Photos and Review: FYF Fest 2013 (Day One)

It was a gorgeous and piping hot afternoon yesterday in downtown Los Angeles as the 10th annual FYF Fest 2013 kicked off in the Los Angeles State Historic Park. With this year’s stages cleverly named after the main characters of Sex & the City, the festival boasted 29 incredible acts and a comedy stage. Although the number of performances were decreased from year’s past, FYF has never run smoother. Even the crazy plumes of dust seemed to have settled and lessened the morning-after dust rockets lodged in our noses.

New this year, the FYF Fest layout had life-size iPhone emojis spread out through the park. The popular “poop face” emoji was a real crowd-pleaser as fans ventured across the park to locate the shining turd just to take a photo with this new FYF celebrity.

Day one of FYF Fest 2013 was filled with so much amazing music. At times I wished I had a clone or a magical teleporter to transport me from stage-to-stage just so that I can catch every single performance. From headlining acts to smaller local bands, each performance was unique and bursting with energy.

CRYSTAL ANTLERS

L.A. locals, Crystal Antlers, kicked off the afternoon with an early set at the Charlotte stage. There was good sized crowd in attendance, which is not any easy task to accomplish as one of the opening acts at a major music festival. But these Long Beach shredders have dedicated fans and made sure no one left their stage without a smile and a positive kick-start to the nine more hours of FYF.

ROKY ERICKSON

The godfather of pysch, Roky Erickson impressed the crowd with his guitar and crooning skills. Even at the weathered age of 66, Roky still kept up with the energy radiating from his band (who by the way, absolutely shredded some amazing guitar textures) and fans. The man even played “You’re Gonna Miss Me” and “Two-Headed Dog.”

CHARLES BRADLEY

Radiaiting with so much heart and soul, the always amazing Charles Bradley transported fans to the funk-driven soul days of the 60s and 70s. It is nearly impossible to not feel some sort of emotion when watching Charles Bradley perform live; and it’s equally impossible to not dance to his savory soul tunes.

THE BREEDERS

Watching the Breeders perform songs from Last Splash, on their side-stage was a 90s dream come true. This nostalgic album was the fist cassette tape I ever owned. Seeing Kim Deal in action with her original line-up was so such sweet nostalgia. The Breeders pulled in a massive crowd as heads banged to the ferocious sound of “Cannon Ball” and “Divine Hammer.”

THE LOCUST

While the 90s rock ‘n’ roll settled, we geared up for a riveting session of hadrcore punk. The Locust blew minds at the the Miranda stage with their vicious grindcore. Disguised in their usual bring-out-the-gimp creepy-like masks, the Locust paved the way for the madness that was about to ensue on the Miranda stage.

THEE OH SEES

Thee Oh Sees kept the Miranda stage sizzling with guitar wails as they brought their quirky experimental rock jams to the forefront. Fans took most pleasure in their epic gumbo of punk, garage, psych and noise. Directly proceeding Thee Oh Sees were FLAG; and that’s when the stage got real wild with circle pits, moshing and dust plumes. Keith Morris was a fierce machine behind the mic spitting out some hard lyrics as the band crashed on our domes with a furry of sound.

DEATH GRIPS

Ladies and gentlemen, the moment of truth: DEATH GRIPS DID SHOW UP FOR THEIR FYF FEST SET! And the shit was off the hook (although we could not make out what MC Ride was saying). It seems as though Death Grips is over with their string of no-shows, and it was evident more than ever that their fans were incredibly stoked on the madness that was Death Grips at FYF.

Closing our day one experience of FYF, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs got our blood pumping with new songs such as “Sacrilege,” and memorable hits suchas as the tear-inducing “Maps” and the power punch of “Gold Lion.” For this hot evening performance, the fiery Karen O traded in her bolero pants for a pair of shimmery short shorts. The woman had so much stage energy and presence, it was as though she had everything under the stars at FYF under her captivating musical spell. Words can’t describe what a great show the Yeah Yeah Yeahs put on, and they are one of the few bands that you never tire of seeing live.

All-in-all, day one of FYF was perfect. I can’t think of one negative experince, except for maybe the nasty porto potties that reaked of high levels of amonia seeping out from the pools of collective piss. Holy shit, that gnar was toxic and made me gag a few times, but I’d endure it all over again just to relive that beautfiul feeling of musical bliss derived from FYF.

P.s. We also caught Title Fight, Ty Segall, Joyce Manor, Lemuria, Metz, and more! Photos below!

Words: Sandra Burciaga

Photography: Monique Hernandez

CLICK HERE FOR FYF FEST 2013 PHOTOS – DAY TWO! SUNDAY!

JOYCE MANOR