(I did not attend Day I, so don't expect any posts on that... Sorry!)
Day 2: Saturday, July 14thBecause of some train scheduling problems & confusions, we missed Califone (...shucks...) and Voxtrot (Meh?). (Hey, who ever said I was a professional blogger?) When we arrived, Grizzly Bear came on stage and addressed the sound issues that would plague every other performance of the festival. The most unfortunate aspect of this was that most of the performances were so incredible that a problem like sound was irritatingly unprofessional. A few of the best performances were butchered by sound problems, but I'll get back to that later. On with the festivities!
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All My Pictures***
My most anticipated band of the entire event came first, and I was transfixed every moment. Though this show probably would have flown better in a tiny venue with great acoustics, Grizzly's beautiful sound that I have grown so attached to adapted to fit the stage, and boy, was it brilliant. I've also never seen a band where everyone pulled so equally the weight of playing on stage, and they all had equal confidence. These are musicians through and through. My love for Grizzly Bear was only strengthened this weekend by seeing them live. If I can recommend one album to download that I've put up, be it "Yellow House."
Also, later we camped out near the 'B' stage waiting for Dan Deacon as we watched
The Oxford Collapse (...snooze...). After snapping
some creepilicious photos of Dan Deacon, we spotted who else but Chris Taylor & Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear, and... well, just look.
Then Dan Deacon came to the stage. Well, sort of. He set up his ancient electronics in the crowd, with the stage containing just the speakers. He then proceeded to be fucking hilarious, and extremely entertaining even before the music started.
Then, he kicked in, turning the area into a packed, overcrowded goofy dance-party. As this was at the smallest stage, I couldn't get close enough for enough quality pictures, as there was very little room. People started climbing trees like monkeys, jumping on the fences, all of it was begging for catastrophe. the fence near a busy street eventually collapsed, and a few people fell, but no one really got hurt, but they still pulled the plug on the show. The dumbasses always have to ruin things for the rest of us, don't they?
After Grizzly Bear (and the purchase of a neato t-shirt), I split up with the rest of my friends for 20 minutes to see Battles, another current favorite. They were very interesting to see live, as there is quite a large amount of cool work and instruments being used on-stage at once, so the performance was anything but boring.
After a little bit, I met up with my friends at Fujiya & Miyagi on the 'B' Stage. As much as I love their album, they just had too passive and overly computer-generated sound. This sound also came from two dudes standing on stage, barely moving. So, overall, fairly boring as a live show, but they played well, so I can't really penalize them for their sound.
Then we took a break, where my friends showed me what Yoko was handing out:
"the onochord". Essentially, if you haven't heard this, Yoko has reached such an artistic peak that she no longer communicates via
the words you simpletons so love (Note: I only speak your "Language" because I want to initiate you to the 45th century). She now communicates via
a flashlight. So that you too may make the big jump to the great Ono's "language", the only true one, of course. There is only one sentence in this language, a sentence of such simple, philanthropic message that I wonder where this goddess of rock & roll came up with it:
I Love You.
Aww!
Well, later in the night, we also found out that Yoko Ono doesn't enjoy using the simple words of the English language, but she has not completely renounced the vocal chords. From a half-mile away (as it was just too powerful and spiritual for me to understand, we left), I heard her piercing moans and they brought me to tears. Really.
...Nah. She sounded like a wildebeest being drawn-and-quartered.
Anyways, lets step back a second. Did I mention I saw Girl Talk?
And boy, did my new favorite DJ put on a show. I couldn't even get a good picture amongst the dancing party'ers on stage on either side of a giant blow-up spider, leaning over the mixboards of Greg Gillis, who was shirtless by the time we got up close. Ow Ow!
I didn't quite understand what was happening, but apparently Greg's set got cut short like Dan's. But, not without a little crowd-surfing first (and pondering why Dan Deacon doesn't ever do it).
The album starts off with the first 7 tracks by Akron/Family, who transform halfway through the record into Angels of Light when combined with Michael Gira (producer, member of Swans). This turns out incredibly, with a crazy-but-conscious roar of the first 7 tracks, which violate every genre barrier ever created. Then, the switch to Angels of Light with Michael Gira, featuring an incredible cover of Bob Dylan's "I Pity the Poor Immigrant."
Super Furry Animals carry an odd, psychedelic-pop style that's most easily explained and demonstrated through this album. The trademark unpredictable-but-subdued roller-coaster ride that is their sound rolls through the band's two varieties of songs, the insanely-lovable pop tunes, and the techno-esk, funky beats that manage to not disturb the flow of the album.
Beachwood Sparks sounds like a group of cowboys traveling through the desert, under the light of a trillion stars, stopping occasionally to marvel at their brilliance. The country-pop group dabbles in psychedelic, spacey harmonies which bring a beauty to the entire album that's rarely found amongst this type of music.
Though harnessing a lovably sweet sound and cute lyrics, Page France is anything but a shallow and hollow album. Page France is proving the same thing the Swedes have been doing: Just because you're cute doesn't mean you don't make real, interesting music with depth. The most refreshing bit of it all is how playful but solid their lyrics are, so there's never a dull moment.
Tunng brings a breath of fresh air to those of us who love the recent folk-music explosion. Electronic-folk outfit, Tunng mixes natural-sounding loops of folk instruments and alternating between beautiful vocals on some tracks and sampled clips from other media, bringing a very refreshing album that is simultaneously relaxing and peaceful.
I'll just come out and say it: I can't describe everything I love about Grizzly Bear. Aesthetically, the sound is so original and in such a chord that relaxes me into a lull with such a mind-invading beauty that can change mood more effectively then any death-metal bassists slamming away alongside a blood-curdling vocalist screaming with all the wrath of Thor the Thunder God behind him. Grizzly's beautiful vocals compliment the sound with such incredible cohesion that they sound as if they're just another instrument under the control of some great creator, and apparently I'm not the only one who catches themselves singing it.
As per request, from a very special lady...
