Friday…

We started Friday early. I got up to head down and help set up an AAM party which garnered me my only drink ticket of the festival. In other words, not worth the 9 AM wake up but who knew? I ran to the Flamingo Cantina, a small reggae bar, at 12 to catch my second Mumford and Sons show. This one included their fourth member who played keyboards it turned out. They did four songs again, but no overlaps from Wednesday night. They closed with what I would imagine would happen if Bruce Springsteen wrote words to an Ennio Morricone tune then rocked real hard. It was awesome.

We hustled down the street to the Mohawk for the Hot Freaks! party but were turned down at the door, apparently it was 21+. That didn’t quite stop us, we ended up watching the end of a Bishop Allen set from the stage door then the Handsome Furs from the load in alley next door. Both were great but I would’ve loved to be closer for the Handsome Furs. We gave up on the alley and headed to Emo’s for the Pitchfork/Windish party. We saw a bit of The Mae Shi, not enough to call it a set, then went inside for School of Seven Bells. Maybe it was the crowd, but they were a bit underwhelming. I love the record but it was kinda sleepy live.

The Dirty Projectors woke me up. With absolutely stunning vocal work and Dave Longstreth’s virtuosic guitar work, their musical ability was unparalleled by any band I saw all week, especially a new song featuring an interlocking vocal part that boggled my mind. Their new album is going to be incredible. We left the venue and headed back to Club DeVille to that same alley as before. They were even more lax about watching it so we just walked up the ramp nearly to the stage and watched the Hold Steady like we did that kind of thing all the time. It was cool watching them from the side but not quite the same as being in the thick of the crowd. As soon as we were confident they wouldn’t come after us if we jumped in, we did just that and made a beeline for front and center. They played the most comprehensive set I’ve ever seen drawing on old material like “Most People are DJ’s” and “The Swish” as well as new b-side “Ask Her for Adderall”.

Thoroughly rocked, we went back for dinner. We wolfed down some enchiladas and rushed back to try to catch the Sonics at Emo’s Outdoors. After seeing the badge line stretched almost three block down the street, I decided to head to the Ground Control Party to see The Love Language instead. I decided as soon as they started that I had made a good choice. On record they opted for a lo-fi maximalist sound that I have previously likened to the Neutral Milk Hotel covering the Magnetic Fields. In concert, their melodies came alive with a vibrancy I didn’t expect from the singer’s voice. Following the Love Language came Dawes. Dawes just played here supporting Delta Spirit in February. After seeing them at Castaways I knew I should see them again in Austin. They were great as before and got a HUGE response from the crowd. You’ll be hearing more about them soon I’m sure.

We went back to the Mohawk after that show to catch yet another Hold Steady set. I missed the Ettes because I was getting food but heard they were fairly normal girl power-pop fare. The Soft Pack was absolutely terrible so I opted to head inside to see Adam Stephens of Two Gallants. He is doing some solo work apparently and brought a small band to play his pieces. It was a lot like Bright Eyes but in all the good ways that people sound like Bright Eyes and not too much so to be mimicry. I’m looking forward to some recordings. The Hold Steady was awesome again…I don’t know how much more I can write about them. They closed with the triple crown of “Southtown Girls”, “Slapped Actress”, then “Killer Parties” which ruled. Craig gave his “Rock and Roll is Full of so Much Joy” speech over the beginning of Killer Parties and let the crowd chant out the final refrains while he bounced around and egged them on.