"Life is too Short to Live in Dallas."

That was a sign I read on a fence post while walking to the bus stop after my first day at ACL.  It hung on one of the trendiest mobile home parks I have ever seen.  It made me really want to plant myself in some real estate right there. It may have been all the neon lights that people had on their "porches" and that they were outside BBQ'ing and offering free water to us pedestrians.Now, time to turn back time...and I don't mean the hit 80's song, which by the way would be ideal for karaoke.

If you are wondering if I slept through my flight yesterday, it was a close call.  The only reason why I woke up is because my cab called to let me know he was in front of my house. So needless to say, I did the typical "Erin traveling" move and ran out the door, bought toothpaste at the airport and got ready for the day inside the bathroom.  

I LOVE TEXAS.  Seriously, as soon as I arrived, I began to wonder why I didn't move back here to begin with.  There is something that is so appealing about a drought, dead grass and 92 degree weather at the end of September that I just absolutely love.  Last night I had my mom and stepdad take us to Chuy's, and to top off the family dinner we ran into the infamous Leslie.  Below you will find his press photo from when he ran for mayor back in 2002, and he put up a good fight in the race:

This is an example of one more reason why I love Texas, and more importantly, Austin, TX.  

Another reason why I love Texas:

Drink Koozies.  Seriously, I forgot how many people use those around here. I have been so used to people teasing others who use them, and mocking at how outdated they are, but the koozie industry is thriving in Texas. It makes me want to go home and unabashedly unpack my koozie and buy some souvenir koozies, because they are everywhere around here and they are selling like hot tamales!

So now to the good stuff: AUSTIN CITY LIMITS MUSIC FESTIVAL.

Day 1: 

I thought I would start off the day right with Asleep at the Wheel.  They are a Texas Country Swing band that I grew up listening to.  This was what we danced to at the family reunions, weddings, etc.  They have been around for more than 30 years, and have 9 Grammies, so they mean business.  To open up the festival, they started with "Miles & Miles of Texas." The whole crowd was singing along, including me.  They had a cymbal on their drum set in the state of Texas.  AWESOME. And don't fret, the lead singer was wearing a sleeveless Harley-Davidson shirt tucked into his pants... Those Texans sure now how to do it right...always having their shirts tucked in. I loved that there were people of all ages and all stereotypes singing along: indie kids, high-end society and rednecks, all singing in unison to the "Cotton-Eye Joe." It brought a tear to my eye.

Then it was off to Yeasayer.  I am always impressed by them.  Then we walked by Vampire Weekend, but I was quickly reminded of how listening to one song was the same as listening to them all.  Then we watched and slept through the Delta Spirit. 

Later in the afternoon I got to see Mates of State.  I was super excited for this show, because the last time I saw them was more than 8 years ago, when they opened for The Anniversary. Yes, THAT long.  They didn't let me down, and I got to belt out all of the lyrics with them.  We then headed over to Hot Chip.  They look and sound exactly the way you expect them to.  It was great.

I have to say that one of the biggest highlights of this festival was getting to see David Byrne.  

He was AMAZING live.  It was like watching a live version of one of his music videos or of all the musical sequences of "True Stories," or maybe even his thought process.  A piece of my heart died when his performance was over. 

Don't worry, I still have two more days left and a trip to my favorite childhood hot spot: Barton Springs before I leave.