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ACL Fest review: Stevie Wonder
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMANNo one builds consensus like Stevie Wonder. That’s an admittedly odd and political way to think about one of the best recording artists of the last hundred years, but it speaks to how powerfully and easily the man taps into some mostly hidden Master Vein of the human condition to bring people together. From the moment Wonder was announced as one of this year’s Austin City Limits Festival headliners - no disrespect to Arcade Fire, but Wonder was this year’s main attraction despite not playing Sunday night - there was just about unanimous approval at the selection. Talk to anyone who had a ticket for Saturday and whether they be hippie burnout, hipster, a recovering punk or an ACL weekend warrior who otherwise avoids concerts the rest of the year, and they’d definitively say the rest of their day or weekend was just lead-up to Stevie Wonder.
So how did one of the most eagerly awaited performers in the festival’s history answer the anticipation? By letting it all hang out in a loose, celebratory drive of a set - soundtracked by his chapter of the American songbook - with a few detours and turnarounds and plenty of stops along the way to remind the crowd that all of them matter, that they’re in this thing called life together and that very day is an opportunity to be great.
Escorted on stage to the sound of his 14-piece backing band, Wonder took his place front and center, playing keytar on a round and ripe rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and before song’s end told the truly massive audience that (in what would be the night’s sort-of mantra) each day they should “put your best love forward.”
What followed from there was a run of hits and almost-standards that hammered home Wonder’s virtuosity even while being something of a creative wandering spirit through to his ’80s pop hits. “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” was all bouncing reggae funk, “Higher Ground” got a brassed-up playing that didn’t overwhelm its original deep groove, “Living For The City” was as urgent and affirming as it’s ever sounded, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” was a celebration… you get the idea. Check the set list below. If there’s a classic you wanted to hear it got played and it sounded great.
Interspersed between were plenty of “Stevie Moments,” where the shamanistic worldly innocence he’s had pretty much all of his 61 years was on display; chastising political leaders for not putting people first, calling for guns to be less accessible (could anyone but Stevie Wonder do that in Texas and not get booed off stage?), and spending at least five minutes at the end of “I Do I Do” trying to orchestrate an audience sing-along that never really clicked and ended with Wonder good-naturedly dismissing a crowd that was having too much fun (or was too drunk) to care.
After messing around with bits of an under-construction song called “Check On Your Love,” (again, who else could turn a headlining festival set into a quickie practice session and get cheered for it?) Wonder began a closing run that kicked off with “Superstition” and segued into bits of “Isn’t She Lovely” and Peggy Lee’s “You Give Me Fever” before ending with “As.” In amongst those he thanked Austin’s police chief for allowing him to barge rather far past the fest’s 10 p.m. curfew, and said he’d love to make a return engagement at next year’s ACL, a proposition that got plenty of applause and approval from those in front of him. They’d have him back every day if they could. Everyone agreed on that.
Set list:
- How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
- My Eyes Don’t Cry
- Master Blaster (Jammin’)
- The Way You Make Me Feel
- Higher Ground
- Living For The City
- Don’t You Worry ‘bout A Thing
- I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)
- Ribbon In The Sky
- Overjoyed
- Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours
- Sir Duke
- I Wish
- I Do I Do
- For Once In My Life
- My Cherie Amour
- I Just Called To Say I Love You
- Check On Your Love (working title)
- Superstition
- Isn’t She Lovely (chorus and verse)
- You Give Me Fever (snippet)
- As
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Permalink | Comments (24) | Categories: ACL 2011
Comments
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By Ken
September 18, 2011 12:21 PM | Link to this
Unfortunately your take doesn’t jive with my experience. I thought he killed the mood by talking politics right off the bat. It showed doesn’t really understand the political sentiment. In my section, all the dancing just stopped. And you know that he could sense the tepid response because he almost immediately asked us to forgive him. Did you miss that?
Our government is corrupt and broken and won’t get fixed until it gets much, much worse. If you think that one of the two parties is somehow going to fix the corporate/political cronyism and the mountain of over-the-counter derivatives that is waiting to implode the financial system, or that whatever they try to do to get us out of the problem won’t end up transferring most of the middle class wealth to the elite class.. well, good luck with that. Stevie had one thing right, we found it easy to be together. That is, until he started talking politics. Please, Stevie, leave it for the people who are still suckered by this charade.
Also.. did anyone else have trouble hearing his mic? It was too quiet relative to the band in my area near the front left.
By Rich
September 18, 2011 12:53 PM | Link to this
The reviewer is right on. Ken needs to blow it out his shorts. I was at the front left, the mic was fine, the vibe was good and the crowd was with Stevie every second (except for Ken)….
By Things Are Bad
September 18, 2011 1:52 PM | Link to this
Sadly Ken, most people are too stupid to see the truth of things.
Anyway I thought Stevie’s performance was boring as hell. The Eagles were a million times better because at least they played their songs rather than having 10 minutes of boring interlude between every song.
I could barely here Stevie’s voice near the front left.
