“THIS
must be the largest audience we’ve ever played for,” grins Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier, peering out at the sizeable Thursday evening crowd gathered in front of the main Woods Stage. It’s exactly the sort of meeting of minds EOTR was made for: a band of possibly selective appeal – such are their disjointed songs of math-rock virtuosity, blasts of beastly riffs and delicate Björkmeets-Yoko vocals about death and onions – playing to an attentive crowd of sonic aficionados hungry for a challenge. As they segue their math-rock version of the Knight Rider theme into Eddie Grant’s “Electric Avenue”, it’s clear we’re in for another weekend of brilliantly unpredictable fun.
Post-rock party band Horse Lords begin one song with what sounds like the piano riff from Happy Mondays’ “Step On” before mutating into a manic Celtic jig. In 7/4 time. People don’t quite know how to dance to it, but they dance anyway. Later, Avalanche Kaito prompt them to flail even faster with a set of irresistible avant- Afropunk that starts off with the singer in the crowd.