And Boomslang is off! Day one was just fantastic. I got in late last night and uploaded/edited photos until I had to head to bed at 4am so I could wake up and head to CD Central today. But though I’ve already had to sacrifice sleep, it’s already been worth it.

First off was Casino vs Japan. Things got off to a slow start because Faust apparently had a three hour soundcheck that resulted in the whole show being over an hour behind schedule. But that just gave everyone an opportunity to grab a drink and socialize for a bit. We were a bit antsy, but nothing any live music fan isn’t used to.

Eventually the curtain was drawn back and we got to make our way into the performance area. Bradford Cox came out and introduced Erik by saying that the main reason he was playing the festival was because he had been looking forward to seeing Casino vs Japan play for years and years. So, he told us, if we were planning on talking, we should take it outside. There were a few cheers and yells of encouragement, but Erik seemed just slightly embarrassed by the attention.

Erik’s set was a little shorter and a little simpler than his appearance at CD Central’s 4th of July downtown show (which I forgot to ever write about — I am a horrible human being). To borrow a line from Bradford’s introduction, his set was very “chill” this time around.

After two long songs by Casino vs Japan, Bradford Cox came out and sat down in the empty chair on stage. It was a really cool treat, but not very much of a surprise. He slipped in during a long Casino vs Japan jam and then they flipped roles and Erik began backing up Bradford. Erik was on electric guitar, providing dense waves to compliment Bradford’s light work on the acoustic guitar. I’m pretty sure my friend recorded the set and I hope so — I’d really like to hear segment again. After about two or three songs, Erik sat off to the side of the stage and watched Bradford finish out the set solo.

I’ve slowly become a pretty lax fan of Bradford Cox. Two years ago I wasn’t into any of his bands, now I’m excited to catch him live any time I can. His set with Deerhunter at the Southgate House was one of the best I’ve seen all year and now he’s got a great solo acoustic performance to accompany with it.

We got a bit off the new album (title track from Logos) and a good bit of the old, but maybe my favorite song was an as-yet-untitled new song. It started out with some light, harp-esque arpeggios and was layered heavily into a beautiful creation. Can’t wait to hear how that one turns out.

And really the only thing left to mention was that the acoustic versions Bradford played often sounded better to me than the studio-heavy work on his releases. If there’s not already a collection of his acoustic versions, I’d wish desperately for it to suddenly exist. He was fantastic.