AUSTIN -- I hadn't been inside Waterloo Park for more than 10 minutes Saturday afternoon when I watched a bruised young man gulp down a freshly drawn syringe of his own blood. The second day of Fun Fun Fun Fest had officially begun.
Part of a presentation by the What the Hell Boys, it was startling, to say the least. It was certainly something you don't see at South by Southwest or the Austin City Limits Music Festival, two of Austin's other high-profile music-oriented festivals. But the Fun Fun Fun Fest, now in its fifth year, strives to be more transgressive and more progressive than its multiband, multiday brethren. Combining below-the-radar rock bands with a low-key, only somewhat corporate atmosphere, a healthy dose of comedy and outre shock and awe (three words: air sex contest), it makes for a gathering that offers up nearly continuous surprises.
Saturday was as weird or nostalgic as you wanted to make it. The real joys were found without trying -- like Big Freedia, a New Orleans-based "sissy bounce" rap sensation who blurs gender lines even as she delivers party anthems that had dozens of audience members onstage, shaking their booties with abandon. (Sadly, most of the hysterical lyrics are unprintable in a family newspaper.) Israeli garage rockers Monotonix delivered an altogether different experience as frontman Ami Shalev, wearing only underwear, raced through the crowd punting full cans of beer, screaming incoherently and flinging water on unsuspecting spectators. The three eschewed the stage behind them, instead setting up shop in the middle of the audience. Earlier in the day, the denim-clad dudes in Valient Thorr delivered a pummeling set that felt vicious but was tinged with uplift and hope.
The three-day festival concludes tonight with performances by the reunited Descendants, the Hold Steady and more.
Preston Jones, 817-390-7713
