Austin – By Saturday morning Fun Fun Fun Fest had gotten the gates under control, by which I mean it was elbow-to-elbow in the festival grounds. I can only assume things got weird in the designated make out area.
Very few people seemed to mind. Saturday featured some great sets, including Twin Peaks’ daytime set. Nites was right where I wanted to be, especially at Mohawk, which managed to pin Dum Dum Girls, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Eternal Summers all on one bill.
Iceage
The 2000’s post-punk revival tended to focus on the more likable, melodic side of post-punk—bell chime guitars, spacey production, doleful lyrics about This Modern Love. Iceage pulls from the other side of post-punk, the philosophically driven, single-minded pursuit of actually unpleasant-sounding music. It’s not like this band from Denmark is reproducing PIL’s least listenable music. But you can hear some John Cale drone viola, among other counter-hook approaches to making pop music. And then there’s stuff like “The Lord’s Favorite.”
Standout Track: “The Lord’s Favorite”
Pains of Being Pure at Heart
I might never love Pains of Being Pure at Heart as much as I did when they debuted in 2009. They may have set the bar too high with “A Teenager in Love.” That’s a really disappointing bias to have, since Pains has released a lot of great material since then (including their Days Of Abandon LP from last June).
Standout Track: “Simple and Sure”
Nites Set: Eternal Summers
LA trio Eternal Summers went on first at a Mohawk show that included Dum Dum Girls and Pains of Being Pure at Heart, which put them on stage before Modest Mouse and the other headliners had finished their sets. Those folks missed out. That’s not an opinion.
Standout Track: “100”
Nites Set: Dum Dum Girls
Another LA band, Dum Dum Girls, headlined the Saturday Mohawk set before their festival appearance the next afternoon. Good for Dee Dee Penny, the woman whose project this really is: she deserves to headline somewhere.
Standout Track: “Cult of Love”
Missed Connection: San Fermin
I hope San Fermin answers Craigslist personals, because that’s how desperate I am after missing this set. My camera was being fussy about uploading photos, and by the time I arrived they had come and gone. Lead singer Ellis Ludwig-Leone apparently worked with Nico Muhly, a collaborator with Sufjan Stevens and Grizzly Bear. That influence comes out in the group’s mini-symphonic arrangements. Have you ever wanted Sufjan Stevens to feature Matt Berninger of The National? Then go see Brooklyn’s San Fermin. They’re on a relaxed tour schedule until March, but they’ll play a few shows in the northeast and one in Alabama. (Ed.: Best New Bands saw their recent NYC gig at Webster Hall and wrote, “the 8-strong band maintained a fantastical and unlikely amount of energetic luster for a full hour.”
Wish I’d Heard: “Renaissance!”
Top Photo By Greg Giannukos – All Other Photos By Will Jukes
Will Jukes
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