After a number of years in Echo Park, F’ck Yeah Festival (also known as FYF Fest) moved to the LA State Historic Park near the Chinatown station. There didn’t really seem too much that was historic in this gravel pad with patches of browning grass. With the new location, came a new name for those attending: Clusterf’ck Fest.

Lines were long (1-hour was a short wait) and the basic human needs were pretty much ignored (shade, bathrooms, food and water were all in shortage). The photo below was taken on our way out of the venue (aside: we had a hard time finding an exit too). The end of the line is indicted by the arrow circled in red. Poor kids, whose parents wanted to catch up on the newest bands on the scene ,were melting in the sun; heartbreaking. We were only able to stay a few hours, so we made the best of our free tickets (thanks, Kevin!) and enjoyed the little bit of festival that we could.

After our short hour wait to get our tickets and pass through security, we snuggled down in the “comfortable” rocky ground in the cool shade of the comedy tent as we hydrated ourselves with four-dollar waters and a dose of hilarity. As much as this festival was about the hottest new indie bands, the selection provided in the comedy tent

Erik Charles Nielsen, who has made his mark as Garret on NBC’s Community,  rambled through his set, shouting with comedy-filled rage at his audience. The disjointed jokes made his set hard to follow and the anger only made the crowd uncomfortable. A few laughs parted my mouth, but over all I wasn’t impressed. I understand where he is trying to go with his comedy, but I also know that most people will not follow along on his rampant path. Oh, and check out the Christmas wrapping paper stage skirt!

Good female comedians are hard to come by and I’m not quite sure why… lack of self-esteem really seems to only help. Joselyn Hughes does not lack self-esteem in any way, but still lacks hilarity. Harsh, I know. I don’t care much for blue comedy (vulgar, potty humor for those who are unfamiliar with comedic terms). Joselyn goes there nearly every time. I again understand this is a personal preference, but based on the audiences reactions, they would have rather had more thought-provoking humor. She is the one in the shorts and cowboy boots above if you want a visual for judgement.

The best laughs of the day came in the form of Matt Braunger. Good clean fun, akin to a monkey with an organ grinder. Seems like a bad comparison, but it really is true. Matt’s expressions and antics made it hard to tear your eyes away from. His poetic style is less intelligent and more along the lines of “I only wish it were real.” Topics of tigers, ninjas, unicorns and drunks are cornerstones to his set. Love. Love. I may have to take a trip to the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre to see him perform. 

The intensity of Matt Dwyer shines through in his set. An average intellectual Matt delves into the humor in everyday life. The crowd can relate to his awkward moments of reality and stories of his life. Apparently, Matt Braunger and Matt Dwyer have a sort of podcast/internet radio show called Matts Radio. Highly entertaining combination of interviews, comedy and music. Take a listen sometime.

The Sklar Brothers, the only comedians I had seen previously, banter like no other performers I know. Finishing each other’s thoughts and rhetoric questions with straight-faced hilarity and quick-witted timing. The dual vocal delivery style give particular emphasis to key points of a joke’s set up and punchline forcing you to laugh twice as hard. I believe my math is correct. You can always check my work by checking them out.  

This was just one set of three hosted at the FYF Fest. Later acts included Brent Weinbauch, David Koechner and Janeane Garofalo.