Dressed in a blue-jean version of Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” music video getup, Saint Motel frontman A.J. Jackson flashed a dazzling smile amidst an uplifting guitar and saxophone introduction. The sun made a sparkling guest appearance for the hourlong set on Sunday at the Miller Lite Stage at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
The thick mud threatened to keep concertgoers’ feet strictly planted, but Jackson’s vivacious stage presence and the rare glimpse of extra light provided reason enough for the crowd to engage with one another and get in motion.
The Los Angeles-based band opened with “My Type,” a single from their 2014 EP My Type and their biggest song to date, boasting over 500 million streams on Spotify. Jackson’s indie-pop crooning combined with frequent instrumental breaks sparked favor within the millennial-looking crowd.
The transition into “Destroyer,” an uptempo saxophone-forward track, saw Jackson leap from the stage and onto the barricade opposite the crowd, grabbing audience member’s hands and wildly attempting to engage uninterested listeners. The energetic frontman, who first played at ACL in 2016, pranced back to the stage and introduced “Fine Wine” with a compliment, stating that the crowd “gets better, and better and better” each time he returns.
Light, orchestral choir backing vocalization shifted into “For Elise,” where the audience started to become disengaged, waves of chattering overpowering Jackson’s performance. He continued to give it his all, oscillating between a keyboard and taking center stage to belt into the microphone.
He quickly reined the crowd back with the hit “Sweet Talk” from 2016 album saintmoteltelevision. The song’s triumphant saxophone bursts melded with the joyous clapping and boot-stomping optimism of the band, offering a short yet nostalgic glimpse of a time that social media widely agrees to be simpler.
However, the sanguine music began to blend together with “Puzzle Pieces,” “Free Refills,” and “A Good Song Never Dies,” where the difference between each instrumental break became increasingly difficult to discern. Nonetheless, Jackson’s desire to command the audience allowed the crowd to power through the quickly draining energy.
The 43-year-old introduced the track “Sisters” with a short monologue on found family, inspiring the audience to wrap their arms around another and sway to the song that samples The Shepherd Sisters’ 1957 hit “Alone (Why Must I Be Alone).”
The band played “Cold Cold Man,” whose whimsical keyboard introduction inspired audience members to raise their arms and shout the catchy, “You’re the only one worth seein’ / The only place worth bein’ / The only bed worth sleepin’s, the one right next to you” chorus back at Jackson. Saint Motel reinforced their place within the millennial indie pop-rock space with “Move,” delivering a compelling performance to close out the set.
