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In its fourth year, Fun Fun Fun Fest has become a mecca for
indie music lovers. Barely a month
after the high-profile Austin City Limits (QRO recap), FFF Fest attracts a different breed of music fan
entirely. Passive crowds dominated
by thick-rimmed glasses and recycled 80s clothes lacked the energy that is seen
at ACL and the club intimacy of Austin's sprawling South by Southwest music
festival (QRO recap). Despite a crowd that offered little more
encouragement than a foot tap and an appreciate puff on a cigarette, FFF's
solid two day line-up delivered.
Day One of FFF was temperate and sunny, prompting many
cracks about the Great ACL Flood in early October. Even the schedule pamphlet mocked the Zilker mud pit,
boasting Waterloo Park's well-rooted grass. The weather was well matched by the energy of the bands in
the afternoon. Austin's premiere
 (and only?) ‘foot funk’ band, Foot Patrol, blew up the tiny Blue Stage. The somewhat intricately choreographed
back-up dancers aided to the bouncy songs, and you can't help but be drawn in
by their enthusiasm. But just when
listeners start to pick up on the chorus of "Footography", they seem to
collectively halt and think, as the banner behind the band aptly proclaims,
"What the foot?" Despite their
subject choice dooming them to novelty status, Foot Patrol's live show is at
least good for some sweet dance moves and unforgivably catchy funk.
Lo-fi rockers Times New Viking drew one of he more eager
crowds of the day, or perhaps everyone was pressed against the stage in order
to decipher what song was playing.
In recordings, guitarist Adam Elliot and keyboardist Beth Murphy are
used to hiding their voices behind raucous fuzzed guitars, but their obscurity
took on a new level with the competing sets and outdoor acoustic element. The vocals came together on
"California", finally serving as the proper compliment to their gritty
musicianship.
 Alan Palomo took the Blue Stage as Vega for the first of his
two performances of the day, but it was his return with Neon Indian that stole
the show. The ambient beats
backing Palomo's slack vocals guided the crowd into an hour-long trance.
 A strangely chipper MC Chris proclaimed that he was in a
"good fucking mood," and his playful on-stage antics proved it. Insults delivered with gusto rather
than his typical sneer filled the breaks between a balanced mix of new and old
tracks. The set could have easily
been mistaken for one of the comedy segments also featured at the festival, and
MC did his best to offend everyone equally. The rapper remained composed even after a complete blank,
which resulted in a do-over of "Nrrd Girl". After assuring one member of the audience that, "of course
I'm going to play my fucking hit," MC closed the show with a troped version of
"Fette's Vette", with frequent pauses in his flow to allow the audience to
finish the line.
No Age proved that power does not necessarily come in
numbers as the duo blasted their messy noise rock from the Orange Stage. The  hard hitting, wild guitar of Randy
 Randall and the punch of drummer and vocalist Dean Spunt have all of the kick
of the trios and quartets that preceded them, but even halfway through the set,
you still cannot shake the feeling that their fragile coherence could fall
apart at any second, leaving two soloists instead of a band.
 Usually wild stage antics come in lieu of actual talent, but
in Les Savy Fav's case, the ridiculousness came as a bonus. After a solid barrage of fan favorites,
lead singer Tim Harrington proceeded to plunk a  ladder on top of the crowd that
he then balanced on, bringing one of the audience members with him. The shirtless Harrington casually
donned purple tights and blue short shorts, but only after shedding his space
 suit and wedding dress that he had on previously. He managed all of this while performing an unhassled "The
Sweat Descends",  keeping his vocal quality astoundingly clear.
And check out our other photo galleries from Day One (click image for full gallery):
Sugar & Gold, Blue Stage
Melt Banana, Black Stage
Yeasayer, Orange Stage
Ratatat, Orange Stage
Destroyer, Yellow Stage
 Then the floodwaters came.
Just as God flooded the earth for the humans' wretched arrogance,
so did the Festival Gods flood Fun Fun Fun Fest in reparation for festival
organizer's bragging. Day Two was
a steady downpour, and not even with the merciful clear moments a-la ACL. Causing more than few equipment
malfunctions, the rain certainly was not welcome, but the enthusiasm of
festivalgoers must have been hidden deep within their ponchos. Crowd morale remained high, even after
continual quips of, "Is it still raining out there?"
[editor's note: torrential rains prevented any photo
taking on Day Two]
 Atlas Sound, the moniker of Deerhunter's (QRO live review) lead singer Bradford Cox, took the stage with a self-identified awkwardness  that is
completely endearing. Playing
songs off of his recently released album, Logos, Cox made small pokes at his subdued style that makes festival sets
uncomfortable. With that kind of
humility, listeners could not help but forgive the slightly shy performance.
Recalling the sun-lit vitality of Saturday in the midst of
dark skies, Harlem gave all of their bouncy, sing-and-dance-along drive to
soaking crowds. Although running
behind with their fussy volume check, the trio delivered the punk-fused swing
apparent joy. The recent addition
of bassist Jose Boyer has added consistency to their sets,  acting as the glue
between the free spirited drummer-guitarist hybrids Michael Coomers and Curtis
O'Mara.
Strange Boys took the Yellow Stage after Harlem, catching
the rain at its peak. The water
pervaded the stage, causing waterlogged equipment and unsafe conditions for the
band. After ignoring warnings from
the stage managers, the band was finally coaxed off-stage early, and left
disappointed fans wanting more.
 As the rain finally began to let up, Crystal Castles emerged
out of the fog. Okay, we're being
dramatic, it was their own fog machine.
Despite this self-indulgence, Crystal Castles' melee of digitalisms
swept away the crowd. Crystal
Castles' electro-charm warmed fans up for "Crimewave", which they wedged
precariously in the middle of the set, risking losing the masses after this
crowd favorite. The fans remained
loyal, however, allowing Crystal Castles to finish off their pulsing set with
an eloquent smoke-filled haze.
After a nervous, ‘Is it too good to be true?’, thirty-minute wait, Glenn Danzig took to the stage for the first Austin show in fifteen
years. Aside from blowing minds
with his still shockingly able baritone, the former  lead singer of the Misfits
also revealed the source of all the rain.
"I heard you guys were having a drought, so we brought the Danzig black
clouds of rain for you!" Danzig lead the massive crowd through a series of fist-pumping riotous anthems that
scattered throughout his twenty-year career. Bringing the festival to an epic but unsurprising close with
"Mother", Danzig gave a flawless summation of the independent spirit behind all
of the Fun Fun Fun artists and a premature longing for next year's line-up.
- (words) Abby Johnston
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- (Fun Fun Fun Fest '09 photos) Michael Gonzalez
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Fuzz now gets high and poppy on The Pains of Being Pure At Heart's self-titled full-length.
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