LouFest Day Two @ Forest Park, St. Louis, MO

Word and pictures by Duane Clawson
If I remember correctly, last year’s Sunday at LouFest was the more laid back of the two-day affair. This year’s Sunday would follow the same pattern.  The Prenikoff Brothers led off with a sound that was comparable to that of Los Lonely Boys mixed with splashes of Dave Matthews. The Brothers are a St. Louis-based band comprised of brothers Tom and Rick along with drummer Dan Germaine.  The band’s original tunes from their debut album, On My Way, mixed with a killer version of “Eleanor Rigby” got a growing Sunday audience’s blood flowing.  As I’ve stated before, I’m not the world’s biggest rap fan but the ladies of THEESatisfaction held my attention nicely with beats and bass that rattled the legs of my shorts.

The band from southwest Missouri with the longest name of the weekend, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY) followed the ladies of THEESatisfaction.  SSLYBY brings to mind early Kinks material blended with infusions of electronic happiness. The hipsters showed their appreciation by dancing throughout SSLYBY’s set.  After yet another trip across the LouFest grounds I perched myself in front of the band Wild Nothing.  Wild Nothing was a suitable follow up to SSLYBY and this year’s Deerhunter but with a sound that focused a little more on the pop and electronic elements of music.

Cults frontwoman, Madeline Folin, sashayed her way into the hearts of LouFest attendees in her white mid-thigh length dress and vocals that were a bit different than anything I’ve heard before. Cults' songs could best be defined as adult versions of playground songs.  If LouFest Day Two was in need of a wake up call, it was about to happen on two fronts. The first wake up call would be in the form of the L.A. band Dawes.  Dawes followed the same formula that Son Volt had used the previous day.  Hard, heavy folk drive drew a large crowd to the Orange Stage to catch their hearty but shortened performance.  The second wake up call of the day, a half-hour long downpour complete with thunder and lightning.  Dr. Dog band members patiently waited as the stage was dried and attendees continued to emerge from the limited cover of Forest Park.  The LouFest throngs found Dr. Dog’s party folk style of music a suitable way to dry off and get wound up for the impending highlight of the weekend, the Flaming Lips.

The Flaming Lips could easily be called this generation’s Pink Floyd. Just as Floyd’s stage show utilized massive amounts of theatrics to accompany their music, the Lips would give any Floyd production a run for their money. From the onset and throughout the first song, confetti blew into the Forest Park night skies. Balloons filled with confetti were burst by the headstock of Wayne Coyne’s abused acoustic guitar while young ladies dressed as Dorothy’s, from the Wizard of Oz, danced on either side of the stage.   A true assault of the senses was in progress during my feeble attempts to digitally capture the essence of this band.  After the three song limit for photography purposes, I finally got the full effect of the Flaming Lips by stepping to the back of an estimated 5 to 7 thousand people and taking in this party atmosphere.  Wayne Coyne wore giant hands that speckled the crowd with laser light. As the band encored with “Do You Realize??”, I realized I had truly seen something special. A little damp, a little hungry, and a little tired after 20 hours over two days of LouFest coverage,  I found my way home to dream of how LouFest could possibly out do this year’s lineup. Can’t wait to find out. Special thanks to all of the bands and the LouFest organizers for allowing MTC to cover this outstanding event for a second year.  Pictures of Day Two are below:

The Pernikoff Brothers
THEESatisfaction
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Wild Nothing
Cults
Dawes
Dr. Dog
The Flaming Lips
Contributed by Duane Clawson
LouFest Day Two @ Forest Park, St. Louis, MO LouFest Day Two @ Forest Park, St. Louis, MO Reviewed by Scott Rowe, Editor on September 01, 2012 Rating: 5
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