In order to confront the straightforward pretentiousness that comes with writing a review of a festival, here is Hipster Runoff’s FFFF Power Rankings. I didn’t see every band, but here’s what I think is a pretty reasonable interpretation of the musical experience at FunFunFunFest.
LEVEL 1
Bands That Played Really Well, and Could Have Been Appreciated More If They Were Given a More Favorable Time Slot. Since you never want to say a headliner was your favourite performer, these are the best bets.
1. Small Sins
2. MGMT
3. Zykos
LEVEL 2
These relatively bigger acts transferred to the festival format very well, probably inspiring a lot of downloads when people got home.
4. I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness
5. Final Fantasy
LEVEL 3
When Generation Y ends up turning 40, these DJs will be doing corporate events, much like a Fortune 500 company now hires James Taylor or Paul Simon to entertain at an annual conclave.
6. Girl Talk
7. Diplo
LEVEL 4
The Pitchforkability of these acts are off the charts.
8. Cadence Weapon
9. Bus Driver
LEVEL 5
DJs that were pretty solid, but are still working on their marketing and differentiation plans.
10. DJ’s Manny and Bigface
11. DJ Jester
LEVEL 6
These bands sounded good. I’ll probably hear even more about them in the next 18 months and possibly say “Oh yeah. I’ve seen them live. I REALLY liked them.”
12. Celebration
13. White Denim
14. Battles
15. Car Stereo (Wars)
16. Clap! Clap!
LEVEL 7
The bands that are well-established, performed well enough, but you’ve already had them ranked high in the past.
17. mates of state
18. Okkervil River
19. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
20. The New Pornographers
21. Of Montreal
22. Cat Power
LEVEL 8
These bands made me feel like I was at a festival in Austin, TX.
23. Explosions in the Sky
24. Don Caballero
LEVEL 9
These acts are worth mentioning. I hope they open up for some one that I really want to see in the future, so I can appreciate them in the same capacity.
25. Ocelot
26. Grand Buffet
27. Brothers and Sisters
LEVEL 10
The bands from the HardXcore stage that a lot of people were apparently there to see. I didn’t see them, but I’m sure they were important to a lot of people.
28. Murder City Devils
29. Against Me!
A solid lineup did well to fill up the 2 day festival. Small Sins was definitely impressive. It’s usually not my type of music, but they managed to transcend their ‘Early on the 1st Day’ time slot, putting enough energy in to the show to warrant the number one spot. Just the kind of band that you’d feel way more comfortable with so many people loving instead of Of Montreal.
[MP3s]
Small Sins It Keeps Me On My Toes
MGMT Electric Feel
Girl Talk That’s My DJ
Other more formal reviews:
Both Sides of the Mouth (Go there if you want some MP3s)
Party Ends!
Austinist – Day 1
Austinist – Day 2
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One Comment
Murder City Devils were definitely a level 10. I’ve been to more shows than I can remember over the past 15 years and rarely does a band deliver the energy of an MCD performance. I flew down from los angeles to catch them, worth it 1000 times over. I’m also a record nerd and have a site detailing their massive vinyl discography, check it below.
Jason
http://www.murdercityvinyl.com
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