photo credit: greeneyeri

The second annual Free Press Summerfest music festival descended upon Eleanor Tinsley Park this past weekend, at nearly double the size of the inaugural run last year, proving that yes, Houston is a city that cares about and loves its music. Our neighbors, Austin boasts the smug motto of being the “Live Music Capital of the World” and though that isn’t without merit, Houston has simply had it with being overlooked, not only as a tour stop for major acts, but for its diverse local talent. Summerfest is the marriage of those very ideas: that our local bands can play alongside the best of the best, with acts ranging from our own darling Wild Moccasins, to the extravagant Flaming Lips whose presence hasn’t been felt by Houston in 10 years. The musical diversity was palpable: everything from the southern twang of Tennessee’s Lucero, to the eloquent indie pop of Canada’s Stars, to southern rappers Slim Thug and Bun B representing Houston’s burgeoning rap scene. And the bears were there to witness its greatness.

-sunbear/grizzly

photo credit: arielle gutierrez

Settling onto level ground, which was in scarce supply on the angular hillside of Allen Parkway, we were greeted to the Wild Moccasins, fresh from a national tour and back home where they belong. They were their usual selves, which is to say fetchingly exuberant as they played tracks from their newly released Skin Collision Past. Elsewhere, The Eastern Sea were indulging a small but devoted crowd to their baroque-rock sound. Their set at Cactus Records the day before found a truncated version of the band playing an intimate set on a stage just large enough to house a drumset. Given room, their 9+ member collective really flourished, with local rap artist and house favorite Fat Tony making a guest appearance to drop a few bars over their jams, the first of many surprises of the Summerfest.

photo credit: joe van

The song “Three MC’s and One DJ” should conjure up one thing and one thing only: the Beastie Boys and Mix Master Mike, the latter of which performed a deafeningly loud DJ set for the sweltering Houstonians watching the mainstage. Using old school chops with *gasp, an actual turntable, Mix Master Mike got Houston on its feel to the sounds of hip hop’s greatest, past and present.

Ra Ra Riot came on to an increasingly hot, burning Houston sun, which is surely out of the element. Their orchestral pop numbers, albeit precise and engaging, suffered from the day time heat. Any band with an electric cello (a mighty fine one at that) and a violin ensemble should have the benefit from playing at night time. The band managed to win over several fans after they burned through “Dying is Fine” and “Ghost Under Rocks,” among others off of their 2009 effort, The Rhumb Line.

photo credit: 29-95

Hollywood Floss, a local favorite, just dropped his record House of Dreams. Showing up to Summerfest backed by The Pinecones and Kidd the Great, Floss decided to run through songs off his newly released album, while throwing in his own interpretations to “Seven Nation Army” and Green Day’s “Brain Stew,” both of which were in heavy favor by the crowd. It’s safe to compare the energy of his set to N.E.R.D., which helps due to Floss’ strikingly similar appearance to one Skateboard P.

The sun had begun to set, but that wouldn’t stop Houston’s own Golden Axe from melting faces. A two piece band consisting of ridiculous riffs shredded over an absurdly shaped guitar, and the primal pulverizing of drum skins, Golden Axe brought heavy metal to the party and it was rousingly epic. As if to bring balance to the amount of machismo force in the air behind the Axe, Chicago’s Kid Sister sassed her way onto the stage to the electro beat of “Right Hand Hi” off her debut album Ultraviolet. Sharing the stage with naught more than her own DJ, Kid Sis took to kicking aside stage monitors to give her the appropriate space necessary to jerk and juke to her brand of Chicago house.

The Detroit Cobras from Detroit (surprise-surprise!) kept the girl power going with their gritty and raucous retro rock-and-roll sound, covering american blues and rock standards like “cha cha twist” and “bye bye baby” with a serious blousy swagger.

photo credit: joe van

Gregg Gillis aka mash-up master Girl Talk would close out the first night of the festival doing what he does best: stage-dancers, toilet-paper armed leaf-blowers, and hundreds upon hundreds of songs mashed into near oblivion. Ciara’s “My Goodies” coalesced with Boston’s “Foreplay/Longtime.” Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” collided with Dr. Dre’s “Tha Next Episode.” Guns n Roses’s “Paradise City” butted heads with Fat Joe’s “Lean Back.” There wasn’t a moment when someone’s favorite song wasn’t being played. The Summerfest volunteers were repaid for a hard day’s work with the chance to bump and shimmy with Gillis, who not only lost his shirt, but stood atop his DJ table, commanding all of Houston to dance or go home. And what a dance party it was. The whole of Summerfest’s attendees were on their feet, losing their shit to every beat, trying to keep up with Gillis’ manic time changes and song switches.

photo credit: tu-anh pham

To end night one’s festivities, the Houston crowd was treated to a fireworks display that was as awe-striking as any given performer. Seriously, we love fireworks.

Day Two’s recap coming soon, y’all.

-sunbear