Kevin Bronson on May 29th, 2012

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@KRBronson on Saturday at the Silverlake Jubilee:

The Silver Lake Jubilee proved to be the Little Festival That Could this weekend – the 3-year-old event staged by the Los Angeles Arts & Athletics Alliance, which benefited a variety of charities, ramped up its musical offerings, ratcheted up its ticket prices and still managed to maintain its neighborhood-y feel – at least, judging from the number of babies in strollers and dog owners parading their pets down Santa Monica Boulevard.

The lineup, anchored by solid headliners on two main stages each of the festival’s two nights, was a bit hodgepodge as the Jubilee endeavored to rep L.A.’s indie-rock, underground, electronic and Latin scenes. But that also meant there was an aesthetic for everybody. After the jump, the Top 10 highlights from Saturday’s festivities:

Biggest Signs That the Jubilee Is All Grown Up Now
Headlining sets by Kinky at the Sunset Stage and Autolux at the Hoover Stage proved exactly what festival-goers who shell out $20 for a general-admission ticket should expect. Kinky’s Latin-flavored electro party anthems got the crowd at one end of the Jubilee bouncing, while Autolux’s arty guitarscapes rattled the windows of nearby apartment-dwellers down the hill. The overlapping set times made for a tough choice – or a brisk four-minute walk between stages.

Biggest Disappointment
Punk-rock quartet FIDLAR had to cancel its evening appearance on the Sunset Stage because frontman Zac Carper was suffering from the flu. But …

Biggest Revelation
… the Record Company, slated to play a 7:30 bar set in the Eagle, toted their gear up Santa Monica Boulevard to fill in for FIDLAR’s 6:35 slot and almost immediately won over the crowd with their irony-free take on Americana-soaked blues. Almost immediately, we say, because singer-guitarist Chris Vos had to overcome some hiccups early in the set. First, his guitar cable went south; then his guitar strap came unsnapped. With mates Alex Wood and Marc Cazorla ably keeping the rhythms, Vos recovered nicely. Whether playing acoustic, electric or lap steel, Vos wielded his Midwestern Everyman charm and vintage vocals to great effect. The Record Company has released but one 7-inch – go download the A-side here – but the material in their set begged for an album. Not that they would have had time to sell many; they still had that second gig to make. “Come join us down the street at the Eagle,” Vos said wryly. “We’re gonna go wrestle a bear.”

Best One-Man Spectacle
Youthful electro alchemist Robert DeLong took on the Sunset Stage by himself for a midafternoon set, and the crowd won. Armed with an array of sequencers, synths, MIDI pads, percussion and a joystick that warped his sample-heavy creations into something from outer space, DeLong mashed techno, pop and dubstep into sounds unique and danceable, perfect for his face-painted faithful. His trademark orange “X,” which adorned his gear, became one of the most recognizable logos of the festival. Favorite part: When the vocal sample “Robert Delong dot net” slowly morphed into a beat.

Biggest Drama During JJAMZ’s Set
The all-star pop quintet of James Valentine, Jason Boesel, Alex Greenwald, Michael Runion and Z Berg, playing selections from their forthcoming debut for Dangerbird Records, made for a fitting soundtrack to sunny, breezy afternoon, even as Berg’s beret kept slipping … and slipping … and slipping … and finally falling off. As wardrobe malfunctions go, it could have been worse, y’know.

Best Reason to Dash Over to the El Cid Stage
Portland-bred, L.A.-based Soft Metals laid out a half-hour set of experimental electronica – in Only in L.A. terms: mind-altering, weather-changing psychedelia, in a flamenco restaurant.

Most Optimistic Declaration of the Day (Which the Artist Then Backed Up)
“We’re gonna rock your festival fannypacks off with some acoustic Americana,” Leslie Stevens said in her made-for-Nashville lilt, “and I do believe that is possible.” Indeed it was and indeed she did. Though billed as Leslie Stevens & the Badgers, Stevens was accompanied by only one “Badger” – Jameson Hollister on pedal steel and electric violin. It was pure honey, right down to the part where the songstress noted that the stoplights at Hoover and Santa Monica, which faced the stage, were still working. Green light.

Best (But Not the Jubilee’s Only) Tutu
La Marisoul, the voice of Latin Grammy nominees La Santa Cecilia, got the crowd dancing with her lithe vocals, shimmying pink tutu and her band’s cumbia- and R&B-flavored rock. Their set’s energy belied the fact the band had just gotten back to L.A. from tour and had to rush to get the Jubilee.

Best (But Not the Jubilee’s Only) Crime Against Fashion
No idea where punk ragers XBXRX scored the cloth to make their toga-like (diaper-like? apron-like?) outfits. Maybe somebody in the neighborhood is missing their bedsheets. But the Alabama-bred, L.A.-based noisemakers did not disappoint. Nor did they seem to break anything or hurt anybody. Call it set a success.

Best Set for Jubilee’s Overall Vibe
The surf-rock stylings of the Allah-Las, hands down. For a bit of added percussion for its final song, the quartet even tossed maracas into the crowd … allowing as how “they’re left over from a friend’s wedding.”

Photos: Kinky, Autolux, the Record Company, Leslie Stevens, La Santa Cecilia and Allah-Las by Laurie Scavo. Robert DeLong, JJAMZ and XBXRX by Jeff Koga.