Head to Los Angeles Sports Arena & Exposition Park this weekend, Saturday & Sunday, August 23rd & 24th, for one of America’s best festivals, FYF Fest:
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23rd
Main Stage
Phoenix, 10:40 PM
There are a precious few bands out there who you can’t understand anyone not loving, and one of them is Phoenix (QRO live review). The Versailles outfit (QRO interview – that’s oddly where all the French indie acts come from…) built and built their indie-pop songcraft throughout this century/millennium (including getting a song on the Lost In Translation soundtrack – and singer Thomas Mars would later marry the director, Sofia Coppola), with greater and greater international success (QRO live review), but broke through into the tops (QRO live review) with 2009’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (QRO review), which saw them win such acclaims as the Grammy for Best Alternative Album – and QRO’s #1 Album of 2009. It’s been a tough wait for the band (QRO photos) to return, but return they have (QRO spotlight on), and in full force, from last year’s Bankrupt! (QRO review) and big shows (QRO live review) to headlining festivals from California’s Coachella to Catalonia’s Primavera Sound to fellow-Francophone Osheaga (QRO photos at Osheaga) to New York’s Governors Ball (QRO photos at Governors Ball) to Los Angeles’ FYF (QRO photos outdoors)!
Interpol, 9:10 PM – 10:10 PM
When the Lower East Side music scene broke out at the beginning of this century/millennium, one of the biggest breakouts was neo-New Wave outfit Interpol (QRO live review) with Turn On the Bright Lights and Antics. Unfortunately, 2007 major label debut Our Love To Admire (QRO review) was a serious disappointment, leading to a hiatus (where singer/guitarist Paul Banks did his own solo thing as Julian Plenti – QRO European tour review). But 2010’s return to Matador Records Interpol (QRO review) was a return to form, and so was their live show (QRO photos), even on the festival circuit (QRO photos at a festival). Of course, the following year saw another hiatus (with Paul Banks going solo again, this time under his own name – QRO album review), but the band has returned once more, with El Pintor out earlier this month (QRO photos at a festival earlier this month) and coming to FYF Fest (QRO photos at a festival).
Julian Casablancas + The Voidz, 7:50 PM – 8:40 PM
When The Strokes (see below) broke out of the Lower East Side in 2001 and basically launched the alternative music revival, fronting the band was singer Julian Casablancas. When The Strokes began to feel like old hat later in the decade, they went into hiatus & solo projects. Casablancas released the lame electronic Phrazes For the Young (QRO review) to decent commercial success, but eventually found his way back to The Strokes for 2011’s Angles (QRO review) and last year’s Comedown Machine (QRO review). But that record looks to be The Strokes last for a while again, as Casablancas is already looking to a new project, Julian Casablancas + The Voidz, though the live word isn’t great (QRO photos at a festival).
Future Islands, 6:30 PM – 7:20 PM
Baltimore’s Future Islands (QRO photos) play a highly acclaimed, darker form of synth-pop (QRO photos at a festival) as they return to FYF Fest for the third time in four years.
Albert Hammond Jr., 5:15 PM – 6:00 PM
You probably still know Albert Hammond, Jr. from his day job as guitarist for this century/millennium’s first hit alt-rock band, The Strokes (see below), but he’s also forged his own successful solo career (QRO photos solo at a festival), most recently last year’s AHJ EP.
Joyce Manor, 4:05 PM – 4:45 PM
Punks Joyce Manor (QRO photos) play FYF Fest for the third year in a row!
The Lawn Stage
Grimes, 10:15 PM – 11:10 PM
Scandinavian singer/songstresses have gotten very hot, from Lykke Li (QRO album review) openers of hers like Oh Land (QRO album review) and now Grimes (QRO photos opening for Lykke Li) – though Grimes, a.k.a. Claire Boucher (QRO photos at a festival), is actually from Canada. Still, her ethereal indie-pop on 2012’s Visions (QRO review) certainly hews to the Scando-sound (QRO live review), and she’s just as pretty and charming as any Nordic (QRO photos at a festival). Plus her profile was serious raised when she signed to Jay-Z’s new management company, Roc Nation.
