Fun Fun Fun Fest Day One Coverage Featuring Kurt Vile, Johnny Marr, and Snoop Dogg

And then the fest was upon us. We ran almost thirty posts leading up to Fun Fun Fun Fest 2013, and we still couldn’t have prepared you for every moment of awesomeness that occurred during the past weekend. If you missed Fun Fun Fun fest, frankly, I feel sorry for you. From the outstanding lineup that featured an array of styles to the spectacle of the ride & skate program to the best festival food you’ve ever eaten to the glorious weather, Fun Fun Fun Fest 2013 succeeded in every regard.

Don’t mention to me how great the Tontons were, because I arrived just after their set on the first day due to a mix-up at the gear rental shop. I love the band, and I know they’re great live, so if you saw them, bask in that glory, but I don’t wanna hear about it. I began my day with Active Child since that’s who was up following the Tontons and I was standing around feeling sorry for myself. All weekend following their set, I kept wanting to call them “Angel Child” because frontman Pat Grossi’s voice could be aptly described by my unreliable memory’s fabricated moniker. Grossi played both harp and keyboards during the delicate and gorgeous set.

Moving over to the Blue Stage, I caught Poolside next, who had the crowd highly engaged for so early in the afternoon. The group’s beat-centered pop drifted out over festivalgoers and found the perfect balance between upbeat and chilled out. One of the set’s highlights had to be Poolside’s cover of Neil Young’s song “Harvest,” which prompted a conversation later in the weekend about just how much the famed songwriter gets covered and in what an array of diverse styles.

Back on the Orange Stage, Beach Fossils were playing their second set of Fun Fun Fun Fest. After launching the festival with a secret show on the night preceding festivities, Beach Fossils were giving the festival proper exactly what it came for—edgy, upbeat indie rock. The band knows well how to toe the line between the styles of Joy Division and New Order—as though they’ve managed to seal themselves in a time that only existed for a fraction of a moment. I’ve described a couple of bands this way recently, but Beach Fossils’ product rises to the top when compared to others.

Ceremony’s set would be first I watched on the festival’s infamous Black Stage. The band is simply blistering and ferocious. I know, I know I just mentioned Joy Division in the previous paragraph, but what can you do? That band gave birth to almost everything that followed. Ceremony possesses the same kind of austerity that Joy Division does, and the group’s frontman Ross Farrar is magnetic onstage. His antics waver between deliberate and frantic, quirky and nonchalant; you can’t take your eyes off him. The furious pit that emerged curtailed my photo taking, but holy hell, you’ve gotta see this shot 101x photog Glen Brown snagged—it’s phenomenal.

Mac Demarco was still performing the Orange Stage when I arrived on the other end of the festival grounds, and I was able to catch a few songs as well as shoot a few photos from the crowd. DeMarco’s wide, gap-toothed grin exudes confidence and happiness. His carefree, earnest, and often hilarious onstage banter is refreshing and enjoyable. His song’s move from acoustic to mellow garage rock anthems as he good-naturedly rocks out, slinging his cap from his head to reveal a mess of sandy hair. Fans rocked along with him, leaving several with whom I conversed to proclaim his set one of the absolute best of the weekend.

In part, I found it strange that Johnny Marr would perform so early in the day, but then again, I have no personal reference for the status of his solo career. Out of 11 songs, Marr played four Smiths tunes and a cover of “I Fought the Law” by the Crickets (or The Clash…if you know it that way). Although it was Marr who stood on stage (not alongside Morrissey) the set was still clearly well received by fans, yours truly included. “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” and “How Soon Is Now?” served as highlights, the latter of which Marr seems to have considerable claim to, since it’s the song’s distinct guitar whine that makes it recognizable. This is the kind of legendary performance we’ve come to love at Fun Fun Fun Fest. While other fests dig up once-radio-successes and mainstreamers long forgotten, FFF finds musicians who pioneered genres while most of the world was not yet ready for their greatness.

