FFYF

I made it to the FYF yesterday. As music festivals go it was a lot of fun. The event organization was horrible. My friend and I showed up to buy tickets there and we blasted past the 2 hour wait will-call line that had formed for people who bought their tickets in advance. Not enough water stations and huge lines everywhere made planning your moves essential. But in spite of itself, FYF gave us the opportunity to have fun. Here are some of the highlights and missteps.

Warpaint

We got in a little late so Warpaint was just starting to play. It really got me excited for the rest of the day. This band is a tight all-girl foursome that veers towards experimental without getting pretentious. They reminded me of a combination of Radiohead and Mazzy Star somehow, although, I don't think that really fully describes them. Worth a watch if you can catch them.

http://www.warpaintwarpaint.com/

Local Natives

This band was the best one I saw at the festival. The live performance these guys have put together is pretty thrilling. Everyone in the group is incredibly talented and it was refreshing to hear such fantastic harmony work. It was one of those rare experiences where every song seemed to be better than the last. You can tell they are all having a great time up there and the excitement is contagious. I will be following these guys for the duration.

http://www.thelocalnatives.com/

Dead Man's Bones

The brainchild of actor Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields, Dead Man's Bones is more a live performance experiment than it is a band. A children's choir (dressed in costumes) accompanied them for a majority of their songs which was adorable. But Gosling and Shields didn't bring their a-game to the show. I had the sense that if one of the members wasn't an an oscar nominee, they wouldn't be performing in a major time-slot at this festival. What they lack in musical ability, they make up for in imagination, but the group never rises above its own novelty. After all the hype, it was pretty disappointing.

http://www.deadmansbones.net

!!!

Good ol' reliable !!!. They put on a great live show. But they are also a little evil. I have the impression that they would take that as a compliment. The energy of their songs is pretty hypnotic and soon after they start a show, the audience becomes a little evil too. !!! is a dance-funk group whose members perform on the stage as if it were an afterthought, or like they have better things to do, but somehow got wrangled into this damn performance. And they still manage to control you with their goofball banter and primal rhythms. I wonder what would happen if everyone dropped the ego act and actually concentrated on doing their thing. They should take a cue from the bass player who was driving the ship with the drummer. This band is worth catching for sure.

www.chkchkchk.net

Panda Bear

I love Animal Collective. I think Panda Bear is visionary. But taking in a challenging, alienating performance at the end of a long hot day must have been too much because I thought Panda Bear didn't live up to his reputation. Almost intentionally so perhaps. Panda Bear gave me the impression that he is like the Godard of live music shows without the political component - always experimenting, always trying something new, always subverting expectations and provoking his audience. But when you do that you don't always succeed. This potentially drives your audience away, but I don't think Panda Bear cares. He'll keep on being Panda Bear.

http://www.myspace.com/pandabear

All in all it was a successful day. I wish the organizers of the festival were more on top of it, but they probably got what they came for - a big bag of money. If you go to this festival next year, try to buy your tickets beforehand and avoid will call. Drink a lot of water before entry to stay hydrated because the long lines confound any attempts at doing so inside the venue. Note to organizer's - consider changing "yeah" to "you". It will be more honest that way.