Austin City Limits Music Festival (Day 2) Rocks From Start to Finish With Shania Twain, Foo Fighters, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Die Spitz & More
Saturday of Austin City Limits Music Festival arrived with picture-perfect weather, hovering in the 70s for most of the day and ending in a stunning sunset. Aside from the music, there was a palpable energy around the city, with the Red River Rivalry (with UT-Austin playing) and MLB playoffs (with the Rangers playing) both in swing. (Audible cheers erupting from the Barton Springs Beer Hall – where the games were being broadcast – punctuated the afternoon.) More importantly though, from Die Spitz opening the Tito’s Stage to Foo Fighters shutting down the American Express Stage, the lineup rocked hard all day. Here are six sets that stood out from Day 2 on October 7th:
Die Spitz
Who needs a coffee to wake up at the start of day two of a festival when you’re hearing an onslaught of guitar riffs and can open up the pit with Die Spitz? Austin’s own rockers drew a solid group of fans in the opening time slot at the Tito’s Stage, getting the core of the crowd headbanging and moshing to crushing tracks like “Slater” and “Hair of Dog.” With the band’s guttural vocals, speedy drum hits, and robust bass lines, Die Spitz brought a hard edge to start the day strong, earning a hearty round of applause at the end of their set.
Rina Sawayama
Rina Sawayama showed her mastery of all things pop from the late ‘90s till today with a set that weaved together everything from modern hyper pop to yes… nu-metal. A backing drummer and guitarist helped bring her set to vivid life, like with the anthemic drum beat and driving guitar of “Dynasty” and the crushing riff of “STFU!”, which would make the likes of Linkin Park and Korn proud. (In another incredible moment, Sawayama melded the latter track into a brief cover of Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff,” giving a feisty edge to her pop offerings.) Sawayama’s strong voice shined in moments that were somber (like on “Bad Friend”) and sultry (like on “Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys)). The singer finished the set on a high note with an extended run through her huge hit “This Hell,” a slice of brash, defiant pop perfection.
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Thirty Seconds to Mars singer Jared Leto’s fearlessness, theatricality, and grandiose ambitions were on full display at the Honda Stage – a perfect fit for a festival audience and set. Leto seized the attention of the crowd from the get-go, performing the soaring “Walk on Water” from atop the enormous festival stage before dramatically jumping (affixed with subtle cables, of course) all the way down. The band dipped into their past hits (from A Beautiful Lie) while also showcasing some of their new sounds (from It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day). “The Kill (Bury Me)” saw Leto move from the stage to the barricade, leading a massive singalong to the anthemic track. New cut “Stuck,” a pulsing synth rocker, followed and kept the crowd grooving. Leto had one more trick up his sleeve, though, before the curtains came down on the show: He brought Texas legend Matthew McConaughey onstage to help close things out with the fist-pumping “Closer to the Edge.”
Noah Kahan
If the passionate screaming and tears of joy that emerged from the crowd during each Noah Kahan song are any indication, the Vermont folk rocker is more than ready to graduate to the main stage at future festivals. An enormous singalong rippled through the crowd during the strong opening one-two punch of “Northern Attitude” and “She Calls Me Back.” (“I’ve been called the Jewish Ed Sheeran … Folk Malone,” Kahan quipped in the lead-in to the latter track to the amusement of the fans.) In a memorable moment of the set, Kahan showed off his knack for strong vocal harmonies by welcoming Mt. Joy to the stage for them to perform their collaborative track “Emily.” Elsewhere, Kahan’s voice shined bright throughout the set, ranging from delicate to hearty and richly emotive – sometimes even in the same track, like on “Everywhere, Everything” and “All My Love.”
The Headliner Conundrum: Shania Twain & Foo Fighters
The closing to night two presented one of the toughest scheduling conflicts of the weekend: Foo Fighters or Shania Twain? For those who split time between both sets (like this author)…
Shania Twain started off strong, with early cuts like “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)” showing her chemistry with her fiddler and an acoustic rendition of “You’re Still the One” invoking a huge singalong for the ballad. And rollicking recent single “Giddy Up!” showed that Twain’s new music is plenty fun, as well.
Going over to Foo Fighters for a bit: The middle portion of their set was filled with great throwbacks. “Times Like These” showcased lead singer Dave Grohl’s always-strong vocals, while “Breakout” let drummer Josh Freese unleash an absolute barrage of drum hits to close out the track. Grohl then requested the crowd to illuminate the audience with their cell phone lights – all the better to try to catch a glimpse of Twain across the park. (“Give it up for Shania! Shania, she’s on fire!” Grohl teased.) The rollicking band intros followed and wove together snippets of Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage,” Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and Devo’s “Whip It,” to the delight of the crowd, before giving way to a massive singalong for “My Hero.”
Going back to Shania Twain: The back half of the set finished strong. Twain welcomed special guest Breland to the stage for a fitting duet on “Party for Two.” And she kept the party going till the very end of the set with the satisfying sequence of “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” On the former, Twain’s voice soared over the sturdy guitar riff. And on the latter, Twain’s singing was powered up by the vocal harmonies shared with her backing band, getting the crowd dancing and screaming along till the final note.
And going back to Foo Fighters once more: Twain made good on Grohl’s callout earlier in the set, racing over to the American Express Stage to join the Foo Fighters for a collaborative take on the penultimate track “Best of You,” helping close out an action-packed second day of ACL.
