Nelsonville Music Festival: Day 3
By Wyatt Zelle, Contributor
Day three began at a different pace compared to the night before. The main stage was no longer filled with dancing mushrooms or the rubber-frog embodiment of Wayne Coyne. Instead, once-upon-a-time Athens local Adam Torres took the stage with his acoustic guitar and a three-piece backing band. I had listened to his record Nostra Nova the day before, so I knew I was in for a treat. Torres’ fingerpicking guitar melodies swept over the silent, concentrated crowd. Torres' brave but soothing falsetto was enough to make the heavens weep a gentle mist even though it wasn’t supposed to rain until later in the afternoon. After Torres said his farewells to the crowd, I headed to the Porch Stage to see what was up.
My Bubba played soft acoustic tunes to a full crowd while the rain began to pick up. Concertgoers started booking it to shelter, while others sat and let it happen for fear of interrupting the set. After a few songs I headed back to the campsite to munch on PB&J and seasoned pretzels.
Back at the Porch Stage, “born and bred to rip and shred” boys Bummers were finishing up their soundcheck. These Columbus beach bums sure knew how to ride the wave. Their sleazy surf rock reminded me of Wavves or even Best Coast, but the real magic was that these dudes are from Ohio. My favorite part of festivals is watching the smaller bands kill it, and if they call Ohio home then that’s a definite plus. After the set, I made a beeline to their merch tent only to find they didn’t have the shirt I’d had my eye on all day in my size. Bummer, right? However, purchasing their self-titled LP satisfied my urge.
First on the Main Stage for the evening was The Budos Band who funked up the whole crowd. Next, Black Lips got everyone the right amount of rowdy. They sounded much better fully electric opposed to their earlier acoustic set--yikes. And finally, St. Vincent made an appearance to please the masses, with gnarly guitar solos aplenty.
Before turning in, I caught a few songs from Moon Hooch at the Porch Stage. Most of its music reminded me of that SNL skit where Fred Armisen terrorizes people with his saxophone. However, clearly I was in the wrong, as the crowd for Moon Hooch was absolutely massive. I could hear their toot tooting the entire walk back to my car.
