Sacramento – The heat came back with a vengeance on the second day of TBD Fest, yet the excitement and the energy of the festival made it totally bearable. The second day had a little more variety in terms of the artists performing and tons of great new bands to check out.
Drowners
First up was the New York band Drowners on the Beautiful Buzz Stage, who have been touring behind their excellent self-titled debut LP that was released earlier this year. Their high-energy rock rattled through a number of tracks, including “Pure Pleasure,” “You’ve Got It Wrong” and single “Luv, Hold Me Down.” Their vintage sound and cool, slick appearance fit right in with the festival’s atmosphere, and was a perfect way to kick off day two.
Ghost Beach
Next on the Beautiful Buzz Stage was New York electronic duo Ghost Beach, made up of singer and multi-instrumentalist Josh Ocean and virtuoso Eric “Doc” Mendelsohn. Their sound—which they describe as “tropical grit pop”—was sunny and vibrant, with Ocean’s falsetto piercing the dry afternoon air atop their textured mix of synths and guitar. They played a number of songs off their debut LP Blonde, released last March.
Cold Eskimo
Sacramento’s newest hometown heroes, Cold Eskimo, took on the smaller Red Bull Stage next, showcasing a number of tracks from their 2012 debut Glass Beach. The local five-piece indie pop/rock outfit’s sound is heavily influenced by Grizzly Bear, though their music has way more of a pop feel to it, almost sounding like Tennis’s earlier material at parts. There was even a point I thought they were going to tear into a cover of Local Natives’ “Wide Eyes” in the middle of one of their songs, as they teased the opening guitar riff, but alas, it was not to be.
French Horn Rebellion
Fraternal Milwaukee-born duo French Horn Rebellion took on the Block Stage at around 6, ushering in a crowd drawn in by the band’s unique blend of synth-y dance beats, bass and, of course, French horn. Robert Perlick-Molinari was very intent on being involved with the crowd, and during his electrifying horn solos he would gallivant into the crowd—even heading to the very back at one point—as well as climbing all over the railing separating the crowd from the media pit. They played a number of songs spanning their career, closing things out with a raucous cover of Human League’s legendary new-wave hit “Don’t You Want Me.”
The War on Drugs
Philadelphia band The War on Drugs had a rather short set due to unforeseen technical difficulties that delayed the beginning of their set for almost a half an hour. Band leader Adam Granduciel was visibly annoyed and disappointed, but being a professional he brushed it off and made the best of the short time they had left to perform five songs. They opened with the first track off their album Lost in the Dream (released earlier this year) “Under The Pressure,” which immediately brings to mind the signature sound of Dire Straits (as does most of that album). The set also featured fellow Lost in the Dream tracks “Suffering,” “An Ocean in Between the Waves,” and “Red Eyes,” the lead single from the album and the closer of the set
Metz
Canadian post-punk trio METZ hit the Beautiful Buzz Stage towards the end of the night, bringing their abrasive, high-octane sound to a crowd of happy headbangers. Most of the songs played were lifted from their 2012 LP METZ, including “Get Off,” “Wet Blanket,” “Negative Space,” and my personal favorite from the set, the thrashing “Wasted,” which was preluded with vocalist Alex Edkins shouting ‘this next one’s about drinking!’ The joyous noise was just what I needed to get my second wind and make it through the rest of the evening.
Empire of the Sun
Saturday’s headliner was the astounding theatrics of Australia’s Empire of the Sun. The two masterminds behind Empire of the Sun are Luke Steele (formerly of indie rock outfit Sleepy Jackson) and Nick Littlemore (of electronic duo Pnau), and so far they have two albums under their belt: 2008’s debut Walking on a Dream and last year’s Ice on the Dune. Steele is the main face of Empire of the Sun, and graced the stage with his signature steel crown, accompanied by a slew of dancers, dressed as everything from robots to jellyfish. The band tore through a healthy selection of songs from their two albums, opening with Ice’s “Old Flavours” and going right into “DNA” and “Concert Pitch.” They played a bunch from Walking on a Dream, including “Standing on the Shore,” “We Are The People” (featuring neon-lit guitars), “Tiger By My Side,” and “Swordfish Hotkiss Night,” as well as the title track “Walking on a Dream.” They closed out the night with the hit single from Ice on the Dune, “Alive,” inciting a sort of dance riot as they did.
All in all, Day Two was more nuanced than the first in terms of musical variety, and the atmosphere was a little more relaxed than Friday. Still, I’m loving the veritable lack of crowds and the scheduling, as there seems to be virtually no conflict at all. I look forward to the third and final day. (Ed., click HERE for Best New Bands’ coverage of Day One.
Corey Bell
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