Fun Fun Fun Fest is the most appropriate name for the second annual festival that took place this Saturday and Sunday Nov. 8-9 at the Waterloo Park in Austin, Texas.
The festival started in 2006 and was originally designed to create a fall festival experience that supported new and upcoming artists despite their MTV airplay or genre. Being a true urban-sited festival, the event took place in the middle of downtown where festival goers could grab a bite to eat and a t-shirt down at the local shops before hitting up the festivities. One of the many things that makes FFF extraordinary and unique is the focus on a collection of 3 core styles of progressive and underground music: indie rock, punk/hardcore and hip hop/DJ. The different styles of music allowed for fans to come see one band and find themselves interested in a completely different and new band as well leaving completely satisfied. The festival’s Myspace describes the genre choice as, “No jam bands, no blues rock, no such luck…just the kinda of great music you’d heard coming from the scene, since music split from the pop mainstream decades ago.” This is what makes the festival different from others, compiling different genres rather than just the same thing on four different stages.
The first year the lineup included such bands as Spoon, Peaches, Circle Jerks, Negative Approach and Riverboat Gamblers. It was something new and different, and just the beginning of more impressive festivals to come. In 2007 it was even more triumphant and successful than the year before including such bands as Murder City Devils, The New Pornographers, Of Montreal, Cat Power, Explosions in the Sky, Against Me!, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists and Girl Talk.
This year’s lineup and festivities was to be the most epic to date. The four-stage festival included such lineups as The National, Minus The Bear, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, Municipal Waste, Bad Brains, The Octopus Project and The Toxic Avenger. One of the many larger-than-life lineups was the reunion of punk band The Dead Milkmen, this being their first performance since bassist Dave Schulthise commited suicide in March of 2004.
Two-day passes were available and children younger than ten years old were able to get in free and student discounts were also available. Vendors and local press were at the festival; some sponsors included Internet magazine Soundcheck who commented on the weekend, “Ah, Fun Fun Fun Fest. What a charmed weekend. Between the delightful lineup, gorgeous weather, and pleasant grounds (Waterloo Park has much more shade than Zilker does), this has quickly become a favorite festival experience for many.” Fun after parties were available to wristband holders where local bands and DJs played at bars downtown. The festival goers were able to go and get a better feel for the city and what it’s music scene has to offer.
The weekend was a success for the Fun Fun Fun Fest, it is questionable if the ’09 lineup can top this year’s. The weather was great, the crowds were just the right size and the performances were memorable.