September 27, 2008
ACL, Day 2
- Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings -- I was late (again) and missed most of it. Argh.
- CSS - OK. Not that great, but then I like their stuff on a song-by-song basis only. The ones I liked were pretty good. Nice for the middle of the day, but certainly not unforgettable. I was amused by the way the singer complained about the heat over and over. "It's so fucking hot! It's the hottest show ever in the universe!" I can relate. She should've been here in August. It wasn't even very hot today... Doesn't it get really hot in São Paulo? (To be fair, the stage was in the sun, and in that weird floral spandex thing she was in - not to mention the pompadour worthy of an FLDS wife - it would've been impossible to cool off.)
- Les Frères Guissé - I've never heard of these guys before, even though I'm a fan of other Senegalese music exports (Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, etc.). These three brothers put on a very interesting and entertaining show that grabbed my ear as I walked by and hooked me. It was a total breath of fresh air.
- MGMT (blurry photo below) - I've been very curious to see this band live. I think "Oracular Spectacular" is such a great album, but I've had a sneaking suspicion these guys will be a flash in the pan (ditto for Vampire Weekend). So I sat in this huge crowd full of obnoxious kids to have my curiosity satisfied. It was worth the pain, I think. It wasn't the greatest show and they have the hipster thing (pejorative) going big time, but I was surprised to find they actually play very well. Some of their songs even sounded better live, which is always a good sign. Andrew VanWyngarden's vocals are better when the producers can pump up the mix and add reverb and effects, but for the most part it was a good show. So I now expect more great albums from them. Time will tell if I'm correct. (The huge contingent of obnoxious young people doesn't necessarily bode well.)
- John Fogerty - Caught a bit of this show. The guy's a legend so obviously it was worth seeing.
- The Black Keys (photo above) - Kick ass show. These guys are amazing. Dan Auerbach is a genius. Definitely the best show of the day. And way too short.
- Beck - Beck's great but I have to be in the right mood. I'm not sure I was in the right mood this time... my feet and back were hurting and I was mostly thinking about dinner and the bike ride home. I didn't manage to get very close to the stage, either, so I enjoyed it but never really got into the show.
