Eager for the first full day of the festival to begin, I wasted no time in getting to my first show of the day, Katzenjammer (pictured below), who played at noon in the David Byrne curated That Tent. A female folk band from Norway, Katzenjammer (meaning “cat’s wail”), are easily recognized with their signature Balalaika upright bass with the face of a cat painted on it. Memorable performances from their show include their hit ”A Bar in Amsterdam”, the show opener “Le Pop”, “To the Sea”, “Cherry Pie” and “Ain’t No Thang”.
Up next on my agenda was the British, Indie-Pop/Rock band, Gomez. The first act to play on a big stage this year, Gomez unleashed a lot of new experimental material from A New Tide, as well as some more rock-oriented tracks from past efforts like How We Operate and Bring It On. Memorable songs included the show opener “Revolutionary Kind”, ”Hamoa Beach”, “See the World”, Led Zeppelin’s “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp”, “Airstream Driver” and the show closer, “How We Operate”.
After Gomez I stopped by to check out some good, old fashioned rock and roll from Everest (pictured below). Having only released one full length album, Everest has earned success quickly, joining both Neil Young and My Morning Jacket on the road. The band is made up of current and former members of Sebadoh, Alaska!, the Watson Twins, Earlimart, Great Northern and Stanford Prison Experiment.
After chekcing out Everest in the Troo Music Lounge, I decided to stop by to see the Dirty Projectors, although I had missed a guest appearance by David Byrne. Led by Dave Longstreth, this experimental, indie, freak folk band has influences ranging from African blues to funk, to Don Henley and Black Flag. The Dirty Projectors have made concept albums, like The Getty Address, which was written from the veiw point of Henley as a Spanish Conquistador and Rise Above, an attempt to re-imagine the lyrics of Black Flag’s Damaged album.
Not really planning on it, I secured a spot on the side of the stage for instrumental guitarist, Kaki King.
Animal Collective
Bela Fleck and Toumani Diabate
Santigold
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Al Green
TV on the Radio
Beastie Boys
David Byrne
Phish