ACL Fest: Saturday

I have been going to ACL for four years now, and today may of been the most entertaining day yet. Here's how my day went.

2:30-3:30: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, maybe the best show of the fest so far. Jones may be fifty, but she has the energy of a toddler on crack. As we already knew, her voice is incredible and her backing band (The Dap Kings) can play some funky soul. Highlights were "Nobody's Baby", "Tell Me", and "Let Them Knock." I certainly hope to see them again. A

3:30-4:00: Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves, on first glance you would mistake them for just another young indie rock band, but these cats can play some mean soul. Reed has a powerful voice and their style reminds me of The Dap Kings with a little more instrumentals. B+

4:00-4:45: Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, rounding out my afternoon that was filled with soul, Black Joe never fails. I've seen him play in Austin a few times and his act is always full of energy. B

5:30-6:30: MGMT, the first time I saw MGMT I was a little disappointed. Not because they sounded bad, but for whatever reason they refused to turn up the volume. Well this time they really put on a great show. They played all their grooviest songs like "Electric Feel," "Time To Pretend," and "Weekend Warriors," and most importantly they played loud. A-

6:30-7:30: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, one of the best songwritters around put on one of the ten best shows I have ever seen. He played louder than I expected and his new band (The Mystic Valley Band) really complemented his songwriting. Oberst sang passionately and played my personal favorite "I Don't Want To Die (In A Hospital)." I dig Oberst's new country style and to my pleasure he played mostly songs from his new album. A

8:30-10:00: Beck, fresh off his new album Modern Guilt, Beck was the one headliner I have really been looking forward to. I thought his show started off slow, playing some of his old standards. But to my delight he switched to some of his new songs like "Orphans" and "Chemtrails." The act took an interesting turn when Beck and his band all stood at the front of the stage with some mixers and played "Hell Yes." The highlight of the performance for me was when he covered Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat." The overall sound of the show was lacking a little bit, but I was pleased with the performance. B+

Saturday was so jam packed with good acts that I didn't even get a chance to see rock legends John Fogerty, Roky Erickson, Robert Plant & Allison Krauss, and the most blueswelling Black Keys.