Day Two: Saturday, September 24, 2005

Aqualung [ tickets ]
This English act, helmed by the music prodigy Matt Hales, had a naturally soothing effect on the thousands watching this midday set. With his smooth, fluid voice similar to Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Hales sang an emotional albeit hopeful “Good Times Gonna Come” while effortlessly working the keys. “Brighter Than Sunshine,” an upbeat love song with catchy, sing-along lyrics and one of the group’s bigger hits, triggered audience participation while Hales’ brother, Ben, added complementary background vocals. As if they hadn’t pleased the satiated crowd already, Aqualung closed the set with a soulful rendition of Queen’s “Somebody To Love.”

Martin Sexton [ tickets ]
Unfamiliar eyes would never expect the amazing dynamics that come from singer-songwriter Martin Sexton, but his fans seem to feed off of it. With his perpetual smile and happy-go-lucky attitude, Sexton took to the stage with just a guitar and immediately mesmerized the gathering crowd. “Beast In Me,” exemplifying his knack for story-telling and his friendly, breathy voice, started the crowd bobbing. In just a few minutes time, Sexton’s voice transformed into an incarnation of Randy Newman with “Digging Me,” a fun tale of love that showcased his impressive beat boxing abilities. “Angeline,” a popular track from his 2000 release “Wonder Bar,” had the crowd sympathizing with Sexton as he pleaded to this cheating character – a classic example of his hold on his audience.

Death Cab For Cutie
Somehow this Seattle band, and frontman Ben Gibbard in particular, has managed to capture the hearts of indie rockers everywhere, and not just of one certain age group. The massive expanse of people eagerly waiting for the emo rocking to begin covered the gamut of demographics and seemed unfazed by the hottest part of the day. Gibbard’s clear, sustained vocals laid comfortably over the mellow guitar on “New Year” while “Title and Registration,” although equally placid, demonstrated more musical complexity. Throughout the show, Death Cab for Cutie [ tickets ] played for the crowd, but not beyond what their albums have illustrated. “Summer Skin,” a track off the most recent release entitled “Plans,” was an awakening deep breath after an otherwise meditative set.

Jet [ tickets ]
These Australian rockers know how to get the party started, particularly when the rising temperatures and dust clouds have crowd morale relatively low. Once onstage, they immediately dove into tunes that garnered the most radio attention, “Cold Hard Bitch” and “Rollover DJ.” The fist-in-the-air, hard core rock atmosphere onstage, led by frontman Nic Cester, caught on with the fans, most of whom were thrashing about. As if intentional, the group followed these up with calmer numbers “Come Around Again” and “Look What You’ve Done,” giving dancers plenty of time to catch their breath without putting them to sleep. “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” another fast-paced fan favorite, was the ultimate finishing touch for a perfect rock show.

Oasis [ tickets ]
No one seemed surprised much when Oasis didn’t show up on stage at their scheduled time. Fashionably late is a fan’s expectation of this band. When the Gallagher brothers and company did take the stage, they made their presence known with an array of lights and a pre-recorded throbbing beat. The show began with “Turn Up the Sun,” the first track off the long-awaited 2005 release “Don’t Believe the Truth.” Liam Gallagher followed it with a smooth, catchy “Lyla,” before revisiting the album that put their name on the map. “What’s the Story, Morning Glory?” earned a roar from giddy fans of the 1995 album of the same name. “Say Maybe,” another old-school hit, brought out the sweet side of the usually rough-around-the-edges Liam, who dedicated it to the people of New Orleans. Overall, a perfect melding of songs old and new kept this eager crowd amped and made this much anticipated show an ACL Festival highlight.