No one I saw, for instance, could match the musicianship on display at Thursday night's Stax 50 Revue. Booker T. and the boys' time on ths charts came and went years ago, and the kids probably don't know who they are. But Steve Cropper's piercing guitar conveyed a lifetime of experience, joy, and pain. It's still the best show I saw down in Austin.

A close second was Friday night's Ponderosa Stomp at Opal Divine's (which, like the Stax show, was also attended by music editor Tracy Brown, though at a different point in the evening). Too many high points to count in this road show of neglected and forgotten acts, but here are a few:

Guitarist Lil' Buck Sinegal wailing with keyboard player Buckwheat Zydeco on Monkey in a Sack. Louisiana soul/funk at its finest.

Wah-wah guitar master Dennis Coffey, famous for his work with The Temptations, bringing the funk on Scorpio.

Soul man Archie Bell whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his hit "Tighten Up." (A game spectator jumped on stage and danced with Bell; when he tried to give the singer a hug, Bell said, "Don't get too damn tight now").

None of these folks are young, but they can still bring it strong. Throw in the festival presence of Pete Townshend and Iggy Pop, and you've got a festival that doesn't just honor its elders; it lets 'em go to town.

Now, time to rest my aching back. Yeah, I'm getting old too.