ACL Fest: Jamie Lidell's Soul Sampling

Clad in wingtips, a tuxedo shirt, and what appeared to be pajama bottoms, Berlin's Jamie Lidell delivered a fine set of blue eyed neo-soul to a relaxed and amiable crowd at the Dell stage. Lidell puts on a casual attitude for his shows, but there's no difficulty in seeing how carefully he crafts them: next to his mike stand sat two Apple laptops, a complete mixing board, samplers, and a dozen effects pedals. During and between songs, Mr. Lidell returned to these toys time and again to remix his own material; alternate versions of "A Little Bit More" and "Multiply" were easy to recognize but far different to their studio counterparts. Throughout the set, what set this band apart from the legions of modern soul also-rans was Lidell's emotive and powerful voice, which alternated between shades of Stevie Wonder and Wilson Pickett. His very game band shared his love of vintage sounds and his sartorial sense: other members wore bathrobes and motorcycle jumpsuits in all white. In sum, it was a warmly received set that set a great tone for day one. --Tom Thornton