Surprise Surprise

So ... The Editors ... lets just say they were an awkward surprise. I say that because they really shouldn't have been a surprise. I actually really liked they're new album (even though, like many critics have been saying, a lot of the songs sound like all the other songs), so I should have thought that they would be amazing, but when they came out and just straight up rocked the place, I was floored. I think I expected them to be boring. Instead they were an excitement explosion.

Editors - An End Has A Start

I skipped out on the end of the Editor's set to see the awesome De Novo Dahl. I certainly loved their double disc 2005 release, but, really, who didn't? That shit was terrific. And, as I had assumed, they were as lively and spunky on stage as they were on their album. Did I mention adorable? Add that to the equation and you have one good time.

De Nova Dahl - Dinosaurs!

When I got down on the Main stage The Decemberists were setting up (because I got down there a little early). In waiting I remembered how I'd first heard them, and thought of them as a dreamer's dream band. A fantasy's fantasy. Okay, that's going a little overboard. Almost needless to say, I was wrapped up in the Decemberists' for a moment or two. I also remember the amazing NPR live set Colin Meloy did a while back (which I just happen to have hosted right here on this very blog). I was a little excited to see the whole shebang. Then they came out, and played what was very much like a new genre that could be coined "medio-core" (a play off of mediocre [thanks tom]). Look, The Decemberists are a good band. I'm not saying I don't like them. But they just plain sucked at this festival. I blame everything expect for them.

The Decemberists - Everything I Try to Do Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right

Now, I could have run upstairs to go see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (who I hear had an awesome set), but, seeming how that was what half the Decemberists crowd was thinking, I decided to hop up to the front row, so I could have an amazing vantage point for the first time seeing Cake (I've been waiting since childhood to see these guys, I wasn't passing this shit up). They came on and were more amazing than expected. They were, surprisingly, one of the biggest surprises of the event. I remember remarking to the people around me that I didn't know there were enough Cake fans to fill Red Rocks (which was exactly what happened), and they responded that they felt the same way, that they loved Cake, but didn't really think anyone else understood how good Cake really was. Cake is legend. But you know that.

Cake - Excuse Me I Think I've Got a Heartache


And that ends it for day 1. Day 2 soon ... 4 reelz.