The Five Acts at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 That Brought Me to My Knees

Modest Mouse – I’ve listened/worshipped this band for more than half of my life, but have never seen them live because you have a better chance of Rick Perry splitting an atom than procuring a ticket to a Modest Mouse show in Austin.  Isaac Brock and his merry band of mischievous revelers did not disappoint, mixing in their commercial hits with lesser-known cuts and fan favorites.  The gods of Indie smiled on Modest Mouse, sending a comet to light up the Austin sky during the very appropriate song“Dark Center of the Universe”.

Amon Amarth –  Norse gods of viking death metal laid waste to the Austin crowd gathered beneath them.  This quintet of blonde berserkers rolled through their epic set of head banging anthems leaving  the bloodthirsty contented in the carnage.  Leave it to Youtube to combine two of my favorite things, Norse black metal and the History channel show, Vikings.

Metz – The heir apparent to the angst and grunge of Nirvana, with a modern dose of thrash and incomprehensible lyrics.  Metz is a cherry bomb in the closed fist of society.  All preceding metal and punk acts paled in comparison to the torrential, wanton, disarray created by Metz’s set.  They finished with the song  “Wet Blanket” from which there is some radiation left over.

Yelle – “You like to play games Au-Steen? Ow about all zee guys shake their eeps like ziss? “   Julie Budet ,aka Yelle, is a French pop sensation that had my Francophilia reaching critical levels as she bounced the festival stage Friday night.   I was cautious as to see if her electro-dance infectiousness would be able to translate onto a festival stage and I was met with a show that far exceeded expectations.