Day Three: Sunday, September 25, 2005

Rachael Yamagata [ tickets ]
This East Coast woman, beaded with sweat and donning a visor to hide her face from the sun, made the most of her lunchtime appearance on the sizable AMD stage. Emotional tunes being her specialty, Yamagata dove right into "Letter Read" from 2004's release "Happenstance" with her ethereal, breathy voice and strong piano skills. When an alcohol spill onstage caused technical difficulty and a moment's hesitation, her typical upbeat, bubbly personality came through in her explanation of the circumstances, wooing the crowd. Returning to her backlog of heartbreak-riddled songs with the amp finally fixed, Yagamata belted out an arousing "Collide" before finishing with the fed-up anthem "Worn Me Down."

Jason Mraz [ tickets ]
When this young singer burst onto the music scene with the Top 40 hit "The Remedy" in 2002, it wasn't yet known how long he would make it at the top. Thankfully, though, his bouncy pop beats have kept the fans dancing, and this performance was no different. His boyish good looks had ladies lined up and singing along. "Geek in Pink," from his just-released second album, "Mr. A-Z," began the set, with a Jamaican-style "I'm Yours" following behind. The highlight of the set: Mraz, halfway through the radio favorite "The Remedy," offered the crowd a snippet of Oasis' "Wonderwall," referring to the UK band's previous night's performance with a casual "In case you guys missed it."

Bob Mould [ tickets ] Band
Bob Mould seemed a little out of place when he began rocking out onstage during his early evening ACL set Sunday. A major influence on the genre of alternative rock as a former member of the hardcore act Husker Du, Mould had some expectations to live up to, but he didn't quite fulfill them right away. Maybe it was the mixture of heat and dust, but Mould's first few songs were not only cramped and virtually inaudible, but the musicians' timing was obviously suffering. By mid-set, when "I Am Vision, I Am Sound" from Mould's very recent "Body of Song" began, the uncomfortable kinks had been worked out and the crowd, as well as Mould, began to relax.

Franz Ferdinand [ tickets ]
The rowdy Scots of Franz Ferdinand managed to gather the masses still braving the elements for a high-energy dose of indie rock. One of the few acts with some form of stage art, the group dramatically unveiled a stage-size image/backdrop of the artwork for their soon-to-be-released second album--probably to give audience members an idea of what to look for during their next record store jaunt. Regardless, the quartet put on a show, mixing old favorites ("Auf Achse") with new ("What You Meant.") "Take Me Out," the fast-paced rock anthem that took radio by storm in 2004, drove the crowd wild.

Coldplay [ tickets ]
Despite incessant rumors all weekend of a Coldplay cancellation, tens of thousands of filthy fans filed to one of the festival's largest stages for the only unrivaled performance, which closed out the three-day music marathon. Without a hiccup or delay, the thoughtful UK group began their inspiring concert with "Square One," the first track off of their latest album, "X&Y." The melodious rock, angelic voice and introspective lyrics could have been enough, but the group added little extras that really added up. With "Yellow" came the perfectly synced release of giant, golden balloons from the stage front, bouncing peacefully until song's end when they gracefully disappeared (although Chris Martin jokingly popped a few stragglers with his guitar neck). "Politik," "Clocks" and "The Scientist" all made the playlist with eye-catching visual displays projected onto big screens. But it was the newer songs that really showed Martin's passion for his craft. A spotlit, piano-playing Martin captivated the audience with the sentimental and sweet "Fix You" to close the show, inspiring hugs and swaying throughout the park grounds. Coldplay's smooth show fared like a well-oiled machine with not a note or step out of place, turning out to be the perfect end to a long, hot weekend.