#random deep thought

Tune-Yards - Free Press Summer Fest 2014

It had been a relatively boring day up to that point. To make matters worse this is a festival that takes place in Houston at the beginning of June so the one-two punch of the heat and humidity makes the festival goer feel as though they are slowly but deliberately wading their way through Satan's back sweat. This was one of those days that I went particularly early to catch somebody (I think it was Washed Out) and I was by myself.

So I was hopping between acts I'd yet to see before (or hear for that matter) and acts that I'd already seen. I was becoming increasingly restless as there weren't any new acts that particularly grabbed me. On top of this frustration Die Antwoord (whom I LOVE) had EXACTLY the same set that I've seen twice by now. I had chosen Die Antwoord over Tune-Yards because I've seen them both and I felt DA has a more explosive show. On this day I learned "explosive" loses it's fascination once it ceases to be novel. For a while now I've enjoyed Meryll Garbus and the "marching to the beat of her own drum, balls-to-the-wall pure artistic abandon" with which she approaches music. That being said I decided to saunter over to Tune-Yards.

Keep in mind today is *7th circle of hell* hot and these stages are not by any means close to one another. By the time I got to the Neptune Stage she was probably a few songs into her set. She was working her way through some of her new material clearly energized to be there and if the steady growth of the crowd was any indication, clearly winning the crowd over.

This set was at the WORST part of the day. The sun was being a CRUEL bitch ass and everybody was close to hating life. FOR THE RECORD bands that play in Texas: WE KNOW IT IS HOT. M Garb kept commenting on how hot it was between each song which was having the adverse reaction of pissing me off. Anyways, The Golden Moment of this festival sprang out of this.

I have this theory that the reason we attend festivals, putting up with the heat, the crowds, the overpriced EVERYTHING, sometimes the travel and the sacrifice of Air-Conditioning and showers (I'm looking at you Bonnaroo).. THE reason that we continue shelling out hundreds of dollars for wristbands making the destination festival such a viable business model for people who just want money and give literally ZERO shits about music: That theory is The Golden Moment. 

The Golden Moment (or if you're lucky, Moments) is a moment in time that can't be recorded.. it can't be anticipated.. it certainly can't be manufactured (I'm looking at you Yeah Yeah Yeahs.. Oh sure! Your electric guitar just magically stopped working for one song forcing you to do an "impromtu" acoustic rendition of "Maps!" How crazy that this wasn't planned! God we're so lucky..) A true Golden Moment isn't controlled by anyone entirely; not the promoter, not the crowd, not even the artist themselves. It's controlled by something bigger, something unknowable, probably what people in religious circles call God. It's a moment of truth, it's usually poetic in nature, and it's ALWAYS a communal experience. Not every music festival has one, and sometimes it happens multiple times in the same weekend. It has everything to do with the ever-passing present, and when you're really lucky, it catches you off guard.

The Golden Moment of Free Press Summer Fest 2014 happened when Meryll Garbus played her gut-wrenching, soulful slow jam "POWA." Oh sure, her performance of this gem was on point, the high note she hits at the climax of the song elicited more than a few screaming fans (typically a good indicator that you're in or around a Golden Moment). The crowd was more alive and IN the set than any other show I saw all weekend. The unpredictable? A rogue raincloud on an otherwise completely clear day deciding to drop by and cool everybody off did just the trick.