It’s been a week like none other in the music industry with the constant C-word taking over people’s lives, fears and concerns and causing cancellations including this week’s SXSW. But it was business as usual for Phoenix’s M3F Festival which took place in downtown Phoenix March 6-8, 2020 at Margaret Hance Park.
The festival has been rebranded M3F for a couple of years now and rightfully so as the event no longer sits as the base of the McDowell Mountain range in North Scottsdale, at once earning its name McDowell Mountain Music Festival. At the same time, the festival has gone from a roots jam festival where artists like Grace Potter and Los Lobos once dominated the bills to a more youth-oriented and downtown centric festival that loads up heavy on electronic dance music.
While this might be a disappointment to music purists, it’s been integral to have the young ones to keep the festival relevant and thriving which in turn brings out the sponsors, which in turn helps ticket sales and makes the promoters happy, the city happy.
The 2020 edition did, however, serve up a variety of artists that not only brought out the daisy duke crowd but also fans from all sides, despite a last-minute cancellation from Sunday headliner Stick Figure who had to cancel due to illness, which popped Greensky Bluegrass into the headlining slot. While the weather was spot on and free water and nonalcoholic beverages were in abundance (thanks Zevia and Waterloo), this intimate city festival is really just that- a cozy three-day event in the park. Here are the more rock-oriented highlights of the three-day festival, that had a large attendance and little to no “C-word” scare factor.
Local Natives
Local Natives haven’t played many shows in 2020 following the release of their underrated fourth album from 2019’s Violet Street. With vibrant vocal harmonies, creative drum patterns and almost a tribalistic indie-pop presentation that is partly Tuneyards, Alt-J and Tame Impala, Local Natives struck a chord early Friday evening on the big stage.
Led by the multi-talented Kelcey Ayer, who provides lead vocals, keys and drumming from his piano stool, turn one minute and a band member who was on drums the prior song will now be on bass and vice versa. The band kicked things off with the lush landscapes of “Vogue” off Violet Street and then dropping into the rambunctious yet perfect composition “Sun Hands” off 2010’s Gorilla Manor. Of course, the previously mentioned song bleeds well with their other well known “Wide Eyes.”
Co-founder Taylor Rice also supplied the goods crowd surfing and then recalling before “When Am I Gonna Lose You,” how he is now married to the woman he wrote the song about and recently had the first Local Natives baby. Other highlights included “Dark Days” and “Cafe Amarillo” and the band’s all-around diversity of danceable rock mixed with thoughtful lyrics and deft musicianship and a guitar sound and howling harmonies that really have come to be defined and recognized as Local Natives only.
Ayer reflected prior to a song of seeing a bumper sticker on a truck as they were loading out for soundcheck that said, “Make Liberals Cry Again.” Naturally, he said, he cried. Then he thought, “Wait a minute, these people don’t hate you. They’re afraid of you.”
Bon Iver
For those that haven’t seen Bon Iver in eight or so years, it might be the equivalent of seeing David Bowie Ziggy Stardust vs Thin White Duke. The sound and presentation and all that surrounds is a thrust of vocoder and modern soundscapes. Tron type geometric neon triangles surrounded the band members and appeared from a distance more multi-media art project than a concert on the headlining Friday slot
With headband, t-shirt and jeans, Bon Iver mastermind and frontman Justin Vernon look the part of anti-rock star yet at the same time he is uninvitingly the leader of his own free form movement of taking modern folk to its extremities and most recently helping to make Bruce Hornsby “cool” again.
With a band that includes longtime cohort Sean Carey and new co-conspirator Jens Wasner of Wye Oak, Bon Iver is fully realized today as Vernon explained to the crowd, “its not just me or you.. its all of us.”
Opening with iMi and “We” off 2019’s i,i, many in attendance hoping to hear “Skinny Love” or “Flume” might have been in for a shock, as this wasn’t your older brother’s Bon Iver. With Wasner supplying Bruce Hornsby keyboards on U (Man Like) and the other new barn-burner of sorts “Hey, Ma” dazzled the night set. “We played a lot of new stuff tonight, sorry,” Vernon said, with this era of Bon Iver showcasing more recent material than old.
The penult song “Holocene” might have been the most seasoned offering of the night as Vernon delivered the word “magnificent” to its most vivacious potential. Vernon concluded the one hour set sending fans on their way with a message of “spread love now where you go”
The Growlers
The Growlers make out like some obscure 60s rock band on Saturday (try Question Mark & The Mysterians “69 Tears”) by chance and mix in some Doors and some 13 Floor Elevators and you get this odd mix that they themselves have dubbed Beach Goth. The band has been prolific in the past decade even hosting their very own successful festival
Well, for one thing, lead singer Brooks Nielsen might be the most interesting crooner in the rock scene today. Yes, his singing style looks part karaoke and part punk, yet his raspy voice with his tipsy hip-shaking recalls a stage presence that is novel in today’s “check me out” world. Much also can be said about keyboard player Kyle Straka and his jubilant keyboard punches and guitarist Matt Taylor’s revolving rhythm leads almost recalling The Doors; the instrumental lead combo of Manzarek and Krieger.
