The second day of Fun Fun Fun Fest (FFF 6) included a diverse array of acts from the hilarious and bizarre Captured by Robots to a Wu-Tang/Fugazi mash-up duo, Wugazi to Donald Glover alter-ego, Childish Gambino and the UK's The Damned. The day belonged to The Joy Formidable and Neon Indian both of whom delivered excellent FFF Fest 6 performances Saturday at Auditorium Shores on the south bank of Austin's Town Lake.
Captured by Robots
Thank our curiosity for being on hand to see the imaginative and freakish, Captured by Robots perform a light-hearted mix of music and comedy in the Yellow tent early in the afternoon because the show was a great way to start the second of three days covering the festival. After singing along to a Journey cover and watching San Franciso's Jay Vance or JBOT cavorting with the audience while sporting a huge grin, we know CBR is more than just a novelty act. The man can play guitar well and his robot band does an admirable job backing him up.
T-Bird and the Breaks
We did not get to see the entire T-Bird and the Breaks set, but we saw enough to know this Austin act is worth seeing again. The R & B outfit led by Massachusetts transplant, Tim Crane is one the better soul and funk acts around. Influenced by R & B legends, Booker T., Otis Redding and James Brown. Crane has put his own gritty stamp on the sound he calls "chunk music." T-Bird and the Breaks are slated to play Stubb's BBQ on New Year's Eve.
The Joy Formidable
The Joy Formidable may have been one of the more pleasant discoveries of FFF Fest for us. While their hit, "Whirring" was familiar, The Joy Formidable live was an infectiously good performance Saturday. The band from Mold, Wales mixes heavy drums with symphonic pop melodies and noisy guitar riffs that translate to a sort of acoustic alchemy. Guitarist and vocalist, Ritzy Bryan has a lot to do with that magic and watching the chemistry between her and band mates, Rhydian Dafydd and Matt Thomas was a pleasure. They truly play with joy and abandon. The FFF Fest crowd thought so too and the size of the audience swelled as the group's set went on.
The Joy Formidable are currently touring with the Foo Fighters. They play Madison Square Garden in New York on November 13 and the TD Garden in Boston on November 16.
Neon Indian
Denton, Texas act, Neon Indian on the Blue Stage may have been the most intelligent act of the day. Mexican-born and Denton bred, Alan Palermo's electro-indie project has gotten a fair amount of attention even appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last year.
A space-rock effects intro similar to Pink Floyd began the set as Neon Indian led the crowd through an otherworldly, sonic tableau driven by a persistent electronic beat that compelled fans to move. It is no surprise the band has benefitted from a plethora of positive reviews from the music media. Watching Neon Indian following an immensely satisfying Joy Formidable set was a great double bill.
Neon Indian's new album, "Era Extraña" was released September 13. Their spectacular FFF Fest 6 appearance was a warm-up for a European tour beginning November 10 in Madrid, Spain.
See the slide show of great FFF Fest images from photographer Casey Brewer on the left sidebar.
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