To state it simply, Fuck Yeah Fest (FYF) was fucking amazing. The line-up was eclectic (as you'll see in the previous post with the actual flyer) and again, the sense of kinship was unparalleled. I need to stop being a cynic and expecting clique/pride wars at shows with varying musical guests. Whether you were there to see Cold Cave, Black Lips, or Torche it didn't matter--everyone was there for the same reason. It was reassuring; people do have open minds and can accept other genres. That's what Melotov Records thrives on.
Either that or the Beer Garden made the camaraderie a helluva lot easier (thanks to Erin and Jesse for snagging us 21-and-under attendees bracelets to the garden). Regardless, it was a good atmosphere for an even better festival. Plus I saw a LOT of familiar faces, which made things that much better.
We ("we" being Britney, Jesse, Erin, Matt, myself and 2/3 of Tidemouth, but they came later) began our Tom Foolery as soon as we found sketchy parking for $4. A man offered to wash my windows while we were gone, but instead, we opened up a conversation about the economy and how he was able to live rent-free for 3-months because he was offered $50,000 to sleep with another lady in order to get revenge for his friend (...I didn't understand, but it was interesting regardless). It's always nice to start the day off making friends:
We had to get our heads in the game before picking up tickets at will-call, as Matt and Jesse demonstrate in this photo:
The lined moved quickly to pick up our tickets, and regardless of the fact that I had a Hurricane Harbor lanyard to hold my money 'n shit in, I decided that it'd probably be a good idea to safeguard my tickets under my shirt (with Erin's tattoo'd forearm as added security):
We all arrived in time to catch the end of Japanther's set. We then met up with Ashley, and all headed into the beer garden to spend a few hours lolligagging and allowing time to lapse... a lot. Here's a few beautiful photographs of the goings-on within the Beer Garden grounds. As you can tell, we spent a great deal of time in here judging on the fact that when we entered, the sun was still up. Britney and Ashley enjoying the sun in the Beer Garden:
Erin and Ashley:
Erin charging me in a fit of drunken fake-pit-rage:
After fighting everyone, Matt, Ashley, and I went to scope out the merch booths, namely the Converge table. Free posters, stickers, and a t-shirt later, Jake Bannon (Converge's frontman) is at the table, just hanging out. I have a ton of respect for bands who will do this. There was no get-a-ticket-and-get-in-line-if-you-want-to-see-the-band or buy-merch-then-we'll-talk deals, just Bannon and Nate hanging out at their table, talking to the kids who recognized them and being completely approachable guys. I thanked Bannon for bringing Starkweather onto Deathwish (if you haven't heard, you NEED to go check out Starkweather right fuckin' now http://myspace.com/starkweather666) and spoke briefly about recording Benoit at God City Studios (http://myspace.com/hurricanebenoit). Jesse, Britney, and Erin met up with us, and Jesse had Nate cross-out his Alkaline Trio tat and write "Converge 4-evah" over it. Br00tal as fuck.
By this point, it was time to see some fucking bands. Matt, Jesse, and myself left Britney, Erin, and Ashley at the Garden again, and we went to watch Torche. Torche blew my freaking mind. Their new album kicks ass, but the entire set (especially the earlier material they played) was heavy as hell. It felt like a jackhammer to the chest, rattling straight through your bones, but it was amazing. Not a whole lot of moshing to Torche, but that was more than okay; they were on the 2nd stage in the middle of the dust pit, so breathing was a nice luxury.
Converge was directly after and started late due to technical difficulties. This was my first time seeing them (and I'll be seeing them later this year with Mastodon at the Hollywood Palladium), and they're ruthless live. By this point, Matt, Jesse, and I had met up with Mikey and Ryan of Tidemouth and their friend Trish. Before Converge started playing, we were all together, but as soon as Kurt struck the first chord, the place exploded and all six of us went off in different directions. It was intense, I couldn't get any pictures, but it was well worth it. There are videos online on Youtube you can check out. Bannon's stage presence reminded me of Maynard (Tool, Pucifer) because of his movements, reactions, and pre-song statements. Converge's set included "No Heroes," "Bitter and Then Some," "Dark Horse," and they closed with "Last Light." And let me just say, that for all of you who talked shit on the new song "Dark Horse," off Axe to Fall, you can eat a dick. They played through three songs off the new album and all of them were extremely punishing and promising. Axe to Fall will be another Converge great.
The dust that was kicked up was unbearable, but that's the price you pay for an outdoor festival in the middle of fire season (i.e. The Station Fire). While we watched Converge, Britney and Erin were watching Tim and Eric blast-beat their way through a musical comedy set:
As awesome as it was to see Converge for the first time, my favorite set had to be Dillinger Escape Plan. They were just absolutely nuts. All of them. And they ran through favorites of mine such as opening with "Panasonic Youth," then jumping right into "Milk Lizard." They played two songs off the Mike Patton EP and then played my favorite song off Ire Works, "Mouth of Ghosts"
The best surprise was that BRENT HINDS of MASTO-freakin'-DON came out and sang during "Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants" (at least that's what I think he sang to, they did play that song however). I nearly lost my mind at this point. The crowd was going nuts, so please excuse the quality of these photos for I was being quite jostled around during them. I couldn't get a clear show of Brent Hinds, but again you can find it on Youtube, but I was able to snap another shot as they closed with "Sunshine the Werewolf."
At the end of the set, a broken guitar was hurled into the crowd and nearly missed me, grazing my face as it hit the poor kid directly behind me. He went out with a thud and had to be carried to the paramedics... I'm sure he thought it was worth it once he regained consciousness though.
So all in all, FYF was a definite success. My neck is killing me still and so is my throat from all the dust, screaming, and God knows what else. Be sure to check out the bands on the line up that you didn't get to see or have never heard of because I assure you, it's all promising.
Bands of note:
Converge (obviously)
Dillinger Escape Plan (obviously)
Torche
Starkweather
Benoit
Tidemouth
&&&&& CATHEDRALS AND BLEEDING KANSAS who are having back-to-back-to-back release shows for the new s/t split 12"! It's going to be epic. Sleep tight my babies, and go see some damn shows so I don't have to write a novel on here...
