Seraphina Lotkhamnga on May 30th, 2012

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@Seraphina_L on Sunday’s Silver Lake Jubilee:

The Silver Lake Jubilee continued on Sunday and pulled in even more attendees than it did on Saturday. The weather was warmer and the neighborhood embraced that as a chance to stroll the streets one more day since it was a long weekend. Higher ticket prices didn’t seem to be an issue as people continued to walk in to the festival to enjoy food trucks, comedy, literary readings and music again. Even the face paint stations seemed to get a lot of action (or at least it looked like it). From elderly couples to toddlers dancing in headphones, there was plenty to be jubilant about this Memorial Day weekend.

Top 10 highlights from Sunday’s Jubilee:

Who Took It All (Well, Some) of It Off
Although Tremellow offered a rather raucous greeting (just think Silversun Pickups in their early days) toward the festival’s entrance near the Hoover Stage, the AV Club was calling with their indie pop melodies bouncing from the other end of the street. Upon walking up to the stage, it was obvious lead vocalist Austin Eastlee was feeling the sun. Deciding to go shirtless was an easy choice for him, and it may have even benefited the band as they began to promote their forthcoming EP shortly after.

Who Played Too Early In The Day
For one of the hottest acts to come out of L.A. this year past year, NO and their strong melodic rock deserved a bigger crowd. However, they made the best of their 1 p.m. slot as frontman Bradley Hanan Carter’s baritone relayed throughout the crowd. Playing their entire EP, including their hit “Stay With Me,” the quintet also played a few new songs which will surface on a forthcoming 7-inch.

Biggest Scheduling Puzzle
One of Silver Lake Jubilee’s strengths has always been giving up-and-coming bands the exposure. Batwings Catwings was an unknown name to many before Sunday, and they were pretty raw to be scheduled on a main stage after NO. Punk-ish lead vocalist Dana Poblete favors shout-singing, and if you’re a fan of those flat Mika Miko-like choruses, their “Peacock Collection” EP is available as a free download over at their website.

Classiest Performance of the Day
With the Lonely Wild‘s repertoire growing stronger with each song, it wasn’t surprising to learn that they had their creative juices flowing when they planned their Jubilee performance at the Hoover Stage. Whether it was a ballad or a rock song, Silverlake Contemporary Ballet dancers Richard Elszy, Heather Unruh, Quinton Peron and Samantha Lenarz provided a nice touch with their interpretative dancing. Beautiful choreography was provided by dancer Elszy and directed by Sheena Sisk.

Biggest Distraction
There was a moment that you would dread when walking back and forth between the Hoover and Sunset stages, and it was all thanks to the obnoxious Pepsi lounge that was blasting watered-down techno, house and pop music – basically the type of music you wouldn’t find anywhere else at the Jubilee. Although the free cans of Pepsi distributed by carts (with built-in stereo systems) was a nice gesture, what festival goers really needed was water. The horrible music and clichéd DJs almost made you want to run to the 7-Eleven and grab the “other” popular soda.

Sweetest Sister Act
Whereas La Sera catered to the hipsters who need their pop dipped in reverb and spit back out in repetitive “las” and “oohs” later in the evening on the Sunset stage, sisters Chelsea and Justine Brown of Summer Twins served up just the right amount of jangly pop for any fan of seamless harmonies. Their angelic, clever twee-pop, dusted with percussion, kind of made you wish you were eating an ice cream sundae instead of whatever curry meal you purchased from the India Jones truck.

Best Summery Vibe
Who needs Sasquatch Music Festival when you’ve got Incan Abraham offering one of the best sets to complete the summer festival vibe? Although the Gorge would have been a nice place to spend Memorial Day weekend, for 30 minutes, the quartet’s mid-day set of psychedelically swirling melodies made Santa Monica Boulevard the only place to be.

Who Added 25% More Rock (And Then Some)
Eastern Conference Champions have gained quite the reputation as a force to be reckoned with over the years – and that, as a a trio playing to pre-recorded bass lines. So it was with much anticipation when ECC introduced their new fourth member on stage Sunday. Bassist John Ransom Tucker (who has played in several L.A bands, including Warships) was introduced as “Handsome Ransom” and welcomed with applause. With a fourth member in tow, the band also revealed four brand new songs in their set, which they kicked off with their gang-drumming on “Atlas.” Look out for a new album in the future.

Who Dropped That Flavorful Twist
Talk about being eclectic. Maya Jupiter may be from Australia but her half-Turkish, half-Mexican ethnicity allowed her to embrace the Chicano culture in L.A. fairly quickly after she moved to further her rapping career. With hip-hop based on peace, love and equality, Maya Jupiter got the party started fast and she wasn’t slowing down any time soon. Fresh, thought-provoking and even family-friendly, Maya Jupiter and her backing band (members of Quetzal) put the cool in our night with a nice twist.

Best (And Most Stylish) Festival Closing
While the Soft Pack decided to go on early over at the Hoover stage (and tote a saxophone player), Aloe Blacc had no problem bringing it back the old school way over at the Sunset stage. Possibly the best-dressed person in Silver Lake at the moment, his feet began to glide on the stage as smooth as his vocal riffs ran in his big-band soul songs. He even went into a verse of “Rapper’s Delight” and split the crowd down the middle for a proper “Soul Train” line, but it didn’t end there. Blacc broke it down into a reggae beat during his hit (and final number) “I Need a Dollar” but didn’t leave the stage without bringing out a special guest: his wife, Maya Jupiter. Talk about togetherness.

Photo: NO, dancer with the Lonely Wild and Summer Twins by Jeff Koga; Aloe Blacc/Maya Jupiter, the AV Club, Easter Conference Champions and Aloe Blacc by Laurie Scavo.