3rd Annual Index Fest – Deep Ellum, Dallas, TX Sept 26-28, 2014 (FESTIVAL REVIEW)

Each year more music festivals are popping up in cities, both large and small, across the country. For every Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Lollapalooza, there is a two or three day affair that takes over a couple neighborhood blocks and offers its’ citizens the opportunity to support local business enterprises, sample eclectic foodie creations, and most importantly, indulge in the plethora of musical performances that constantly interchange amongst several stage settings. This past weekend it was Dallas’ opportunity to play host to an impressive roster of festival programming. Over the course of the three-day weekend, the revitalized, yet historic Deep Ellum section of town packed about as much activity as one could hope for in a town just up the Texas highway from a more renowned music locale that is about to shortly host its’ own back-to-back weekend festival blowout. And, though not designed to compete with that very well-known event, Dallas more than held their own.

Three outdoor stages were constructed around the perimeter of an open park space where performances ran uninterrupted from mid-afternoon through 10 pm, at which point the action then shifted over to the neighboring indoor venues. With over 90 bands on the docket, it was impossible to absorb all of the action, so careful curating was essential for attendees.

Friday night’s opening festivities were the most lightly scheduled for the outdoor portion, with only a handful of artists gracing those stages. Blitzen Trapper’s set got off to an inauspicious start, thanks to some technical problems (an unfortunate reoccurring theme that plagued many a band throughout the weekend), which cut their allotted time nearly in half. The Portland-based folk-rockers made the most of their abbreviated circumstances, however, with a focused and tightly wound set that crescendoed to a close with fan-requested gems, “Furr” and “Black River Killer.”

Minutes later, most of the audience had shuffled the couple hundred yards over to the Deton, TX-based KXT.org sponsored stage for the start of Future Islands. The Baltimore-based synth-poppers are riding a surge of momentum buoyed by fine reviews for their latest album, Singles and the David Letterman clip that even your mom has probably seen and subsequently forwarded to you by now. The band certainly can back up the hype, though, as Samuel Herring and Co. held the overflowing crowd in the palm of their hands for the duration of their almost, too-short 60-minute set. Herring makes quite the showman, with his rubbery legs, ferocious kicks, and Shakespearean dramatics all in full effect. Live, though, it’s equally fascinating to watch the other three band members lay down such an arrestingly engaging foundation that serves as the bedrock for the vocal performances. The slinky synth keys, syncopated drum rhythms and indelible bass lines keep listeners locked in a trance that is quite difficult to snap from.

But, when at a festival, snapping from one thing to the next is standard procedure, so off it was back to the Goose Island stage for the evening’s headliner, Ryan Bingham. With just enough time allotted for a few extra songs than the preceding acts, Bingham and his four-piece backing band, served up a healthy dose of Americana twang and swagger, with an extra emphasis placed at the beginning on his heavier material in the form of raucous numbers like “Guess Who’s Knocking’”, “Depression”, “Bluebird” and “Day Is Done”, which all served to bring the audience’s beer cans high into the air.

From there, it was off to the club portion of the evening, where the highlight proved to be a spirited performance by the upstate New York collective The Felice Brothers, whose ability to work the crowd into a frenzy was wondrous to see in the small confines of Club Dada, but in all actuality, probably would have equally resonated outside on one of the main stages earlier in the evening.

On Saturday, the proceedings took off a little earlier with a full slate of outdoor action that included a standout performance from Foxygen.  Like Blitzen Trapper the night before, The LA-based collective plowed forward despite getting nearly half of their allotted time cut due to sound issues that left the members impatiently glaring at the sound guys who were frantically clustered under a mid-lawn tent trying to get things together. Once given the green light, Foxygen impressed with their devilish charm, buoyed by the Jonathan Rado’s cocksure guitar/keyboard roar, a rapturous and energetic all-girl chorus, and, of course, the manic energy that constantly emanates from frontman Sam France. After whipping up the hysterics of the crowd, it was all over too soon.

However, White Denim stepped out to carry the positive energy. The Austin four-piece has developed a deserved reputation as a live act not to miss, and this jour long set proved that reputation to be true. By far the loudest band of the weekend, they ripped through a fevered set that nicely pieced together material from across the spectrum of their discography and concluded with thunderous aplomb as singer James Petralli shredded his guitar strings while rolling on the stage floor, microphone in mouth.

From there, the late afternoon/early evening portion was adequately, if a bit anticlimactically, brought to a close with the lilting rhythms of Lord Huron and the stock roots rock of Dawes, both of whom drew large crowds but failed to connect in memorable ways. With a myriad of evening choices at hand, The Prophet Bar was decided upon. There, Austin collective (and pals of indie wunderkind, Mac DeMarco) Gold Beach made their proper debut with a solid set previewing material of their forthcoming album, Ryou Cannon and Oklahoma City psych-rockers Horse Thief wrapped up a long day with a well-tuned collection of mesmerizing and mysterious tunes.

Despite a personal spirit devoid of energy and time commitments spread in a few other directions, Sunday still provided a few highlights. Russian Circles’ stark and forceful instrumental stylings cast a nicely dark cloud over the hot, sunny skies. Dan Deacon turned the outdoor crowd into a stylized dance party with a gloriously pulsating set that was occasionally interrupted by, you guessed it, frequent sound problems. And, Local Natives closed the grand stage portion of the weekend with their buoyant and harmonic folk-infused shuffling.

As solid as the weekend was, there were still, of course, countless missed opportunities. It would have been great to see Carolyn Rose, Joe Pug, The Cool Kids, Latasha Lee & The Black Ties, and Lee Fields & The Expressions. In lieu of cloning oneself, though, that’s the way it’s going to be. As music festivals continue to populate in both scope and popularity, attending fans will be forced into making difficult choices. Fortunately, events like Index Fest usually provides enough variety to make it all worthwhile.

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