The second Best Friends Forever festival proved the emo revival isn’t going anywhere and somehow managed to curate a weekend of bands that provided enough variety to keep from falling into a rut, even though there were many legacy and reunion bands to leave little room for surprises.
Snowing opened with a set that dispelled the “90s revival emo” labels that I had heard. Their solid mid-tempo approach was familiar but not derivative. They won the “funniest festival stage backdrop” award by using a looping video of a friend appearing to be watching via a Zoom call. Miley followed with slow-to-mid tempo rock with a bit of a shoegaze influence.
Given that they have been doing this for 35-plus years, I thought Superchunk played surprisingly early in the lineup. That didn’t seem to bother the band, though. They started with a hyped up version of “Precision Auto” and never let up after that. Even the mid-tempo classics like “Like a Fool” and “Driveway to Driveway” had a sense of urgency. Speedy Ortiz managed to keep the high energy level going with their set of well-crafted indie rock, but it was Bear vs Shark that turned the nondescript festival space into an anarchic punk dance party. Dozens of mini tambourines were thrown from the stage, making the audience part of the performance.
The weather became part of the show shortly after Narrow Head took the stage. The band were able to get out a few songs, but their set was cut short due to lightning approaching the area. Many from the audience crammed into the large merch tent as a downpour ensued. Surprisingly, the rain only caused about an hour’s delay for the schedule.
Cursive’s first of two festival sets had them playing their artful post-hardcore classic “Domestica,” which translated surprisingly well on the big stage thanks to Tim Kasher’s animated and emotive delivery. Knapsack was a highly anticipated reunion set delivering supercharged indie rock, crafting punchy, emotionally charged songs. You can still hear their influence in scores of bands that have followed in the decades since they were active.
Mineral took to the big stage to deliver their farewell performance, which was packed full of anthems that many in the crowd were singing along to word for word. Given that this was billed as their last-ever performance, there was a definite sense of relief from the crowd that this set wasn’t rained out. Rival Schools, the post-hardcore supergroup fronted by Walter Schreifels, kept the crowd amped up after what was turning out to be an extra-long day, and Minus the Bear closed out day one with a genre-bending performance.
Tigers Jaw were the first band of the day for me. They brought out a set of accessible, jangly melodies featuring vocal interplay between singers Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins, but it was Pretty Girls Make Graves that kicked things into gear with noisy art-punk urgency. Their commanding presence immediately raised the energy level for the day, a perfect band for a sunny afternoon rock festival.
Later in the evening, Pedro the Lion offered a mellower counterpoint with mature, uneasy, and introspectively intense songs. Unlike Pretty Girls Make Graves, Pedro the Lion didn’t seem like an obvious choice for a festival, but David Bazan’s storytelling and a stripped-down band made for a compelling listen.
Hey Mercedes delivered melodic punk with sing-alongs that sent the GA section into frenzy. Energy peaked when a crowd surfer cleared the security barrier only to land headfirst onto the street below. She apparently avoided serious injury and bolted out of the security lane and back into the pit. Texas Is the Reason brought a huge sound, and the crowd were enthralled with the performances of now-decades-old classics for their rabid fans. They even dropped a verse of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” into a mid-tempo break, proving that they don’t take themselves too seriously.
J. Robbins presented Burning Airlines material along with two thirds of the original lineup, delivering technically complex, dynamic rock. Personally, I was thrilled to see half the lineup from Government Issue’s legendary You album playing together on stage. Jawbreaker closed Saturday with career-spanning classics from “24 Hour Revenge Therapy” and “Dear You,” plus a track, “Black Art” from Blake Schwarzenbach’s post-Jawbreaker band Thorns of Life. Fans also got to hear “Fine Day” from their first album, Unfun, but I sensed they wanted a few more of the oldies.
These Arms Are Snakes knocked the sleepy Sunday crowd awake with chaotic energy and delivered a blistering set of songs—art-rock with intensity. When singer Steve Snere wasn’t dashing from one corner of the stage to the other, he was mixing it up in the crowd, keeping the security team busy. The Appleseed Cast’s soaring rock translated surprisingly well to the larger stage and a mid-day crowd.
Marietta is what they call “fourth-wave emo,” I guess? Unlike me, the energetic younger part of the crowd knew every word, crowd surfing like an amusement ride—repeatedly launching toward security before running back around for another go. Mates of State shifted gears with approachable husband-wife indie pop, providing a palate cleanse to the guitar-oriented bands of the previous days.
Cursive’s second set of the festival opened with a few catalog tracks before ripping into a performance of their 2003 album “The Ugly Organ.” Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis joined them on stage to help sing on “The Recluse,” and Tim Kasher closed, getting in on the crowd surfing action in the GA section.
Wednesday played the smaller festival stage, which was a surprise. Karly Hartzman and band alternated between heavier songs with screaming vocals (which she excels at) with twangy melodicism and softer, vulnerable vocals (which she also excels at) on songs like “Elderberry Wine.” The contrast worked perfectly. This was the standout set of the weekend for me. Rilo Kiley brought a set of highly polished classics and, perhaps not a surprise to anyone who had been there the whole weekend, more moshing from the GA crew during the super-accessible set of indie pop.
East Coast emo act Penfold cranked out a set of solid melodic songs with earnest lyrics which were crowd favorites, perfectly setting up the festival finale. Jimmy Eat World closed with the weekend’s most anticipated set, going deep into their catalog, bringing out many tracks from their album “Clarity.” They didn’t neglect playing their big hit “The Middle,” though, saving that for the final song of the festival.
All in all, Best Friends Forever provided for a good weekend of music with just enough variety within this “indie/emo” genre to keep things interesting and enough heavy hitters within the genre to give a few thousand fans reason enough to shell out for a festival pass and travel to Las Vegas. After the festival, I heard more than a few people wondering what a bill for a third year might be and if there would be enough of a draw to fill out a mid-sized festival space. It will be interesting to see if they are able to pull it off.