The Atlanta skyline and a Ferris wheel in the background, Music Midtown mogul Peter Conlon gave a taste of what could be to come for music lovers who remember the good old days of Music Midtown with heavy hitters like No Doubt and Stone Temple Pilots. The festival was a one day teaser this year, but stacked an alternative line-up of upcoming bands, and some underground ones whom are just gaining notoriety. Two stages were nestled on Piedmont Park’s lawn outside the Park Tavern, piggybacking each band as thousands of people migrated between the shows. The weather held up with a sunny, clear day and temperatures in the 70s. Early bands The Postelles, Walk the Moon, and The Constellations held their own with sizeable crowds. Atlanta’s own The Constellations took the crowd through a tour of their latest album Southern Gothic about Atlanta’s nighttime intricacies. The band sent a shout out to one of 99X’s own videographer, Rett Thompson, whom was listening from the crowd. Talented and young Indie band Walk the Moon are a relatively new band, but after hearing their set with songs like “Anna Sun” and cover “Burning Down The House,” I am excited to see what is up next for them. Welsh trio Joy the Formidable took to The Electric Ballroom stage, an upcoming band that broke out with catchy tune “Whirring.” Singer Ritzy Bryan’s sweet disposition gave way to girlish vocals, and her look and demeanor favoring Blondie. Band of Skulls, another trio with a female lead, rocked out in all black and embodied the harsher sounds of true rock and roll with underlyings of punk and blues. The crowd jumped and waved hands in the air to “My Body” from Young the Giant at the Great Southeast Music Hall stage. Cage the Elephant gave another charged performance, started off with latest radio song “In One Ear.” Lead singer Matt Shultz jumped down in front the crowd during the hour set, and considering he focused on the vocals without an instrument in his hands, he knew how to provide the audience with unabashed energy and erratic dance moves to keep them interested. Another local favorite Manchester Orchestra played songs like “Pride” and “I Can Barely Breathe” that slowly swelled in tempo and boiled over with screams and intricate notes.
The sun starting to sink lower behind the “King” and “Queen” buildings, duo The Black Keys came out with hard drum/guitar beats and a distinctive sound, a large dream catcher and an inflatable tire and tiki man dwarfing them. The first half of the show featured songs from older albums, and then moved into their popular Brothers album for the second half with radio songs “Tighten Up” and “Howlin’ For You.” However, it would have been nice to hear some teasers from the future album which singer Dan Auerbach describes as “straight-ahead” and “up-tempo rock and roll,” according to his interview with 99X’s Axel and Lewis.
The cool breeze kept the compacted crowd sane as sweaty bodies pressed closer to the stage for main act Coldplay. Chris Martin’s calming voice rang out against the harmonious blends of piano and guitars with familiar favorites “Yellow” and “The Scientist.” Coldplay honored other Music Midtown bands in the song “Politik,” changing lyrics to “Give me Cage the Elephant. Give me The Black Keys.” The band presented a spectacular lights show with multi-colored lasers and fireworks throughout, even having large colorful balls bouncing around the crowd. To commemorate Georgia’s own R.E.M. (the band announced their disbandment last week), which Martin described as “one of his favorite bands,” played an acoustic cover of “Everybody Hurts.” The encore included “Clocks,” Ray Charles’ “Georgia” before leading into “Fix You,” and “Every Tear Drop Is A Waterfall.” For those who attended, the day was a success, so let’s hope next year Music Midtown will return annually as a bigger and even better festival.
Here is an official video of "Anna Sun" from Walk The Moon. A cool Indie band I enjoyed at Music Midtown.
Joy The Formidable's Ritzy Bryan:
The Black Keys:
Coldplay:
Video for song "Lost." I apologize for the quality, but hard when people keep bumping you and tall people are in front of the camera.
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