I had a blast at my first Edgefest, Edgefest 24. When I heard the line up, I knew I wanted to be there. The Edge, 102.1, is a Dallas radio station. I guess you would say alternative music. There were fourteen bands four of which where on my want to see and one on my must see list.
My absolute must see was Beck. It was my first time catching in him and he did not disappoint. I would say that he did a greatest hits show. I loved his new album, Morning Phase, but it's so chill that I worried it might not be the greatest live show. He only sang one song from Morning Phase, Blue Moon. Funky, white boy Beck was in full force. I love Beck's weirdness. I think that's what makes him so creative and different. I was a little disappointed that so much of the crowd cleared out for Beck's awesome show. It was a young crowd and I'm sure many of them did not have a great appreciation for Beck but I think those that stayed were won over.
Also high on my list was the Avett Brothers. I love the Avett Brothers. I love their heartfelt lyrics that I thought they might get a little lost in an event like this. I'm glad they were included because they're one of my top three bands but it surprised me from the Edge because I've only heard ONE of their songs played on their radio station and that was after they had been added to the line up. I think many of the regular Edge listeners were probably not familiar with the Avett Brothers. There were actually more people waiting for Cage the Elephant on the second stage than were watching the Avett Brothers on the main stage. Still they put on their usual high energy show. I really wish they would retire Talk on Indolence from the lineup. It's just too much for me but they seem to love performing it. Seth did some crowd surfing which was great! I want to see Avett Brothers whenever they come to DFW.
I think Cage the Elephant was the most popular band at the Edgefest. They had a great crowd and there was crowd surfing galore. I love Cage the Elephant just because they try to many different things and don't follow any narrowly defined genre. Some of it works great some things are a little out there but the result is always creative and interesting. Matt Shultz absolutely has moves like Jagger. He was all over the stage dancing and just so much fun to watch, loads more fun than the stand there and sing bands. I hope they just continue to grow in success and stay the unique creative band that are.
The Neighbourhood was another band that I wanted to catch. For some reason, I thought they were a British band but I was wrong. This was the band that I most wanted to give a make over. If you don't know the Neighbourhood, there most popular song is Sweater Weather. I love that song and Afraid. The singer looks like he should be signing in a heave metal band. he was wearing all black and has all kinds of tattoos. He looks like you would expect him to since Papa Roach songs but nope, not their music at all. I will offer my skills as a stylist to the singer free of charge.
I also wanted to see MS MR but only got to hear them as I was waiting to get in the gates. I should have left a little earlier. They did sound great.
My biggest surprise was the Kongos. They were one of my favorites of the day. They just have great driving beats in their songs. There's something about that tribal drumming that brings out our primal instincts. I also think you can't go wrong with a band that rocks out with an accordion. It's so unexpected.
Other random thoughts, Grouplove's Hannah Hooper wins the prize for most interesting ensemble for her blue body suit. Matt Shultz of Cage the Elephant looked sharp in all white. I love that the venue had clean bathrooms, not to be under appreciated at a music festival. Still I prefer grass under my feet at a festival. The teenage girls seemed to love Bastille the best or more particularly singer, Dan Smith. A big thank you to the weather for not being too hot and sunny but it was very, very windy.
