Mates of State
ACL Live Shots
Reviewed by Melanie Haupt, Fri., Oct. 3, 2008
Mates of State
Friday, Sept. 26, Zilker ParkIt hasn't been a problem at ACL for a few years, but an old ACL Music Fest bugaboo nearly torpedoed the first quarter or so of Mates of State's set. The sound-bleed from the gospel tent and AT&T stage was simply too distracting to ignore as married indie rockers Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel launched into a slightly out of tune rendition of "Now," from their recent album Re-Arrange Us (Barsuk). The set was peppered with tracks from old releases – "Like U Crazy" and "Think Long" from 2006's Bring It Back and "Goods" from the All Day EP – while also generously populated with new material. The couple didn't engage in much stage banter, only to introduce their supporting players and thank the audience for coming before closing things out with the sweetly hopeful "The Re-Arranger."
