Grade: B+ | Genre: Alternative Rock Summary: White Stripes introduced their new album with passion and intensity, electrifying the stage while Interpol left a bit to be desired. Date: June 10, 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA The wait is finally over and Music Midtown is here, taking over Atlanta. It is the biggest musical event of the year for the city, bringing in around 100 bands performing on six different stages. It is an eclectic mix of sounds ranging from the top names in modern and classic rock to rap and country. There is a little something for everyone here and everyone who loves music is firmly planted at Midtown. The event promoters expect 75,000 people to be in attendance over the three-day music festival. It is a massive undertaking to coordinate all these bands, vendors, and traffic control issues without the event descending into mass chaos, but somehow they pull it off.

Over the next couple of days, we will bring you some of the best in music today from Keane, the Killers, Bloc Party and Tift Merritt. Last night, the focus was reserved for the White Stripes and Interpol. Not only is this my first Music Midtown, but it also marks my first glimpse of each of these bands in a live setting. Arriving early, I strolled around the sprawling festival to really get a feel for this event. There were throngs of people there yet shy of what I would witness later in the evening. There were vendors selling all sorts of fun stuff. While the bratwurst I had lacked that special zing you get from the real deal in Germany, it was enough to afford me the energy to take on Interpol.

Interpol performed on the 99X stage, which was setup in the Atlanta Civic Center parking lot at the corner of Piedmont Ave. and Ralph McGill Blvd. It was an enormous stage, catering to the astounding crowds expected to come. Interpol came out in their snazzy black suits, dressed to the 9s in their peculiar new wave regalia much like you see with the Killers and Franz Ferdinand. As soon as the first chord of "Next Exit" was struck, it was like Joy Division was breathed back to life. The songs rolled off their guitars like a fresh new toy waiting to be played with. The music was very sharp and calculated as they segued each song into the next.

There is another problem here that was completely out of their control -- opening for the White Stripes. A quick note to all the rock bands out there, you should never open for the White Stripes. If you do, you are seriously asking for some trouble. It's like poking a sleeping giant with a stick. You may get away with it a couple times, but sooner or later he going to wake up and slap you across the kingdom. Jack and Meg came out in absolute stellar form. They were both in their patented red, black and white attire. Is this a coincidence these are the colors of the mighty Georgia Bulldogs? I think not. With zero regard for the humidity, Jack White was in a full suit that made him look like a traveling mariachi. He was certainly dressed for the event.

They ripped open their guitars, inciting the crowd, which was already pretty hot and bothered. The feeling was magnetic as their Detroit blues-rock explosion splattered all over the place. In the early goings, they gave us their latest single "Blue Orchid" which received a rousing reception. It was an interesting journey from that point as they interwove the entries from the new album with their more established material. Their performance was passionate and threatened to ignite the air around us. Meg was sexy as hell as she blistered those poor drums like a wicked dominatrix until they gave her every sound that you can suck from a percussion instrument. Jack was leaving it all on the stage. He was sweating buckets and you could tell his heart and soul was dedicated to every note. It was a great start to their twenty-date tour to support their latest release Get Behind Me Satan.

The only problem was that the new material is so bleeding edge and a slight departure from their signature sound that the crowd seemed a bit bewildered. A lot of people were standing around on some of the more electrifying numbers on the latest album. It is hard to pin down though since the album was just released Tuesday and most people probably hadn't heard it yet. Maybe this was just a case of the audience trying to digest a plate of unfamiliar songs. It would be interesting to see an audience reaction later in the tour as well as the reception that the new album gets at the cash registers. It is a very unconventional piece. To read more on this great work, please check out our review on Get Behind Me Satan.

It was a fun evening. We managed to sidestep the rain for the most part. There have been reports that we may get to wrestle with the remnants of tropical storm Arlene, but the only rain we saw was a light sprinkle that seemed to cool off the deep humidity. There was a sea of people, especially during the White Stripes performance. Looking back from where I was standing, I couldn't see where the audience ended. It was amazing how many people were filling that parking lot.

If you haven't had the pleasure yet, I'd definitely recommend picking up the latest album from the White Stripes as well as Interpol. On deck for today, I will be checking out Keane and Tift Merritt, and I'll probably find myself another interesting act in the break separating the two. Patrick will be over at Bloc Party, the Killers and perhaps part of Common's set. Definitely check in over the next two days as we continue to roll out our featured coverage of Music Midtown. If this weren't enough to whet your musical appetite, I will be pulling double duty this evening cutting out of Midtown early to head down to Decatur to catch the semi-annual Open Mic Shootout at Eddie's Attic. Watch for that review as well early next week.