!!!
6:30 p.m., Main Stage One
It took all of one song for !!! singer Nic Offer to whip the Main Stage
crowd into wild abandon; by the end of opener "AM/FM," from last year's Strange Weather, Isn't It?,
Miami Horror was a distant memory.
If the band's hypnotic grooves and
electronic textures are the attraction on record, live !!! is all about
Offer.
He thrust his hips, humped one of the Dos Equis banners flanking
the stage, jumped into the audience and fellated his microphone like
some randy amalgam of Mick Jagger's cocky strut and Napoleon Dynamite's
sweet dance moves.
Another frontman, Wayne Coyne, came to mind midway
through when Offer donned a flashing LED-accented white sportcoat, then
James Brown when he commanded the band: "Hit me one time... Now hit me
two times!"
The setlist leaned generously toward newer material, including an especially energetic drawn-out take on "Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass" and a funky breakdown of "Steady As The Sidewalk Cracks" (both from Strange Weather).
The LEDs on one side of Offer's magic coat blinked out by the throbbing closer "Heart of Hearts" off 2007's Myth Takes -- would not be surprised if his sweat-soaked T-shirt caused a short -- but Offer's batteries still seemed fully charged.
"Thank you Denton, it's been an honor to play for you and an honor to open for Big Boi!" Offer shouted at the end of his band's set.
He may have been honored, but he and the band had made clear they very much deserved the coveted spot opening for the Outkast legend.
