This past weekend was one of the most intense, exhausting, and fun weekends I’ve experienced in a long time. I traveled back to LA to catch the FYF Music Festival, and got back in time for work Monday morning. Along the way I walked for miles on a bruised ankle, drove 400 miles in the early dawn hours, and went through 31-hours of no sleep. Oh, and of course I saw some of the most jaw-dropping performances by some amazing bands at the festival and took a friend to explore LA for the first time. Read on for the full scoop!
My journey back to LA started last Friday night at 11 PM. I took my skateboard and hiking backpack and skated a mile and a half from my apartment to the Megabus stop. Thanks to the heavy backpack, my center of gravity was off so I fell off my skateboard when I hit one of those yellow bumpy things on the sidewalk. No serious injury but I managed to bruise my ankle. Oh well, had to get to the bus still. After an overnight ride on a freezing bus (I brought a blanket this time), I arrived at LA Union Station and found out that since it was the weekend, the next train to my city would arrive in two hours. I grabbed some breakfast at Starbucks, walked around for a bit, and finally caught the train home. Because my family was at New York this weekend to move my brother to college, no one could pick me up so I ended up walking/skating about 3.5 miles in the hot sun, ending with a brutal uphill climb, but I eventually made it home.
After taking care of some stuff (and taking a nice nap), I took out the car and was on my way to Day 1 of FYF Fest! I met up with my co-worker Chris, a friend I’d met last summer when we were fellow interns. We proceeded to catch some pretty impressive shows, including a sick performance by soul singer Charles Bradley. For an older gentleman, he was surprisingly energetic, pulling off all the classic soul moves, from gyrating hips, James Brown-esque screams, and even the splits. He poured his heart into his performance, and we were happy to have witnessed it. After Toro Y Moi and Deerhunter, we tried out the Kogi food truck for dinner, grabbed some water, and went on our way to the night time performances of the bigger bands.
Up first was TV on the Radio, an indie rock band from New York that incorporated soul, post-punk, and electro into its music. As expected, the band had a very unique sound and wins my award for most surprisingly-good live performance – I’d heard some studio-recorded songs on the band’s newest album but the live performance was filled with emotion, presence, and connection. The group interacted with the crowd and generally enjoyed themselves and had a good time.
Saturday night’s headlining act was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Karen O and company did not disappoint. The performance was full of theatrics as Karen O screamed and howled while swinging the mic on its cord and singing everything from oldies to new material to fan favorites. There was an awesome light show and plenty of dramatic back-to-crowd freeze poses, plus an impressively-timed confetti explosion near the end of the set. The performance was a perfect end to a great first day at the festival.
I had higher anticipations for Day 2, which would see performances from some of my favorite bands, including the legendary group My Bloody Valentine.
That morning Chris and I explored LA, including the Staples Center, Downtown LA, LA Live, and some other places. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and we strolled with other tourists in the area, stopping to admire statues of Magic Johnson and other famous Lakers and reading the Grammy award plaques on the ground.
We arrived on the festival grounds in the early afternoon, and I immediately noticed the beautiful Los Angeles downtown skyline in the backdrop. Did I mention it was a particularly nice day? Even the smog couldn’t obscure much of the sky, which was a healthy blue. Perfect start as we walked into Pional’s set to enjoy some smooth electro, then to Kurt Vile’s set to listen to some chill guitar playing and singing. After catching part of Yo La Tengo, we grabbed a quick dinner and camped out at the main stage to prep for the night performances.
The next three hours were absolutely memorable. We started with dream pop duo Beach House and enjoyed the starry light show that reminded me of the xx’s set at Coachella. So calming and beautiful. Then came MGMT’s set, which was another pleasant surprise since I haven’t heard much of the band’s newer stuff. They did a great job interspersing old hits (“Electric Feel,” “Time to Pretend,” and “Kids”) with their more experimental newer songs. Plus that light show and video was super trippy – walking lobster-humans, rainbow roads, you get the idea.
And then it was time. The screens flashed with the warning for people to wear earplugs – My Bloody Valentine would be playing. The shoegaze band was known for their crazy-loud performances, which a fan nearby described as “standing next to a jet taking off.” I’d prepped beforehand and brought a pair of nicer high-fidelity earplugs, and when the band started playing, I was still impressed by the wall of sound. It’s been over two decades since their 1991 classic Loveless, but the band sounded as fresh as ever, playing oldies as well as songs from their newest album, this year’s critically-acclaimed mbv.
At several points, the band was so loud that the guitars caused technical issues with the PA system, which was pretty disappointing but still didn’t take much away from the fact that I was watching one of the sweetest bands of the last twenty years. Lead singer/guitarist Kevin Shields took the issues in stride, and the crowd cheered the band on as they continued to play. The final song was mind blowing, with a full two-minute long wall of sound that kept on going before blasting into the refrain once more. At one point I took off my earplugs to enjoy the full extent of the sound, and it was LOUD. It was definitely a good day.
Although the concert finished by midnight, I still had a long way to go in my journey. I drove back home, picked up my stuff that I’d be moving up north (including my hamster Esau), and embarked on a seven-hour all-nighter drive to the Bay Area. Luckily I had a passenger, a mutual friend who was going back for the start of school at Cal. We chatted for most of the trip and I was glad I was able to stay awake because of that. We rolled into the Bay Area in the early morning, and I went to work right after. Even though it was a tough day, I managed to make it to 5:30 PM, finally heading home after 31 hours of no-sleep and immediately falling into a deep sleep of 13 hours.
FYF Fest was amazing, memorable, and exhausting. There were so many other ways I could’ve traveled and gotten around, but I chose the hard way because I was up for the challenge and I knew I wouldn’t have the energy to do something like this again in a few years. So here’s to youth, fun times, and good music! Looking forward to more in the near future!
Here’s to good music and good times
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