Just when you thought you had read everything out there on FPSF IV [KAPOW!] we hit you with a reminder of how fantastic it was! Now that you have had ample time to recover, let’s revisit the summer kick-off party that continues to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue. First and foremost I would just like to say congratulations to all my weekend warriors out there that survived the heat and the lines. If you’re like me, it definitely took a couple days to recoup from the exhaustion and awesomeness FPSF created.
I’m sure everyone had a fantastic time with all 92,000 (estimate according to 29-95) of their closest friends and family. I was incredibly impressed with the turnout and have never been more proud to be a Houstonian. It’s so refreshing to see a city that has one of the most under appreciated music scenes, in my opinion, come out and party for a good cause (the good cause of course being the support of great music). I was also very excited to see the livelihood of Houston’s finest and the brotherhood they exhibited. I definitely would not have made it through the weekend without the help of my fellow Houstonians sharing fans, food, water and shade.
And now for the moment all you readers have been waiting for… drum roll please… here comes the tunes! Here is a little taste of my observatory and interactive adventures through, dare I say it, the highlight of my summer and Summer Fest:
Summer Fest was getting busy within hours of opening it’s first day.
We start out our escapade with STRFKR and man did they give Stage One justice! These guys are young, but don’t let that fool you. STRFKR definitely knew how to bring the daytime disco to life early in the afternoon. I was most impressed with their energy and their early bird turnout. STRFKR played to a bunch of party people who made sure to beat the lines 0and snag a front row pit spot. By the third song, the heat started to kick in; however it seemed to boost morale more than ever. Thrashing water into the crowd and rocking out to hits like my personal fav, “Bury Us Alive,” these Portland hipsters definitely prove that Oregon might just be the place to be (in case you hadn’t already realized that from Portlandia).
Making my way to the Fancy Pants tent for my first interview, I enjoyed the rest of the set from there. Special thanks to FPSF for providing me with access to Fancy Pants tents by the way, it made life so much easier. (Side note: I have thoroughly enjoyed FPSF all four years, but this was my first time with my fancy pants on. That tent is a godsend. It’s definitely worth the bang for your buck with specialty drinks from one of my favorite Houston hotspots Anvil and AC – MMM – the only thing it was missing was restrooms, maybe next year…).
Snoop Dog
Back to the goods: I met up with Eastern Sea front man Matt Hines, and what a freaking sweetheart. There’s definitely no question why MTV Buzzworthy recently called him “your new indie crush.” In case you didn’t catch my preview piece (shame on you) let me fill you in a little. Eastern Sea is from Austin, TX and is releasing their much anticipated new record “Plague” soon – they are hitting up Mangos on July 6 for their Houston release, so make sure to mark your calendars! Eastern Sea is a beautiful mix of soft jams, finger picking guitar, horns, and Matt’s heavenly croon that truly comes from heart. I stand by my previous statement; their melodies make you want to MEOW! It’s any Bright Eyes or Death Cab fan’s dream come true. We talked about everything from Nine Inch Nails to Dave Matthews to the true meaning behind music (I told you I loved this guy). Now, I know you’re thinking, wait a minute Mer – you just said Bright Eyes and Death Cab and now you are bringing NiN into the mix – what? The nice thing about musicians is their diverse range of music. The main point to take away from our talk of rock is that all these guys, including the Eastern Sea, share one common aspect – they know how to pull through the whole set. Matt truly is a very talented guy, but talent isn’t everything. He went on to say, “Getting up the hill you use your talent, but you have to work really hard – it’s not all about the raw talent. I’m not looking for much, I’m not expecting the world, I just want people to take us seriously… at least until the next record drops.” I could not have said it better myself. I’ve had the pleasure of jamming the new tunes, and I definitely give it two thumbs up.
Moving on, I changed scenery as to kill two birds with one stone – hang out with Jirod Greene and his band of brothers Dietrich Schmidt and David Butler from Suite 709 and support my boy Z-RO. We spread out my twister mat and enjoyed the serenade. Suite 709 is definitely a band worth talking about. These boys are loyal Austinites and some really groovy dudes. Suite 709 is soulful, passionate and ready to rock your world. For a band just recently hitting the scene, these guys have big plans on the horizon. Rocking out to hits off their new CD like ‘Rockets,’ ‘Life Won’t Let You Down’ and doing a killer cover of Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy,’ this band defies decades and genres with a sound that combines the Jackson 5, John Legend, James Browne and many others. Barring comparisons with the greats, they have more energy than the energizer bunny and treat every show like one big party. When asked how they lay out their set, the front man Jirod replied, “We like to treat it like a workout. Start up the crowd, keep them rolling, slow down a little for a cardio break, hit the peak and leave them wanting more.” I had the pleasure of catching their set Sunday morning and definitely left full of endorphins. Suite 709 wins you over just by smiling. For real, these guys had me laughing the whole time. Make sure to jump on their bandwagon when they return for their summer tour, and keep an eye out for their debut album “Night & Day” heading to a record store near you.
Interview
After a little shade, I made my way over to Stage 2 for some Two Door Cinema Club and heard their hit ‘What You Know’ before quickly returning back to Stage 1 for some Major Lazer. What a character! His show was hilariously awesome. Between the booming of the yelling into the mic and really warming up the crowd with their crazy dancers, it was the perfect reggae remix to reboost some energy for the rest of the day. I spent the remainder at the main stage and enjoyed the musical stylings of Snoop Dogg and Afrojack. Oh where to start with Snoop. He played every song on my playlist and even sang – that’s right, sang. Kicking off with an intro only worthy of the rap king himself, he performed crowd pleasers like ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot,’ ‘Gin and Juice’, toasted Pimp C and finished off with a 5 minute rendition of “Young, Wild and Free” leading his followers in an a capella jam out. With a packed out crowd screaming his name and begging for more, Snoop proved that he truly is a mastermind and reminded me of why I became a fan in the first place.
