I attended my first Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, and it was amazing. Basically Outside Lands for grown ups and granola eaters, minus the pomp and circumstance, corporate sponsors and untz, plus a lot of twang. Best of all (and most flooring) totally free for all to enjoy.
We settled down with a picnic on the hill overlooking the Towers of Gold stage and saw Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) seriously break it down on the piano, followed by a great set by Broken Social Scene. The forecast called for fog and even a chance of showers, but instead we found ourselves drenched in indian summer sun, and several of the overlayered festival goers stripping down to their skivvys to beat the heat. This weekend goes into the ever growing list of the reasons why I love this city.
Today’s Emo: Teenage Tide / Letting Up Despite Great Faults
I will continue to ride the sun waves into Monday with some beachy California dream pop from Los Angeles’ Letting Up Despite Great Faults. The band name Letting Up Despite Great Faults reminds me of the likes of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and blends right into a blog where all the indie is called emo. It also demands an instant acronym in order to be efficiently discussed. LUDGF has a new EP, Paper Crush, out this October, and their dependable guitar, silvery vocals, and catchy beats here are enough to win me over, even if the acronym is a bit shaky. #emo
Today’s Untz: Hurting / Friendly Fires (Benoit & Sergio remix)
A snappy remix of one of the best tracks off of Friendly Fire’s newish album, Pala, with an intro that reminds me of the cooing tropical intro of my favorite Dolorean song, Stay Close. And a snappy introduction. #untz
theuntzandtheindie 
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