80/35 Music Festival

Day 2: July 11, main stage doors opened at 12 pm

Cloud Nothings|Main Stage|3:15 pm

After choosing to stay in bed a while longer due to my messed up sleep schedule, I eventually made my way over to the main stage at 3:15 pm for Cloud Nothings expecting yet another indie band. Instead I was surprised to witness a group of three produce a garage band style sound that at first wasn’t my style of music. But after taking pictures in the pit, I had the chance to sit and pay more attention to the bands music while waiting until the next act at 5 pm. Eventually after ignoring their awkward presence on the main stage, I warmed up to their sound as time went on. Now they weren’t the best band I had heard live, their instrumental skills could have needed a bit of freshening up and vocals didn’t seem main stage material in my opinion. But, like previously stated. I got to the point where I could tap my foot along to the beat. Overall I probably wouldn’t pay to see these guys for a second time, but for the festival atmosphere it worked pretty well.

Lettuce|Main Stage|5 pm

Once killing some time by walking around the festival, 5 pm rolled around bringing the funk band Lettuce onto the main stage. A variety of looks appeared on stage, from a bassist with long red hair and beard to a trumpet player who’s style was closer to St. Lucia’s. Once again not sure what to expect, it was interesting to watch the group of six impressing me by bringing a whole new sound to the main stage. Their funky style was not only fascinating to watch but what peaked my interest was how for the first set, the band only played instrumental music, keeping up a steady beat full of saxophone and trumpet solos throughout. When I had to leave for another show, singing came from the stage breaking their voiceless streak. However I was unable to truly hear the artist, though they sounded good from where I was, so no true opinions can be made. Lettuce was definitely fun to see and their music was apart of a genre I normally wouldn’t listen to, so I recommend checking them out if you’re in need of a change of music scenery.

Weezer|Main Stage|9:15 pm

80/35 went out with a bang, headliner Weezer bringing down the main stage with many of their old but memorable songs. Personally this was the performance I was looking forward to most, since I knew more of their tracks, and by the end they lived up to my expectations and then some. Not only were fans able to feed off Weezer’s energy but the entire atmosphere seemed to change for the better even before the band entered. The crowd chanted the band’s name multiple times, holding up their hands in the shape of W’s until they greeted Weezer with shouts and whistles once making their appearance. I was impressed with the bands set list, playing songs such as “The Sweater Song”, “Island In the Sun”, “Say It Ain’t So” and much more. Though the instrumental was pretty basic throughout most of the set, it was executed well and still pulled the crowd into their music. Of course lead singer Rivers Cuomo’s vocals were definitely a highlight and hearing everyone sing along made you appreciate the moment. Overall Weezer was the best act I had seen at the festival and I would gladly see the band again in the festival setting-worth the wait.