Tycho, 8:55 PM – 9:45 PM
Ambient electronics come back to FYF Fest for the second time in three years in the form of Scott Hansen (QRO photos at a festival), a.k.a. Tycho (QRO photos), who is touring (QRO photos from earlier this year) off of this year’s acclaimed Awake (QRO review).
Slowdive, 7:25 PM – 8:25 PM
Shoegaze was always at its biggest in Britain in acts like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive (QRO photos at a festival), whose members spun off into various other projects in the nineties (including Mojave 3 – QRO photos), but this year announced a reunion and select festival dates, including FYF.
Little Dragon, 6:05 PM – 6:55 PM
From chilly-but-beautiful Gothenburg, Sweden comes the chilly-but-beautiful electronic outfit Little Dragon (QRO photos), who’ve collaborated with everyone from Gorillaz (QRO album review) to José González, but more recently put out their own Nabuma Rubberband, their follow-up to 2011’s Ritual Union (QRO review), and have been gracing festivals (QRO photos at a festival) & more (QRO photos at a festival).
Real Estate, 4:45 PM – 5:35 PM
Indie-rock reviewers such as Pitchfork have long loved Ridgewood, New Jersey’s Real Estate (QRO live review), including 2012’s sophomore release Days (QRO review) and this year’s relaxed Atlas (QRO review), so see for yourself if they’re right as the band comes to FYF Fest (QRO photos at a festival).
Man Man, 3:35 PM – 4:20 PM
There might not be a wilder band – live (QRO live review) or on record (QRO album review) – than Philadelphia’s Man Man (QRO live review). The self-described ‘Viking-vaudeville’ collective (QRO photos at a festival) bring a powerful percussion and more, setting up right at the lip of the stage, dressed in tennis whites and war paint, with more instruments than you can throw a stick at (QRO photos at a festival). And things only get crazier outside. (QRO photos outdoors) – especially at a festival (QRO photos at a festival) like FYF ‘10, playing off of 2011’s Life Fantastic (QRO review) and last year’s On Oni Pond (QRO review).
Mariachi El Bronx, 2:30 PM – 3:10 PM
Los Angeles’ hardcore act The Bronx (see below) don their sombreros to become Mariachi El Bronx (QRO photos at a festival) – but will they also be wearing Doc Martens?…
The Trees Stage
Ty Segall, 11:00 PM
California’s Ty Segall (QRO photos at a festival) has evolved from his ‘kick in the pants’ early work to a more effortless boot to the fanny these days (QRO photos), where he’s been quite prolific, including Slaughterhouse (QRO review) with his band & Twins solo. He comes back to FYF Fest (QRO photos at a festival) for the third time in four years, now behind his upcoming Manipulator.
Boris, 9:40 PM – 10:30 PM
Japan has adopted and remade everything from car manufacturing to the club sandwich, and metal’s no different – thanks to Boris (QRO photos, outdoors at a festival). Along with ‘bor’ bros Boredoms (QRO photos at a festival), Boris has taken metal into whole new arenas, both geographically and musically.
Against Me!, 8:20 PM – 9:10 PM
Northern Florida’s given the world a lot of punk, some of it good, some of it not so much, but on the more positive side is Against Me! (QRO photos). Fronted by Tom Gabel (QRO interview), Against Me! (QRO photos) successfully made the jump to major label without losing their edge on 2010’s White Crosses (QRO review). They did make major news in 2012 when Gabel announced that he was transgender, and undergoing the process of transition to becoming a woman, Laura Jane Grace. Yet the group (QRO spotlight on– which also left the majors and started their own label for that year’s Transgender Dysphoria Blues – QRO review) has continued to rock (QRO photos), and come back to FYF Fest (QRO photos at a festival) for the second time in three years.
