I always have such high ambitions heading into festivals. I plan on maximizing my time and catching as many bands as possible. But for some reason, it never quite works out like that. Factor in the heat, the need for a little downtime, bathroom breaks, food and beer runs, and my day didn’t go quite as planned.
I only stayed for one song by No Age (they got a late start and I was on mission to catch Animal Collective on the other side of the park). I ended up being mobile during most of The Hold Steady, but they sounded great in passing. And I skipped Fuck Buttons all together (instead I just planted myself along the side of the Aluminum Stage to check out the folky Fleet Foxes).
Vampire Weekend, perhaps the biggest buzz band of 2008, drew a huge crowd at their 5 p.m. set, but I only stayed for the beginning (I decided to make my way over to the Connector Stage to get a little closer for !!! at 6 p.m. ) I actually expected Vampire Weekend to play later since they’re the only band with a Saturday Night Live appearance on their resume. Their catchy, poppy songs sounded good live, but not nearly as good as they do on their self-titled studio album.
In a recent post, I commented on how festivals were so much fun because you get a chance to discover new favorites. Well, on Saturday, my two favorite shows came from the two bands I was looking forward to seeing most - !!! and Animal Collective. !!! (pronounced chk chk chk) may just have the most entertaining lead man in music. Their high-energy disco/punk/funk had more people dancing than any other show Saturday, but lead singer Nic Offer was the person getting down the most. Rocking short shorts, Offer is not shy about shaking his ass and flailing his arms for the masses. Their music is great, but Offer’s stage presence really adds to the live experience. I can’t help but have a smile on my face the entire time I’m watching this guy. The band tested out some new material, but also played some favorites from their latest album Myth Takes including set closer “Heart of Hearts.”
There’s no other group quite like Animal Collective. They’ve created an out-there, yet appealing sound that's uniquely their own. Their songs incorporate lots of odd noises, catchy harmonies, and vocals that can turn from singing to screaming on a dime. The foursome – Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist and Deakin – was a good choice for headliner, as their psychedelic, abstract rock probably wouldn’t have been the same without the psychedelic light show (and Geologist’s trademark headlamp) that accompanied the music. As the crowd funneled out on to Ashland Saturday night, almost everybody seemed to be singing, humming or whistling the Beach Boys-esque vocal harmony (whoo-ooo-ooo…) from Animal Collective’s set closer “Fireworks.” The hour long show ended promptly at 10 p.m. due to some strictly enforced curfew, but Animal Collective’s exciting set of controlled chaos was a proper way to close out a great day of music.
All in all, Saturday was a lot of fun. It rained until about 2:30 p.m., creating some muddy conditions in spots, but overall the mud factor wasn’t all that bad. And at about 4 p.m. the blazing sun made an appearance, but luckily some passing clouds spelled us from the intense heat.
