After a long, quiet day in my brother's house with he and my nephews, I convince him to come join me for some of the pre-ACL festivities happening around Austin tonight. First stop was Manu Chao's manic commotion at Stubb's Ampitheater: a mash-up up reggae and rapid-fire techno. Now, it's Threadgill's on the north side of town, where there's a three-person song swap including local Abi Tapia, who I caught this summer at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. After this is a comedy show nearby featuring my friend Chris, and then home: I need to leave something in the tank for tomorrow.