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The opening blast
Charles Attal was spotted backstage chatting with Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini and Channel 8 personality Andy Langer before Nutini’s 12:20 set on the AT&T Stage, one of the festival’s main venues. Nutini said he was a fan of What Made Milwaukee Famous. At least, I think he’s a fan. Those Scottish accents are something else.
Though an early rain looked as if it would cool things off, Friday morning was instead characterized by stifling humidity and a cloudless sky. Patrons were seen buying hats and finding water early and often.
ACL often has scheduled heavier and more abstract rock acts early in the festival (anyone remember the Grand Funk-esque Rose Hill Drive from a few years back? Anyone? Just me, huh? Ah, well.) The Benevento Russo Duo was a perfect example. A modernist take on the traditional organ trio, the instrumental duo of drummer Joe Russo and keyboardist Marco Benevento finds the sweet spot between jam band noodling and genuine space rock. Russo kept the grooves moving, Benevento blew out jazzy, melodic fragments into chewy improvisations for music as heavy as the air. A bracing way to start the festival.
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