With so much music to digest in one afternoon and night it's hard to maintain the high I get from seeing one band before I am overwhelmed with the performance of another. The first full performance of the evening I was thrust into was from 4AD trio Blonde Redhead. An eerie single note prompted Amedeo's robust falsetto in the distorted wall of sound that is "Melody of Certain Three." And Kazu's dainty, scouring whisper of a voice Echoed through "In Particular." Kazu and Amedeo frequently played their guitars face to face in full sonic discourse, ending their 45 minute set in an atom splitting aural tangency.

After feeling all warm and fuzzy from finally gtting to see Blonde Redhead, I strolled over to the next stage where my buzz was quickly curbed into an unbearable urge to dance by the flamboyant indulgences of The Blood Arm's Nathaniel Fregoso singing their new single "Suspicious Character" while running back and forth through the middle of the crowd, asking them to make a path for him so he could "walk down the aisle like a proper bride." Drums looped, keyboard hooks were hammered, and many of the songs followed the simple formula of melody following melody, but this method is effective for the group of guys and one girl. It may seem elementary, but it is insatiably infectious and plain fun. Not to mention Fregoso's obsession with climbing things. By the end of the set he was waving from the roof of the bandstand.

Suddenly it was that curious time of day when sunset turns to pure night, and my body temperature was taken down again. Yet another complete metamorphosis of mood. The Elected performed a quaint and whimsical set. The warm vocals and euphonious mingling of acoustic and slide guitars glided through the cool air in the California based ensemble's set.

Then it was back to the main stage where it seemed like everyone had drifted in anticipation and some in curiosity to see the Basement Jaxx. Unlike the average multitude of house and electronic music where vocals and lyrics are often merely lifeless provocations with blatant references to sex and drugs, vocals are always readily present on Jaxx albums. But while they are readily accessible, they still take a back seat to the quirky beat making of Simon and Felix. Again, that is on the albums.

On stage voluptuous, sumptuous, sultry black songstresses took over, belting over clean pop edged house grooves, while the kilt wearing horn section blurted out jubilant, staccato palpitations. The crowd was in a mad dynamic delirium. An already feverish crowd went hysterical when "Where's Your Head At?" blasted from the speakers. During "Do Your Thing" even the stiff, nervous boy in front of me began to shimmy. Their performance featured plenty of dance routines, glittery apparel and costume changes. And of course people costumed as gorillas running amuck.

After this I finally got to make a stop at St. Vibiana's Church, where two hour blocks of spinning by DJs like Travis Keller and Shepard Fairey were all happening. I caught the frail, long haired traveling DJs of VHS Or Beta, Grey Goose and cigs on deck, bumping ground trembling, industrial strength grooves, while multi-colored suns were projected over the walls, colliding and collapsing in corners. Feeling a little dizzy after an hour of terrible vibrations, I escaped the smoke permeated room and waltzed over to what most anticipated would be the act of the night: Beck. Stage 1, City Hall West Stage.

The music started before the band took the stage, and a live video of puppets designed as the band playing "Loser" was projected on screen. Then, WHAM! The band bounced on stage picking up where the puppets left off. The set was an amalgam of folk, funk, rock, hip-hop, spoken word, and on and on, excellently conducted. People in teddy bear costumes ran rampant and at one point the band even sat down to dinner. A dinner table was pulled out to the middle of the stage where the band took a seat, while Beck, harmonica hoisted around his neck and classical guitar in hand, gushed: "I'd like to raise a toast to Downtown L.A. . . . on a full moon evening, the lonesome streets of Downtown have been filled with song." The band used glasses of water, dishes and utensils as percussion instruments for the next few songs.

Overall older songs like "Devil's Haircut" and "Mixed Bizness" still received more applause than Beck's newer material. The set ended in a whirlwind of fused funk and distortion.

Just when I thought the evening had reached the peek of insanity. I trudged over to the Queens Of The Stone Age set, where people were packed tighter than sardines in a crushed tin box. Security couldn't stop the overflow of people being pushed toward the stage and allowed groups of people to stand on the sidelines back stage rather than throw them back in the crowd. Dehydrated bodies of people and angsty kids who were being a little to ruff in the pit were pulled over the front rails by security and escorted out. Strobes flashed so relentlessly the spot was lit up like a car dealership. They were the last band of the night and the crowd was
insatiable.

Queens performed songs from their new album as well as old favorites. "Nausea" and "Burn The Witch" blared louder and harder, sounding impossibly clean.  Slick versions of "Medication" and "The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret" resounded. Thick glacial vocal melodies and the riff riddled, heavy, booming drone of Homme's guitar hooks has generated the new sound of straight forward rock, and crowds go insane when bombarded by its sound. And after the last and heaviest song of the set, and many feigned endings, Homme bellowed, "have a good fucking night," leaving a still unquenchable crowd screaming in vain for one more song. 

Photos & Review by............

Alisha Ways

Bringing you all the noise you haven’t heard, off the track corners of L.A. you haven’t seen, and stinging cool like you’ve never felt before. Alisha’s on the L.A. music beat like vibrations from a blasting amplifier and reporting it all straight to you.