ACL '09: Weather Rains Reigns Over Day Two.

All photos by Patrick Michels In short, the weather made for a rather miserable day on Day Two of the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival.Gray skies hovered from the day's start--and it didn't take long for the clouds to unleashed their fury. Shortly after 2:30 p.m., the day's first...

By Pete Freedman

October 4, 2009

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All photos by Patrick Michels

In short, the weather made for a rather miserable day on Day Two of the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Gray skies hovered from the day's start--and it didn't take long for the clouds to unleashed their fury. Shortly after 2:30 p.m., the day's first pours hammered down upon crowds of stubborn fans, who were unwilling to let mother nature interrupt their Saturday plans. For some, it was cause for celebration--the City of Austin, which has supposedly been in some sort of drought, and, uh, sadists, I guess--and that camp let their thoughts on the matter be heard, as they cheered on the rain, throwing their arms back in victory as it fell.

But, for the bulk of the attendees at ACL, it simply meant discomfort. And, seeing as how the rain kept coming down intermittently for the rest of the day and night (offering only a few short, delightful spurts of respite), the crowds were visibly downtrodden--especially those who hadn't properly prepared for the weather and were forced to stand and mope about Zilker, soaked in their street clothes. They almost never broke a smile.

It hurt the musicians as well; on this day dominated by slower, folkier acts, the rain acted as a barrier that few could burst through. Rockier outfits, however, shined on this dark day, brining energy to an otherwise dreary outlook.

So, too, shined the break offered by the indoor Wildflower tent stage, which saw an almost inpenetrable crowd huddled within its confines all day long, as audiences were more than content to simply camp out in the tent and stay dry.

As for others, well, they weren't so fortunate, for better or worse. Wetness was the theme of the day, indeed. Here's your photographic proof...

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