Grade: A- | Genre: Brit and Prog Rock Summary: This was my fifth-plus outing to the festival, and each year is as satisfying as the last. If you're ever in the area during the festival season, I highly recommend you set aside at least one day to attend this weekend event. Date: June 11, 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA There's nothing like seeing your favorite bands live and in person. It's gives you the opportunity to connect faces and performances to the music with which you've filled every inch of your days. Saying, "I've heard their music" just doesn't compare to saying "I saw them in concert," because you can't see the raw emotion of an introspective song on a CD cover. When you get fans together with the common bond of love and adoration of the music, it's a good time to be had. There's nothing like being surrounded by complete strangers and being able to sing along to the same tune as if you've known each other for years. Atlanta's Music Midtown Festival is a dream for all those looking to be surrounded by acts spanning multiple genres while taking in some fresh air...or in our case, buckets of rain thanks to Tropical Storm Arlene. It's a taste of familiar flavors as well as a welcomed introduction to those you may not normally come across.

My first (and what turned out to be my only stop) was the 99x stage to see one of my picks for band of the future, Bloc Party. These guys are steadily moving up the ranks of music stardom and have built a small but loyal fan base in a city they have yet to tour until now. Frontman, Kele Okereke, admitted some fear playing an outdoor show in the daylight, which was evident early on in the performance. The crowd was sparse and meandering for this up and coming band, which was an adjustment for a group more comfortable in crowded dark nightclubs. Okereke and company quickly got their bearings though as they were able to focus on all of us who rushed the front of the stage. Some how, Bloc Party was able to make us feel as if we were at the Tabernacle, Atlanta's premier concert venue, where the only light source came from the music that shined so brightly in front of us.

Their debut, Silent Alarm, was pretty much played in its entirety, and the boys proved they have the chops to become a mainstay in the biz. When Okereke belted out, "Something glorious is about to happen" on the track "Postive Tension" you really felt it not just in the performance but as well as in the band's bright future ahead.

Next up on my schedule of must see bands were The Killers. However, for the two hours remaining before the start of their set, The Features, Keane, and Tropical Storm Arelene filled in the gap, which I'll let Mark tell you about.

When The Killers finally made it on stage, not only did they bring more rain to cool us off, but they also brought an Oasis-like swagger that commanded attention for these hipsters from Vegas. They are an aggressive mix of Robbie Williams meets Robert Palmer meets Depeche Mode with high style flare and synthesized melodies pumping adrenaline throughout the live crowd. Lead singer Brandon Flowers' confident cockiness rubbed off on the rain-soaked crowd, as he seemed to relish in the growing tensions mounting on an already anxious audience. If you were one of the poor souls daring enough to crowd surf in the area that I affectionately called, "The Black Hole," you learned that we weren't having any of it. Chants of "cut 'em down!" could be heard, and you knew exactly what it meant when you were dropped flat on your back.

Brandon Flowers was as straight faced as ever, and you weren't sure if he was enjoying himself or just reveling in the moment on the inside. Come on Flowers, give us a smirk or something. Your suit was perfectly pressed, keyboards were studded and sparkled like Paris Hilton's two-way and your water-proof mascara didn't smudged one bit in the rain. His stout stance definitely gave new meaning to the track, "Smile Like You Mean It." One of the bright spots to an already stellar show was the performance of "Indie Rock n' Roll" not found on their debut Hot Fuss. In between dodging the surfers that came raining down with Arlene, the audience became united as one as they all sang along to the lines, "It's indie Rock and Roll for me / It's all I need." It definitely warmed the heart, and I couldn't wait to download the track the first chance I got. This was a standout show, and one that I will definitely have to revisit when they storm back into town.

This year's Music Midtown Festival saw a great line-up of bands including the White Stripes, Common, and the The Pixies and has become a fixture in the Atlanta music scene. This was my fifth-plus outing, and each year is as satisfying as the last. If you're ever in the area during the festival season, I highly recommend you set aside at least one day to attend this weekend event.