Small Black performed a late afternoon set of atmospheric pop on the Blue Stage. The band recently released an album, Limits of Desire, on Jagjaguwar. Culling songs primarily from that album, including standout single “Free At Dawn,” the band’s pristine electro-pop and positive energy won out over a few minor sound mishaps and had the crowd completely loving their performance. As an indicator, it was pretty endearing to hear the huge security guy in the photo pit gushing about how great Small Black is. And they are definitely underrated. Check them out, Austin.

Kurt Vile performed as the sun set on Auditorium Shores. What better soundtrack to Vile’s sprawling, mellow, introspective guitar pop could there be than a descending sun on a cool fall evening? Vile’s set included a slew of songs from his newest effort Wakin on a Pretty Daze, including the lead track flowing into its album successor “KV Crimes.” His characteristically long hair shrouded his face as he leaned forward to the microphone and murmured his well-penned if sometimes indecipherable lyrics. It was at this point that I was aware of how few bands on the bill this year were made to get people hype. The Black Stage bands certainly get people fired up, but not mindlessly hyped in the way many “festival bands” do. It was a trend I suddenly appreciated, and I dearly hoped the festival attending masses shared my opinion.

And as soon as I thought that, I walked to the Blue Stage… to see Big Freedia. Okay, I won’t say this is completely mindless. There’s too much in the way of identity, gender, and personal expression to call it mindless. But what’s for sure is that Big Freedia gets a crowd pumped like no one else. What else is there to say? Freedia helped popularize the “bounce music” genre, and plenty of bouncing there was on the stage during his set. Oh, the twerking, Oh, the dancing. It’s truly a spectacle that must been seen to be believed. As much as this kind of music isn’t my thing, I had a great time all the same.

Back on the main stage, The Walkmen were set to perform what would be a remarkably abbreviated set due to inaccurate timing on the stage throughout the day. However, fans were treated to closer and Walkmen staple, “The Rat.” Although The Walkmen’s body of work has had its fair share of both praisers and detractors, the greatness of “The Rat” can’t be underestimated. Even consistently solid bands sometimes never produce the rare kind of indie-rock gem that is “The Rat.” It’s always great to hear live.

The last rapper to take the Blue Stage on Friday would be Lupe Fiasco. Although I found Fiasco’s music itself to lack distinction or motivate fans very much, it was sort of refreshing not to find him surrounded by a thousand hype men. Intstead, most of what I saw of Fiasco’s set was the man, alone, bouncing around the stage like crazy in front of a giant LED screen on which images arose and receded.

Cut Copy would be the second to last act on the festival’s main stage for the first night, playing a set of danceable pop while the band’s members were shrouded in more smoke than imaginable and smothered in effusive green light. The band recently released a new album Free Your Mind, from which the band culled many of the songs for their set that had the crowd more physically mobile than most other sets during the weekend.

In a similar fashion, RJD2 got the crowd moving over on the Blue Stage as the headliner there for the evening. Luckily, RJD2 actually started early—perhaps the first time this has happened in the history of live music. Rolling solo for most of what I caught of the set, Ramble John Krohn stood behind a long table of electronics and turntables, synthesizing beats with impeccable skill. I’ve never completely understood the DJ headliner trend that’s emerging at festivals, but if you’re going that route, RJD2 is a great bet for a solid set.

The end of day one had finally come, and Snoop Dogg was set to take the Orange Stage. Putting this kind of hip-hop legend last lets you know what kind of festival Fun Fun Fun Fest is—always showing respect for OGs like Snoop Dogg. Although the Snoop Lion moniker did get used during the set, Snoop Dogg’s set was still filled with career highlights such as “Gin and Juice,” “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang,” and Dr. Dre’s “Let’s Get High.” The last time I saw the Doggfather, it was in Houston, a city known for hip-hop. But for a crowd of mostly young, mostly punk and indie-rock kids, I was pretty impressed with Austin’s ability to drop it like it’s hot. Snoop Dogg killed it and sent everyone home on a high (pun intended) after getting crunk to some old school hip-hop jams.

With this much packed into a single day, it was hard to believe that two more days of the Fest followed. We’ll cover each and every one this week on Pop Press International; come back tomorrow for more recap and tons of photos of the rest of the outstanding lineup.

All photos © Bryan Parker & Pop Press International. Click any image to open in slideshow viewer.