Afrojack was the icing on the cake. Bringing electronic pizazz to the stage, I have never seen a crowd groove in such tandem. He was the maestro conducting a wave of movement through every spin and truly took over the crowd plugging them in and turning them on. Dropping hit mixes like ‘Hello,’ Nick created a ripple effect of energy that seemed to barrel through the pit all the way to the back of the hill. It was a long day, but, as I said in my previews, FPSF is a marathon not a sprint – one down, one to go.
Full crowd
I kicked off my Sunday Funday by meeting with Young the Giant guitarist Jacob Tilley before his set, and what a cool way to start the day. I’ve always been a big proponent of YTG and their music, but, after hanging with this guy and catching his gig, I can officially say that I am fan. We began our convo by me complimenting him on his rad glasses and him responding wittingly “Thanks they help me see.” How refreshing to see a musician who actually needs glasses instead of just being another tool who wears them because he thinks he looks cool. JT was telling the truth as he let me try them on, and we then high-fived over the shared blessing of astigmatism [ha!]. YTG has known each other since high school and originally started as the band The Jakes with Sameer, Jacob, and Eric, but he went on to add that they were always hopping around with Payam and Francios, swapping musicians back and forth through different projects. YTG has blown up in the past couple years and the main thing I perceived from him was his appreciation. Young the Giant has a fleet of loyal followers who travel around just to be a part of the fun. My friend Tracy had seen them 2 times prior to FPSF, and when I told Jacob this he seemed taken aback saying, “We love our fans. Three years ago we were kind of off the grid, and now we are playing huge gigs and festivals like this. Sometimes I get lost in my head and forget that this is where I am. It’s really hard to believe.” Charming and modest – how delightful! Before we split our separate ways, he informed me that the tour ends in September and they head into the studio in November. New YTG in the near future, yes please!
Interview
YOUNG THE GIANT STOLE SUMMER FEST. When I say this, I mean it. They were by far my favorite. Spitting out hits like ‘Cough Syrup,’ ‘Guns Out,’ ‘My Body,’ ‘Strings’ and even breaking out a new hit, the boys had the crowd eating out of the palm their hands. It’s been a long time since I have seen a show where the fans and band were having as much fun as this one. From the moment they stepped on to the point they were packing up, the crowd didn’t stop singing, dancing and begging for more. Even when they got cut off, most everyone stuck around an extra five minutes chanting their names in hopes for one more song to hold them over. They wore me out, and it was totally worthwhile.
Exhausted and satisfied, I made my way on over to Stage 5 to catch up with Michael Kingcaid from What Made Milwaukee Famous. WMMF is currently in the process of mastering their new record “You Can’t Fall Off the Floor” to be out later this summer and are working on a new video for their single. This guy was awesome and his band really knows how to put on a show and keep the crowd going. What Made Milwaukie Famous is mainly from Austin, but the members are dispersed around Texas. I found out that because of this, practicing is almost impossible and they’re lucky to squeeze one in before a gig. If you caught their set, you would have never known. These guys are so in tune in their jams and really keep you rolling through. Everything about them is great, and you can definitely see why they have been a favorite since they began in 2003. WMMF had people literally dancing in streets with crowds layering all the way back to curb. Between their keys, kick drum, and vocals, there’s no question as to why these indie artists have made my list of bands to watch. They are also running a kickstarter campaign on Facebook to help fund their new vid, so, if you feel the need to throw some extra cash around, I’m sure they would be more than happy to take it off your hands.
Interview
Reunited with Electric Touch, and it felt just like old times. Isaac, Nikki, Shane, Christopher and Louis give new meaning to the genre Rock and synchronize their sound equally as well as they synchronize their attire. These guys have ‘rockstar’ written all over them. ET recently made it back to Texas after touring around the US, and it’s no wonder why their new record “Never Look Back” is making waves. From their crazy fans who stencil ‘Electric Touch’ in body paint on themselves to their tantalizing liveliness that beams off stage, this band is definitely worth keeping up with. I sat down with these lovely boys for a little and caught up on everything from tour essentials (Shane’s musts are chapstick, deodorant and of course a toothbrush) to what they like to shake to on the road (Alt Nation is a key component to keeping them going when their out and about). I can’t wait to spotlight these kids later this summer; however, until then, I will say to keep an eye out for upcoming shows and make sure to snag copies of their records. Pack pleasers that kept everyone’s ball rocking during their set were newbies like ‘Don’t Stop,’ ‘Magnetic’ and ‘Dominos’ as well as some of my favorite oldies including ‘Gimme A Sign,’ ‘Don’t Be Afraid,’ and ‘All the Love.’ Thank you Electric Touch for staying true and continuing to be a breath of fresh air.
Interview
Finished off the day in the pit for Pretty Lights and was nearing the point of collapse until the bass dropped. What a show and a fantastic surprise when one of my personal favorites, Mista Bun B, popped in to say hello. The question wasn’t ‘if’ Bun was going to make an appearance but ‘when,’ and he chose the most opportune moment to blow up the scene and make an already wild event into one for the books.
Thank you Free Press and the whole Summer Fest gang for putting on one of the greatest parties of the summer and setting the bar very high for music events to come. I can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeves for next year, but you can most certainly count me in!
Closing on the wise words of the Avett Brothers,
“I won’t look back; I left the people that do.
It’s not the chase that I love, it’s me following you”
-‘Kick Drum Heart’
Have a Summer Fest adventure of your own? Holla atcha girl!
– Mer
Meridith Knight
This story is part of the
SHOUT IT OUT LOUD
music editorial column
by Meridith Knight.
meridith.knight [at] eadolife.com
Until Next Year!
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