FYF Fest – Oak Stage – Panda Bear

Noah Lennox (commonly known by his stage name Panda Bear) from Animal Collective brought the Oak stage to a close while The Rapture started on the Redwood stage. This has to be looked at as a blown opportunity. Animal Collective is at the peak of their artistic success, and each member is becoming a mini-celebrity in their own right. However, for some odd reason, Panda Bear elected to do his set without any backing band (almost all instrumentation was triggered) and hidden in shadows. There were soft and pleasant melodies to be had, but they were buried under a wall of psychedelic textures. Not to mention, that with PB in shadows, the backdrop was a wall of psychedelic images. The indie fans in attendance wanted to love this, but they were left a bit confused.