FFF Wrap: Nathan.Lankford Edition
Now that we’ve recovered, somewhat, it’s time we take a look at the highs and lows of Fun Fun Fun Fest 8, wrapped up at Auditorium Shores this past weekend. As long supporters of the festival, there’s lots of commentary on the slight changes and the future of the festival.
You’ll have to read on for those thoughts below.
I should probably start with my commentary, before getting into my highlights; I like to leave you on the positive tip. Going into the festival, we had already realized that the festival had changed its traditional two stages at each location for just one. The people I talked with didn’t seem to mind too much about that, though we all felt that it sometimes seems like you get more bang for your buck with twice as many bands…not to mention less time standing around. But, the one thing I hoped for out of the one stage line-up didn’t really seem to work in our favor: the sound.
I know there’s a lot going on at a festival, behind the scenes, so you can accept some occasional miscues on the sound. But, by and large, Friday’s sound was pretty horrendous. Bands I’ve seen perform a dozen times like The Walkmen gave off their worst performance. Those issues remained throughout the weekend on the Black Stage, but for the most part the Orange and Blue Stage seemed to have corrected their issues. It’s disappointing in the grand scheme of things, as a few of my favorite acts never got a chance to come to life, but I also heard that there were issues with the city as far as sound ordinance.
I’d love to say that I was overjoyed to catch so many bands I loved, but really, the sound kind of soured my weekend. I think the best sound came from the Yellow Stage, which wasn’t even really geared towards handling bands. But, perhaps that’s just because I saw Bill Callahan singing a cover of “White Light/White Heat.” That was honestly one of the best moments that I had all weekend. It’s sad that poor sound can dampen an entire experience, but I’m not going to lie and pretend like the weekend was incredible when there was such a glaring issue.
That being said, I did see some acts that perhaps did leave a lasting impression on me as I make my reflections. Catching the Impossibles for probably the 100th time, but my first in over 15 years was definitely a great experience. I could look beyond the sound issues because all I really needed was to see those guys up there playing together again; I might even have skanked a little bit.
Television was great, though I still think the vocals could have been upped a bit more. They were up for MIA at the end of the night, but Television didn’t get the same treatment. However, some of those songs are so dear to my heart that again, I can overlook anything and appreciate what was happening before me. And I guess that ties into the world of nostalgia, which is always one of the greatest things about Fun Fun Fun Fest. I mean, three of my top five acts of the weekend were all bands I either didn’t get a chance to see, or hadn’t seen in over a decade…just like Dismemberment Plan. I waited so long to hear “You Are Invited” again, and it lived up to every ounce of expectations.
Two of the newer acts that I appreciated were Beach Fossils, who consistently put on great sets, and also Chromatics. I didn’t really expect too much from the latter during the day time, but it came off far better than I expected. Both bands proved to me just why I’ve enjoyed their work, and continue to do so.
In the end, I think I give the weekend only one Fun, as opposed to three. True, the festival still embodies the best of the festival world in my eyes, bringing in all my three interests, musically speaking. Plus, it’s on a much smaller scale than other festivals in the country, so things aren’t too crowded; you still feel like you’re actually part of the show. But, that sound issue was huge for me, which really kind of ruined everything. But as a festival you live and you learn, so hopefully next year things are much improved; I still hope there is a next year.