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FADER FORT Recap: Day Four
Posted 3/20/2011

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The unexpected is what oftentimes makes this spectacular week of music in Austin unparalleled. So, perhaps it should have come as no surprise when the two biggest moments of the final day at the FADER FORT were provided in succession by a bearded shut-in falsetto crooner and a vodka plugging, multi-faceted musical entrepreneur whose changed his name multiple times, if only for the sake of publicity. In case you don’t follow, the FADER FORT was graced Saturday evening by Justin Vernon, better known as Bon Iver, and Bad Boy CEO Sean “Diddy” Combs.

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Vernon, for the first time in seven years, performed with his college band DeYarmond Edison, which reunites the indie-kingpin with members of rootsy North Carolina ramblers, Megafaun. The band was not originally scheduled to play the fort, instead filling a “TBA” slot which had left many conspiracy theorists hypothesizing (as seems to happen every year) that Radiohead would making a surprise appearance. While Thom Yorke didn’t end up shimmying to “Lotus Flower” onstage, fans were nonetheless delighted to see Vernon carry the load of grand expectations. While not as folky as Bon Iver, or as smooth-jazzy as his other recent project, Gayngs, DeYarmond Edison was every bit as engaging. The set’s highlight was unquestionably a slinky cover of Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend,” which Vernon made sure to mention was going to be recited in the style of soul legend Donny Hathaway.

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While Bay Area MC Lil B closed out the fort, it was the sudden appearance of Diddy that sent the crowd into a collective frenzy. Primarily serving as Lil B’s hype-man, Diddy managed to sneak in a few jams of his own, including The Notorious B.I.G.’s 90’s-prom dance jam “Mo Money Mo Problems,” which simultaneously reminded us how epic Biggie was, how great old Bad Boy albums used to be, and how Diddy should really stick to reppin’ Ciroc.

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Before the aforementioned hysteria at night’s end, folksier Cass McCombs sat down at his keyboard in the early afternoon, backed by a three-piece band, and peeled back the curtain on a stunningly beautiful set of mellow numbers, largely from his most recent album-to-date 2009’s Catacombs. A short time later, British dubstep wunderkind James Blake, much taller than we had anticipated, effortlessly delivered a contemplative set of chilling ballads-meet-bass thumps, including standouts “The Wilhelm Scream” and his Feist cover of “Limit To Your Love” from his eponymous 2011 LP.

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After an insanely thrashy set by Sacramento hardcore act Trash Talk, which saw garbage cans thrown into the crowd and the fort’s first true mosh-pit erupt, aside from Vernon’s college reunion, hip-hop took over the fort. Whether it was The Cool Kids spitting verses from their 2010 LP Tacklebox, Killer Mike dropping rhymes from his upcoming LP R.A.P. or Lil B closing out the ceremonies (with an assist from Diddy) with premier renditions of “All My Life (Remix)” and “Exhibit 6,” it was clear the crowd had yet again been victimized by the beat and flow.

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And just like that, our week at the FADER FORT was over. From Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose’s paparazzi-like exit to Yelawolf’s crowd-surfing shenanigans, Oh Land’s swooning singalongs to Odd Future’s violent, jaw-dropping rap antics, it had been four days of musical mayhem not soon to be forgotten. We need a nap.

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