FUN FUN FUN FEST Day 2 pt 1

FFF Fest Day 2. The Return of the King

Special thanks to Jay Longoria for lending his writing skills and enjoyment of the event to give you this over view of FFF Fest 2014, Day 2!     

So, the word on the street (by which I mean "the Internet") was that the first day of Fun Fun Fun Fest did not exactly get off to a smooth start. Fest-ers experienced huge delays to get in and had to stand in long lines that purportedly stretched from the festival front gate on Riverside Drive to back across the South First Street bridge. If you're familiar with this part of downtown Austin, I don't need to tell you how utterly crazy that sounds. While I'm not sure how that fiasco happened, I can happily attest that FFF's organizers learned from it and made sure that shit like that did not happen on Day 2!

(The view from the corner of South First and Caesar Chavez. Note the lack of insane lines of people.)

     I walked to the Fest from my parking spot downtown and at no time did I encounter a wall of impenetrable human traffic. On top of it all, the weather was great, with the sun shining in a mostly clear sky. As I walked up to the front gate I started to feel pretty stoked for a full day of...well...fun fun fun.

((

(The road leading up to the front gate, also blessedly free of human traffic jams.)

Now, I have to preface this by saying this was my very first experience at Fun Fun Fun Fest. For years, I had always meant to come to one, and kept putting it off. But, I finally decided to pull the trigger when I found out that day 2 would be headlined by none other than the great and legendary King Diamond (more on that later!)

  











                                                (Nice day, not too crowded. And, King Diamond's playing later? What more can you ask for?)

I got in at around 1p.m., grabbed a beer, a schedule, and started wandering around while I waited for the first act I wanted to see, Glassjaw. I passed by the wrestling ring where an Impact Pro Wrestling match was just starting. These guys went all out in the classic pro wrestling style, complete with flips off the top rope, suplexes, closelines, and plenty of braggadocio.

(Wrasslin')

     

Glassjaw (http://glassjaw.merchdirect.com), is a post-hardcore (a.k.a. screamo) band hail from Hoboken, NY and are known for the controlled chaotic sound of their music. I used to like this band about 10 or so years ago and actually had one of their albums, Worship and Tribute.

                            (Glassjaw)

     

They played as tightly live as I remember them sounding on record. I wasn't familiar with any of their other recordings, but I found I recognized quite a few of the songs in their set as coming off that album. Their vocalist, Daryl Palumbo, thrashed and convulsed around the stage, effortlessly going from sweet, melodic intonations to ear shattering screams. Despite his mostly aggressive vocal style, the dude can actually sing. Overall, I can say that Glassjaw were definitely an energetic live band and their interesting--at times technical--song arrangements did not suffer for it. Good show, gentlemen.


Afterwards, I made my way across the grounds over to where the Blue Stage was located to wait for the next show on my "to-see" list: 

                          (Gary Numan fucking rocking it)

Gary Numan (http://www.numan.co.uk). When I was planning my trip, I was intrigued to learn that Numan, a recognized innovator in electronic/industrial music, was on the bill. I figured, "why not?" This decision turned out to give me the most completely unanticipated yet pleasant surprise of the whole day. Gary Numan kinda fucking rocks!

Listeners who are only familiar with Numan's enduring hit, "Cars", should do themselves a favor and check out some of the rest of his work. Every song he performed shined with an edgy brilliance that drew you in, got your head nodding, and made you raise your hands in the air after it was over. While I had previously only thought of him as a "new wave" artist, it appeared that he'd adopted more of an industrial rock style somewhere along the way. The effect was his songs had a more modern, and harder, edge to them. It was not hard to see why he's considered so influential in this particular genre. I had originally only planned to check out part of his show so that I could trek clear across to the other side of the festival to see Fred Armisen.  It only took a couple of songs into Numan's set to make me change that decision.  No regrets there, really.

  

Speaking of Fred Armisen (http://www.fredarmisen.com) when I finally joined the crowd watching his already-in-progress performance, I found him on stage with a guitar in his hands and a backing band behind him, rolling through a set of selected cover songs. Shortly after I arrived, he was joined onstage by none other than J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. for a rendition of Dinsosaur Jr.'s "Feel the Pain"--which is probably the only song by that band that I remember from back in the day. He was also joined by Tim Kurr of Austin punk pioneers, the Big Boys, and performed said bands' song, "Sound on Sound."
                                                                                                                   

(Fred Armison rocking with J Mascis.)

I wish I could say I felt differently, but I was a little disappointed that Armisen was not doing a stand-up or sketch comedy set of some sort. I heard my thoughts echoing in the conversations of the people around me.  While his musical performance was great and Armisen is obviously a talented musician, a showcase of his skills as a comedic performer was decidedly missed.

