Austin City Limits tapings are some of the best shows you can experience in the music capital of Texas. There is no opening act, the use of cell phones is prohibited, and more often than not, the artist makes the performance special in some way. For her ACL debut, Angel Olsen used witty banter and storytelling to make a connection with the audience as well as delivering a great set. Currently touring on her critically acclaimed third release, My Woman, Olsen and her band were given the distinction of being chosen to appear on the iconic live music show and took the opportunity to delight both new fans and old with an amazingly tight set of both new material and old favorites.
The show began with the band, sans Olsen, taking the stage in matching grey suits and launching into a psychedelic jam for a few minutes before Olsen took the stage and launched into “High & Wild” from her sophomore release Burn Your Fire for No Witness. Aside from the dark psych-folk track “Acrobat” from her debut full-length, Half Way Home, the rest of the set was made of material from her newest album. The single “Shut Up Kiss Me” made its appearance early in the set and was immediately followed by the garage rock fueled “Give It Up.” Olsen’s ability to switch effortlessly between styles while creating her own sound was impressive to witness and was most evident in the song “Sister.” Dedicating the song to her bassist, Emily, Olsen started out the song softly in an Americana style but as the song continued to progress it turned into a garage rock jam with all three guitarists adding to the raucousness before Olsen ended it in much the same style it began.
The way that the band gelled together so seamlessly only added to the greatness of the show. Though many of the songs on the album clocked in around the three minute mark, almost every song was between five to ten minutes live. Utilizing the breaks between songs, Olsen joked with the audience about how the band liked to express themselves in reference to their matching suits and bolo ties, gave advice about not mixing drinks, thanked her sound guy, and had the audience thank him too. After an encore made up of the single “Windows” from Burn Your Fire for No Witness, the audience could be heard commenting on how stellar of a taping it was. Angel Olsen is making great music and left the audience with no doubt as to why she deserved to be on the ACL stage.
Photo: Scott Newton