The days all kind of blended together this weekend. When you give up on food and sleep to make the most of your time out in this paradise, there's really not much separating the days besides a short nap and a sugar-free redbull here and there. Officially, this was the second day of the festival, but it may be better described as simply part 2.
So despite multiple promises to make it to the festival by 1:00 for the Shout Out Louds, we didn't get there till closer to 2:30. We headed up to see Autolux, who were phenomenal once again. Unfortunately it was so brutally hot in their tent we could not stay and watch from inside, but instead sat right outside and listened to them finish up.
We caught a bit of Kasabian in the same tent, who honestly were pretty good. Whatever you think of their music, it is big enough to translate well to a live show. After a few songs we walked past M.I.A. playing an overflowing tent with Diplo on the decks, saw her sing her text message anthem, URAQT, from afar before heading down to The Fiery Furnaces.
So amazing. Every time I see them I like them more and more. They blew through their main set as they usually do with their cut and paste, re-orchestrated style, then played a few extras to fill out their set time. I've said it before and I'll surely say it again, but there is no other band that brings more to a live show that you couldn't get from listening to the CD. They just make you feel like you're getting something special every time they play. I was so taken by them I shot a short and really shitty video of them playing Evergreen. Check it out. (right-click/save)
Went from there over to The Futureheads, who seemed genuinely thrilled to be playing the main stage for so many people. They played the best set I had ever seen them do. Tight and energetic and having fun.
After that we scooted back over to the second stage for Tegan and Sara, as well as some ever-important positioning for Arcade Fire. T & S were great, but what was about to come was what will be the defining set of the festival. In fact, it deserves it's own post. So I'll hold off for now.
After being blown away by TAF, and burning out the battery in my camera, we went up to watch New Order from afar. They were pretty good. Singing all the Joy Division songs seemed to creep out the crowd I was with a bit tho. After that I decided to pass on British Sea Power and Pinback to watch Nine Inch Nails instead. It was a good choice. They were great. It made me much more excited to see them at Hammerstein in a few weeks. Those shows are going to be outrageous.
After that I went up to check out the Blood Brothers, thus fulfilling a promise to a couple of friends I told I'd see them live. I was actually very impressed by them, despite the fact it is not the type of music I normally dig. So gay and so loud. Even caught Owen 'Final Fantasy' Pallett of The Arcade Fire politely taking in their set.
From there I walked past Wolf Eyes, who were pretty bad, then down to The Faint, who were amazing. I need to get into them a little more. 
After that I walked over to Black Star, who were nice, but hip hop shows rarely impress me, no matter how big it is. And that was it. We went back to the house, killed a few hours before hitting the road towards LAX to catch our flights. And that was that. I can't even begin to touch on some of the afterhours stories on here. Too surreal.
All in all, it was one of the most incredible weekends of my life. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it.
one of the only reasons i wanted to go was to see the (real) FFs play outdoors. alas, i was back here in nyc trying for cuthbest to notice my drooling. great pics btw...
Posted by: Thigh Master | May 03, 2005 at 09:24 PM