KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas Night Two Last Night
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| Andrew Youssef |
December 11, 2011
See also: KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas Night One
After barely surviving Night One of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas, my endurance was tested with another stellar line-up for Night Two. The Gibson Amphitheater seemed to be busier around the early start time of 5:30 as the audience was well aware that the line-up was solid from start to finish.
Grouplove seemingly have come out of nowhere. Appearing in a commercial for the iPod Touch with their song "Tongue Tied," their profile has significantly risen as lots of fans were singing along. It was easily the most impressive set from an opening band at a KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show.
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| Andrew Youssef |
| Mumford & Sons |
Utilizing dark synthesizers and hailing from New Zealand, The Naked and Famous dished up an interesting mix of sound with shades of electronica and industrial. Alison Xayalith was alluring, interweaving her vocals with Thom Powers. "Young Blood" was their stand out track.
It seems like only yesterday Foster The People were doing a residency at the Detroit Bar. Now they are alumni of appearing on Saturday Night Live and have been touring nonstop. Of course, everyone went nuts during the ubiquitous "Pumped Up Kicks" as Mark Foster hopped down to the adoring throng of fans on the rail. I also recognized "Don't Stop (Color On The Walls)" from their Nissan commercial.
Perennial KROQ festival alumnus Cage The Elephant played a raucous set that involved frequent stage dives by lead singer Matthew Shultz. The audience lapped it up while enjoying such tunes as "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked," "2024" and "Shake Me Down." Their stint opening for the Foo Fighters has helped hone their live performance skills.
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1 comments
I agree with Andrew. The bands and the crowd had amazing energy. This show was stellar! What a great night!
