Are you ready to take this ride with me? There is something inherently memorable about spending three (or four) days on a beach watching music’s up and comers and living legends perform for thousands of fans. Hangout Fest has already lived up to the hype I heard from last year.
I only made it for the last two bands at the kickoff party on Thursday, but I got the scoop from concert goers on the ground and sniffed out that our very own The Revivalists was the highlight performance of the day. There was quite a bit of buzz in the media lounge about them, and multiple reviews sprung up online today. Courtesy of the Hangout crew:
Though they played for a smaller crowd than the one watching Big Gigantic, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band was a treat to end Thursday night with. We shook our butts and drank pricey drinks at the BP stage till 11pm, at which point we drove over to The Outer Hang to see members of Galactic and Dirty Dozen Brass Band play with Papa Mali. Apparently there are late night parties going on at this cozy little venue each night of the festival, but good luck using your GPS. This after party took us into the wee hours of the morning. Five hours of sleep.
On the official first day of Hangout, following an unsurprisingly good set at 11:30am, I caught up with singer Tim Baker of Hey Rosetta!, a Billboard “Canadian Band to Watch.” This group blew me away 20 seconds into “Yer Spring,” so I felt fortunate to spend time with Tim during their half-a-day stay at Hangout. We can hear Alabama Shakes playing “Rise To the Sun” on the Chevrolet Stage during our interview.
Having signed with ATO last November, they’re just gaining major traction here in the States. Call this another Gotye story. Why are we so late to pick up on these bands? Hey Rosetta! was named as one of Paste magazine’s “Top 5 Bands to See at SXSW” a couple months ago, and with a slew of accolades, nominations, and sold out shows, I wondered if Tim could claim any one thing as the tipping point in their career.
“It seemed really gradual. It’s been doing the same thing for six years now. We didn’t have a label in the US until recently, so it’s been kind of scattered. We’ve been very successful in Canada for years.”
As for choosing ATO as their new family, Tim recalls looking up their artist roster before signing. “My Morning Jacket. They are such an important band, I think. And Dawes, they’re on the label too. I just ran into them downstairs. It’s Dave Matthews’ label, it’s amazing.”
Garnering comparisons to Mumford & Sons and Snow Patrol, and having played over 300 shows in support of their last record Seeds (not released in the US until February 2012), Tim’s dream is to tour with Wilco.
“I just saw on that sign over there Wilco’s gonna be playing today. That’s amazing! And I’m not gonna be here! It’s horribly tragic. That would be it for me. We can all agree on loving to tour with Wilco. We just did a bunch of shows in Canada with Tragically Hip last summer. That was a bit of a dream, too.”
Hey Rosetta! is playing several gigs on the festival circuit, from Bonnaroo to Lollapalooza, Sasquatch to River’s Edge – intentionally.
“That’s the greatest way to spend your summer. We just played in front of a lot of people at 11:30am. We’re really playing the best ones. A bunch of Canadian festivals too. It’s turning out to be an incredible summer. One thing about playing festivals is getting to see a lot of great bands. It’s not just your own show. It’s less pressure as well. You get to just take it all in.”
Also playing on Day 1, someone I was not at all familiar with, Allen Stone. I caught a bit of his set at the Letting Go stage, and let me tell you, this guy has an amazing, and subtly sexy voice.
Between the crazy hipster-like ensembles, and the sheepdog hair, mixed with his 60’s style of music – I was thrown off, but highly intrigued. This will be an artist I will dive into more at festival’s end.
I am not a fan of Coheed & Cambria, but my first time entering the media viewing area was for their show on the Hangout Main Stage. I probably wouldn’t even mention this to you, except for that they covered Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” and we know how yours truly feels about that.
A good portion of the day I was running back and forth with The Revivalists (who I handle PR for, by the by) – coordinating interviews with some very nice media folks, watching them shoot a video for Paste Magazine, and falling in love with the lovely staff of Balcony TV. They shot this awesome song performed by singer David Shaw and guitarist Zack Feinberg:
This recap is getting long, so I will end by saying Jack White stole the day with his closing set. Absolutely everything I expected. Some of the best falsetto ever (I think I heard quite a comparison to Mindless Self Indulgence‘s, Jimmy Urine). The first half of his set was with an all-male band dressed in black (The Buzzards), and the second half with an all-female band dressed in white (The Peacocks). From “Sixteen Saltines” to the ending chants of “Seven Nation Army,” this was my favorite performance of Day 1 at Hangout Fest.
For The Vinyl District, this is Ariane reporting live (sort of) from Gulfshores, Alabama for Hangout Fest 2012. Stay tuned, friends.
