All things go, but do they go well? The All Things Go Fall Classic music festival — the inaugural festival hosted by D.C. music blog All Things Go — filled Union Market in Washington with music Saturday. I arrived as festivities began and strolled into the space between two warehouses nestled in an area of Washington populated by small, old houses and the ragged shells of factories past their prime. The first act, Young Summer, sang sultry love songs before a backdrop of keyboard and electronic drum pad to a sparse crowd of fewer than 20. The rain sprinkled down and the sky was a boring gray.

The festival might have peaked early, as one of the best performances came from one of the most talented up-and-coming bands of the Baltimore area: SUN CLUB. Throughout the set, the entire band, composed of an energetic group of college-aged kids wearing bright colors, was in a constant state of motion. The guitarists bounced along the stage, the singers yelped and roared into the mics, the drums pounded gleefully and press photographers whirled to get a shot of one of the band members playing a xylophone between verses. It was an incredibly enjoyable set from a band that didn’t even have that many people in the crowd to play to. The rain was still falling, but SUN CLUB made us forget about that for a while. 

All Things Go

The wait between acts is always the most difficult part of a multiple-act show, but there was a lot of food available to ease hunger and provide something to do. Local food vendors set up tables inside one of the warehouses, selling kimchi quesadillas, fresh pulled pork and goat, alcohol-infused cupcakes and more. Though the prices were high, they weren’t extravagant. Most booths continued to sell food far into the night so no one went hungry.

I had asked the press manager for the chance to interview festival headliners Future Islands on a whim, not expecting anything. While getting some water during Tove Lo’s performance, she grabbed me and — surprise — led me backstage. Unfortunately, Future Islands didn’t talk, as lead singer Samuel  T. Herring’s voice was fading fast. 

All Things Go

I did get to talk to some of the members of SUN CLUB. I asked about their recent fame, and bassist Adam Schoen told me about the band’s travels across the country in an old, A/C-less van. Schoen summed up his feelings toward the group members’ stage antics. 

“I try to be as weird as possible so everyone else can feel comfortable,” Schoen said. 

It’s true; dancing like a fool to a SUN CLUB set is nothing but fun. You don’t seem weird, because the band is doing crazier things than you ever will.

Panama Wedding played its brand of pleasingly unobtrusive alt-rock as both the rain and the crowd trickled in at a faster pace. U.S. Royalty was up next, playing for a whole hour to a crowd that finally managed to fill up most of the available space. Its songs sounded like a classic rock band formed a Black Keys cover group; nothing too original or spectacular, but crowd-pleasing to the slightly older-than-average fans in the pit.

Following acts included Brooklyn-based rock group Bear Hands, who sang bizarre lyrics, enjoyable indie-pop group Haerts and Swedish pop star Tove Lo, who took the stage shoeless.

All Things Go

I begrudgingly left backstage in hopes of getting a good spot for the Future Islands set and wandered into a nearly hourlong dance party. Eventually, Future Islands took the stage. It was the fourth time I’ve seen the band (I saw Future Islands last week at Boston Calling), but the band remained as excellent a live band as ever. Herring’s voice was noticeably strained, but in terms of his legendary dance moves and overall stage presence, he went all out. He punched his chest, howled, danced across the stage and poured out tears during the emotional songs. The crowd seemed to love it too, though there wasn’t much singing along; most of the crowd seemed to be at the festival for the party and not the bands. Finally, nearly 11 hours after the festival began, Future Islands walked offstage.

Staring into the night sky lit by strobe lights, I heard the crowd begin to chant “one more song.” Despite the mixed quality of the performances, the rain, the crowds and the noise, Future Islands came back to redeem the festival. Herring’s voice was reduced to a rasp, but his spirit wasn’t. The members were called back to deliver one more epic performance, one final capper for the festival. One more song.

They played three.

All things go, and sometimes they go well.

 

Want to see more from the concert? Take a look at the photo gallery below:

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