Forecastle 2016 kicked off strong, your choices were the Austin based, Black Pistol Fire, or 1200. Since 1200 was local and incredibly talented, we went that route and we were not disappointed. Midway into his set, he brought up that one of his friends heard the set-up crew say "no one is going to show up to this set...". However, that was not the case, 1200's set was packed. Further on into 1200's set he brought up a children's choir, which showed the depth of his creativity.
After 1200, we headed off to see the Shreveport, LA based, Seratones, on the Boom stage. Led by AJ Haynes and her punk, rock, garage sounds. This newly formed band could play and it with that, we knew Forecastle was off to great start.
Unfortunately, we were wrong. While the Caveman and Liz Vice we good, the good times did not last long. Just as Phosphorescent was getting started we got evacuated due to approaching thunderstorms....that never made it to Louisville. We were impressed with the way the festival handled everything, they calmly and quickly evacuated 50,000+ people and managed to get them back into the festival grounds in a timely fashion. But it was disappointing that this decision was made since on our weather map from the Weather Channel everything looked like it was going to be safe. That said, Forecastle did do a great job of adjusting the schedule to ensure that all the acts still got to go on, including Phosphorescent. Well done, Forecastle.
Once we were back in, it was straight to the Mast Stage for Grouplove. We expected a great set, but Grouplove over delivered, putting on the most energetic sets of the festival and maybe the best of the day. They were the perfect band to get everybody back into the festival mood. Their Beastie Boys cover of Sabotage was a Forecastle highlight.
Due to the delay, acts were doubled up upon each other and tough choices had to be made. Because we went to Grouplove, we could not see the rest of Phosphorescent or see Bully. After getting energized by Grouplove, it was off to Moon Taxi. They never disappoint and their Forecastle performance was on point. For a Nashville band, they seem right at home in Louisville.
Like we said, Grouplove might have been the show stealer, might being the operative word because Ben Harper reunited with The Innocent Criminals put on a show. They could have easily headlined Friday (and probably should have, as The Avett Brother were a let down). We loved Ben Harper's set, but everyone we talked to who saw Bully's set said it was amazing. We really wanted to see them, but it was not possible due to the scheduling after the "storm".
Glass Animals were playing the Boom Stage after Ben Harper. They put on a trippy set with trippy beats and great lights. And covered a Kanye song, "Love Lockdown", that the crowd loved.
Let's just get this out of the way, we are not big Avett Brothers fans, so that might explain our disappointment in this headlining act. In fact, most anyone we spoke to who was a fan thought it was great. They just don't do it for us. It was tough to leave Friday night after some great performances to have to leave on that note.
Enjoy the gallery below. Click on an image to see it larger.
