ACL Fest Live Shots

Aimee Mann

It was the perfect way to begin winding the day to a close. Aimee Mann took the stage with just her guitar to sing her cleverly literate, melancholy, and melodic songs with the sun going down at her back. She was soon joined by Jamie Edwards on keyboards and Paul Bryan on guitar and harmonies for a sound so gentle that the steamy day seemed to fade noticeably. "Goodbye Caroline" was an ideal example of Mann's ability to integrate confidence and sensitivity, two traits she exhibited throughout her set. She followed with "Save Me," one of her best known tunes from the soundtrack to the movie Magnolia, a meditation of longing and resignation that matched a striking version of Harry Nilsson's "One," which was respectfully introspective. "I've always wanted to be Fiona Apple," the slim, tattooed, blonde singer-songwriter announced as she sat at the piano to perform a new song, "Nothing Is Good Enough," with a bouncing rhythm that belied its serious tone. Mann finished with "Deathly" sounding just hopeful enough but not too much, and with a final beaming smile left the assembled to face the night refreshed after some blissful moments of contemplation.