I haven’t been to the Austin City Limits Festival since its second year (2003), thanks to having kids. But now that they are a little older, it was time to go again. While some things are the same, many things have changed in nine years. Here are some of the things I learned by attending ACL Fest last weekend.

Best Rule: ACL Fest is a non-smoking event (except for pot).
Best band I’d never heard of: Ben Howard.
Band that was good but didn’t quite do it for me: Florence and the Machine.
Band that exceeded my (already high) expectations: Rufus Wainwright.
Biggest Surprise: It wasn’t the fact that putting my daughter Sarah on my shoulders during the Rufus Wainwright show resulted in a camera focusing on her and projecting her onto the jumbo screens to either side of the stage. After all, she is really cute, and she was the only person up on shoulders. It’s that seeing herself on the big screen prompted her to flash a peace sign, which caused the entire crowd to applaud. That was really cool.
Lesson in obviousness: When you take an event that works for 50,000 people/day and let 75,00 people in, it is too crowded.
Next lesson in obviousness: When an event is sponsored by Bud Light, don’t expect the beer to be good.
Obvious truths that are not always true: Even though there were 20 massive beer stands spread throughout the park selling nothing but AB InBev pizzel, there was one small “craft brew” stand tucked away in a corner that sold one or two decent brews (Red Hook IPA, Kona Porter). Thank goodness for small favors.
Best way to meet up at the festival: Forget it. You can’t do it – there are too many people. Unless, of course, you carry a 20 foot pole with a bizarre flag on top. There were hundreds of poles with flags.
Band that is as good as everyone says: The Avett Brothers.
Highest energy performance: The Avett Brothers.
Show where mere attendance will get you high: Red Hot Chili Peppers (see “Best Rule” above).

In all, a great time (it helps that the festival is two miles from my house, so I don’t have to worry about driving or parking). I can’t wait for next year.