ACL Part 2

Nine acts jumped out at us this weekend, some were expected some not. Here's a quick rundown in descending order:

7c.) Band of Horses - This is the group we had highlighted before the festival as the show-to-see for Sunday, and they didn't disappoint. They've got this great mix of Southern rock and eerie crooning. You may know them from Funeral, which if we're not mistaken, was on a car commercial not long ago. Bonus points for how happy they were to be performing, it's a quality that always resonates with the audience. Deduction because their show was at 7:30 on Sunday and our backs were screaming and mounting a mutiny.

7b.) Jamie Lidell - This dude looks like a hobo, but damn!!! He is funky. We had never heard of the scrawny Brit prior to Friday afternoon, but as we were driving to the festival, one of the local radio stations profiled him, played a few of his tunes, and we were sold. He sounds a lot like Jay Kay of Jamiroquai (which is never a bad thing), but the music differs. Many of his songs had the strange feeling of 1980's sitcom themes, that had been funked-up a bit. Bonus points for band members wearing jump suits and robes. Huge bonus points for giving us the opportunity to drop some Perfect Strangers jokes to those standing in our vicinity.

7a.) The Kills - They were the definition of "Too Cool for School." It was 1:30 Sunday, the heat was blazing, the sun was high in the sky, and this minimalist lo-fi du0 was none-to-pleased. They cursed the sun, cursed their hangovers, and cursed their agent for booking them in such a "suicidal" time slot. For most bands this type of behavior would've been just that, suicide, and the crowd would've turned, but for The Kills, it worked. They play loud, dark, stripped-down, in-your-face rock, and their "Fuck You" attitude just amplified the performance. It's hard not to compare them (favorably) to The White Stripes, what with the girl/guy combo and on-stage sexual tension, but while they're clearly not the Stripes, they do bring it. Bonus points for Alison Mosshart being so damn fine.

To be continued...