If the musical theme of day one was world-influenced music, day two's was R&B (and R&B-influenced). A lot of our prior days at the festival had been a little heavy on the indie-rock/pop, so it was good once again to mix it up a little.
Day Two's Best Show: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
I was really looking forward to this show. I had heard and read lots of positive things about Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings' live performances. Plus, I'm a long-time supporter of tha funk. The Dap-Kings play a very pure, classic instrumental funk that wouldn't sound out of place in the Stax, People or Atlantic Records studios in the late 60s or early 70s. Yeah, it is a bit derivative. That doesn't bother me, though. I didn't really have an opportunity to catch the original masters in concert. I was either way too young or not yet born.
The Dap-Kings came out first, looking quite Dap-per and thus living up to the band's name. The band (3 horns, 2 guitars, bass, drums and percussion) played a few "warm-up" instrumentals that got the crowd moving, before bringing out Sharon Jones. The band didn't move all that much -- they were way too focused on tight, flawless playing. Ms. Jones, in contrast, was a dynamo. Her voice was powerful and expressive -- a little bit Tina, a little bit Otis -- and as she was dancing and jumping all show long you'd have never guessed she was in her 50s. She had some fun, too, bringing out a couple of fellas from the crowd to dance with her for two of her numbers (funny choices from the audience, too -- look below and you'll see what I mean). She and the band tore through "100 Days, 100 Nights" and other songs from their latest album. Like all of the good shows at the festival, the only bad thing was that they couldn't play a longer set. Guess we'll just have to catch 'em next time they roll their funky bus through Austin.
Sharon Jones serenading a big dude from the crowd
A trio of dapper Dap-Kings
Day Two's Best Crowd: Beck
Beck played the headliner's spot on day two: last show of the night on the festival's biggest stage. Beck is an artist with two personae (if not more) -- the mellow, folksy Beck from albums like Sea Change and Mutations, and the "hippie-hop" white R&B of Odelay and his more recent albums -- you're never sure what you're gonna get. Being that his latest albums were more in the latter mold, I figured we'd probably get a set of mostly up-beat numbers. That's exactly what he delivered. Beck and his band roped the crowd in early by leading off with his first hit from back in 1992, "Loser," and kept the pressure on all night. The crowd really dug songs like "Devil's Haircut," "Where It's At" and "Qué Onda Guero." He did take a quick break from the electronic Beck to play a couple of tunes from Sea Change. I was sort of hoping he'd mix in a few more of his more melodic, poppier numbers. He didn't, and I might have been a bit disappointed, but the crowd wasn't and it kept on grooving until the close of day two.
Wish We'd Seen It: John Fogerty
Another casualty of the "too many good acts at the same time" problem: overlapping sets by Fogerty, the Black Keys and Iron & Wine. Everything I've read said that the old timer put on a great show. Supposedly his voice, his guitar playing and his set list were all great.
What Else We Saw and Heard
- We planned on getting to the festival in enough time to make sure we were there when Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings started. We got there early, so we were able to catch a bit of the Fratellis. Sounded pretty good, but nothing that really stood out.
- After Sharon Jones, we stayed close by and caught a bit of CSS on a neighboring stage. Some of the people we were with really liked them, but it wasn't really my cup of tea.
- Austin's Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears drew a pretty big crowd for the smaller Austin Ventures stage. His mix of blues, rock and funk was a good follow-up to Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. A bit less tight and more raw, but still good at getting people on their feet and dancing.
- The mellow soul of Erykah Badu was a good wind-down from the earlier sets of energetic R&B. She sounded good live. She couldn't resist getting a bit preachy from time to time, but also displayed a good sense of humor.
- Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band played most of Oberst's latest self-titled album, plus a cover of Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" that appealed to some of the older members of the crowd, as well as some of the younger ones. We saw Conor play with Jim James and M. Ward at the Newport Folk Festival in 2005, so it was nice to see and hear him play an entirely different set of songs with a different sounding band this go-round.
- Iron & Wine, a band we missed at one of the prior festivals we attended, played a well-executed set of interesting, moody songs that meshed well with the darkness of their night-time slot.
A Photoshopped Fratelli
Mystic Valley Band and Conor Oberst (far right)
Iron & Wine's Sam Beam
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