I set north on the Pacific Coast Highway from Manhattan Beach, CA; a 6 hour journey to Monterey for the second annual First City Festival this past weekend. A two-day festival packed with indie legends and a whole bunch of new music to be discovered. From little kids with their parents, to young rockers, this festival was for everyone. Plenty of space to wonder and dance, never had to wait for the restrooms, which is unheard of at a festival, tons of vendors from jewelry to legendary Amoeba records selling vinyl. They also had a carnival set up with tons of free rides, haunted houses, and games like throw a ball in a tiny cup and win a stuffed animal you can lug around all day. Overall, this was one cool festival, and I highly recommend this to people who enjoy more laid back festivals where they don’t have to surround by people the entire time.
-DAY 1-
North Hampton rockers, Speedy Ortiz kicked off the Cypress stage on Saturday with some of the heavier rock that the festival would see. Sadie and the gang killed it per usual, and it was great to see Devin rocking a Boston Celtics tee shirt as well!!
Survival Guide was a solo artist from San Francisco playing chill electronic music with catchy lyrics. She had quite the selection of instruments, with a couple of keyboards, a trippy phone that she sang into, and she even brought in a funky little blue xylophone for a song. The excitement was carried throughout her entire set from the music to her personality. In between songs, she started blowing bubbles because her machine wasn’t working too well, it was kind of cute. I recommend checking her out!
Best Coast has always been a band I’ve wanted to see, and what better place to see them then in their home state of California. This chill indie rock duo from Los Angeles, led by Bethany Cosentino’s powerful voice and lyrics, definitely left the audience in awe. They fit in perfectly on the Redwood stage (main stage) for a mid to late afternoon set as things were starting to cool off a little bit.
Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm of Tanlines sure know how to make people dance! The indie pop duo from Brooklyn, New York played a great set mixed with their older jams from 2012’s Mixed Emotions and some new tracks as well. It was nice to see them perform a full set after seeing them unfortunately having technical problems at Governors Ball this spring. Oh and Eric Emm may have had the coolest guitar at the festival, check it out!
I first heard of Mr. Little Jeans from her single “Rescue” being featured in a powerful re-mix by an all time favorite RAC. I really never followed up on her, but when I saw her name on the line-up I couldn’t miss it, how could you with a name like that! Backed by a drummer and keyboardist/bass player, Monica Birkenes provided a beautiful voice to get lost in at the Manzanita stage, which was a smaller stage with a nice little grass dance floor surrounded by trees and shade where many people relaxed. Monica was definitely the top dancer of the weekend, besides me of course!
Phantogram’s Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter put on one hell of a performance. From funky indie tunes, to heavier electronic rock, they did it all. The crowd was going nuts even before the show started. I’d have to say they put on one of the bigger dance party’s of day one.
Legendary Beck closed down Saturday night with a 90-minute kick ass set! He covered all the genres he has delved into over the years, from the old classics like “Loser” and “Girl”, to the newer stuff off Morning Phase. They ended the show with two members tussling on stage while Beck was walking across with caution tape, they soon returned with an epic four-song encore ending with “Where It’s At.”
Other Day 1 bands you should check out:
Miniature Tigers- Ahigh-energy indie pop group.
Doe Eye- A five-piece band from the Bay Area, they had some chill/electronic indie tunes.
The Step Kids- Three dudes just playing some funk!
Stay tuned for Day 2 photos and recap!