Good lord, did we have a ball at LA’s FYF Festival this past weekend. Add the brilliantly curated festival to the top of your West Coast Festival bucket list ASAP, trust us. To sum it up in terms we can all understand, it’s basically the Treasure Island Music Festival of LA, minus the surrounding body of water, Golden Gate Bridge view, and add in 90 degree weather.
Tuesday: Rudimental at 1015 Folsom (DJ set)
London's underground music scene has long been obsessed with the idea and function of pirate radio. The spirit of pirate radio still percolates around the heads of British artists, even in places where you’d least expect it. UK DJ/house phenomenon Rudimental carries the pirate radio flag, annexing improvised studios and venues wherever seems appropriate. Their 1015 Folsom gig will be a bit more formal, but the drum-and-bass-meets-soul aesthetic matches the 1015 Folsom late-night-dance-party ideology squarely.
Wednesday: The Presidents of The United States of America at Slim's
Presidents of the United States of America drummer Jason Finn sums up his band’s working philosophy — some 20+ years in the making — just about how you would expect a 20+ year band to characterize their work rate: "We've done a pretty good job of, when we start to feel overwhelmed, taking a step back, or even taking a year off. It's a little perverse, maybe, but we're good at our work ethic by keeping our work ethic kind of low." (Salt Lake City Weekly) Of course, we can’t mention Presidents of the United States without recalling the oh-so-weird P.U.S.A. music videos of the ‘90s. Let’s face it, if you’re going to the show, it’s because these music videos are everything:
Friday: Mission of Burma at The Independent
When Mission of Burma reunited with the universally acclaimed OnOffOn in 2004 after a two-decade moratorium on MoB indie rock manufacturing, Pitchfork wrote the following: “Mission of Burma's composite disgust with pretense remains steadfast, all these years later. A de facto bullshit detector for the blow-wave 1980s, the band's millennial reunion was more than timely, it was desperately necessary.” The monoculture needs aforementioned BS detectors such as Mission of Burma — John Olivers wherever people are paying attention. We can only hope they’re not a dying breed in music, as visionary independent bands like Mission of Burma fade into nostalgia territory. Fads will be fads, but who can carry the spirit of MoB into the consciousness of future generations? Bieber, it’s up to you.
Saturday: Peaking Lights at The Chapel
Here’s some really, really good news: Peaking Lights has a new album out this fall (Oct. 7), called Cosmic Logic, and if it’s anywhere near as powerful as 2012’s Lucifer, fans will lose it (not literally). The married LA duo has historically been all over the place — neo-psych, dub, shoegaze. This Chapel date should give us an idea of what’s in store this October.
Saturday: Todd Terry at Mighty
House/DJ hardcorists know the brilliance of Todd Terry, one of America’s preeminent disco/hip-hop fusioneers and pioneers. Terry came of age in the ‘80s, when “house music” was understood to be music played at one’s house. Terry has since turned his name brand into Todd Terry-led collectives such as the Todd Terry project and Todd Terry All Stars.
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