FYF Fest: Dispatches from Donatello’s Stage

Kevin Bronson on September 5th, 2011

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[Buzz Bands LA and friends were out in force at this year’s FYF Fest. Part 2 of 4:]

Off!, The Strange Boys, Four Tet, Explosions in the Sky

Photo galleries: Concert photography by Scott Dudelson

Below, our capsule reviews:

OFF!

Highlight: Another blast of AARP-approved punk rock from Keith Morris and his band of conspirators, guitarist Dmitri Coats, bassist Steven McDonald and Mario Rubalcaba. Another mosh pit, sacrificing a cardboard waste bin to the gods. Another lecture on perspective from Morris, 55, who recalled his wild days in nearby Chinatown before performing his eulogy for the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce, who waxed nostalgic on his days in in the South Bay and who espoused goodwill and peace toward your fellow man after belting out the song “F*ck People.” Perfect. “Yes,” he said, “Uncle Keith is telling you eat your vegetables.”
Lowlight: Your AARP-approved correspondent was too hobbled to mosh.
Afterthought: With the Descendents, Kid Dynamite and the new generation of garage-rockers aboard, FYF was far more punk than Warped Tour.
– Kevin Bronson

THE STRANGE BOYS

Highlight: The young Austinites, getting better by leaps and bounds (an announcement of their third album “Live Music” should be coming soon), broke up their 40-minute set when frontman Ryan Sambol asked the crowd for requests and, jokingly abiding, the quartet did a verse and a half of the Family Stone’s “Everyday People.” Laughs all around. Beyond that, their chugga-chugga hybrid of ’60s soul and British Invasion pop went down like a fresh-squeezed lemonade.
Lowlight: While racing to catch their set, I caught a minute of That One Song by Cults.
Afterthought: The Strange Boys are ’60s revivalists who actually would have been popular in the ’60s.
– Kevin Bronson

FOUR TET

Highlights: U.K.’s Kieran Hebdan, aka Four Tet, drew quite the crowd for a one-man show. His talent for creating smooth hybrids of hip-hop, jazz, electronica and folk have worked in his favor, as there is an element for everyone in his music. Working the stage by himself, songs off of his album “There Is Love In You” seemed to effortlessly soar into the cool night. Those who needed a break from rock for the day found a haven in tunes like “Love Cry,” a standout trance-like song smothered in soul. Dust circles formed from a different type of movement during the evening.
Lowlights: Watching a man alone with his DJ gear on stage gets tiresome, and getting bumped by glow stick-toting teens made facing the opposite direction for Girls an easy task.
Afterthought: I just didn’t have enough alcohol in my system to enjoy this sound-warping as much as others did.
– Seraphina Lotkhamnga

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY

Highlights: “We’re Explosions in the Sky from Texas,” said Munaf Rayani. “It’s gotten a little chilly, so grab the hand of someone you love and join us as we go to the sky.” And with that, and with only the Lone Star Flag onstage as a visual, the instrumental rock quartet gave the night owls a true Coachella moment. Conversations stopped. Bodies moved closer. Eyes closed. Kids who’d been in mosh pits a few hours earlier sat silently and swayed. The cinematic sweep of their music really needs no words … in fact, maybe we’ve typed too many already. It was special.
Lowlight: Not a single one.
Afterthought: Even if you didn’t have anybody’s hand to hold, this set warded off the chill.
– Kevin Bronson