Photos by Caitlyn Williams
The third and final day of Wonderfront brought many surprises, good and bad. Of the three days, Sunday was the warmest and brightest, and in short, it was all for the vibes. I walked into the festival anxious about only knowing a couple of acts, and despite beginning with a dependence on my watermelon Red Bull, by the end of the night, things were looking so up.
For the KSDT members who attended, our day began with Vacations’ set. I initially thought this would be my favorite set, considering how much I appreciate their music. I am not saying it was not good, but it was not what I was expecting. Their set began later than it should have due to technical difficulties, but the guitarist and drummer easily made the crowd feel at ease with their improv and humor. They began playing a simple instrumental complemented by the guitarist’s voice guiding the audience through a random ASMR moment. Once things were situated, the Australian band wasted no time and jumped right into their first song, “Slow Motion.” The acoustics of their stage (Hazy Stage) were not the best, especially with the mic, but when the lyrics were audible and the instruments could shine, the music was enjoyable, to say the least. However, as someone who listens to Vacations, the fact that 80% of their songs sound the same, and they had mic issues, it was hard to make out what the lead singer was singing. The set consisted of slow and fast-paced alternative indie rock songs like “Home,” “Off Seasons” and of course, “Telephones.” It was obvious the band was having fun – the guitarist with his Disney knees, the drummer with the biggest smile, and every member jamming out to their instrumentals. Their energy primed everyone in the audience to vibe and dance to the music, even if it was mellow and calm. Listening to Vacations live may not have had the best acoustics, but the harmonies between the lead singer and keyboardist made the lack of articulation almost unimportant. All this being said, the technical difficulties were not the fault of the band. It's not like the lead singer was singing in cursive, but it was just a prominent issue with the Hazy Stage, as heard in different sets. Fortunately, with their more upbeat songs like “Next Exit” (my favorite), the words were much clearer and made the experience more enjoyable.
Although it was nice to hear Vacations, sometimes lo-fi indie songs blur too much, and after their set, I needed something upbeat to bring up my energy. After a mini break, we headed to 4 Non Blondes’ set, an iconic rock group returning to the main stage after a 30-year breakup. I can’t lie, there are very few songs I know from the band, but I do know their legacy, specifically Linda Perry’s impact on the LGBTQ+ community. So when a band as iconic as them is re-debuting at Wonderfront, I had to see it for myself. The crowd for 4 Non Blondes was completely different from any crowd I’ve been in at Wonderfront, and yet it made perfect sense. There was a mix of granola boho and Bikini Kill punk aesthetics – a people watcher’s dream. Once Linda Perry and other band members entered the stage, the crowd roared until she calmed them down with an acapella chorus of “What’s Up,” to which everyone sang with her. Their set was filled with mostly new songs from their upcoming album, and as one of the first witnesses to this comeback, it was literally so cool. However, once again, there were technical difficulties. Issues with Perry’s mic, her guitar, and other instruments hindered her performance and resulted in her yelling at the audio workers. After several new songs, there were the occasional flashbacks to their older releases like “Train” and, of course, “What’s Up.” When performing this infamous song, everyone was singing, yelling, and/or dancing. Perry even repeated the final chorus, encouraging even more energy, and an angel gained its wings when the audience delivered that energy. Perry’s expositions and monologues may have been my favorite part of the set. From her nostalgic appreciation for her past career, her anecdotes about taking acid in Balboa Park, and the way she’d get angry when she sang – rock is back.
After the highs of listening to blaring guitar riffs and Linda Perry screaming in my ear, I shifted over to the next set, Jason Mraz, one of the three headliners of day three. I can’t lie, I only knew one song of his, “I’m Yours,” and after his set, I understood exactly why I don’t listen to anything else. The shift between the high of feeling like I witnessed rock history to the low of being smushed into the tone-deaf set of Jason Mraz hit me hard like a bus. His songs like “Lucky,” “You Might Like It,” and “The Remedy” felt like songs I would’ve listened to if I went to daycare. Mraz kept talking about his life philosophy of JUST trying again, and it JUST got to a point. His music was made for a specific audience, and that audience was not me. I was really trying hard not to judge too hard. I mean props to Mraz and his band for their cohesive presence; they knew how to bring their… homogenous audience together under their anthem music, but there was a moment where I felt so othered. In one of his expository conversations, Mraz stated that he can stay positive because he had built the “musical Avengers,” a band that tours with him to play Caribbean music. Now… tell me why this white man who uses instruments like the sitar, maracas, etc, and creates songs with Indian, Caribbean, and reggae influence, tours with a predominantly white or white-passing band. DO NOT PLAY, not only were his lyrics tone-deaf, but so was he. So as he sang his performative Ted Talks in songs like “3 Things,” I was dozing off until I began getting bothered by the crowd. With the number of irrelevant conversations that were being yelled at and the fact that a beach ball hit my face and an old man PUSHED me out of the way to get the ball, it felt like I needed more than a Red Bull to get me through the set. As Mraz concluded with the final song, “I’m Yours,” and as I listened to the only song I anticipated, I realized this was not worth it, and I could have missed out on this set.
As a result of feeling squashed into a Yo Gabba Gabba episode (not in a good way), I felt the need to leave early. Fortunately, I have no car and there was still The Fray’s set! Before they went on stage, I wasn’t expecting much, and considering they were at Hazy stage, expectations were not too grand. So when they began, I told myself I would “review” their set from the media tent, which was not too far, but when I looked at the crowd, it was HUGE. I don’t think Hazy ever had a crowd that large, and truly, I believe The Fray garnered a crowd much larger than Jason Mraz (and they weren’t even a headliner). After convincing myself enough and willing myself to walk to the crowd, I was able to witness their performances of “Closer to Me,” “Syndicate,” and “Hurricane,” which were strong, loud, and so fun. Of course, the microphone audio blurred the lyrics a bunch of times, but the drums and guitar quality made up for it. The stage set up for their set complemented their music so well – four ambient lamps flickering to the beat of their music and fading when their songs faded. The lead singer was having so much fun, and as a result, the enormous crowd was having the time of their lives. As a people watcher, this was my favorite crowd of the festival, if not my favorite crowd I’ve been in period. The conversations were related to the music, so many people were singing, and everyone was jumping – so many angels got their wings back. Even when the band slowed things down with songs like “Never Say Never,” it was pure vibes. Seeing how everyone was so enthusiastic for the last set of the night and the amazing stage presence from The Fray, I didn’t think things could get better until they covered “Dreams” by The Cranberries. If “You Found Me” wasn’t enough to make me emotional, they used the spirit of Ireland to literally punch me in the throat. With that being said, shout out to Ireland and, more importantly, shout out to all the hopeless romantics and yearners. The second “How to Save a Life” played, everyone was singing it loud and proud (me included). Finally, the perfect way to end a set that felt like the perfect ending to Wonderfront was with one more cover. I felt like a sleeper agent being awakened when I heard the instrumentals of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds. Their cover literally had me levitating along with the thousands of people in the crowd.
Safe to say, even though day three was not black and white, there was definitely a shift between the good and bad. With the lineup of the final day being more nostalgic and less ‘trendy,’ it was easy to point out the difference between day three’s crowd and the other two. Even if I didn’t enjoy Jason Mraz’s set, there was still a strong sense of community, and I’ll give all the artists their flowers for their presence and influence.