On Saturday, the Miranda stage was the place to be to see many riotous bands (Joyce Manor, Thee Oh Sees, Flag and Death Grip) but, earlier in the afternoon, I managed to catch two cute bands, courageously playing during the hottest hours. I started my day with Lemuria, a trio from Buffalo NY, and you have to forgive me if I don’t remember much about them as I have seen more than 30 bands in 2 days… They had nice boy-girl harmonies, had posted a picture of Leonardo Di Caprio on an open suitcase at the top of their equipment and some tough dudes in the crowd were really into their songs, as they were singing along…
Running to the Charlotte stage, I caught Gary Tovar, founder of Goldenvoice, enjoying a set by Crystal Antlers. I had seen these guys before, during their residency at the Echo last year, and they are not easy to figure out, going all fast and furious, then suddenly slowing down, adding some punky or jazzy flavors here and there, a round trip into psych-rock territory and a few ‘yahoos’ and pipe smoking in the crowd.
Back to Miranda, another trio called Waxahatchee was playing a sort of pop-folk-bright-guitar-wide-eyed music with Katie Crutchfield’s clear and heartfelt vocals quietly dominating the scene. It was very melodic, catchy, even a bit retro, and the songs sounded confessional, the kind that would make you go cheek to cheek with your loved one – or cry your heart out if you don’t have one. A stronger Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis may be, and some lyrics delivered with a light swagger, but how the hell did she come up with such a werid moniker?
Under the Samantha’s tent, I just had a few minutes to check out Eleanor Friedberger’s set, before rushing to see Metz on the Charlotte stage. She used to be half of the indie duo The Fiercy Furnaces, and she is doing some solo stuff. The fringe on her white shirt was announcing the style, slightly countrish, dance-y and upbeat with keyboard and two blonde cuties doing guitars and vocal harmonies. She said she was so happy to be there, and it was showing… she sounded a bit like Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino and I left when she was announcing a song as a love letter to Los Angeles.
I didn’t want to miss METZ, even though I had seen them before, and their set was a furious tumult, ripping out the dust from the field, sweating everyone’s energy off, and embodying the true spirit of the Fuck You Fest. The crowd was making waves and a human chaos grew little by little. ‘We only have 35 minutes, but it’s not that short, our record is shorter than this’, said singer/guitarist Alex Edkins, announcing songs off their October release and self-titled album. A guy next to be, who was seeing me taking notes and pictures, asked me, ‘Are you writing a review? Because I would definitively include them in a review,… They sound exactly like Nirvana!’ ‘Yes!’ I replied, that’s true, you can’t avoid the Nirvana reference with METZ, the poppy hooks hidden behind the grungy fury, Edkins’ howls and Slorach’s sexy dance with his bass. I couldn’t leave even though I wanted to see Mikal Cronin on the Carrie Stage, I just caught his last song and he sounded like a poppier Ty Segall, I even think they share the same female drummer? In any case, because of the bright day and the large open space, METZ sounded a bit different from the last time I had seen them in a small club, it was less ear-bleeding, more sweaty and hypnotic, but the ferocity of their set was making me and the rest of the crowd totally euphoric, sending everyone into… nirvana.