Run the Jewels, 7:00 PM – 7:50 PM
El-P blew up the Brooklyn rap scene with last year’s Cancer 4 Cure (QRO review of release party), and brought about his team-up with Killer Mike (QRO photos at a festival) for 2012’s ‘Into the Wild’ tour. Mike & P have deepened that connection, working together as Run the Jewels (QRO photos at a festival).
Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks, 5:50 PM – 6:35 PM
One of the members of acclaimed experimental act Animal Collective (QRO live review), Avey Tare goes even more experimental when outside the Collective. There was his 2007 album with then-wife Kria Brekkan, Pullhair Rubeye (QRO review), which was released with the songs played backward, and now the hippie/rural/cannibal mix, Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks.
XXYYXX, 4:30 PM – 5:25 PM
Orlando electronic musician XXYYXX (QRO photos at a festival) describes his music as, “Doing drugs on a freeway… underwater.”
Connan Mockasin, 3:25 PM – 4:10 PM
From far off New Zealand comes the psychedelic pop of Connan Mockasin.
The Arena Stage
DJ Harvey, 10:35 PM
Cambridge, England’s DJ Harvey has brought America’s disco/garage/house sound back to FYF Fest for the second time in three years.
Four Tet, 9:20 PM – 10:35 PM
U.K. post-rock electronic musician Kieran Hebden, also who’s remixed everyone from Andrew Bird (QRO live review) to Radiohead (QRO live review), tours once more as Four Tet (QRO photos outdoors), on the back of last year’s Beautiful Rewind, and comes back to FYF Fest (QRO photos at a festival).
Caribou, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Daniel Victor Snaith (QRO photos) combined electronica and psychedelica expertly with 2007’s Andorra (QRO review) as Caribou (QRO live review). 2010’s Swim (QRO review) looked to nineties electronic beats, not as fine, but still holds up – as does his live show (QRO live review), especially at a festival (QRO photos at a festival). He comes to FYF Fest behind his upcoming new Our Love.
Todd Terje, 6:35 PM – 7:35 PM
It’s Festival Time for Norwegian DJ & songwriter Todd Terje, who comes to FYF Fest behind his debut, It’s Album Time.
Chet Faker, 5:20 PM – 6:10 PM
Melbourne electronic musician Chet Faker (QRO live review) comes to America after winning a slew of awards Down Under.
Slint, 4:00 PM – 4:55 PM
Louisville’s Slint broke up after the second album, Spiderland, way back in 1990, with sporadic reunions before this year’s more substantial one (QRO 2014 photos) behind the deluxe box set of Spiderland.
Angel Olsen, 2:45 PM – 3:35 PM
Angel Olsen began her career singing back up for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & The Cairo Gang (QRO live review), but has since found her own beautiful voice.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 24th
Main Stage
The Strokes, 10:25 PM
Back in 2001, The Strokes’ Is This It and “Hard To Explain” basically launched the alternative music revival, starting in Lower East Side before going to Brooklyn, Canada, Sweden, and everywhere else (not to mention drummer Fabrizio Moretti dating Drew Barrymore). However, follow-ups Room On Fire and First Impressions of Earth were way too similar to what the band had broken through with, while countless indie acts had taken advantage of the opening & the internet to make The Strokes feel like old hat, and fans say, “Is This It?”. Various members did their own thing, such as solo records from guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. (see above) and singer Julian Casablancas (see above), but didn’t light the world on fire (QRO review of Casablancas solo record), and Barrymore & Moretti broke up, leaving the band something of a forgotten caricature (or, as The Onion so excellently put it in a side headline, ‘Guy from The Strokes accused of looking like guy from The Strokes’).
