With few of the kinks worked out, the second day of FYF Fest had much faster security lines and an expanded capacity inside The Arena. They even gave out free bottled waters inside and outside the venue which somewhat made up for the issues of the first day. You can tell that everyone was still in recovery mode from the night before and the crowd needed a little pick me up which they received by way of Benjamin Booker’s set on the Lawn Stage.
Booker’s intensity got everyone moving as he played his blues, garage, and punk inspired brand of rock. Backed by his drummer, Max Norton, the duo created a furious racket on the big stage. Booker mesmerized the crowd with his simple and urgent guitar strumming and raw, whiskey-soaked voice.
Lead by a satin-suited Adam Bainbridge, Kindness brought the disco to the Main Stage. Bainbridge was joined by a talented band and two female backing singers. They played a very downtempo, low-fi style of disco that had the sun drenched audience swaying left to right throughout their set.
Kelela was up next in the Arena Stage. Kelela plays a very fresh and eclectic style of R&b that’s truly unique. Her confident and sultry vocals are mixed and layered by DJ Fade 2 Mind over samples, beats and (very) heavy bass. Her set consisted mostly of tracks from her acclaimed debut mix tape Cut 4 Me.
Back on the Main Stage, Mac DeMarco and his merry Canucks treated the crowd with his unpretentious style of indie rock and their happy-go-lucky attitude towards music (and really much of anything). Mac and company entertained the audience with tracks from their latest Salad Days and had them laughing with their on-stage banter.
Stephen Brunner, better known as Thundercat dazzled the Lawn Stage crowd with his six string bass. No frills here, just a master and his instrument. On the track “Daylight,” Brunner jammed relentlessly on his guitar, moving up, down and sideways on the fret board and occasionally muttering the words “Free Your Mind.”
At sunset, it was time for The Bronx to hit the Trees Stage. The LA band played a raucous set with lead singer Matt Caughthran relentlessly engaging the crowd to dance and get the pit going. The audience happily obliged with a constant stream of crowd surfers falling over the barricade.
On the Main Stage, Dev Hynes’ Blood Orange delivered some much need funk and R&B. Dev, his five-piece band and back-up singers got the things moving as night fell. Blood Orange’s opened with crowd favorite “Champagne Coast” followed with “Bad Girls” and “You’re Not Good Enough.”
Murder City Devils’ set on the Trees Stage went through like a storm. The Seattle foursome played an explosive set with as the crowd kicked up a dust cloud above the dance floor. Singer, Spencer Moody had full control of the audience throughout their performance.
Los Angeles’ darlings Haim delighted the Main Stage crowd with an electric stage show. Sisters Danielle, Este and Alana did not disappoint the masses opening with their hit song “Falling.” The band also played their favorite Fleetwood Mac cover “Oh Well” and closed with “Let Me Go.”
The long awaited reunion of The Blood Brothers took place at the Trees Stage. The punk quintet broke up in 2007 and reunited to play FYF and a handful of reunion shows. The band didn’t waste any of their set time, playing 16 energizing songs of angst and rage.
This year’s headliners, The Strokes have been looking and sounding effortlessly cool since 1998. The New York five-piece started their set with “Barely Legal” and followed with “Welcome to Japan.” Julian’s vocals wandered in and out of Nick and Albert’s catchy guitar riffs on “Razor Blade” and “Under Control.” The band’s encore “New York City Cops” put the finishing touches on a remarkable set.
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