I arrived Saturday shortly before the Redwood Plan was supposed to kick off the Main Stage. Now that I already had my tickets I was able to leisurely walk right in with the other early risers, some still suffering hangovers from the night before.
I was able to secure a spot front and center for the Redwood Plan, the synth-pop Seattle group fronted by the energetic, strong voiced Lesli Wood. They ended up starting about 45 minutes after their initial start time. I later found out this was because Blonde Redhead had to cancel their evening because their singer was sick.
The Redwood Plan's boundless energy onstage transferred to some in the crowd as they took up dancing in the empty open spaces still available at this time of day. Wood switched between synth, guitar and vocals with ease. Their mix on numbers like "How the Game is Played" perfectly merged the synth elements with guitar, bass, drums and vocals. This is a band to catch in a smaller club. What a great way to get the heart going and blood pumping to start the day.
Next up were NY indie-pop band Beach Fossils at Neumos. The main floor was packed as I headed upstairs. To my surprise, at this time in the afternoon, there was barely anyone upstairs at Neumo's. This became my refuge from the crowds and the heat, between acts, for the remainder of the weekend. The hazy indie-pop seemed to flow from Beach Fossils effortlessly.
The Drowning Men immediately followed Beach Fossils with their brand of melodic rock. Listening to them play, it was clear that Modest Mouse is a big musical influence for the band. One welcome surprise was when they broke into a short instrumental of a waltz from the movie "Donnie Darko." It's just something you never expect to hear live on stage.
By this time I made my way back to the Main Stage to see what I thought would be Blitzen Trapper. Because of the Blonde Redhead illness moving everyone a set time later, Avi Buffalo took to the stage. They were a pleasant surprise, a southern fried surf-rock band from Long Beach, California. The mix on the Main Stage was still suffering a bit, and their insanely melodic sound came across the speakers slightly distorted, and their vocal melodies on songs such as "Truth Sets In" weren't allowed to shine through. The sound quality for each individual person partially depended on how close they were able to get to the stage. The sound did not carry well.
Portland's Blitzen Trapper took to the stage shortly after 7pm to a dense, excited crowd. Their vocal harmonies invoke comparisons to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young crossed with Queen, especially on "Destroyer of the Void." The acoustic majesty of "Below the Hurricane" was a highlight of the set and sounded amazing as it did not overpower the sound system. They did a great job mixing their traditional country leaning numbers between more rock centered ones.
Over at the Vera Stage, a performance billed as a hip-hop showcase was taking place. Featuring prominent local MCs Grynch, Spaceman and State of the Artist I figured this was not one to miss. I was wrong. As I approached the stage all I could hear was bass and sampled beats so overpowering I could barely hear any vocals at all. So much for that.
The New York dance-rock collective !!! took what had originally been Blonde Redhead's time slot on the Main Stage. These guys are fun. They struck me as a kind of dance rock version of Jane's Addiction. Into their danceable club rock they infuse electronic space rock elements, R&B sounds in the vein of Prince and Michael Jackson and even horns. They were one of the most eclectic acts of the entire weekend. The heavy drums and bass rhythm of "Must Be the Moon" was perfectly placed, just as the sun went down and a nearly full moon rose to the east.
Before the headline Main Stage act, I decided to quickly check out a couple minutes of Feral Children at the Cha Cha Lounge and Grand Hallway at the Vera Stage. Feral Children were almost too loud for the small, compact Cha Cha. The sound seemed cranked to 11. That was not a good thing. Feral Children sounded good, but feedback was killing their set. I booked it over to catch Grand Hallway. Their classical-folk infused indie-rock was a welcome contrast to the Cha Cha. Their string component and wonderful melodic vocal harmonies were refreshing. It was music to enjoy and relax to before heading back to the Main Stage for Atmosphere.
The crowd at the Main Stage swelled to epic proportions. By this time many in the crowd had been drinking all day and the pushing forward, positioning for the show had begun. Fortunately Saturday's crowd wasn't nearly as crazy as Friday's. The crowd cheered as the stage backdrop for Atmosphere, a hip-hop group from Minneapolis, was unveiled. Their mix of hip-hop beats and live instrumentation compares to an artist like Everlast. As pot smoke infiltrated the air, MC Slug called out to the crowd, interacting effectively. With rhymes like "Some people call me Sean, you can call me so-crates," they had the audience hooked.
It was a strong end to day two, setting up an even stronger day three to close out the weekend.
