Despite living within easy walking distance of Zilker Park, I very much doubt I’ll ever go to ACL again.

I know many people love it, there is a real buzz around it. C3 seem to have overcooked it this year extending it to two almost identical weekends. The number of free giveaways of wristbands, people offering them for sale is much higher than in previous years.

For me though, ACL is without doubt the worst open air music festival I’ve ever been too. Half the bands are geriatric; about the same percentage of the audience is so past their prime, they have to sit in unorganized and dangerously placed lawn chairs, in the evening when it’s dark these become a real hassle.

The music scheduling, seems to follow no rhyme or reason, ensuring only that big names don’t clash. It requires you to wander around the park trying to decide how to avoid the aging comeback rock group, or this year strangely, Lionel Ritchie, which must be some form of unexplained joke. While trying to avoid the ageing rockstars, you have to avoid the ageing audience, only to arrive at another stage where you have to do the same all over again.

For those of us fortunate enough to live within walking distance of “Zimmer Park”, we can avoid it by going home between sets. Sadly this requires something akin to a death March along Barton springs Rd where there is plenty of opportunity to be assaulted, cursed and generally hustled by some of Austins finest.

Acl = ageing concert liabilities

ps. Yes, Concerts are for sitting on the grass, and standing, even at my age.