Monday, November 7, 2011



 

The sixth Fun Fun Fun Fest took place at Auditorium Shores this weekend, and I was on hand to witness every bit of it. Below you'll find my five favorite sets and a thought on the festival itself. Enjoy.

- Fun Fun Fun Fest Recap -

Purity Ring

I'm so happy that I went to check out Purity Ring even though I was feeling a bit hesitant in regards to how well I thought they'd do live. They ended up putting on (by far, might I add) my favorite set of the festival. Their custom instruments were neat, and I especially loved how the duo made all the electronic wizardy of their recorded material sound almost organic as it blasted out of the speakers. Just remembering it makes me wish I had gotten myself together and caught their set at Empire Automotive on Saturday night.

:Purity Ring - Belispeak:

Architecture In Helsinki

To be honest, I had zero expectations for this set. Not that I don't like this band live or anything, but mostly because I'm not a fan of their new material, and I figured that's what would take up most of their set. Nope! It was actually pretty balanced. Although, I should say it almost didn't matter what they played since they sounded so fantastic. I believe my brain will now forever yell "can't miss" anytime that Architecture In Helsinki rolls through Austin or anywhere close to me.

:Architecture In Helsinki - Heart It Races:

Hum

If someone were to classify my feelings on Hum then they'd probably have to place me on the "appreciation" side of things. With that being said, I got caught up in their set on Sunday night. In fact, while in the photo pit I found myself less concerned with taking pictures, and way more interested in just staring and watching the band kick ass. It was ridiculous. I don't guess I'll ever get the chance to see them play live again, but if I do I plan on being right up front with a huge smile on my face.

:Hum - Stars:

Mates Of State

I almost feel silly listing this band here. We've all seen them so many times and know exactly what to expect. Something solid, right? Unless, of course, you're drunk, and then singing-a-long to their overly cute pop tunes is as good as it gets. However, as I stood in the rain on Sunday afternoon I couldn't get over their energy, or how they actually sounded kind of tight for once. They even had a setlist that was light on the new stuff and heavy on their fan-favorites. Way to be, Jason and Kori (and the other two fellas).

:Mates Of State - Maracas:

Okkervil River

Just like with Mates Of State, I went into this figuring I knew what I was in for. For the most part, I got what I expected. Their set was pretty much in line with the other shows I've caught this year, and they sounded good. The surprise, however, came from Will Sheff, who seemed to be in some sort of destructo-mood. I was just entertained to no end as he thrashed around, fell, and knocked stuff over during nearly every song. It was weird, and I'd like to see such shenanigans from him again.

:Okkervil River - The Valley:

Honorable Mentions: Girls, Black Milk, The Thermals, Budos Band, Keep Shelly In Athens, Tune Yards, M83, Lykke Li, Spoon, Le Butcherettes, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Ra Ra Riot
 

A Thought On The Festival:

I hate to do this because I know it will make me sound like someone who hates change, but Fun Fun Fun Fest needs to be scaled back. Auditorium Shores is too big of a venue, and a third full day couldn't be more unnecessary. I think there's some need to keep making it bigger, and while maybe that's a good idea (I suppose all festivals want to do this), the production values don't seem to be on the same growth pattern. Many of the sets I saw over the weekend had multiple sound issues that ranged from low mic levels to poor mixes, and there wasn't much backstage that didn't seem sort of haphazardly thrown together. I get that the festival wants to have a sort of DIY feel to it, but a large amount of the things that happened over the weekend are inexcusable.

For the record, I love Fun Fun Fun Fest, and I will always support it as one of the best things about Austin. but it's starting to lose some of it's charm. My advice? Scale back to two days, find a smaller park (if Waterloo is unavailable), and focus on expanding the lineup through after-parties and not an actual third day. People don't remember the handful of great sets they saw, they remember dust, walking, sound issues, and anything that seemed like an afterthought on the organizers part, and that's why I say save face while there's still time.

- John Laird -



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