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Manu Chao brings crowd to its feet at ACL taping
“This is the highlight of this year’s festival, as far as I’m concerned,” “Austin City Limits” television producer Terry Lickona declared upon introducing Manu Chao at ACL’s Studio A on the UT Campus Tuesday night. The studio audience roared in agreement.
The Spanish-French singer’s U.S. performances are rare, and his American television appearances even rarer. Everyone in the room for the intimate taping seemed to recognize it was a special evening and the entire audience was on its feet well before Manu Chao took the stage. And we remained standing, dancing for the bulk of the show.
For the most part the multi-lingual Chao performed in Spanish with a set that covered a good portion of his most recent album “La Radiolina” mixed with a handful of older tracks. The performance was an exhilarating journey as the defiantly political artist sang with raw heart that transcended any language barrier. It was also an exercise in audio whiplash as the pace of the show vacillated between easy skank and breakneck, moshable ska.
As Manu Chao came to the end of his set the crowd cheered until he returned for an encore. When he left the stage a second time he was called back once more and he came back a second time not to play but instead to shake hands, exchange hugs and generally return a little love to his fans.
Overall, it was a moving evening and a testament to the efforts of ACL (both the television show and the music festival) to continue to diversify their lineups.
Manu Chao performs Thursday night at Stubb’s BBQ. The show is sold out. He headlines ACL Fest Friday night performing on the AT&T stage at 8:30 p.m. The Manu Chao episode of “Austin City Limits” will air early next year.
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Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: ACL Festival
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By Cherif
January 24, 2009 11:32 PM | Link to this
I am watching it on TV and it’s amazing! Where can I find the DVD? Couldn’t find any info on PBS.org. Thanks.