Paolo Nutini
Anyone even remotely familiar with both Paolo Nutini’s MySpace page and Friday’s ACL lineup knew to expect an acoustic rendition of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” The surprising part wasn’t just that the 19-year-old Scottish songwriter actually pulled it off, digging deep into some Van Morrison-like soul, but that Nutini, who has yet to release an LP here in the States, managed to hold his own on the main stage and even garner an encore. Fronting a quartet, he started things off with a few recognizable tracks from his Live Sessions EP, released this week on Atlantic, including his cheerful, bouncy ode to “New Shoes” and the seductive, slow ballad “Last Request,” which was met with a shrill cry of “You’re sexy” from a few ravenous teens. A keen cover of the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Daydream,” whistling included, added a jaunty breeze to the summertime feel of “Kissing Rainbows” and “These Streets.” The sexual tension of “Loving You,” (sample lyric: “Let’s get down and freaky baby”) stirred up the first sweat of the weekend. In fact, it’s safe to say that Nutini was making the audience “Crazy.”
This article appears in September 22 • 2006.