This past weekend, I headed to San Pedro’s waterfront to watch two whole days of live music. Although I’ve been to a few major festivals this year including Desert Daze and Music Tastes Good, I was most excited for this lineup, mainly to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the B-52’s, Beach Fossils, Cigarettes After Sex and some of my favorite smaller acts like the Paranoyds, Billy Changer, and La Luz. I was also excited to re-live my high school punk days by catching FEAR and Bad Brains.

But alas, I was on assignment for mxdwn, which is no walk in the park. When you’re legit covering a festival, you have to know song names (even of bands you don’t typically listen to), stay for entire sets that you’d rather bounce from, and be super attentive.

It was really something to be 100% sober, mainly due to the $14 drink costs, but also to keep my memory sharp. I saw all kinds of behaviors, and some were funny, but others were downright scary. From stage-diving fails to deranged fans halting one band’s set, to incoherent festival-goers being hoisted by friends, I saw it all!

But I was really excited to see some of my old and new favorites play. Saturday was my favorite, as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs absolutely killed their set, playing the majority of their songs off Fever to Tell. Cigarettes After Sex also put on a stunning set, playing at one of the main stages just as the sun was setting. And the B-52’s had everyone dancing and grooving to the ’60s inspired surf rock.

But there were some acts that I watched but just couldn’t get into, like Julian Casablancas and the Voidz, which just jerks sound every which way and the assault on the eyes and ears that is the Butthole Surfers.

You can catch my full, unbiased coverage via mxdwn, and some personal experiences in the video below.

For full festival coverage, check out my articles on mxdwn:

The Growlers Six Festival Day One Featuring the Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Growlers and more

The Growlers Six Festival Day One Featuring Butthole Surfers, the B-52’s and more

Check out my highlights and lowlights in this highly unedited video and please comment! I’d love to hear from you.