First City Fest

Sitting on the grass in a crowd of people waiting for Father John Misty to take the stage, jumping for joy while Modest Mouse jammed out in the middle of a song, tripping out on MGMT’s huge LCD screen; all were amazing moments that will forever remind me of one of the best weekends ever. This weekend I had the pleasure of attending First City Music Festival in Monterey, CA. I couldn’t have asked for a better music festival. First City fest was the perfect size. The weather was prime; warm and sunny in the day and cooler at night. There were three stages; one main stage, one medium stage, and a small stage for the less known bands. The crowds were minimal and friendly. I have been to too many music festivals that were way too crowded to get a good spot in the crowd, too many stages with too many scheduling conflicts to see all the bands that you desire to see.

First City was in an excellent location. Monterey is a great town with beautiful scenery and nice people. We stayed at a hotel up the road that was a 5 minute cab ride to the festival. The food was on the expensive side but definitely affordable. I got a hot dog for six dollars which seemed steep to me but when they handed it to me it was the biggest hot dog I have ever seen. Drinks were very expensive, beers seven to ten dollars and mixed drinks ten to twelve dollars. There were artists selling jewelry, paintings, posters and lots of other cool stuff. The whole festival had a vintage carnival theme to it. In addition to the stages there were carnival rides and games throughout the venue. At one point the lead singer of Father John Misty shouted, “If you can’t have fun at this festival there is probably something deeply wrong with you.” I couldn’t agree with him more with the great music, good vibes, and beautiful weather it was impossible to walk around without a smile on your face.

The music was incredible. I got to see so many of my favorite bands and all were beyond impressive. Modest Mouse is a great band with diverse songs with poetic lyrics. Seeing them in such a beautiful venue was simply magical. At many times in the middle of a song they would just start jamming out on all of their instruments and the crowd would feed off of their energy and jam out with them. This really displayed their musical talents and their ability to have fun. I got to see a band called Purity Ring, which was an amazing experience. They had the coolest set I have ever seen, with spectacular lights and light up cocoons hanging that would illuminate every time the singer hit them. Another highlight was seeing a band called Dr. Dog who I am a longtime fan of. They were so much fun. Father John Misty put on a great performance. Going into it I had only heard of one song of theirs but I found myself rocking out nearly the entire time. The lead singer was very funny and a bit strange it was very entertaining. They played their popular song “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” and at the end they jammed out while the lead singer flopped around on the ground then wrapped the microphone cord around his neck. It was bizarre and unforgettable.  Other highlights included MGMT, Passion Pit, Toro Y Moi, Capital Cities, Washed Out, Devandra Banhart and so many more. I am literally counting down the days until First City Festival 2014. One of the best festivals I have ever been to, some next level shit.