On Saturday, day 3, I was feeling a bit more alive than I had the day before. I made it to the first musical act of the day, Peki Momés, who played a chill, smooth brand of Turkish pop psychedelia. I thought of Khruangbin but with a different language and a few cultural touchstones swapped out. I wasn’t blown away, but it made for great listening while lying on a blanket.
[Peki Momés.]
The next band was La Sécurité from Montreal. I loved what I’d heard in advance, and on stage it was even better. They played off-kilter, fun, ecstatic art punk. The drums and vocals were both strong, I liked the synth touches and the fuzz bass, and I loved that the two guitarists twisted around each other and the other instruments but rarely played chords. I thoroughly enjoyed their set from start to finish. I managed to snag a setlist and then went to the merch booth to buy their album, which they graciously signed for me.
[La Sécurité.]
I caught some of Dressed Like Boys on the Birkenhain stage while I was getting food and visiting the merch booth. They sounded too tame and soft for my taste, so I didn’t stick around. I returned soon enough for quickly, quickly, but they also failed to impress me. They were just three dudes sitting down with a drum machine. They had no passion and nothing to help them stand out. The singer/keyboardist drove most of the sound, including covering the bass parts, but his voice was mellow and plain and the lyrics were generic. The two guitarists played restrained background parts, with the exception of one decent solo that briefly got my hopes up. In the right mood, they might’ve been chill and pleasant, but as it was, it was bland and boring. I left early.
[quickly, quickly.]
I took a break and came back for Brockhoff. They played very mainstream pop rock with a hint of Americana. They had some drive, and I could almost groove to it, but the lyrics were really bad and the vocal style was all breathy pop cliché. When she spoke of her love of Hannah Montana and rom-com stereotypes, I knew it was my time to leave.
Next up was Sprints, who finally offered some relief. Their garage punk was full of fuzz bass, great riffs, and political rage. The drummer and second guitarist were both excellent, and together they kept up a feverous pace. They played a cover of Le Tigre’s “Deceptacon” that was quite a thrill. Their penultimate song changed the mood and started slow and acoustic with spindly lead guitar, with something like a Bauhaus vibe. They slowly built it up and sped it up and it ended up as another thrasher, but with all the tension released, it went even harder than the rest. Naturally, there was plenty of moshing and circle running.
[Sprints.]
After an hour of dancing to Sprints, I was feeling psyched but losing steam. I decided I still had energy for Jehnny Beth, erstwhile singer of Savages, who I’ve been sorely missing. She appeared with her longtime collaborator and partner Johnny Hostile on guitar as well as a bassist and a drummer. I’d wondered how she would translate the intense electronic industrial sound of her solo albums to the stage, but they pulled it off without much in the way of backing tracks. They were really hard, heavy, and aggressive. It might’ve been too much if I hadn’t been in the right mood, but I was well-primed, again got a great spot at the front, and was just barely able to keep up. Instrumentally I didn’t find the set as compelling or complex as I’d hoped, but it still rocked. It was more focused on noise and pulsing, seething rhythm. I’m trying not to be disappointed that she didn’t play any Savages songs, but I can understand if she wants to establish herself as a solo artist independent of that band. That said, she covered “In Heaven”, the deranged classic from the Eraserhead soundtrack, notably covered by The Pixies (but also Bauhaus and plenty of others), as well as Björk’s “Army of Me”. That idiosyncratic bassline was immediately recognizable! She ran into the crowd and sang atop them at some point, and did some push-ups (in heels!) during the titular song and invited a woman from the crowd up to the stage to do some as well. First time I’ve seen that. She also explained that “Reality” is about growing up queer and not understanding it. Relatable.
[Jehnny Beth.]
I was thoroughly beat by that point, and it was two in the morning. I caught a bit of Valentino Vivace on my way out, and I liked their sweet Italian disco pop, but it was too thin and insubstantial. It was pleasant to hear drifting through the trees while brushing my teeth and admiring the full moon, though.
Scores:
Peki Momés: B
La Sécurité: A+
quickly, quickly: D+
Brockhoff: C-
Sprints: A
Jehnny Beth: B+
P.S.: A big thank you to my festival crew!
P.P.S.: Here are the setlists for the best three shows of the day. I got the printed sheets from the stage for all three.
La Sécurité:
01. Le Kick
02. Detour
03. Power Snoozer
04. Bingo
05. Waiting for Kenny
06. Deny
07. Trixie
08. Anyway
09. Hot Topic
10. Try Again
11. Dis-Moi
12. Suspens
13. Snack City
Sprints:
01. Descartes
02. Feast
03. Beg
04. Literary Mind
05. How Does the Story Go?
06. Shadow of Doubt
07. Something’s Gonna Happen
08. Heavy
09. Cathedral
10. Up and Comer
11. Pieces
12. Need
13. Deceptacon [Le Tigre cover]
14. Desire
15. Little Fix
Jehnny Beth:
01. Broken Rib
02. High Resolution Sadness
03. I Still Believe
04. No Good for People
05. Innocence
06. In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song) [David Lynch/Peter Ivers cover]
07. Push-Ups
08. Reality
09. Stop Me Now
10. Army of Me [Björk cover]
11. Out of My Reach
12. Obsession
13. How Could You
14. I’m the Man
15. I See Your Pain
[Karla Chubb of Sprints with the audience.]
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