Located in the expansive Exposition Park at USC during the weekend of August 22nd and 23rd was one of Los Angeles' largest musical events: FYF (Fuck Yeah Fest). Offering a myriad of music and culinary bliss at every turn, FYF was a sensory buffet of sounds, tastes, and people. Its eclectic line up wrangled in a very diverse crowd, all who united under a common passion of music. There were five stages, each offering up a unique musical palate: The Woods, The Arena, The Trees, The Lawn and The Main Stage. With the exception of The Main Stage, each displayed unity within diversity, a cohesive collection of musicians on each stage that were similar yet completely different.
The Woods was a perpetual discotheque offering a quick defibrillation of throbbing house and disco beats whilst passing between sets. Horse Meat Disco provided the pulse of this stage on day one while Leon Vynehall and DJ Harvey took over on day two. Decorated like a 1970s quinceañera, The Woods sparkled and twinkled through the trees, luring passersby into its non-stop, high energy dance-party.
Stepping into The Arena was like entering another dimension. Going from daylight to pitch black, pupils frantically tried to adjust to the dichotomy of darkness and lasers. Badbadnotgood performed a hair-swinging, head-bobbing set in front of blue twinkling lights that resembled constellations. Kaytranada played The Arena to its full capacity and FYF veterans, Simian Mobile Disco, imbued the crowd with their analog-style electronic music. Though not printed on the schedule, Flying Lotus and Bonobo played back to back DJ sets and closed out the Arena on Saturday night. I unfortunately missed that memo.
Dixon at The Arena
One of the longer sets of the festival, Dixon handled The Arena from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. on day two as energetic house-heads hypnotically danced through colorful mist. The sultry sounds of Nicholas Jaar followed Dixon with a heavy dose of bass that made the entire Arena tremble. His set took its listeners on an escalating trip through various beats, tempos and soundscapes while his bright white lights felt like an alien abduction.
La Femme at The Trees
On day one, The Trees showcased French electro/surf rock/strange wave group, La Femme, as their funky style and upbeat vibes had the crowd hopping and wiggling. Goldroom also performed at The Trees on day one creating a groovy, dreamlike atmosphere on stage as well as on the dance floor. Following Goldroom was Shlohmo who thickened the air with his viscous waves of sound. Like warm folds of honey, his music dripped from the speakers.
Thee Oh Sees at The Trees
The Trees also hosted the Scottish alternative rock group The Jesus & Mary Chain who found their success in the 1980s and continue to have a solid fan base today. Psych rock group King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard opened up The Trees stage on day two and the extremely loud and energetic Thee Oh Sees closed it, turning the grassy knoll into a dusty bowl.
The Lawn held acts that attracted some of the largest and rowdiest crowds at FYF. The mysterious !!! performed a set that I unfortunately missed as well as the bouncy and exuberant Bloc Party. Purity Ring's ethereal soundscapes closed The Lawn on Saturday night with a final celestial kiss on the cheek.
Mac DeMarco at The Lawn
Mac DeMarco brought the ruckus to The Lawn on Sunday as crowd-surfing, foot-stomping fans simultaneously got sucked in and spit out. Though the set itself was not particularly wild, for some reason the crowd was. Unknown Mortal Orchestra also played a soulful set at The Lawn and FKA Twigs closed it out with a well choreographed and stunning performance that left fans mesmerized.
Toro y Moi at The Main Stage
The Main Stage showed the most diversity as artists such as the nostalgic rock group Dinosaur Jr., the hip-hop trio Run the Jewels, velvety soul-slingers Chet Faker, and Kanye West, all decorated the air with their sumptuous sounds. Sunday showcased the catchy tunes of Toro y Moi followed by the melodic Flume whose gossamer sonic landscapes and undulating beats danced through our minds. The final set of the Main Stage was none other than Morrissey, whose pompadoured and leather-clad fans wailed the words to each of his sultry songs while videos of police brutality lit up the screen behind him. He is forever an activist and eternally a legend.
The only thing more diverse than the music of FYF were the faces of FYF. Music lovers from all walks of life converged to dance, thrash, sway, chill, crowd surf, flip, and party to the sounds that stimulate their auditory cortex. The vast variety, quality and quantity of delectable food was a major highlight of the festival as well becoming almost as much of an attraction as the music. With every year, FYF grows and evolves. With no limits to what can be accomplished for the founders of the festival, it will be exciting to see where this journey will take them.
Photos by: Miles Najera