FYF Fest 2014, Day 2: The Strokes, Haim, Blood Orange, Tanlines and more on the Main Stage
Kevin Bronson on
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Reviews: The Strokes, Haim, Blood Orange, Tanlines, Mac DeMarco, Kindness, Pink Mountaintops.
You Should Have Been Here Because: All’s well that ends well, right? After a mess of a Saturday, FYF Fest went out of its way to be fan-friendly on Sunday, opening gates early, giving away free water, improving access to the Sports Arena and, in general, anesthetizing its growing pains overnight. Then there was the sea of humanity that flooded the main-stage area for the Strokes, the veteran garage-rockers who were retro before you were. It was jaw-dropping, even for knothole gang assembled on the sidewalk on Martin Luther Boulevard (we also saw fans tailgating across the street from the festival). It was the kind of headlining set you’d expect at the major festival FYF now obviously aspires to be – 17 songs, all the hits, a rough-around-the-edges version of “New York City Cops” as an encore and fans jostling this way and that for better position. “It’s chaos out there,” Julian Casablancas said, and maybe it was, compared to the less-claustrophobic expanse of, say, a polo field, but as with any festival, early arrivals were rewarded with a decent vantage point and latebirds were relegated to the sidelines and faraway places. The Strokes earned their probably sizable paycheck by doing what the Strokes have always done, but as FYF experiences go, it was strange: There was nothing distinctively FYF or even L.A. about their show. We could have been anywhere.
Postscript: We could have been anywhere.
– Kevin Bronson
You Should Have Been Here Because: When was the last time you saw three sisters rock this hard together? (Assuming you missed their recent Wiltern shows, that is.) After drummer Dash Hutton took his seat and allowed the beats of “Falling†to pulsate alone for a few extra measures, Haim walked out to a massive sea of fans cheering their brains out. The crowd had good reason to do so, too. Alana, Danielle and Este went from being in a cover band with their parents in the Valley to becoming international sensations with their classic rock-infused pop. The girls didn’t forget about their roots though. In between pop choruses of “If I Could Change Your Mind†and the hip hop beats of “My Song 5†(no A$AP Ferg guest appearance though), Haim had a jam session on stage with their rocking cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well.†Although performed often at festivals, it continued to serve as an important asset to the group’s live show. Of course, Este served as the sisters’ spokesperson with personal anecdotes from their teenage years. She also clued fans in on the fact that it was their guitarist’s birthday (“Happy Birthday, CJ!”) and that she would like to give him “shaking asses†for a birthday present. The crowd was more than happy to comply.
Downside: Haim closed with “Let Me Go,†but fans certainly weren’t ready to do that just yet.
Postscript:Â It seemed appropriate for Haim to play just before the Strokes since Danielle went on tour as guitarist and percussionist with Julian Casablancas just a handful of years ago.
– Seraphina Lotkhamnga
You Should Have Been Here Because: Basically, Dev Hynes is the new Prince. He’s tried every genre and succeeded every time, and Blood Orange is without a doubt the smoothest musical project he’s done. Hynes himself is bombastic thanks to his suave outfits and sensual dance moves, but Blood Orange’s set was truly heightened to a show when a handful of dancers, all dressed in white, came out to perform during the first couple of songs. In fact, his entire band was dressed in white, with the exception of his girlfriend, Samantha Urbani of Friends, who provided most of the female vocals that are on the record. No matter how many times one sees Hynes, he always seems to make the highlights of a festival and Sunday was no exception. Slaying the crowd with R&B and funk concoctions (with some saxophone in there, of course), newer jams like “It Is What It Is†and “Uncle Ace†went down smooth as whiskey and older songs like the slinky “Sutphin Boulevard†sent a massive groove out in to the crowd. Kindness (Adam Bainbridge) even came out to join the band on the last song.
Downside: Although “You’re Not Good Enough†is one of the best songs off “Cupid Delux,†it was a bit strange that Hynes chose to close with that song. Not only does it have a slower tempo than his other hits, but the song’s sentiment seemed wrong at such a fun moment.