The title song off their new album Natural Affari was one of the highlights along with “I’ll Be Around” with its undeniable hook “So shake me down/Shake me up (shake me down, shake me down). The band certainly filled the 8:00 time slot to their advantage but whether it psyched up the bros and girls in their butt cleavage shorts rearing up for the headlining slot from Rüfüs Du Sol, is anyone’s question.
Mayer Hawthorne
Mayer Hawthorne might be the dad-rock version of Bruno Mars, but yeah his knack for yacht rock grooves and Motown sounds, are part addictive and part guilty pleasure. While Rüfüs Du Sol was cranking the beats on the big stage Saturday night, Hawthorne offered a sanctuary of sorts. Opening with “Time For Love” and paying homage to the Motor City “A Long Time”- the neo-soulman had the funky rhythms firing on all cylinders from the get-go.
More flavorful songs kept the vibe going as “Love Like That” and “Backseat Lover” kept the late 70’s grooves going (ironic that notorious cover band Yacht Rock Revue was playing right down the road at the Van Buren), Hawthorne could have used a few more fans paying respect to the grooves of yesterday. “Henny and Gingerale” brought yet another snappy beat as Hawthorne dressed in fitting slacks and a 50’s red and white varsity jacket with the words “Time To Love” on back.
“I only got an hour set, I gotta cram all my songs in,” said Hawthorne. Then he snarkily added, “anybody out there with the coronavirus come to the stage, I’m trying to be the first semi-famous person to get it, which is good for publicity.” Then he quickly washed out his sense of humor with, “my management advised me not to say that,” followed by “my management advised me not to play any songs.” Which then was followed by a smoke break as the band played some slower material and saw Hawthorne even strapped on the bass and dabble on the keys for a song or two. Later before another of his “slower” numbers, he added – “I wrote this song about doing “psychedelic” shrooms at Disneyland. Seems kids play as Rüfüs Du Sol had the heavy party vibe going on simultaneously, but entertaining banter from the soul singer nonetheless.
Los Colognes
Gotta hand it to Los Colognes from East Nashville, the Claptonish, Dire Straitsish, War on Drugs-ish, five-piece had played just the previous night in Atlanta, GA on the last show of their winter tour opening for Big Head Todd & The Monsters and flew cross country through spring forward daylight savings time to play this one-hour festival slot early Sunday evening. Luckily for those fans that wanted to hear throwback big band rock, this was greatly welcomed at a festival heavy on DJs. In fact, that band hadn’t even been back to their home city of East Nashville since the prior week’s deadly tornadoes.
Opening with a cut to the meat take on The Rolling Stones’ “Jumping Jack Flash,” one thing was noticeable the popping and swinging drums of co-founder and drummer Aaron Mortenson. Frontman Jay Rutherford brings a cool laid back style (similar to Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes) and some stinging guitar leads on a guitar that looks like a mini version of Jerry Garcia’s.
“Backseat Driver” brought the Knopfler licks and Rutherford’s raspy vocals ade for a classic rock meets modern presentation. Los Colognes certainly wear their influences on their sleeves, take the twang rock rhythmic leads on “Molly B Good” that has a Petty & The Heartbreakers Hard Promises era feel and the similar wood-paneled wall vibe of “Unspoken.”
Los Colognes also played a hard-charging version of JJ Cale’s “Cocaine” that outpaced that songwriter’s version and even Clapton’s, depending on what version you’re hearing. Fittingly the band closed its long tour with a version of The Velvet Underground’s “Oh! Sweet Nuthin” as the ending refrain of “she ain’t got nothing at all” petered off into the afternoon sun.
Cory Wong
While many know Cory Wong as a defacto member of Vulfpeck, the guitarist with the nimble fingers who plays the six-string like a bass, is very much a bonafide bandleader himself. Thee producer, composer, arranger, and collaborator is getting his name ou there and often plays with Stay Human, the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert led by Jon Batiste
He’s also not afraid to self describe his music as to what many probably hear it as – smooth jazz on steroids. Heck, his 2020 LP is titled Elevator Music for an Elevated Mood. Mix Chuck Mangione’s “Feel So Good” with Prince’s “Controversy” and you get a stew of what Wong brought to the stage on his Sunday afternoon set – which fell upon his birthday – “I crossed over into a new demographic,” he admitted to the crowd.
Featured by a power funk band that features two drummers on the same kit (somehow it worked) and a monster keyboardist in Kevin Gastonguay, the band ran the gamut of soul and funk its most fusion formation, even sprinkling in blues scales in the most surprising of moments. “Airplane Mode” with its intricacies and melodic tunings and scratchy guitar that plays like a smooth lead, was interestingly delightful. Honest and humble, Wong comes off as paradox to the upbeat music he plays, while the last song “Winslow” was a fast-paced number that galloped and sparked its way to the finish line.
M3F continued to be a fabulous oasis not only for our current public health scare, but showing how a smaller festival can be done right in an urban environment. Here’s to all involved and throwing another memorable three days in 2021….
Bon Iver and Local Natives photos by Mary Andrews, Growlers and Mayer Hawthorne photos by C. Elliott
