The Octopus Project, a Austin group started to build a real buzz, gave the afternoon its best show. They played a fantastic set list, mixing in tracks from Hello, Avalanche with new material. The best surprise of Day One occurred when the "ghosts" came alive and started to dance with the music. They closed with the irrepressibly happy, Trucks, which we strongly recommend.
Deerhoof quite exceeded expectations (we knew it was going to be a good show once Satomi, came out with a tiger head on). The lead singer and bass player, Satomi, really created the excentric show we expected from Deerhoof.
In what was easily the best show of the day, The National provided a great closing act to Day 1. Running through a fantastic setlist (highlights included Mistaken for Strangers and Apartment Story), Matt Berninger proved an immensely entertaining front man, singing with passion and at times throwing anything he could get his hands on, including a mike stand and duct tape, to the audience. The National truly showed why the energy of a live set makes even the best music even better, which makes us even sadder when they announced that this would be their last show for "a long time."
The Octopus Project
Deerhoof
The National
