Britt Witt on February 24th, 2015

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Rains washed out the ski competition at Sunday’s second day of the Air + Style Festival at the Rose Bowl, and the weather thinned the crowd too, but the bands were troupers, slogging through their sets to the soggy masses. Umbrellas, anyone?

• ||| Photos by Zane Roessell

One thing for certain: Neither precipitation nor technical difficulties could hold back fans of the Flaming Lips. As Coyne said: “We’re always grateful for rain in California, so we won’t be complaining about something that is just a part of life and is so beautiful … Let’s all walk away from here believing [Air+Style] will take over the world!”

The Flaming Lips
Updates from Coyne himself were reassuring. A rainbow here, a sun there, mushrooms, twinkling tentacle lights and other stage antics made for the true Flaming Lips experience, and hearing songs we’ve all been listening to for decades made it more special. A few positive speeches and lots of smiles later, the crowd all sang along to the finale of the set, “Do You Realize.”

“I knew there’d be some anti-umbrella sentiment here. I thought about bringing an umbrella on stage the whole time but I knew you’d hate me.” — Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
The closest you’ll get to Edward Sharpe live is the recording of “I Don’t Wanna Pray,” and that doesn’t even do them justice — especially when Ebert is handing a mic over for you to sing the lyrics to the crowd. Surprisingly, the normally barefooted Ebert found himself on stage actually wearing shoes; must have been the rain. Nevertheless, Ebert conducted Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros with grandiosity. Seemingly spontaneously crafting today’s set, Ebert asked for requests from both the crowd and his band, feeling what would be best to come next. “I’ll Wash Out” turned out to be Mitchell Yoshida’s appropriate choice, as it’s “about rain.” After directing the audience to close their eyes to the bangs of bongos and interlacing instrumentals, Ebert thanked the crowd for the double entendre. As for “Home,” the crowd sang Jade Castrinos’ parts for a moment that felt like a wet hug.

Steve Aoki
Entering the “Neon Future” began with chants of “A-OKI” from the crowd. Sporting braids and a shirt with his own face on it, the DJ got right to business only glancing up from the tables to ask his crowd if they are ready to be in the future. “Delirious (Boneless)” excited the crowd when guest Kid Ink came out for his collaboration, but Matthew Koma was the real surprise, performing his under-wraps track with Aoki that will be on the forthcoming “Neon Future 2.”

Sleigh Bells
The explosive duo brought the most energy to the festival, Alexis Krauss and Derek Edward Miller standing tall and unleashing a rock set that made the crowd go wild. The crisp clarity of Krauss’ vocals were met by Miller’s stellar guitar stunts as they played everything from “Crown on the Ground” to “Comeback Kid,” “Infinity Guitars” and “Kids.” “AB Machines” compelled Krauss to thrust herself into the crowd and surf on the hands of her fans until she said, “OK, take me back to stage,” which resulted in a comical confusion of which way to go. “Who knows when we’ll play a song again so let’s do this right!” Krauss exclaimed, motivating her crowd to jump harder.

“To come here and play for you guys means the f*cking world to us!” — Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells.

Cults
Cults, too, expressed the utmost gratitude to their soggy onlookers after starting off the set with “Abducted.” Dressed in all black, the band still retains their sweet demeanor as guitarist Brian Oblivion introduced “You and Me Always Forever” saying, “This song is about perseverance and togetherness which I hope we’re all feeling right now.” As the rain fell during songs like “I Can Hardly Make You Mine” and “You Know What I Mean” the inherent romance of Cults grew strong enough to hope Madeline Follin and Oblivion could be a couple again.

Surfer Blood
“Floating Vibes” seemed a perfect opener for Surfer Blood’s set, but little did they know one of the heaviest parts of the storm would hit just minutes later, dividing the dedicated fans from the rain runaways. For those who took advantage of tunes “Say Yes To Me” and “Islands,” it was rain dancing, puddle-jumping and slip-and-fall moshing. Lucky for us, Surfer Blood graced the crowd with their new single “Dorian,” which live, has even more hints of Lilys.

Deap Vally
Kicking off the main stage, Deap Vally’s girl-power stoner rock blasted the light crowd, giving the field more of a living room feel. Donning a leopard print leotard, Lindsey Troy bellowed through songs like “Gonna Make My Own Money” and “Procreate,” while heavy-hitting drummer Julie Edwards whispered poltergeist-like vocals in their new song, sending waves of bass drum into the ether.

“That guy looks like my dad with hair!” — Julio Tavarez of the Black and the White

The Black and the White
The L.A. trio wasted no time winning the crowd at Air + Style, laying out their lush soundscapes and a stronger focus on the guitar riffs. They, of course, played their new single “Torn Up,” showing off more energy than the recording offers and motivating fans to search for upcoming shows.