photo credit: ashley hopper
with the first day of summer fest behind us, the wwm fam and friends once again descended upon eleanor tinsley park to bear witness (get it?) to sets from even more texas bands and a modern-day glam rock headliner. the day would be full of scattered showers, endless vitamin water, a paint slide, and a trippy little guy who only came to be known as ‘hippie mike‘.
-sunbear/grizzly
photo credit: mark c. austin
we arrived at summerfest: day two, quickly claiming our spot from the previous day as austin’s eastern sea were in mid set. with enough band members to rival broken social scene and more musical talent to boot (lookit an accordion!) the eastern sea treated us to their pastoral indie-folk. their warm tranquil sound was a perfectly peaceful introduction to the day’s festivities.
photo credit: mark c. austin
with the rain causing a delay to the entire festival, houston’s very own sideshow tramps took it upon themsleves to cut their set time and cram a whole 45 minutes of energy into their rollicking 15 minute set. turns out the freewheeling americana-inspired rock and roll was just what houston needed after the dreary weather that plagued the festival. i’ve only two words to describe their performance: “honky-tonk”. take that to the bank and cash it.
photo credit: mark c. austin
ah, the adorable ankle-biters of wild moccasins. already locally renowned for their pop prowess as well as their playful live shows, the houston quintet possessed an unbridled energy, perfectly reflecting their youthful exuberance. the sprightly moccasins played to their twee-strengths, dual vocalists cody swann and zahira guitierrez harmonizing perfectly to their keyboards and quirky guitar licks courtesy of andrew lee. our tutu clad leading lady even bombarded the audience with water-balloons prior to their hit “fruit tea”. quite possibly the cutest moment of summerfest. this band has such a bright future and it’s gratifying to see them play to such a large audience that the moccasins are certainly worthy of.
the wild moccasins on myspace
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wild moccasins – fruit tea
photo credit: mark c. austin
new york’s prince paul treated houston to a dj set of self-described “hip-hop history”. originating from the same native-tongues collective that spawned a tribe called quest and de la soul, prince paul certainly has the roots and authority to give houston a proper “hip-hop 101”. assembling cuts from all corners and eras of hip-hop, from black sheep, to nas, to dr. dre, prince paul proved to be the most proficient teacher, all the while moving bodies.
prince paul on myspace
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de la soul – ghetto thang
photo credit: mark c. austin
austin’s smiths-y, lo-fi kings of twee voxtrot took the stage to the clamor of the younger ladies of summerfest. lead singer/guitarist ramesh srivastava played to the audience, regularly commenting on their voxtrot-related attire as well as the heat, which almost took him with it as it blighted the stage. still the young men of voxtrot played on, ramesh’s confectionery sweet vocals unmarred by the sweltering sun, the music as bouncy and lively as their core audience. songs from their first two eps sounded beefier and more realized and their musicianship was remarkably tight: an exuberant and refreshing pop addition to the summer festivities.
voxtrot on myspace
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voxtrot – kid gloves
photo credit: mark c. austin
it’s difficult to pin a single genre of music to what made milwaukee famous save to say they sound much akin to their austin bretheren spoon; if spoon embraced the power-pop of big star with both arms, that is. comparisons aside wmmf played a rousing set of songs that kept the kinetic energy alive: the perfect summertime festival band.
what made milwaukee famous on myspace
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what made milwaukee famous – sultan
photo credit: mark c. austin
devin the dude came out simultaneously with everyone’s peace pipes and kind bud. a cloud of mary j. smoke brushed over the crowd as the dude breezed through his catalog. he even treated the crowd to his patented verbal beatboxing ability. it’s always a good thing to be able to claim artists as hometown heroes, but it could be better. i mean, he’s a great performer and all, but you can only enjoy so many songs about receiving oral sex and smoking reefer when you aren’t under the influence.
devin the dude on myspace
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dr. dre – fuck you f. devin the dude and snoop dogg
photo credit: mark c. austin
the always flamboyant and flashy of montreal brought their whole stage setup to summerfest: disco-inspired drum risers, kaleidoscopic projections of psychedelia, confetti, and more costumes than a halloween party. it all made for a grand spectacle that of which i’m fairly certain not a single person could discern any significance. there were the gas mask-family presenting a smoldering present to a rabbit-like humanoid, the gold buddha that mysteriously vanished into thin air, and what could only be described as oogie-boogie from the nightmare before christmas. presentation aside (and there was much to be seen), of montreal executed their songs splendidly, kevin barnes making for a formidable frontman, prancing about like a young bowie, to the extent that they even covered “moonage daydream”: his sexiness and ambiguous dancing perfectly correlating to the music: a mix-mosh of electronica, soul, jangly pop and glam rock. compromised of equal parts of their latest album skeletal lamping to their older material, of montreal’s set played like a greatest hits collection: from the nascent disco synths of “the party’s crashing us now” to the overly pretentious movements of “beware our nubile miscreants”. for a band whose over the top theatrics threaten to overshadow their musicianship, of montreal proved that they are as adept a live band as they are a full on production. fun and gayness was had by all.
of montreal on myspace
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of montreal – she’s a rejector
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VIDEOS:
the wild moccasins performing “spanish + jazz” at the summerfest in houston, tx on 8-09-09
voxtrot performing “the start of something” at the summerfest in houston, tx on 8-09-09
devin the dude performing “do what you wanna do” at the summerfest in houston, tx on 8-09-09
don’t forget to check out the of montreal video post as well.
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that’s day two. see ya next year!
-sunbear
WEWOREMASKS IS DEAD. 