I cannot emphasize how great the music scene is here for the city of angels. We seem to be having some sort of music festival every weekend. So it was no exception that we went and had our 28th Annual Sunset Junction Street Festival this weekend (August 23rd and 24th) for year 2008.
It has the feeling of the Los Feliz Street Fair; relaxed, two stages, lots of food and informational stands for good causes. However, every aspect is just kicked up a bit in its magnitude. The stages were bigger - plus one, the plethora of food choices was more extravagant, the booths were catered more to general LA rather than focused on a certain area of LA, but most of all - the line up of bands was much greater in recognition and talent.
As any festival goes, the smaller names come first and the bigger name comes last. So it wasn’t a surprise that they put local LA bands such as The Happy Hollows, our friends Castledoor and The Henry Clay People on the stage to warm us up for the large acts. Although less recognized, this doesn’t mean they perform with less passion nor provide us with less talent. Local festivals like this are great because even though it might be too early on in the day for you to get up out of bed from a hangover, these bands are getting exposed as they take part in the musical history of 2008.
As I got off the Los Feliz shuttle, trolley, whatever you want to call it, I could already see the back of Bates stage, all the security guards, the man on the sidewalk who is setting up his knock-off sunglasses, the distant sounds such as Castledoor’s frontman belting it out…
By the time I really made it into the festival, Johnathon Rice was performing and I took a listen. A little too whiney for my taste so naturally, my ADD starts to kick in and what do I spot? A Heineken tent with free samples! You bet your ass the bf and I went straight in line to get our adorable miniature weizen shaped glasses of beer. They did refills too! So for not being too much of a fan standing and sweating in the sun, the Heineken tent was a perfect start to my first day of Sunset Junction. Did I also mention it was right in front of Bates Stage where all the local indie rock bands would be playing?
Now Sunset Junction is also an all day long festivity like so many others we hold here in LA. What to do before the long awaited big acts such as Menomena, Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids come on? There’s plenty. You could people watch. I mean, it was like hipster central. No, I’m sorry. It WAS hipster central. Not that there’s anything wrong with them but man they sure do make people watching more fun. You could watch people try to hold in all the burritos, burgers, fried foods and alcohol in as they put themselves through torture on ridiculous rides. The food was great; there was the typical American styled meals of burgers and fries… there was the great MexiCali dishes with burritos and tacos… and of course, there was your selection of funnel cakes! Why people go on nauseating rides after they eat all this delicious crap is mind boggling.
If you walked down the street a bit more, there were tons of tents selling jewelry, clothes, hats, and LA fashion for all. There were also booths ranging from political campaign recruitment, to supplies from women’s health clinics, and the chances to subscribe to your favorite local magazines. There was a lot to do for everyone of all ages. There were enough games and rides to please the little ones and there was enough booze on the streets to please the responsible adults.
If there wasn’t enough alcohol on the streets for you, there were also the local bars and coffee shops such as Malo (Indie’s home on Saturday), the classic cool bar restaurant and venue, El Cid (who also had shows going on), or even the favorite local coffee shop, Intelligentsia.
If you could enjoy yourself and just take in the scene during a festival like this, waiting for the big acts shouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t for me and I have a feeling the alcohol did its job in amusing the crowds before then. However, when those big acts did come on, it was definitely worth it.
Saturday:
Menomena - The crowds were finally so thick you couldn’t see past anything. Everyone was either really into Menomena or they just wanted to make sure they had their spot for Broken Social Scene. Either way, the band from Portland gave me another good show (I had previously seen them at 2007’s Pitchfork Music Festival) and they were able to continue gathering a crowd just for themselves.
Broken Social Scene - It’s always a good time with that many people on stage. Playing their songs of baroque pop and grand orchestrations of rock, the band really introduced us to the night as it got darker and their stage lights got brighter. Thank god for Canadian supergroups - especially ones that introduced us to Feist!
Cold War Kids - Something is not right with me. Love that song but something was definitely wrong with me as I started to feel all that booze hit me all at once. Although I only saw two songs by this group, they were still the great quirky rock band I discovered four years ago. Seeing them up close was a first for me and although I didn’t know if it was a rush of drunken stupor or a rush adrenaline from the crowd’s energy, I enjoyed my few minutes standing in their presence.
Sunday:
Beachwood Sparks - There’s been much talk about these guys this year since they’ve come back from their long hiatus. After arriving to the festival late on Sunday (see my explanation above under Cold War Kids), the band’s alt-country and psychedelic pop take on indie rock was a nice way to get back into it.
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) - Oh man, I had never seen these guys live nor was I a huge fan of them before but after their performance, I was pleasantly surprised by their combinations of dance and punk rock. The lead vocalist was all over the place and it was incredibly entertaining with his boyish yelps and kicks in his kid-like outfit of t-shirts and shorts.
Black Keys - I had been waiting FOREVER to see these guys live. Ever since my sister began crushing on guys with beards and discovering them after their breakout album, Magic Potion, I knew this band was one I had to see in concert. By now everyone was going to their designated stage whether it was for Jeffrey Osbourne or Kinky, but I had a feeling Black Keys definitely had the thickest and sardine packed like crowd to end the night. My expectations were not let down. Two guys on a guitar and a set of drums never sounded so good. Sure, there are The White Stripes, but what The Black Keys provide for their fans is the actual soul within their music. There’s this gritty, bluesy angst that comes out as raw and gorgeous in the rhythms and riffs that they put together. Black Keys were definitely the ultimate highlight of Sunset Junction 2008.
Photos by Jamie Engber and freeloosedirt
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Sandy // Aug 28, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Good on The Black Keys!
http://grimygoods.com/2008/08/26/southern-comfort-music-experience-san-diego-photos/ http://grimygoods.com/2008/08/27/sunset-junction-2008-photos/
2 Machan Holland // Aug 29, 2008 at 8:32 am
When blogger Seraphina mentions, by comparing the Los Feliz Street Fair to Sunset Junction, that at Sunset Juntion “the line up of bands was much greater in recognition and talent.”
What she forgot to mention is that the Los Feliz Street Fair is FREE (so where would the money come from to pay bands?) and Sunset Junction charges a whopping $20 per person admission fee!
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