The second night of FAF 2k11 transformed the Magic Stick into Nashville north. The three standout sets of the evening were brought to us care of Jack White's hometown with the Ettes, Heavy Cream and Hans Condor lighting up an otherwise underwhelming Thursday night.
The night's lineup was bolstered by the addition of the Garden Bowl stage, which started strong
with locals The Glossies playing a strong set of pop rock fitting of a much larger and more respectable stage. Simultaneously, a barrage of neu-hardcore bands were screaming away on two opposite stages set up at the Theater, but I abstained from the action for most of the night.
Upstairs at the Stick, Detroit's Pewter Cub churned out a sweetly sludgey brand of shoegaze in front of a thin crowd of friends, family and onlookers. The sparse arrangements and haunting vocals fit the ambience of the mostly empty room.
Things picked up a bit on the lounge side-stage with uber-hipsters Pink Lightning. Kind of like Ian Curtis doing his best David Bowie rendition with Franz Ferdinand. Did i mention there was an accordian. A victorian hipster freakout ensued.
Things got interesting with the introduction of Nashville's Heavy Cream. The mostly female foursome made a terrible racket on the main stage, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. This is what the Donnas would sound like on speed, only a little faster. The singer, Jessica was a ball of nervous energy bounching around the stage in prototypical punk fashion singing about cats and being bored.
Thanks to a cancellation from headliner Shabazz Palaces, there were some awkward schedule changes that put a wrench in the momentum of the night. No mention of the changes or cancellation were to be seen and the end result was featured "it" band The Ettes were shuffled later in the lineup. All was not lost however thanks to Hans Condor, another Nashville blues punk outfit on tour with the Ettes and Heavy Cream. I walked downstairs hoping to catch Mexican Knives only to see the trio in mid-shred, absolutely destroying the Garden Bowl. The boys lit-up the small crowd with a frenzy of loud guitars, plenty of screaming and jumping and enough sweat and enthusiasm to fill up the entire venue. Hans Condor was the most enjoyable and impressive performance of the festival thus far. Case closed.
Waiting for the Ettes to take the main stage at midnight, I checked out local hip-hop outfit Passalacqua in the lounge. Dual MCs with back-up singers and a DJ, the lounge crowd got up for the downstroke with some cool retro R&B grooves delivered with a 1950s panache. By the end of the set there were beachballs in the air, freeze pops in hand and plenty of head nodding.
By midnight, the crowd was lubed up and ready to shake it withe the garagey retro rock of the Ettes. White Stripes comparisons abound, but the trio handles the spare, pounding blues rock with their own style and swagger. Drummer Maria "Poni" Silver owned the night, pounding the vintage kit with thrilling intensity. For the first time all night, the Alley Deck thinned and the crowd reached a critical mass on the floor.cheers!