Relive it here.

Photos by Cambria Harkey, Dave Mead, Scott Newton, Heather Lovegreen, and Brian Fitzsimmons.

There was good news and bad news on the weather front for Sunday, the final day of the 2005 Austin City Limits Music Festival. While the winds that had turned Zilker Park into a Dust Bowl re-enactment site on Saturday calmed, temperatures soared into the triple digits.

For people who are beginning to think that brutal heat is normal for Austin in late September, Sunday's official high temperature was 108 degrees. The previous record high for Austin on September 25 was 97. Sunday was not only the hottest day of 2005, but also the hottest autumn day in the history of the city. However, ACL Festival fans were once again both resourceful and resilient, and in return they were treated to some amazing performances by the bands onstage.

As a result of both the heat and being rather leg weary after walking around the park for three days, my pace was slower. As a result, I saw fewer bands than the previous two days and instead of trying to be in two or three places at once, I settled in to watch full sets.

After arriving at the park around 2 pm, I was able to catch a few songs by French band M83 on the Heineken Stage. One of the best parts of attending the ACL Festival is to just walk by a stage and be drawn to the music without immediately knowing who you are seeing. I had only previously known M83 as an electronic act, but judging from the reaction of the crowd, band leader Anthony Gonzalez has made the right choice by taking the group in more of a rock direction.

When I first looked at the ACL schedule, one of the first shows I circled Doves' 2:30 show on the Cingular Stage. This Manchester, England band's latest record Some Cities has been high on my playlist for the past couple of months. Singer/bassist Jimi Goodwin may have second-guessed his choice of a long-sleeved shirt as his stage attire when he walked out on stage, but he and the Williams twins who comprise the rest of the band launched into a great set that featured songs from all three of the group's records. In the teeth of the afternoon heat, Doves delivered their textured, melodic songs with what seemed to be a looser, spacier approach, which was fitting for the crowd lazy midday mood. The biggest response came when drummer Andy Williams came out from behind his kit to sing and play harmonica.

The theme of subjecting northern English bands to the most intense Texas summer temperatures was revisited on the Heineken Stage, where Kaiser Chiefs from Leeds were next on my list. Choosing to fully immerse themselves in the heat, the band was all over the stage. The sun-baked crowd was fully engaged and certainly appreciated the band's high-energy performance. Emerging earlier this year with the UK hit single "I Predict a Riot," the Kaiser Chiefs delivered a set worthy of another step on their rise to wider US prominence.

Back on the Cingular Stage, the Arcade Fire not only put on what many people considered to be the festival's breakout performance, but definitely earned bonus points for performing in stylish cocktail attire, complete with blazers and cocktail dresses. But if their threads were cool, this group of Montreal indie rockers put on a show that befit the searing late afternoon heat with their uplifting songs, augmented by violins, accordion, and French horn. The band also had a great rapport with the crowd and generously handed out water bottles to the parched fans up front, a gesture that was definitely appreciated. Judging by the response of both fans and critics to their ACL Fest show, Arcade Fire might come away with the biggest buzz of the weekend.

After an afternoon of emerging bands, it was time to pay proper tribute to two of my big influences, both of whom have been making consistently great music since the late 70's. Dave Alvin, who was a founding member of the great LA band, The Blasters (and who also had a brief stint as a member of X), still plays some of the best stripped-down roots rock around, and there I had no doubt that seeing him on the Austin Ventures Stage would be time well spent. The benefit of some shade from the rockpile behind the stage was an added bonus. It was great to hear Alvin's ballad "Dry River" included with his higher-octane material, and its refrain of "Some day it's gonna rain/Some day it's gonna pour" had added poignancy, considering the recent hurricanes as well as the hot and dusty conditions in the park.

Over on the Heineken Stage, the fans up close to the stage enjoyed its shadow as the sun began to mercifully sink lower in the sky and were privileged to see the Austin return of Bob Mould, one of alternative rock's most pivotal figures. Mould, who recently returned to playing with a full band after several years of semi-retirement, pulled songs from throughout his 20-plus year career as well as material from his new record, Body of Song. The set opened with the first three songs from his 90's band Sugar's brilliant Copper Blue record and also included three Husker Du songs. Seeing him play both "I Apologize" and "Celebrated Summer" was a real delight for those of us who still have old cassette copies of New Day Rising in our cars.

It was fitting to see a couple of the members from Franz Ferdinand watching Mould briefly as they worked their way to the SBC Stage. This Scottish band rocketed to fame in the UK last year and was one of the standouts at last year's ACL Festival. The group's appearance as the opening band for Coldplay on the SBC Stage is certainly evidence of how far they have come since playing at Buffalo Billiards on Sixth Street during the March 2004 South By Southwest Music Conference. The set list included some of the highlights from last year's self-titled debut including "Take Me Out," but most prominently featured material from their new record You Could Have It So Much Better, which will be released in about a week.

Across the park on the Cingular Stage, Wilco again returned to the ACL Festival with another fabulous show. With the band's organic twang filling the air and the sun setting in the sky, people began emerging from under the trees to enjoy songs which came mostly from last year's A Ghost Is Born but also featured surprises from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and even Summer Teeth. Singer Jeff Tweedy introduced a brand-new song he said was written "just for you, Austin."

Right after Wilco finished, over on the AMD Stage, another highly influential Chicago-based band took over. Tortoise creates cerebral soundscapes that combine both stellar musicianship and tremendous creativity. With the group's gorgeous atmospheric sound wafting across the hillside in front of the stage, a number of people took the opportunity to listen while gazing up at the evening sky.

For a study in contrast, I made my way to the Heineken stage for the Black Keys. Consisting of the barebones lineup of guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, this duo is the biggest band out of Akron, Ohio since Devo and plays a stomping, gritty garage-rock-blues style that strips rock music down to its most basic elements. The set included killer versions of "Thickfreakness" and "10 a.m. Automatic" and drew in many of the fans working their way toward the SBC Stage for Coldplay. The crowd went crazy for the band's stunning cover of the Beatles "She Said, She Said."

With the last act of the festival remaining, it seemed as though the entire park converged on the SBC Stage. The closing ACL Festival performances have always been colossal, but with Coldplay being at possibly the commercial and artistic pinnacle of its career, this was the biggest show of the festival's history. The crowd's reaction to the band was amazing, and in response to both the audience's energy and the challenge provided by preceding bands (singer Chris Martin specifically mentioned Arcade Fire's set), Coldplay really delivered. The passionate versions of 'Speed of Sound" and "Yellow," the first hit from the band's 2000 debut, Parachutes, were highlights. After exiting the stage to a thundering sound of approval, Coldplay returned for an encore of "Clocks" and "Fix You" before sending the exhausted but satisfied crowd into the night as the bright globe lights dotted the field.

So, the 2005 edition of the Austin City Limits Music Festival has concluded. The festival brought thousands of music fans to the beautiful Zilker Park setting, and while weather conditions again got more attention than anyone probably wanted them to, the experience was a memorable one for both bands and fans. Thanks to everyone who made the event possible, and especially to those who made it such a safe and enjoyable experience. Maybe next year we'll get a cold front.


- Andy Smith

About the author: Andy Smith is Associate Editor of Pop Culture Press (http://www.popculturepress.com) and a member of the Austin-based indie rock band, The Daylight Titans (http://www.thedaylighttitans.com).