The
first show I saw on Saturday was Louisville’s own 23 String Band, who came out
on stage to the lovely Marion Dries of 91.9 WFPK announcing “The 23 string band
has informed me that they have added more strings, free of charge for the
Forecastle audience.” I met with Scott Moore, fiddle player for the band, under
the conditions of our previous interview, and he’s just as cool in person as he
is on phone interviews. I was told that 23 string is working in studio right
now for a new album.
Following a suggestion given to me
in the press tent, I did end up wondering over to the Foxygen show and was pleasantly
surprised. Their psych-pop sound was a relief to hear as the four piece rocked
the socks off of the crowd with great confidence. Later in the set Sam France
broke the barrier, climbing into the crowd to sing an entire song. Their
fuzzbox fueled guitars and time signature jumping rhythm section tied the sound
together to deliver a grand performance to the Forecastle audience.
After Foxygen finished their set,
the grounds were evacuated due to a storm that was rolling in from the west
with seventy mile winds and dime sized hail predicted to hit the city of
Louisville. Hordes of attendees were set loose on the downtown streets, filling
bars, restaurants and parking lots evenly. A little rain sprinkled over the city
and the grounds were opened back to the public.
Do you remember the cute girl from
high school who wore floral skirts and started a band for the talent show where
everyone found out that she shreds on a Stratocaster? Well some boy in Wales is
kicking himself for never asking her out right now, and 37 Flood is right there
with him, because she grew up and started the aptly named Joy Formidable. The
Welsh rock trio had a sound as big as the river and as loud as the Fjords in a
hurricane. Ritzy Bryan (the trio’s guitarist and lead vocalist) couldn’t sit
still as she ran back and forth from the drum kit to the bass rig as she played
her heart out, breaking those of all in attendance as she wailed through their
hour and fifteen minute long set. The performance came to an appropriate halt
as she smashed her guitar on the amps like a true grunge veteran.
The highlight of the day was
inarguably the Flaming Lips’ set. The band took the light covered stage to open with crowd favorite
Look… The Sun is Rising through their
new album’s title track and into The
W.A.N.D., Coyne clutching a baby doll wrapped in strands all the while,
kissing and rocking it to sleep. The band emphasized throughout that this
was “the perfect fucking night” for a
Flaming Lips show, with Wayne shining a handheld lamp on the audience deemed “the
pot smoking light.” He was dressed like he bought his suit from David Bowie's garage sale.
If you’re a band with the reputation that the Lips have, it’s really easy to tour promoting your current album, but that’s not what the Flaming Lips are about. The band played six tracks from The Terror, and two from Embryonic (Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast,
and Silver Trembling Hands). Not only did they play from all three albums from
their famous trilogy (including the obligatory Do You Realize), but they went as far back as to grace
the audience with Unconsciously Screamin’ from their 1990 release In a Priest Driven Ambulance and a cover
of Devo’s Gates of Steel.
Overall, the evacuation was
inconvenient for everyone, but who cares? The festival staff was trying to keep
everyone safe and none of the performances were cancelled as a consequence. Day
2 in general was the highlight of my Forecastle experience, regardless of the
overlap.
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