Bonnaroo, and they were great, but here it was lacking. Maybe it was an off day, but James Mercer hasn't let me down yet, so Saturday was surprising from my standpoint.

Steve Earle- He's a genius, a legend, and is a bad motherfucker. His set was awesome and he was on fire, they crowd got rowdy, so he got rowdier. Even if you aren't a fan of the type of music, you can appreciate him.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse- Awesome as expected. I don't even think there was a song under 10 minutes. He can jam with the best of them and they still sound great after all these years. "Cinnamon Girl" was awesome, the guitar solo in "Down By the River" was the best moment all weekend, and from what I heard, he outclassed Jack White who was playing across the field at the same time. It's always good to see an amazing artist, still putting on stunning shows this late in his career. A bucket list performance for me and it was worth it.

Sunday:

Gary Clark, Jr.- Awesome guitarist, great backing band. As far as blues rock went, he beat the Black Keys at their own game. This guy is awesome, he's a showman, and I think he'll be a name we'll be hearing for a long time.

Tennis- It was hot as hell, so I couldn't think of a better band with their sunny disposition to listen to. Yeah, they sort of sound like Cults or Best Coast, but I think they make the most of it and write better songs. I think I have a crush on Alania Moore and Sunday didn't change that one bit.

Two Door Cinema Club- Man, do these guys suck. This was my least favorite set of the weekend come to think of it. All these songs wound the same and they just sound like a cheap Vampire Weekend ripoff. The songs are catchy, but there's no substance or irony to what their doing. It's indie pop for the same crowd who think a band like Mumford and Sons is folk music.

The Weeknd- Motherfucker cancelled. Fuck that.

Iggy and the Stooges- Awesome, just awesome. Second best set of the weekend. He's 65 years old and still performing at the level of 25. He's screaming, acting disgusting, being profane, and it's all wonderful. He even encouraged us to bumrush the stage at one point just for the fuck of it. This is how it should be. Honestly, he upstaged all the younger artists on the weekend and he knew it. The Stooges are legendary, and Iggy has been a hero of mine since elementary school. They didn't disappoint and boy was it fun.

Crystal Castles- Not a fan of them in particular. They had a huge crowd, but to me it sounded like a bunch of noise with a lot of shrieking. It was energetic, but I don't get it.

Red Hot Chili Peppers- Sound issues deflated what was otherwise a decent set. I had fun at their Bonnaroo set, and say what you want about the band and how they've sucked since "By the Way", but they can bring it. The impromptu jam sessions got boring after a while, but a three song cluster of "Under the Bridge", "Californication", and "By the Way" was awesome. We also got rare ones like "Otherside" and "Sir Psycho Sexy". They're arguably one of the biggest bands of the fast couple of generations and have an extensive catalog. I wasn't blown away, but it wasn't bad either.

Overall, it was a good weekend with bad weather, but the music overcame that to make it worth it. This is the last one weekend ACL before they do dual weekends next year, so that's cool. For a weekend where new stars were supposed to be made, it was the elders who showed us how it's done.