2005 ACL Fest Home > Reports from the ACL Festival > Archives > 2005 > September > 24 > Entry
Worst-case ACL scenarios turn sunny
Matthew Seiler, owner of Maine Root Handcrafted Beverages, drove down to Austin from Portland, Maine, early in the week with his radio tuned to news stations. In the back of his truck were 20 pallets, 1,200 cases of root beer earmarked for sale at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. But as the dire reports about Hurricane Rita filtered in, so did news that four of his employees had to bail out because their flights through Houston had been canceled. Saturday afternoon, shorthanded Seiler was slammed by thirsty festgoers, but he couldn’t have been happier. “I thought ‘worst case scenario’ all the way down,” he said. “I woke up this morning and the sun was shining and I’ve been in a great mood ever since.”
Transportation out of the festival remained a headache for many. “There was no sign outside our exit to tell us to go right to get cabs,” said Nate Douglas of Atlanta. “Everyone who walked to the left — and there were hundreds of us — were going where there were no cabs.” A few drivers were offering their cabs to the highest bidder. “One guy was charging $60,” said Douglas, who went back to catch a shuttle bus to 15th and San Jacinto streets. “It was so crazy and confused at 15th Street,” he said. “Nobody knew where to go or what to do when they got there.” It took him more than two hours to get to his friend’s house at 45th Street and Burnet Road.
Charlie Jones of CSE says promoters will address refund requests for fans who couldn’t make it to Austin on a case by case basis.
The tour manager from Oasis waited for an hour at his hotel downtown for a cab before deciding to take a shuttle bus. “He was on a bus in two minutes and at the front gate in 10.
Eleven transports to the hospital Friday. “There were a couple of broken bones, one cardiac arrest and some people with asthma complained about all the dust,” said Mark Higgins of CSE. There was one arrest Friday night for marijuana possession with intent to distribute.
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