Fun Fun Fun Recap - Part 2

I was holding off on this post until I could access my pictures and videos from the festival. Laptop is still down though. Oh well. I managed to load a few pictures before the technical difficulties set in.



Dan Deacon

I scooted from Deerhoof a little early to catch Dan Deacon. I've seen him a few times already and I still listen to many tracks off of Spiderman of the Rings. When I first arrived the sound was absolute crap. This isn't surprising since he performs with throngs of kids jumping all over him and his equipment. The issues were fixed soon enough and the party continued (not that the poor sound mattered to most).

Here's the thing with Dan Deacon. I've seen his shtick and each show is basically the same. Nonetheless he's a funny guy and never fails to crack me up with his commentary to the crowd. And you have to give credit to a dude that can make kids go totally and completely ape shit. They love the fat man. I admire all those things (including his girth) but he's mostly a novelty to me. If I was still in my teens or early twenties, it might be different. I'm guessing the kids in the middle of his mad dancing frenzy feel similarly about bands I liked at their age. They might listen to early Dinosaur, Jr. and wonder, "what's the big deal?" Music often defines periods of your life and Dan Deacon just doesn't do that for me. However, one band that did: The Dead Milkmen (that's what I call a Segway, bitches).

Dead Milkmen

As I mentioned in my preview of the FFF Fest, I once snuck backstage and hung out with the Dead Milkmen when I was 17. It was right when "Punk Rock Girl" was the #1 video on MTV. Naturally, I thought I was hot shit for chilling out with the band. I continued to listen to the Milkmen as I entered college. In fact, at parties Freshman year we'd all pile into our tiny bathroom and crank "Gorilla Girl" as we moshed around and beer flew everywhere. Why? I have no fucking idea. Looking back it may be the ghey-est thing I've ever done. And believe me, there's lots of competition for that title.

This was a one time reunion for the band so I wasn't sure what to expect. Reunions can easily go awry. The Milkmen were in fine form though. They kicked things off with "Punk Rock Girl" and the crowd went ballistic. I actually wormed my way to the front before the start and quickly was being thrown every which way. It was insane. I lasted exactly two songs before I exited the mob. I may be too old for that nonsense but it was fun to relive some memories for a short time. I watched the rest of the set from a safe distance on the hill.

Okay, this is getting too long so let's move onto the speed round...

The Dead Milkmen - nostalgic bliss. They should do a big reunion tour. They were fantastic.

Frightened Rabbit - good but not great. It was their last show of the tour and it wasn't as intense as their shows at Mohawk. It was still funny to see a bunch of Scots dealing with the Texas heat. The sweaty lead singer commented, "So this is winter in Texas? Jesus Christ."

The Spinto Band - not exactly groundbreaking stuff but they make some delightful indie-pop. I like the Kinks influenced stuff.

The Annuals - wasn't impressed when I saw them in DC and this time was no different. It just seemed messy.

I went into fanboy mode as I spoke with James Petralli of White Denim:



Shortly after this photo was taken security forcibly removed me when I tried to retain his pants as a keepsake. Side Note: if you haven't bought their new album, Exposion, go download it now, listen, and repeat. It's sure to be in my list of top albums of 2008.

And finally, here's a video synopsis of Day 2 at the Fun Fun Fun Fest. You should watch if only to see the remarkable transformation of the Frightened Rabbit drummer. At their last Austin show, he looked like Turtle from Entourage. Now he looks exactly like one of the Geico Cavemen. Check it out: