Festival Supreme
October 25, 2014
Shrine Expo Hall N Grounds
Last Saturday at the Shrine, the word “hot” was used in many ways while the third annual Festival Supreme was taking place. It was hot as fuck outside, the line-up was unbelievably hot, the crowd was hot (seriously, we were all sweaty pigs), and Big Freedia shook her ass hotter than a mother fucker.
We feel that we must start out with admitting that we did not get to see every act at this supreme ass festival but it was simply because it was not at all possible. With overlapping times, we were once again forced to pick and choose what we saw and quickly run to another stage and so on and so on. For four stages. In the 100 degree heat. And for that reason, we're going to break it down for you stage by stage on what we witnessed. Explanation aside, what we did see, we were delighted with. OK, review over! Kidding…
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The “mood lighting” at The Jesus Lizard Lounge stage was dark yet swanky making it a good place to find shelter from the heat. Standing room only made it hard to see the stage (Hello!! 5'2″ over here!!) but that didn't stop me nor anyone else from having a great time with 2 Headed Dogs, Amy Poehler, Greg Behrendt, Tig Notaro, Bill Burr, and Tim Minchin (swoon) just to name a few. Tenacious D also took the stage to bring some swank of their own with an all jazz set complete with some interpretive dance and a cameo from Craig Ferguson. Not to single anyone out BUT…other than Tenacious D (duh!), Neil Hamburger really wrecked the audience with his hilarious question filled set and Tim Minchin was smart enough to slyly poll the crowd on age and decided to pass on singing about kids. Brilliant. Both of them. Hell, all of them.
The other indoor (air-conditioned) area was the Karma Chameleon stage where Nathan Fielder showed us a new episode of his show, Kristen Schaal was as adorable and hysterical as always, Kids in the Hall gave us skits and plenty of things to think about, Dan Harmon rapped a romantic face fucking your dad song, and Finesses Mitchell slayed with pirate humor. Stage stand outs? Well, it seems like every comic has a “Tinder” joke but Morgan Murphy almost made me spit my drink (And I'm an expert swallower. Wait, that came out wrong) when she said, “My screen name is twelve inch deep vagina and my bio says not looking to hook up.” Adam Devine's last minute replacement (thank god) Reggie Watts also killed it rapping “maybe it'd be better if we slept together” but the truth is, he ear-fucked us real good.
The Komodo Dragon was one of the two outside stages and gave us a chance to get acquainted with DJ Douggpound who is not in fact related to any of the Dogg Pound Gangstaz (bummer), see Henry Rollins dazzle the masses, and Andrew W.K. party his sweet face off while I personally partied my make-up off. Dan Deacon also put on a good show for the standing room squad and while they all seemed into it, in my opinion, I didn't get the messages he was spouting off in between songs. I'm not saying he wasn't great though. I'm just saying I didn't get it. Don't shoot the messenger.
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Stagezilla was the other huge outside stage and first and foremost, I'd like to publically apologize to Big Freedia and Puddles Pity Party for not being familiar with them until this show. From now on, I promise, I am all in. They were both in-fucking-credible and from here on out I will be 100% obsessed with both them. In a non-creepy way of course. We also caught the tail end of The Darkness and it was unbelievable to be in the midst of the crowd jumping all around and screaming the lyrics to “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” It was an absolute highlight hands down.
Die Antwoord was the big show closer and wowza was it a spectacle to see. South African duo Ninja and Yolandi Visser had the whole place jumping, awkwardly dancing (we're looking at you “lawyer guy” and drunken slap dance crew), and attempting to mimic Visser's high pitched screams. And even after ten hours of show and not being on molly (but we were totally sweating), god damn they were fantastic!
Critic's Bias: I read back on my “bias” from last year's show and as it would turn out, I bitched about being 5'2″ and them not having screens to see the acts on. Interestingly enough, this year I planned on bitching about there being screens but not projecting the acts on them. You ALMOST had it Festival Supreme. Next year, let's get it right OK? Good talk.
The Crowd: The crowd this year was super similar to the last two years. Hipsters, beards for days, hats of all kinds for days, and a bunch of random costumes. Or maybe they weren't so random. I guess I'm totally out of touch but there were a TON of people dressed like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” WTF am I missing here? In attendance was every color of the rainbow of people in all shapes and sizes getting along in harmony. They were eager, grateful, and clearly set out to have a great time. And you know what? I think they all accomplished just that.
Overheard in the Crowd:
“Oh man, that was funny! We gotta watch more of him!” -talking about Nathan Fielder
“God damn my balls are sweating. Next year let's not dress like Chippendales dancers.”
“I don't think my white ass could twerk like Big Freedia even if I practiced every day.”
“Next year instead of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas we should dress like Siegfried N Roy. And bring a tiger.”
Random notebook dump: Shout out to one of the security guards getting her groove on to Reggie Watts while laughing along. It was nice to see the staff enjoying the show almost as much as the crowd.
Stages/Setlist:
Stagezilla– Puddles Pity Party, PPL MVR, Wynchester, The Big 3, Big Freedia, Rocket From the Crypt, The Darkness, Die Antwoord
Komodo Dragon– Kate Berlant N John Early, Charlyne Yi, DJ Douggpound, Nick Thune, Henry Rollins, Andrew W.K., Dan Deacon
Karma Chameleon– Dan Harom, Morgan Murphy, Nathan Fielder, Puddles Pity Party, Reggie Watts, Aubrey Plaza, Super Dave Osborne, Finesse Mitchell, Kristen Schaal, Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Kids in the Hall
The Jesus Lizard Lounge– 2 Headed Dog, The Lampshades, Toby Huss, Neil Hamburger, Amy Poehler, Largo N Greg Behrendt, Tig Notaro, Bill Burr, The Elektric Snowflake, Tenacious D, Tim Minchin, Richard Cheese
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Ali Lerman knows much about comedy, basketball, and celebrating Wu-Tang Wednesday. She’s been writing for sixteen years and still calls her mom with grammatical questions.
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