But maybe that’s what the band needed – no follow-up or solo record could live up to Is This It, and there was enough time that them getting back together for 2011’s Angles (QRO review) practically counted as the first ‘twenty-first century reunion’ (on the lines of the popular eighties & nineties alt-reunions – we need a name for the last decade…). However, last year saw them release Comedown Machine (QRO review), which has seemed like a ‘last record’, from the chosen name to the band not doing any promotion to it being the final one on their RCA contract. Casablancas, Hammond, and others are already looking to solo projects again, so this might be your last chance to catch The Strokes in a while/ever (QRO photos at a festival).
HAIM, 9:00 PM – 9:50 PM
Sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim, along with drummer Dash Hutton (QRO photos at a festival), only started putting out music last year, but have already been turning heads (QRO photos), thanks to great single “Don’t Save Me” – and come to FYF (QRO photos earlier in 2014) after last year’s debut full-length, Days Are Gone (QRO review).
Blood Orange, 7:40 PM – 8:30 PM
Dev Hynes (QRO photos) first came up writing for others, such as on Chemical Brothers’ Grammy-winning We Are the Night (QRO review), before forming his own band, Lightspeed Champion (QRO photos), not to mention playing in the short-lived Test Icicles. In recent times, however, he’s focused on his electronic project Blood Orange (QRO live review), with last year’s well-received Cupid Deluxe. He comes to FYF Fest after protesting police brutality at his performances at Lollapalooza & Central Park SummerStage (QRO photos).
Tanlines, 6:20 PM – 7:10 PM
Percussionist Jesse Cohen & singer/guitarist Eric Emm form Brooklyn electronic duo Tanlines (QRO live review), who traffic in a mix of atmospherics and world (QRO photos at a festival), and return to FYF Fest for the second time in three years.
Mac DeMarco, 5:05 PM – 5:55 PM
Some artists toil in obscurity for years, even decades, but Mac DeMarco (QRO photos at a festival) is only just old enough to drink, and already has his debut full-length, Mac DeMarco 2, and reputation for wild live shows (QRO photos at a festival) that brings him to FYF Fest for a second year in a row (QRO photos at a festival).
Kindness, 3:55 PM – 4:40 PM
The comfortable new dance of Adam Bainbridge – a.k.a. Kindness – comes to FYF Fest.
Pink Mountaintops, 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
From Vancouver’s hard-grind Black Mountain (QRO album review) collective comes the psychedelic Pink Mountaintops (QRO photos at a festival), who return to FYF Fest for a second time.
The Lawn Stage
Flying Lotus, 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM
While Flying Lotus (QRO photos outdoors) might be best known for making the music in Adult Swim’s bumpers (that text right before a show on the cable channel), he’s also an accomplished producer, as well as making & playing music in his own right (QRO live review) – not to mention his alter ego, Sealab 2021-inspired Captain Murphy.
Earl Sweatshirt, 8:30 PM – 9:25 PM
The massive hip-hop collective Odd Future (QRO live review) keeps giving – there’s frontman Tyler, the Creator (QRO album review), R&B star Frank Ocean, and now Earl Sweatshirt (QRO photos at a festival), who’s also worked with the likes of Flying Lotus (see right above) (QRO live review), in Lotus’ Sealab 2021-inspired alter-ego, Captain Murphy.
Built To Spill, 7:10 PM – 8:05 PM
Yes, the ‘biggest indie-rock band outta Boise, Idaho (QRO photos at a festival) is still around, still on Warner Bros., and still putting out new music (QRO live review), though the most recent was 2009’s There Is No Enemy. They’ve gained a second life on the festival circuit (QRO photos at a festival) – and have been moving up the festival food chain (QRO photos headlining a festival).
Thundercat, 5:50 PM – 6:40 PM
Known for his psychedelic excursions, Thundercat recently worked with the likes of Flying Lotus (see above) on his newest album, Until the Quiet Comes. He has been compared to the likes of Jaco Pastorius for his precise and experimental basslines.
