FYF Fest: The Saturday artists to see, hour by hour
About 40 performers will take to one of four stages today at downtown’s FYF Fest. Pop & Hiss will be on the scene and file updates periodically all weekend, but be prepared before making the trek to the Los Angeles State Historic Park.
What follows is an hour-by-hour look at what artists to see on Saturday.
Someone missing? Yell at us in the comment section, or be nice and say hi at the festival.
Saturday
Noon
First choice: Doldrums (12:30 p.m., Broadway Street).
Of all the electronic artists on the FYF bill, perhaps no one will distort a listeners’ sense of time and place more than Airick Woodhead, whose samples, beats and screams time-travel through decades and ricochet across borders.
Second choice: The Orwells (12:55 p.m., Spring Street).
Suburban Chicago’s the Orwells don’t say much, and when they do it’s usually shouted hoarsely in call-and-response vocals. It’s scruffy, loud and full of questions that seem like a big deal when you’re 17, like, “What happened to the other guy?â€
1 p.m.
First choice: Fidlar (1:15 p.m., Spring Street).
The current poster boys for SoCal punk rock. Extremely excitable and bratty, with some hand claps and references to surfing culture thrown in for good measure. Consider this the day’s wake-up call.
Second choice: Sandro Perri (1:45 p.m., Hill Street)
Perri’s soft rock slow-jams and jazzy flourishes risk being the exact opposite of what’s needed in the blazing hot sun, but his mix of folk and electronic are rarely less than elegant.
2 p.m.
First choice: Moonface (2:30 p.m., Main Street)
This is indie rock that aims for the shadows, and Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) finds light in scraping guitars; booming, rhythmic taunts; and haunted-house keyboards.
Second choice: The Men (2:25 p.m., Hill Street)
New York punk rock act the Men are tightly wound, as this is guitar rock that’s always on the verge of tripping over itself and falling into chaos.
3 p.m.
First choice: Redd Kross (3:10 p.m., Spring Street)
Cult heroes on the L.A. scene, Redd Kross is celebrating its first album in 15 years, and it’s full of biting humor and racing melodies -- power-pop at its most relentless.
Second choice: A.A. Bondy (3:45 p.m., Hill Street)
A reformed alt-rocker who offers lessons in Southern folk rock. Gothic at times and full of wide-open atmosphere at others, but always with an emphasis on song craft.
4 p.m.
First choice: Cloud Nothings (4:15 p.m., Spring Street)
The band’s latest, “Attack on Memory,†was a revelation, especially for those who long for the slacker-guitar grandeur of the early Replacements.
Second choice: The Vaselines (4:55 p.m., Hill Street)
The once smart-aleck kids are now gleefully bitter adults but still funny and almost childishly obsessed with sex.
5 p.m.
First choice: F... Up (5:25 p.m., Spring Street)
FYF on Day One will be a joy for fans of guitar-based rock, and few here do it better than this band whose name we can’t print. These anthems are over the top, but the band treats its bursts of guitar noise as if it’s arranging a venomous orchestra.
Second choice: Nite Jewel (5:15 p.m., Broadway Street)
Ramona Gonzalez stays true to the sounds of ‘80s synth-pop, but it’s the details that count, and each song is packed with an assortment of lovely accouterments.
6 p.m.
First choice: Warpaint (6:55 p.m., Main Street)
A stunning local rock band that stresses patience, ambiance and the joys of overthinking. The main reason to see this set, however, is to possibly glimpse some new material.
Second choice: Future Islands (6:05 p.m., Hill Street)
This is low-fi dance-pop soul music, with some of the most anxious, love-torn lyrics one is likely to hear this weekend.
7 p.m.
First choice: Tanlines (7:35 p.m., Broadway Street)
The songs on the band’s “Mixed Emotions†gradually grow in sound and scope, with nods to New Order tunefulness and LCD Soundsystem-like grooves. The most important ingredient, however, is the duo’s backpacker’s view to synth pop.
Second choice: James Blake (7:50 p.m., Spring Street)
Find some shade and rest the sunburn, as Blake bridges the gaps between DJ culture and vintage soul music.
8 P.M.
First choice: Purity Ring (8:25 p.m., Hill Street)
FYF takes a turn to the electronic later in the evening, and one can do far worse than Purity Ring, which offers rainbow-hued pop at its most glitchy.
Second choice: Sleigh Bells (8:10 p.m., Main Street)
This noise-pop duo’s momentum has seemed to have slowed, but wide-open festival stages are what these hard-rock dance-jams are made for.
9 p.m.
First choice: M83 (9:25 p.m., Main Street)
The sci-fi soundscapes of Anthony Gonzalez always make for a trippy experience. This is richly textured electro-pop where the keyboards are layered, the beats are driving and the songs put an emphasis on hand-holding geniality.
Second choice: Quicksand (9:10 p.m., Spring Street)
Beloved but little known in the ‘90s, the alt-metal of Quicksand specializes in snakey beats and big choruses.
10 p.m.
First choice: Suicide of Western Culture (10 p.m. Broadway Street)
FYF founder Sean Carlson is taking a risk putting these unknowns on during a headlining slot, but all signs point to these Spaniards providing avant-electronic worth exploring, boasting Radiohead-like paranoia, elastic grooves and beats with a neon hiss.
Second choice: Refused (10:55 p.m., Main Street)
The extreme leftist punk of Refused is preaching to the choir, but during an election year, this will be music to the ears of many in the crowd.
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