Live Blog: Eaux Claires Fest Day 1 (Friday)
We’ll be live from Eaux Claires Fest this weekend, and will be giving you our thoughts. Enjoy!
41 updates, 12:43 pm to 11:32 pm
viciously attacked by bee on bus ride over. He got my finger, but i stomped him good. Fellow bus riders were given their first show of the weekend as I flailed. Won’t hold attack againt festival. Onward.
amazing pipe organ set up near entrance. Sounds gigantic as we stroll the grounds.
random group sing along with a dozen acoustic guitars. Hippies
My Brightest Diamond rolling out shimmering, overblown synth pop. Not my scene, but seems to be doing it well.
weather note: it is perfect cloudy and mid 70s. Keep it up
don’t sleep on the art exhibits in the corner. Some amazing stuff.
Bonnie “Prince” Billy getting ready to perform with Eight Blackbird orchestra. Soundcheck sounds outstanding. Get up to the The Creeks if yoy can.
Bonnie “Prince” Billy performing songs from his catalog with Bryce Desner and full orchestra. Just beautiful.
Rixhard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire playing a loud-yet-subdued set of ambient, folky music. Good chill music..
There is a modern dance stage. That is all.
weather update: still amazing
Phosphorescent does a good job adding a twist to americana ambience. Not totally my scene, and a bit spacy to keep the crowd, but solid afternoon music. Lots of shaker.
first lap steel guitar of fest. Assume it won’t be the last.
After talking about how messed up the world is, a somber version of “This land is your land” from Phosphorescent.
now he is out in the crowd having audience sing the chorus…some folks are better than others.
whoa, Senyawa are killing it. Folk-punk? Weird guitar/sitar thing and out-of-this-world vocals. Impossile to explain, but amazing.
just to reiterate: Senyawa were amazing. Wow.
Little Scream sounded just like My Brightest Diamond. See above.
waiting for Crescent Moon and Andrew Broder in yurt where we all have wireless headphones to hear the mix. Excited is an under statement.
Broder cutting warped beats as psyched viduals loop on screens. Super cool.
Here is Crescent Moon….rolling out material from their outstanding cs.
rain isn’t stopping Vince Staples. Rellt great set booming out the gems from his Summertime ’06 LP.
Vince Staples to Deafheaven is a bit of shift. Some serious thrashing happening.
Bruce Hornsby bringing grade A dad rock. Violin solo!
thats just the way it is, with requisite 2pac shout-out
funky. With accordian, none the less.
note: rain continues. Comments praising weather before officially taken back
hearing eight blackbird performing a Steve Reich piece. So awesome.
for thoa keeping score at home..still raining
James Blakes subdued r&b seems tailor-made for a rainy night like this. Still wish rain would stop
i kind of forget James Blake has the more dance-y, IDM stuff. Always remember the atmospheric, ambient pop, not the bass rattling jams. Good stuff.
cool pipe organ jam in middle of soggy park with Phil Cook. Beautiful sounds.
poem and Zep-style Zoso symbols to start Bon Iver set.
new stuff sounds like more dissonent, swampy versions of last LP. Crowd loves it.
after a glitchy, scratchy track, a vocal sample leading a track that could be DJ Shadow w/ Justin Vernon.
after a health issue near the front of the stage, another run of anthemic, outstanding tracks from Vernon and gang. I am a middling Bon Iver fan, but these songs are soaring and impressive.
well, that seems like it will be am impressive album. Sounded huge and anthemic live, and i can imagine the studio version will only expand
coming back our after short break for more songs
Vernon is bringing out Bruce Horsnby because of course he is.
Cornelius’ killing it with thier garage/velevets/elephant 6 cacaphony. Sleek yet gigantic. Fun yet serious. Dissonent yet sweet. So damn good.
update: still killing it. Just had a theromin solo. Top that.
NEXT MORNING RECAP:
– Eaux Claires fest still in immaculately, and the art exhibits throughout the grounds should not be missed
– As usual, my favorite moments were away from the main stage and headliners (although Bon Iver’s new record was pretty outstanding)
– I try not to get too provincial, but it was cool to see/hear some great MN artists throughout the day
– The pipe organ in the middle of the park that artists played was super cool and amazing
– There is no way the rain didn’t suppress turnout, but still a solid crowd
Top 5 Sets:
1. Cornelius
2. Bonnie “Prince” Billy
3. Senyawa
4. Bon Iver
5. Crescent Moon and Andrew Broder
(H/t to Vince Staples who sounded great, but that was near the worst time of rain, and I was frankly pretty miserable, so I don’t feel like I actually engaged)
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