Also once we moved back toward the rear of the crowd we could barely here him over the sound of My Morning Jacket even though their stage was twice as far away.
We left early from sheer boredom and a desire to make our aftershow on time. We weren’t the only ones.
All in all an incredibly disappointing performance by Mr. Wonder.
By john pierson
September 18, 2011 2:02 PM | Link to this
Delightful show and the sound was impeccable from my spot. But the setlist above is imperfect. First ballad, before Ribbon in the Sky, was a cover of Nat King Cole’s When I Fall In Love, not Stevie’s own I Believe (When I Fall In Love). Having seen the master three times in NYC between 1974-85, his vocals are no longer effortlessly perfect. But his stagecraft, presence, and songbook remain unmatched. What a night!
By Kevan
September 18, 2011 2:02 PM | Link to this
Actually, a ton of people posted on the ACL Facebook page saying they could not hear Stevie at all due to poor sound management. I was close enough to Stevie to hear him fine, but I wasn’t impressed enough to stay longer than an hour. All the political waxing and poorly orchestrated audience sing-alongs just got to be too much for me.
By Heidi
September 18, 2011 2:03 PM | Link to this
What a wonderful show—— So much love and how Great to talk about what is needed in to days self centered government. Love is what is real.One of the best moments when we all were walking home on Barton Springs rd and everyone started signing”I just called to say I LOVE You” What a way to end another great day at ACL.Thank You Stevie !!!! ps Ken sorry you missed so much.
By raddad
September 18, 2011 2:12 PM | Link to this
It was a stinker. Im just glad i made it over to the other side to see MMJ.
By slim
September 18, 2011 2:46 PM | Link to this
I thought the show was amazing and Stevie totally charmed the audience. He engaged the audience in a way I’ve not seen at a big show like that. His message is one of inclusion, such as his plea to make all things accessible for special needs people. And can you really argue with “put your best love forward?” And the band kicked ***! I was blown away by the number of people who knew the lyrics to his songs. I am only sorry the volume wasn’t loud enough for the people in the back. (I was near the sound board and heard everything fine.) This was a concert I won’t forget. (I’d LOVE to see him at the ACL venue.)
By Ballz
September 18, 2011 3:36 PM | Link to this
So, it sounds like the concert was one of the most amazing concerts ever and one of the worst ever.
By bluedog78
September 18, 2011 3:50 PM | Link to this
Apparently, someone doesn’t understand his genre. He’s been one of my absolute favorites, throughout my 52 years of living. I totally “get” his songs and meaning to them all! Love my Stevie Wonder!!!!
By Schnzr
September 19, 2011 6:26 AM | Link to this
Could barely hear him from mid left audience area. No excuse for bad sound production at ACL. Too bad for the artist and the audience.
By Sar78729
September 19, 2011 7:37 AM | Link to this
I agree with Ken. Stevie spends too much time on nonsensical, psuedospiritual psycobabble. I don’t give a flip about his Obama opinion. When he sings his songs he is fantastic. That’s what I paid for. How many more could he have done if he left out the rambling? When will performers learn that we pay to hear them perform, not to expound on whatever political nonsense that wafts on the empty space between their ears.
By Sara
September 19, 2011 8:54 AM | Link to this
My husband and I were very disappointed in the sound. We knew everyone would want to see Stevie, because well he’s Stevie Wonder. Anyway, we stood on the far right side near the beginning of the chair section and had the same problems, couldn’t hear, and people were chanting “Turn It Up!” At one point Stevie even asked if you could hear him. Unfortunately we could not. Not until masses of people left, did we begin to hear him and the awesome. I find it utterly pathetic that ACL/C3 can’t get their sound together. Bring in extra speakers or do something for such a bad act, and legend. It’s disrespectful to Stevie and to your audience. Yes, it’s a festival, but it shouldn’t sound like AM radio.
By ATXDrummer
September 19, 2011 9:58 AM | Link to this
@Sar78729, Kevan, Ken
First of all Ken, I like how you whine about his political ranting and then go off on one yourself. Hypocrite like none other you are.
Pretty sad to see people are complaining about a Stevie Wonder show they only had to pay 185 bucks for. What a bargain. Really though, it sounds like the people who didn’t enjoy it hate their lives anyway.
Complaining about the sound is one thing, and it’s understandable… but complaining about Stevie being Stevie shows you obviously have no clue what he is all about, and really should have been at the MMJ show instead.
By laura
September 19, 2011 11:36 AM | Link to this
We were pretty close to the stage and directly center and heard everything perfectly. My group LOVED Stevie when he was playing music and having the audience sing along. However, he easily could have fit in 10-15 more songs if he wouldn’t have talked so much. People go to ACL and spend money on tickets (regardless of how much was spent) to hear music, not to have a lesson on opinions in politics…
Again, I loved seeing him and he was great when he was actually singing! We did leave a little disappointed though.
By Vicki
September 19, 2011 12:42 PM | Link to this
I love Stevie Wonder, unfortunately I could barely hear him - we were about 10 feet back from the start of the ‘chair’ section - even when I tried to go up closer I still had trouble hearing him until I squeezed myself closer to the center…. it was really disappointing.
