MadeLoud was a proud sponsor of the festival, and alongside four other companies we helmed our own stage. Each had its own attractive qualities, and our acoustic stage was notable for its comfortable, intimate feel and the varieties of performers – many of whom toyed with the idea of an “acoustic stage” by plugging in one way or another. Rather then keep you in suspense, we’ll come right out and say that (as attendees know) the festival was an enormous success, from the size - busy but not too crowded - to the acts, an excellent cross-sampling of up and coming bands mixed in with the big names. The fantastic brew of old and new talent mixed in with the mostly-pleasant weather and natural beauty made for an atypical concert experience in the best way possible. Here's a recap of the the mid-September weekend of fun and music that captivated crowds while banks sunk and hurricanes slammed the coast.

Day One

Our stage had the pleasure of kicking off the entire shebang with a set from fellow Texan Erin Ivey. As interested festival goers entered the grounds and planned their day, Ivey performed tracks like “The One I Love” and “Rooftops” while dedicating a song to Houston, “a city that is probably mostly underwater.” Noah Harris followed with a set of heart-wounded, Rufus Wainwright-like tunes on his electric piano, explaining at one point that he had just been given a baby grand (an older benefactress? Say that it’s so!) and had a little difficulty transitioning songs from one piano to another. If the crowd noticed the discrepancy, they didn’t let on.

From there, we climbed the ridiculous amount of steps up the amphitheater for the first of many times that weekend to get to the Woxy.com stage to see the band Port O’Brien. As we walked past the New Belgium stage where The Veils performed, we caught lead singer Finn Andrews saying, in a chipper British accent, “No really, isn’t this nice?” before transitioning into their final number, “Nadia.” Given that it was only our third act of the festival, it was a shock and joy to watch Port O’Brien perform what may have been the highlight set of the festival – a mere hour and a half after the whole thing kicked off. The Oakland band was positively ecstatic and brimming with sound, giving their multi-part harmonies and brash Southern folk-rock a voluminous kick in the pants. Jamming with the purpose and heart you’d expect from no group other than Crazy Horse or perhaps Magnolia Electric Co., the band closed the set by inviting spectators to grab pots and pans sitting in a suitcase on stage to clang and bang (and dance) along with as they finished their set with the barn-stormer “I Woke Up Today.”

KaiserCartel’s set back at the MadeLoud stage was replete with instrument and vocal swapping between couple Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel, spit-swappers themselves and possibly the most adorable festival couple of the weekend. Set highlights included the song “Okay,” Cartel’s assortment of strange xylophonic devices, and Kaiser’s dexterity as a triple-play drummer, singer, and guitarist. The band could easily afford a third member to handle instrumental duties, but why mess with a sweet formula?

Blitzen Trapper on the Gigbot stage commanded an unsurprisingly large audience a little before four in the afternoon, and the near-capacity crowd was in their hands – save for one wrongheaded heckler yelling at them to “Play something meaningful!” Pwrfl Power’s electric, one-man set on our stage was a killer, combining pathos, humor, and absolutely shredding guitar skills to great effect. Comparatively speaking, Vampire Weekend’s big-time set on the Esurance main stage was much beloved – if goofy teenage dancing is any indication – but basically played like the record but more screechy. White Denim, Austin’s breakout garage rockers extraordinaire tore up the Woxy stage, more energetic than this reviewer has even seen over something like fifteen past gigs. As rain and cold wind threatened to undermine what was already a tepidly uncool performance by Atmosphere we left the amphitheater – after all, we had another whole day ahead of us.

Day Two

Jukebox the Ghost were delighted to have a full, excited crowd for their early 1:00pm gig (early for festivals, of course), and the Ben Folds-leaning trio burst expectations with promising tunes about the apocalypse, and featured the festival’s best ivory-tickling and astute, creative drumming. After this, Tokyo Police Club’s set of alternative rock throwbacks couldn’t help but feel flat by comparison. The remedy came in the Esurance stage’s next act, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, a group whose soul and kinetic energy threatened to make even the monoliths get groovy. While the intros were a little long in the tooth, Jones made the wait worth it, belting it out and shaking her moneymaker like her life was at stake. A soul review was exactly what the often rock-centric Monolith festival needed, and Jones and her band ended things perfectly with a mini-medley of tunes by none other than James Brown. Band of Horses, up next, have become as consistent as ubiquitous so we jetted over to see the much buzzed-about Does It Offend You, Yeah? – though the line out the door was such that we could barely make out anything but sweaty figures dancing along to the synth-heavy band. And while we’re speaking of flashes in the pan, the novelty of Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip (“Thou Shalt Always Kill”) went over better than any of us had the right to expect, given that most of us haven’t even thought of the duo since last year. Le Sac’s glitchy beats and Pip’s message – if a little forced – still made for a refreshing excursion away from guitars and into the whiter, more British realms of hip-hop.

CSS have picked up a rabid crowd over the two years since their debut release, and while sound problems and a delayed start caused problems early on, the group’s swirling fashion show of a performance is always worth watching even through the bumpy parts. The night’s final act was French house duo Justice, whose set was derailed not once but twice by power problems, which makes sense considering the light show, huge glowing cross and unnecessary mounds of amplifiers they have decorating the stage. Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the limits of electronic music. When they weren’t waiting for their gear to work again or bobbing their heads to their now-trademark and commercially unstoppable beat-making, the djs were otherwise not much of a visual feast, and it was up to the spectator to get their groove on or not. Whether the end result was dulling or brilliant seemed to depend more on drug usage and familiarity with the music, but even fans would have to agree that Justice stuck out on an amphitheater stage usually reserved for acts not usually associated with X and the discoteca. Either way, it wasn’t an unpleasant way to end an altogether fantastic festival experience in one of the loveliest locales in the States. Until next year!

Check out more pictures from Monolith here!

- Adam Schragin
- Photo thanks: Jerry Goff

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