Instrumental surf-rock rides again as the Ventures catch an ACL Fest wave

Peter Blackstock, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read
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There's almost always a few Austin City Limits Music Festival attendees each day who are so psyched to stake out a spot for the headliner that they arrive when gates open and sprint across Zilker Park to grab a spot right up-front at the biggest stage. But if Saturday's early-arriving festgoers just wanted to see the Ventures kicks things off at 12:45 p.m., the procedure was much simpler: "Walk, Don't Run."

That happens to be the title of the guitar instrumental which launched the Ventures to national stardom from their home in the Pacific Northwest more than 50 years ago. None of the original members are still alive, but guitarist Bob Spalding often was a guest with the band across the decades, and his son Ian Spalding is also in the lineup now. Drummer Leon Taylor is the son of original drummer Mel Taylor. Bassist Luke Griffin, who lives in Austin, rounds out the current lineup.

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The Ventures performs at Austin City Limits Music Festival Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Austin.
The Ventures performs at Austin City Limits Music Festival Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Austin.

The Ventures proved to be a thoroughly entertaining way to start the day, reeling off nine classic instrumentals in 24 minutes before a 10-minute finale during which Taylor came out from behind the drums and played the bassist's strings with his sticks. Even if you were never a big fan of surf-rock instrumentals, you probably knew the melodies of "Wipeout," "Pipeline," the "Hawaii 5-0" theme song and, yes, of course, "Walk, Don't Run." They added a couple instrumental renditions of a couple songs most often performed with lyrics, most notably "House of the Rising Sun."

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Speaking of the rising sun: It was high in the sky as the Ventures took the stage, with not a cloud to offer shade from the 86-degrees-and-climbing temperatures. Friday's cloud cover was a welcome respite for festgoers, but be ready with your sunscreen for the rest of the weekend, as Sunday's forecast is identical to Saturday's.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Surf-rock rides again as the Ventures catch an ACL Fest guitar wave