 Day 2 Part two to Come!

Written by:

Jay Longoria

edited by: William Tompkins

LATERS

'Sirens' - by Hydrogen Child

Are they the literal sirens, are they the sirens in your head, or the sirens that lead one to his fate and doom?

Listen to the new song and watch the video from Hydrogen Child here - (http://youtu.be/6ekXuQiF6mo).

I had the pleasure of sitting with the band early on and through part of the interview was dropped a tasty little morsel about something upcoming called "Hydrogen Child" (after being 'hushed' by his band mates) I know see the light.

And that light is awesome. So let me put my spin on 'Sirens' by the band Hydrogen Child. I listened to the song first to get my sonic impression, then I watched the video.

'Sirens' is a fun pop - tune that has almost an 80's twist to the sound. It is catchy, sing along worthy song, and most definitely would have the entire crowd at a live show participating!
Beyond this is once again the amazing voice of lead singer Ansley Rimmer (congratulations to the former Ms. Ansley Hughes). Almost hidden by the music and the chorus tracks, but not quite. The sound of her voice is beautiful and distinct. As you listen you can hear Ansley's sly little smile come through. 
 

Musically it comes together and works so well. The core mix of the bass and drums is absolutely perfect. The guitar work is subtle yet quite clean and exacting for this song. If the keyboards were left out there is no doubt the sing would completely go flat. Again, as you listen you realize Hydrogen Child has something big on their hands.

As for the video. Not completely unusual for this band if you have known them in their previous incarnation. The video is a prefect introduction to the band, both stylistically and musically. Here his where the beauty of lead singer, Ansley, shines through. That wry little smile you hear in her voice grabs you as you watch and you will find yourself smiling and singing along before it is over.

Put it on repeat. Listen and enjoy. Watch it and be spellbound!


Laters

He's a cowboy baby

So I had a full amazing weekend of fun at the Circuit of the Americas  (http://circuitoftheamericas.com). Formula 1 is understandably one of the biggest sports in the world, outside of World Cup Soccer, for a reason. The fans are fanatical. The information they can tell you about the drivers, the cars, and the teams is mind boggling. The excitement of watching these cars blast around the world class facility that is the Circuit of the Americas is brilliant fun.

Being my third year at the F1 races I am every bit hopeful it will not be my last. Being able to take in the crowd, the excitement, and beauty of the cars is so worth the sunburn and exhaustion when it is all over. An interesting note is that on 2 separate years I have either had friends or family members go...their final thoughts were opposite to mine for the overall experience. Slightly saddening and disheartening, but happy the world crowd shows up to enjoy.

The Austin360 Amphitheater (http://austin360amphitheater.com)was recently titled as one of the best venues in the United States and one of the best NEW venues in the World! How lucky we are here in Austin. If you haven't been there yet, check out the calendar of events pick a show and a time, go, and be a part of that award winning facility. For me, over the year plus that the Amphitheater has been here, I have been blessed to see all sorts of performances here.

From country to metal, I have experienced a wide variety of music at the Austin360 Amphitheater. This evening it was rock...Kid Rock to be precise. Opening his set with Devil without a cause brought the entire crowd to their feet. As it should be at most any show, stand up and show the performer the love and joy of being their for the music and the show. And a show this was!

Kid Rock (http://www.kidrock.com) was energetic, all over the stage, and performed the show as if there was no tomorrow. I sure hope that every person in that crowd that brought their children knew what to expect. It was, in the performers own words, Mutha fuckin KIIIDDD RROOOOCCCKKKKK! The whole performance by Kid Rock was completely exuberant. Kid Rock sang and rapped. He did country, pop, rock, and metal.

Hearing the songs on the radio is one thing. Hearing the songs live and all together is a totally different experience. What I heard I didn't expect. Kid Rock does a ton of covers. He does them well. He re works them. Kid Rock puts his lyrical spin on them, but I never noticed or realized just how many songs really aren't his. It was very surprising and some what of a let down, but the show was just that...a great show!

Kid Rock showed his flexibility as a musician by not only using his voice, but was all over the stage playing other instruments as well. He played guitar for one song, then piano, drums, and even took his turn on the 1's and 2's for a quick DJ set. It was completely as it should be for everyone, entertaining entertaining, entertaining. It really was baww wit DA baw...bad ass. Explosions, fire, and fun it was Kid Rock.

For the crowd in attendance it was just as it should be, on your feet, singing along at the top of your lungs, cheering like a freak, and having just a plain old great time...with an American Bad Ass.

Laters