Alberta Cross was a pleasant surprise for me at ACL Festival, now they are on Daytrotter.

The last few days have seen some really sweet gems pop up on a  couple of my favorite sites…let’s get to it.

• Daytrotter has welcomed a host of excellent artists recently. Here are a few of my favorites

- Bobby Bare Jr.

-Lucero

-Alberta Cross

• Dallas Observer music blog, DC-9 at Night pointed us into the direction of a few choice vids from the new Dallas NPR station, KXT 91.7. Below are my three favorite videos from two of the best country acts Dallas has to offer right now…

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After a long walk from my car, the big schedule near the entrance was a sight for my sore eyes.

After an interesting scenario in which I found a decent (and free) parking spot, walked much of the way to the festival, realized I had left my ticket back at my hotel, hailed a cab and made it back to the spot where I realized I was missing my ticket, I found myself entering the gates of what has become practical hallowed ground for me, Zilker Park in Austin for the 2009 ACL Festival. Due to a wide array of circumstances, I only made it out to Saturday’s sets. Here are a few pics and notes from my rather productive day at the festival…

The Dexateens sent quite the wake-up call to sleepy Zilker Park.

• For the second year in a row, my good times have been kicked-off with an awesome, energetic set at the BMI Stage (last year, Bobby Bare Jr. got things off to a smokin’ start for me on that same stage). The Dexateens had no issues with issuing a wake-up call to the rainy day. Mixing tunes from both their Lost and Found record and this year’s Singlewide (a record that I really loved, by the way), they rocked and bounced all over the stage, eliciting the loudest cheers that I have heard from any of the “pre-noon” sets I have seen at any other ACL Fest.

McCauley wasnt quite awake, but still tore it up...

• While Deer Tick didn’t emanate the same exuberance that The Dexateens did right before them (John Joseph McCauley opened by saying that he wasn’t sure how he would sound since it was before noon still), they didn’t let that stop them from owning the crowd at the Dell stage. Drawing heavily from their recent LP, Born on Flag Day, McCauley and the boys opened with “Easy” and effectively displayed a couple of cool tricks. One, they reminded us all that you mustn’t be from the south to play great southern rock, and two, they also proved that you can be on your game while still asleep.

Alberta Cross' sound had no trouble filling the cavernous main stage.

• Checked in on Alberta Cross as they opened the day’s sets on the Livestrong Main Stage. Not bad, I have read a good bit about these folks and after 3-4 songs, I made my way back to the Dell stage looking forward to getting more familiar with their work.

• Back over at the Dell stage, I caught yet another buzzed-about blog-darling, The Felice Brothers. I was nervous that their set wouldn’t possess much energy and be a tad to meandering for an early slot that again welcomed more rain to the park. That was stupid. While various points in the middle of their 45 minute set did drag a tad, “Run Chicken Run” near the start of the set, and “Frankie’s Gun” and “Take This Bread” near the close of the set really revved things up. I got a kick out of seeing a “lead accordion” and then a washboard solo. The set was as stellar as it was unpredictable. As an interesting aside, I ran into the fiddle/washboard player and the bass player on Sunday at Amy’s Ice Cream on South Congress Ave.

The Accordion, taking the lead position during the opening number from The Felice Brothers excellent set.

• The “Sloppy Nachos” from Salt Lick BBQ’s stand were even sloppier (translation: better) than last year. A small bed of chips smothered in a heavenly combination of white cheddar (I think) nacho cheese sauce, jalapenos, chopped brisket and then drizzled with Salt Lick’s signature BBQ sauce…it was better than Mute Math’s crowded set at one of the main stages that I walked past in order to get to my lunch.

Look for Part Two of my ACL Recap tommorrow….

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