First City Festival

Monterey County Fairgrounds

Monterey, Calif.

August 23 and 24

In its second year, Monterey’s First City Festival presented itself as the antidote to the giant, crowded music fests that have cropped up across the country. With the oak tree dotted Monterey County Fairgrounds as a scenic setting, the two-day festival was easy to navigate, not overly crowded and filled with memorable performances from an eclectic roster including two standout sets headliners Beck and The National. The set-up was so idyllic that most of the performers seemed to be truly excited to be in the Central Coast city including Best Coast’s Bethany Consentino who joked from the stage that she was planning to retire in Monterey next week.

One of the first acts of the weekend was blaring indie rock outfit Speedy Ortiz that tore through a set that included two new songs and “Plough,” a standout from 2013’s Major Arcana. Later, on the same stage, the Brooklyn based quartet Miniature Tigers played sugary indie pop with as many hooks as a professional angler. The band definitely seemed on the verge of a breakthrough as they performed to a packed crowd with a set that veered from Weezer-style rock to more electronic sounding songs.

Despite the great performances earlier in the day, it was the headliner who truly ruled Day One. After a splash of feedback, Beck and his excellent backing band started the show with “Devil’s Haircut.” The middle of the set showcased songs from this year’s Morning Phase including “Blue Moon,” “Waking Light” and “Wave.” The latter was particularly moving with keyboards duplicating the album’s string section as Beck held his hands out passionately while singing as footage from what appeared to be a NASA mission was screened behind him.

After announcing that they were “going to do something they never do,” Beck led his group through three upbeat, under heard tracks from 1999’s Midnite Vultures: a ridiculously funky “Get Real Paid,” “Sexx Laws” with a killer banjo solo and “Debra” with lyrics updated to include references to looking at Facebook statuses. It all ended with an extended “Where It’s At” that veered into snippets of the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You” among other songs.

On day two, The Men satiated those hoping for some gritty rock with a Crazy Horse inspired jam on “I Saw Her Face” followed by a blistering “Open Your Heart.” Later, Future Islands packed the main stage arena early for a show that included front man Samuel Herring’s now famous dance moves along with a moment where he tugged on his own collar and went into a mongrel’s growl on “Seasons (Waiting on You).”

The National’s icy elegance ended up being an inspired way to end the festival. On some songs, front man Matt Berninger hung on his mic stand like a dark jacket on a coat rack as he burrowed his baritone into favorites like “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” “Don’t Swallow the Cap” and “Mistaken for Strangers.” Though its been done many times before, Berninger’s lap into the audience during “Mr. November” was an exciting demolition of the fourth wall. They closed with a barely mic’ed campfire-like version of “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” a nice comedown after a full weekend of plentiful sun and music.