LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Today at FYF Fest was one of the best days of music I've ever experienced. Maybe the single best. The Cap'n Jazz reunion could have been a cash in, but Mike Kinsella seemed unleashed compared to some of the recent American Football stuff. These bands must be a necessary release for him, just in different directions. I doubt he pays frisbee with a tambourine at American Football shows. Instant top 10 performance for me, even though I somewhat regret only coming perilously close to moshing. I really should have gone all the way with it.
I was a person or two back from the rail to see Built to Spill play Keep It Like a Secret. What can I even say to that? Of course it was perfect. Excellent musicians playing one of my favorite albums of all time. I could listen to live Carry the Zero once a week and never get tired of it.
I also got to see one of A Tribe Called Quest's last shows. Fresh off one of the best rap albums of the decade, they didn't even need to dip into their classics, but this show reinvigorated my love for Excursions and Buggin Out (which featured Raphael Saadiq playing the iconic bass part; yes, I did lose my shit). They did this insane fake out and did a three song encore even though they weren't headlining. What a way to go out.
The headliner was actually Frank Ocean. A certain breed of Frank fans would have hated this show because it was so sedate and featured only one Channel Orange track, but I found it to be one of the most beautiful and intimate performances I've ever witnessed, a perfect complement to the material. He had it set up to where he was essentially playing on a b stage with a small band, but you could see everything on a series of large, effects-laden screens. The speakers were rigged up in what seemed to be quadrophonic sound, so the music wrapped you as you listened, pulling you in further. His voice sounded incredible. He played most of Blonde. This was a very special gig that I feel grateful to have been to.
That's not even mentioning how good Mitski was. Go see her if you can. Her music is great and she's super humble. The only disappointment was that I had to skip Erykah Badu's set because she went out at least 20 minutes late. That sucked. Maybe some other time. Everything else was so fantastic that I won't let Erykah's crew ruin it for me.
@Martha: I also finally got to see Jonathan Richman. He's a riot. Really a great, charming act to get my day started. Not much Modern Lovers stuff, but I was more than happy with what I got instead, which was a bunch of really funny new material. He has this really stoic drummer with him and Jonathan seemed determined to make him laugh at any cost.
How he introduces a drum solo: "Hey, let's see what Tommy's up to!"
How he introduces a guitar solo: "Wow, look! A guitar solo out of the blue!"
Such a fun day.
I was a person or two back from the rail to see Built to Spill play Keep It Like a Secret. What can I even say to that? Of course it was perfect. Excellent musicians playing one of my favorite albums of all time. I could listen to live Carry the Zero once a week and never get tired of it.
I also got to see one of A Tribe Called Quest's last shows. Fresh off one of the best rap albums of the decade, they didn't even need to dip into their classics, but this show reinvigorated my love for Excursions and Buggin Out (which featured Raphael Saadiq playing the iconic bass part; yes, I did lose my shit). They did this insane fake out and did a three song encore even though they weren't headlining. What a way to go out.
The headliner was actually Frank Ocean. A certain breed of Frank fans would have hated this show because it was so sedate and featured only one Channel Orange track, but I found it to be one of the most beautiful and intimate performances I've ever witnessed, a perfect complement to the material. He had it set up to where he was essentially playing on a b stage with a small band, but you could see everything on a series of large, effects-laden screens. The speakers were rigged up in what seemed to be quadrophonic sound, so the music wrapped you as you listened, pulling you in further. His voice sounded incredible. He played most of Blonde. This was a very special gig that I feel grateful to have been to.
That's not even mentioning how good Mitski was. Go see her if you can. Her music is great and she's super humble. The only disappointment was that I had to skip Erykah Badu's set because she went out at least 20 minutes late. That sucked. Maybe some other time. Everything else was so fantastic that I won't let Erykah's crew ruin it for me.
@Martha: I also finally got to see Jonathan Richman. He's a riot. Really a great, charming act to get my day started. Not much Modern Lovers stuff, but I was more than happy with what I got instead, which was a bunch of really funny new material. He has this really stoic drummer with him and Jonathan seemed determined to make him laugh at any cost.
How he introduces a drum solo: "Hey, let's see what Tommy's up to!"
How he introduces a guitar solo: "Wow, look! A guitar solo out of the blue!"
Such a fun day.