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FunFunFun Fest 2013: Overcast and Such A Blast

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In the grand scheme of concert things this year, I opted for the 3 day juggernaut for ACL.  Well, Sunday rained out and I was left with a refund.  FunFunFun Fest 2013 was not so hot for me line up wise this year and I decided to skip it.  But then I figured, why not make up for the missed Sunday and do it for FunFunFun Fest.  I am so glad I did. Continue reading FunFunFun Fest 2013: Overcast and Such A Blast

Fun Fun Fun Fest Felt Fantastic


Hey it’s another month and it’s another music festival for me!  This time around, we have a mash up of metal, rap, techno, spoken word, comedy, skateboarding, punk, and jalapeno milkshakes.  Yeah, it’s everything I always wanted at a music festival that was not at the other bajillion music festivals I’ve been to.  So what is it, pray you say?  Well, it’s the Fun Fun Fun Festival!  And I rocked it out at the Auditorium Shores last Sunday.  I’ve recovered just enough to talk about.

Okay so first off, the setup was a little unexpected.  Sure, there were beer tents, smoke tents, food tents, and merch tents but there were some wacky things there as well.  What first struck my eye was the Anarchy Championship Wrestling ring setup in the middle of the field.  That made the closet wrestling fan in me happy.  Toward the back I got to chill in the El Camino Lounge.  Yup, that’s right, an area full of beat up El Caminos to sit in.  Right next to it was the skateboard ramp.  Fun times indeed.

Now let’s talk about the shows:

  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnjRkvldK08[/youtube]
    First up were The Crooks.  They are a local Austin country band but they seem to be a little bit more grungy and twangy.  It was the only country act of the day and it felt right to kick it off with something not completely expected.
  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMXYscPKKRI[/youtube]
    Asobi Seksu
    seemed to bring a J-Pop twist to some rock and roll.  The lead pads were and sweeping beats made it its own.  I also dug the Jesus and Mary Chain cover song.
  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E91hUzSSGb4[/youtube]
    We Were Promised Jetpacks
    surprised me.  I heard of them before but I didn’t really know their story.  My best description of them are Scottish by epic music.  The guitars rocked out but I would’ve like to have heard more solos.  That said, I loved the driving sound they pounded out.
  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI82p0qwbnE[/youtube]
    There was a break in the action and I found myself drifting toward the Zero Boys set.  Who says you are too old to punk out?  The grey haired dudes in this band provided the first mosh pit of the day.  Good job, punk geezers.
  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hxayy6pkag[/youtube]
    Austra
    turned around as their spacey hippie rock mellowed things out.  I didn’t know there were three female singers, so the harmonies make more sense now.  Out of the lineup I saw, their music is still stuck in my head, even though they dressed like early 90’s hip hop artists.
  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9NxcObcKQE[/youtube]
    Baths
    were next after I bailed from the Frank fail of lack of Slayer dogs.  It’s just one dude doing some chill beats.  Think of him as the white version of Com Truise.  Yes, they both are groove grillers.
  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7hQi6cR1o0[/youtube]
    Speaking of groove, Del The Funky Homosapien brought the house down with his unique lip smacking.  He drew back on his career of guest spotting doing some Deltron 3030 and even the Gorillaz Clint Eastwood.  His original stuff is just a bouncy.  Great set indeed.
  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkq9ZmXcQsc[/youtube]
    Flying Lotus
    turned my head upside down.  What went from the Adult Swim soundtrack is now Thom Yorke’s best buddy.  His beats are not unlike Baths, but he pulls references from all over the place.  He also buzzes and grinds more.   The last song had the whole field bouncing.
  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVcTW0y_iRw[/youtube]
    |I wanted to catch a little bit of Diplo and I’m glad I did.  It seems Diplo cleans the buzzing from Flying Lotus and makes it more bloopy and bleepy.  It was pure techno and he educated the crowd how they do it overseas.
  • [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu4hKUetxWU[/youtube]
    Lastly, it was face melter time.  That’s right, Slayer closed out the day and the festival.  I was hoping they would play some songs that I was more familiar with, but I will take the pure genius of the rest of the music.  To think that these guys were around in the 80s and still are one of the heaviest bands out there is a testament to their legendary status.  If you need metal, you can’t go wrong with Fucking Slayer.
All in all the day was fulfilling.  The bucket list of bands I enjoy that I needed to see shrank greatly.  My biggest regret was the Texas Popper from Handshakes.  Oh it was delicious, but I did not expect that much jalapeno juice in my chocolate shake.  It took about half of the day to recover from that.  I’m still happily recovering from the tasty tunes of Fun Fun Fun Festival.

 

Happy Record Store Day!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to wish everyone out there a happy Record Store Day!  Every April, the vinyl record store owners across the world band together and celebrate the regal round objects that are vinyl records.  Today found me crate digging at Vinyl Renaissance and Zebedee’s RPM.  The pull was decent and so was the schwag.

The schwag consisted of some sampler cds, postcards, buttons, and stickers.  Very nice indeed!  Although the 429 Records All-Stars claims to be the best in alternative yet they sport Cracker and Everclear on the compilation.  What’s up with that?  My guess that’s why it was free.  Anywho, here’s my pull:

  • Peter Gabriel/Stephin Merritt : A single where they cover a song of each others
  • Gorillaz – White Flag:
  • Muse – Exogenises Symphony (Parts: 1-3) : After their show at Stubb’s I will get anything new by these guys
  • Paul Simon – Graceland: I think I already have this, but I had to get another copy.  One of the greatest openings ever on an album lives on this bad boy.  I’ll even go as far as to say it’s one of the best albums of the 1980s.

It’s not too late.  Hop online and buy some 45s from the online stores.  If you’re lucky enough to have a record player, plop down your favorite LP and just sit back.