August 21st - 27th: Impressive Opening Bands and My Four Hours at FYF Fest 2013

Had a couple of shoots during this week where I felt the opening bands, who I had no knowledge of before, really shined. So for this blog post, I'm focusing just on these non-headliners.

Pinback's only LA area date on the new tour (for now) ended up at The Observatory, a music venue that is giving me less and less reason to venture north out of my apartment due to the sheer amount of excellent acts that come through.  Serving as two venues in one, with a smaller room called The Constellation Room tucked inside, there always seems to be something noteworthy shaking in this little industrial area.  If only the lighting inside The Constellation Room were more consistent from a photography standpoint!

Octagrape played fast and furiously, like a welcomed slap in the face.  I had heard they were good, but live they were pretty spectacular.  I failed in capturing a few jump shots, but hopefully the energy can still be seen below:

So, due to a serious comedy of errors, I was at first tapped to shoot Monterey's First City Festival, then backed out to shoot FYF Fest.  Of course, once I got confirmed for FCF and subsequently turned it down for FYF, a last minute snafu prevented me from shooting FYF.  Ho hum.

Although I didn't get to attend with all my camera gear, I was able to make it for the final four hours or so on Sunday, just before sunset.  Although only on the Los Angeles State Historic Park grounds for a brief time, I still packed in a good dose of quality festival time by:

• Visiting the medical tent immediately (after tripping and falling once I parked my car) and listening to Chk Chk Chk perform "Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass" while getting bandaged up
• Wandering around both the VIP and main backstage areas, though by this time both were ghost towns
• Grabbing a tasty slice of I Love Spicy Pie, bringing back memories of how I used them for sustenance during this year's Coachella
• Singing along to Beach House and MGMT like a spazz
• Watching security guard shower concert goers with earplugs before an intense My Bloody Valentine set.

My time really makes me re-think the whole festival experience.  I skipped the long heat, sun, and dust exposure and still had an excellent time.  Although I didn't get to shoot any bands, I managed to get my camera inside the festival for a couple of "atmosphere" shots at night:

Closing out this particular week was a show by Majical Cloudz.  Normally used to a "rough and tumble" audience at the Echo, this night was particularly serene, and once more, I walked away supremely impressed by the opening bands, namely local act My Hawaii.  Using unique instrumentation and sparse vocals, My Hawaii's sound was genteel and gorgeous.  Really great stuff.  Would have bought the new album if I had a working record or cassette player.  Guess I'm just not "hipster" enough!  Some photos below: