Having been my first ACL experience, I had no idea what to expect. My first impression on Friday afternoon when I saw only one act (Spoon) was that each show had the potential to be explosive and full of life, or it could be dull and borderline boring depending on my proximity to the stage. I learned this quickly while I was standing some four hundred feet from the AMD stage where spoon was playing. Fifty thousand plus attendees makes pushing close to the stage very tricky, especially with their lawn chairs and picnic blankets. Few bands can captivate my attention from one-hundred yards away, and that is even mentioning other loud music being played within earshot. When I was standing not directly in front of the set I was trying to enjoy, I could hear the competing melodies from the other stages. I enjoy music more when I am engulfed by the fullness of the sound. Needless to say, that becomes more difficult the further away I am.

A truly powerful band can capture an audience at any distance. There were two such bands present at Austin City Limits. The first of said bands is The Arcade Fire. The energy of each member was multiplied by 8. Each one of the members played his or her instrument with an unparalleled intensity. Wether it was the guitar, violin, french horn, accordion, interpretive danse, or just a top hat, each instrument was played to the fullest. The Arcade Fire transcended my spatial dilemma of stage proximity. The other band is, of course, Coldplay. Chris Martin and crew played every song to the fullest possible extent. Those present that were not Coldplay fans before last weekend are now fans for life. I was a little apprehensive; I worried that they would stick to X&Y and not dig back into Parachutes or Rush of Blood at all. I was sorely mistaken. Every song they played was better than the previous, even from 400 yards away.