– Seraphina Lotkhamnga
You Should Have Been Here Because: As the sun set, the duo of Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm – aka Tanlines – took the stage and set the tone for the rest of the night. With easy, breezy, percolating dance tunes the Brooklyn band played a solid set for festival goers with a handful of new songs from their forthcoming album, which Cohen announced would be “coming out s—as soon as possible.†As FYF veterans who played the festival two years ago, they were not shy about expressing their gratitude. “This is our favorite festival,” Cohen continued to gush. “We love you, Los Angeles.†Fans of the Strokes may have already started to claim their spots up front and center, but Tanlines was a nice way to soundtrack that trek to the stage. After sharing new material, the duo delivered their promise of “playing some old bangers that you all love†like their popular hit “All of Me†from 2012’s “Mixed Emotions.â€
Downside: Being in a crowd that big for the main stage provided some time to witness some really awkward dancing. Some people have great moves and some people just don’t. To each his/her own though.
Postscript: Gotta love watching security follow the clouds of smoke in the crowd, too.
– Seraphina Lotkhamnga
You Should Have Been Here Because: The main stage shimmered with heat at 5 o’clock even though the sun has lost some of its bite. Squinting into the furnace, diehard DeMarco fans cheered when Mac’s guitar was brought on stage. It was nuts to butts all the way to the soundboard in every direction. Mac DeMarco and his band took the stage precisely on time, clad in a Simpsons shirt and greeted the crowd with a jovial, “Whasssup! My name is Mac. We are from Canada and we are going to play you some rock ’n’ roll songs, okay?” Opening with the very appropriate “Salad Days†DeMarco let his gentle, guitar heavy rock float gracefully over the crowd. The set was divided sharply between DeMarco’s mellow, mumble-filled, easygoing music, and his sharp-witted banter with his band mates. They told stories of smoking meth, driving off a cliff in a bus, and punctuated the end of each song with a yelp that David Lee Roth would be proud of. Their stories were infinitely more engaging than the actual set, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. The set ended with “Still Together†which showed off Demarco’s surprisingly strong falsetto. The crowd sang along to with varying degrees of success hitting the high notes, happy to give it their best shot.
Downside: If you didn’t like the first song, you probably wouldn’t like the third or the ninth. It was all pretty much the same vibe all the way through.
Postscript: During sound check, DeMarco kept chanting, “Andy White. Andy White. Andy White is 16 years old and a virgin.” It turns out Andy White is their new guitarist.
– Molly Bergen
You Should Have Been Here Because: Let’s be honest. When you look at press photos of Adam Bainbridge – aka Kindness – his lanky limbs make him look rather delicate. That is until you see those lanky limbs flying everywhere as he dances to his own disco-funk on the main stage with a bunch of friends. With two backing vocalists and a live band that included Blood Orange’s drummer and keyboardist, Bainbridge somewhat lived up to his moniker as he got up close and personal with his fans. Stripping his navy blazer (a part of a navy suit) but keeping his fashion-forward hat, Bainbridge took his energy all over the stage and down into the pit as well. Dev Hynes of Blood Orange (with whom Kindness is currently on tour) even came out to take part in the fun with the crowd for a song. Even with Mac DeMarco fans awaiting the most recently crowned king of slacker rock, there weren’t many people sitting still has everyone shimmied to funky bass lines, horns and big harmonies. Oh, and that cover of the Replacements’ “Swingin’ Party†was interesting.
Downside: Kelela’s set in the Arena overlapped with Kindness’ show time, so they missed the chance to perform their most recent single “World Restart†(also featuring Ade) together on stage.
Postscript: It’s always refreshing to watch someone dance with reckless abandon. Groovy, man.
– Seraphina Lotkhamnga
You Should Have Been Here Because: You could do a lot worse that start your afternoon in the breezy shade (most of the small crowd of early arrivals were ensured a spot out of the sun) listening to grizzled fortysomething Stephen McBean and gang dispense their propulsive mix of classic rock and psychedelia. Heavy on material from this year’s made-in-L.A. album “Get Back” (Pink Mountaintops’ first in five years), the set got a little samey after 20 minutes. But they only played 30, kicking off nicely with “Ambulance City” and including McBean’s paean to 1987, “The Second Summer of Love.”
Postscript: There were already a gaggle of people in vintage Strokes shirts on the rail at 3 p.m., with two insisting to me they were there to stay until the headliners.
– Kevin Bronson
Photos by Zane Roessell
The Strokes were epic, I liked how they played songs from their earlier and later albums, especially from “Room on Fire”, my personal favorite. I was wondering what the Strokes could have done to make their performance more “distinctly L.A.”, maybe banter about being in southern California?
Loving Haim! Their video with a$ap Ferg is awesome!