By Brian Whelan
September 19, 2011 2:40 PM | Link to this
For the 25,000 plus of us who were unable to be near the Bud Light stage the sound was almost non existent. We were level with the Google stage but could hear my morning jacket more than Stevie Wonder. Sorry but those are just the facts. Also poor old Randy Newman was absolutely drowned out on Sunday night by the Ventures and Google stages. The responsibility lies with C3, after 10 straight fests I’m sure there are many of us thinking that we may give # 11 a miss.
By Brian Whelan
September 19, 2011 2:46 PM | Link to this
For the 25,000 of us who were not able to be “at” the Bud Light stage the sound was non existent (we were level with the Google stage and yes we could hear My Morning Jacket better than Stevie. As a side poor old Randy Newman was destroyed by the Ventures and Google stages Sunday night, all in all maybe festival # 10 will be the last for some us for a while until C3 gets its act together.
By Ken
September 19, 2011 4:49 PM | Link to this
Laura, I don’t know Stevie’s personality, not having followed him much, but I do certainly love his music. As for my complaint about his political statement — you slightly characterized it, and I want to be clear. I would have been fine with a statement in a music festival if it had been helpful, but to continue to give credence to the notion that there is really much difference in the behavior of the leadership of the two parties, regardless of what your stance is on social issues, is divisive. They’ve been able to keep it going for so long because they’ve divided us. My original comment here was more of a complaint about the author of this article, who seemed to want to speak for everyone. To side with one or the other (D or R), in my opinion, is to give in to the corruption.
I was, however, very positively impressed with Stevie’s ability to quickly sense the discomfort and to try to make it right. It proved that when a social system is small and closed, when you are really right there in touch with the person on the other side of the conversation, you can find Common Ground. I guess it was my failing to let it get to me.. I suppose if the sound had been better I could have bounced back quickly. I guess also if I had seen Stevie before I could have expected it.. it was just a bit of a turnoff. Here I was excited about the music (finally some keys!) and the first thing I heard reminded me about the pervasively disingenuous nature of government. it was just a bit of a bummer.
By Ken
September 19, 2011 4:50 PM | Link to this
Oops meant to address that to ATXDrummer
By trifecta
September 19, 2011 5:09 PM | Link to this
oh, chad: shame, shame. how could you not include stevie’s tribute to MJ (“the way you make me feel”) in your set list?
great show, amazing message of unconditional love, equal rights, peace and inspiration. i can die happy.
By PleaseNo
September 20, 2011 12:48 PM | Link to this
ACL is a perfect experience if you’re a 15 year old kid. All the bands, especially your favorite, are “awesome” because you don’t have 20+ years of musical performances in your quiver for comparison. You’re there for THE FESTIVAL. You’re there to circle up and smoke pot with your buddies in front of people old enough to be your parents, but who are too polite to scold you. Even the cops just walk slowly by. You’re with a crowd of people who want to have a good time. You’re constantly reminded just how “awesome” everything is and how ACL is becoming almost mythical in its ability to book “awesome” bands that put on “awesome” performances. If you’re a 15 year old girl you can dress like a skank and wear those tiny shorts you promised Mom you wouldn’t wear and walk around staring at your cellphone. And it’s all OK, because ACL is advertised as “Family Friendly.” In fact, ACL, according to those who have a ve$ted interest, is always “awesome.” I preferred the Texxas Jam in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas in 1978. Sure, the accommodations weren’t as good, but on a single day, you got to see HEADLINERS one after the other. VAN HALEN, ATLANTA RYTHMN SECTION, HEAD EAST, JOURNEY, FRANK MARINO, HEART, TED NUGENT, AEROSMITH At ACL one must suffer through WAAY TOO MANY mediocre bands who really don’t deserve to be there. I suggest that ACL should be a 2-day festival with only MAJOR acts – and spaced out on only 3 stages – with more camping/chairs in front of the 2 main stages. The 3rd stage would be no-chairs for people who want to stand up and dance around. After 10 years of digging through dog **** searching for the diamond he swallowed, I’m giving up the dog.
By AustinCityHitItsLimits
September 20, 2011 4:55 PM | Link to this
PleaseNo is spot on!! 130 bands, 110 of which I’ve never heard of, creates the mess that was last weekend. Stevie was good, sound was regretably poor, (I moved around a bit, didn’t seem to get much better anywhere). C3 should be ashamed!! Let’s have one festival dedicated to all the great acts that are still doing it, but won’t be doing it forever. PleasNo’s list abover would make a great start!!
By AustinCityHitItsLimits
September 20, 2011 4:56 PM | Link to this
PleaseNo is spot on!! 130 bands, 110 of which I’ve never heard of, creates the mess that was last weekend. Stevie was good, sound was regretably poor, (I moved around a bit, didn’t seem to get much better anywhere). C3 should be ashamed!! Let’s have one festival dedicated to all the great acts that are still doing it, but won’t be doing it forever. PleasNo’s list abover would make a great start!!