This year was my first Austin City Limits Music Festival experience, since I moved to Austin less than a week AFTER last year’s ACL Fest.  Here are a bunch of pictures from the first day of ACL 2011, including an ice fortress water vehicle seen while approaching the festival, a sign reminding everyone of the dangers of smoking, two guys wearing Chicago gear, the cool structure in the center of the festival surrounded by displays of each year’s lineup, the beautiful sunset, and the co-headliner, Kanye West.  Overall, the experience was amazing – especially Kanye, who started his first song from a lift in the middle of the crowd.  I wish I would have gone to Lollapalooza in Chicago at some point so I could compare.  If you’re interested, YouTube has done a great job of covering ACL and posted a Friday recap video.  Unfortunately, I won’t be going to the other two days of shows, so these are the only pictures you’ll see from me.  If you ever have the chance to make it to an Austin City Limits Music Festival, I highly recommend it.  (Click on any of the images for a larger version.)