Ryan Hemsworth, 4:30 PM – 5:20 PM
Halifax, Nova Scotia electronica sampler Ryan Hemsworth comes to FYF Fest off of last year’s sophomore LP, Guilt Trips.
Benjamin Booker, 3:30 PM – 4:05 PM
The neo-garage of Benjamin Booker (QRO photos at a festival) isn’t that special.
Jacco Gardner, 2:30 PM – 3:05 PM
From the Netherlands comes neo-psych keyboardist Jacco Gardner (QRO photos at a festival), whose debut single “Where You Will Go” was released in garage label Trouble in Mind Records, the same as Ty Segall (see above).
The Trees Stage
Deafheaven, 11:00 PM
Deafheaven (QRO photos at a festival) expand on the black metal sound with elements of post-metal and even shoegaze.
Blood Brothers, 9:30 PM – 10:25 PM
One of the most surprising indie reunions this year has been Seattle’s Blood Brothers, who brought spastic hardcore right after guitarist Cody Votolato (QRO interview) graduated high school. They broke up about a decade later, with Votolato & singer Johnny Whitney formed Jaguar Love (QRO spotlight on), but this year proves that blood is thicker than water.
Murder City Devils, 8:15 PM – 9:05 PM
Seattle garage-punks Murder City Devils broke up before garage-rock took off, but got back together for a spate of shows in the back half of the last decade, before hinting at new material – that finally came out last month, The White Ghost Has Blood On Its Hands Again.
The Bronx, 7:10 PM – 7:50 PM
Last few years, certain hardcore bands have been breaking into the indie-mainstream, such as Canada’s Fucked Up (QRO live review) and Los Angeles’ own The Bronx (other than Chicago & Boston, are any bands named after their own hometowns?…). Not that The Bronx (QRO photos at a festival) are your run-of-the-mill hardcore act – see their Latin alter ego, Mariachi El Bronx (see above).
Presidents of the United States of America, 6:05 PM – 6:45 PM
The Presidents of the United States of America came out of Seattle’s booming grunge scene with a more upbeat attitude, singing about “Lump” and “Peaches”, and a ‘guitbass’ & ‘basitar’, before breaking up as grunge petered out. But you couldn’t keep the PUSA down, and returned, including 2008’s less-than-impressive These Are Good Times People (QRO review) and this year’s Kudos To You!.
Also:
La Dispute, 4:55 PM – 5:40 PM
Balance & Composure, 4:05 PM – 4:35 PM – QRO photos
Joanna Gruesome, 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM – QRO photos
Twin Peaks, 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM – QRO photos
The Arena Stage
Jamie xx, 10:45 PM
One-third of The xx (QRO live review), Jamie xx has also been making his own (first) name in DJing & production circles, especially at festivals (QRO photos at a festival).
John Talabot, 9:35 PM – 10:45 PM
Have you ever checked out an artist from the Spanish Electronic genre? No? Then Barcelona’s own John Talabot would be a good place to start. Having released only one album so far (2012’s Fin), he shows much promise in the way of longevity.
Darkside, 8:15 PM – 9:15 PM
Electronic musician Nicolas Jaar & multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington (QRO photos) combine as Darkside – for one of their last times, as they’ve announced the pairing is soon to break up. So catch them at FYF!
Daniel Avery, 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM
Catch Factory Floor collaborator, DJ Daniel Avery (QRO photos at a festival).
Daphni, 5:15 PM – 6:30 PM
Daniel Snaith, the acclaimed electronic musician Caribou (see above), puts on his DJ persona Daphni as well as FYF Fest.
Kelela, 4:20 PM – 5:00 PM
Kelela’s mixtape last year, Cut 4 Me, has earned praise from Beyoncé to Björk.
Also:
Les Sins, 3:20 PM – 4:10 PM
Jessy Lanza, 2:30 PM – 3:05 PM – QRO photos
Click here for photos of 2013 FYF Fest in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery
For festival website, go here: http://fyffest.com/