Day 2 of Guava was a much bigger affair, and I fully expected the crowd to be much larger than Friday. I wasn’t wrong, but credit the organizers or the venue for minimizing build up. It was always easy to move around and I never felt like I was waiting in line anywhere.

I spent a lot of time inside on Saturday, as several of the acts were in the exhibition hall. It kind of threw off the festival groove; it felt more like a warehouse show or random spot during a fair than a weekend music festival. But the dark interior did suit hip-hop and electronic acts much more than the blazing sun, and that’s what we got. The first performer to come out was Action Bronson. I was expecting a lot from this guy: the hype he receives online is massive. I was very intrigued by the stage, as there was a drum set and keyboard set up along with the turntable, and I hoped that he would come out with a full band. Unfortunately, the instruments must have been for a subsequent act, and all the music was produced by his DJ, The Alchemist.  Bronson himself was less energetic than I expected at first, but after a bit he hit his stride and really swept up the audience. He brought out a couple rappers to trade verses with him, but for the most part this was his show. The acoustics of the hall made it a little difficult to make out everything he said, but he did lay out some pretty good lines and most of his songs got big reactions from the crowd. The between song banter consisted mostly of exhortations to “light up that marijuana,” and he tossed out some vapes to the crowd. Towards the end of the show a girl near me in the crowd had a seizure and was escorted out by a friend. I hope she is alright – it seemed epileptic. Somehow, though it added to the bustle of the performance.

After the show we checked out the merch tents and ran into Bronson himself. We took some pictures with him. He was a nice enough guy. The merchandise itself was what you’d expect. There were some good shirts that I would have loved to get but 1) were too expensive and 2) I didn’t want to carry around for the rest of the day. My favorite tent was what essentially amounted to a head shop with pipes and other accoutrements, but I was attracted to the tapestries and shirts highlighting the Grateful Dead. I saw more Dead references around Guava than I expected to, whether it was apparel or tattoos (Jenny Lewis even sported a Steal Your Face shirt when she dueted with Ryan Adams during his set). It brought me comfort to see how pervasive their influence and culture is in the festival scene even today.

Soon enough we headed back in to the exhibition hall to catch Run the Jewels. I can’t claim to be a massive fan but appreciated their two studio albums and greatly respect their skills as MCs. Their show was much more energetic than Bronson’s, and they really seemed engaged with the audience. They performed behind a black backdrop that sported their “severed hands with chain” logo and their DJ did some good scratching between songs. They informed us that it was their first time performing in Florida, so I suppose that I caught a pseudo-historic concert. The best part was when Killer Mike congratulated the Tampa Bay area on their recent football draft pick (Jameis Winston to the Buccaneers) and got a roar of approval.

I didn’t stay for the end of their set; some friends and I decided to get out into the sun and catch some other music. We made our way over to The Grove stage to check out Death From Above 1979. (They really need to drop the year epithet). As we neared the stage, a low and grungy chord blasted out, and my rock and roll itch was immediately satiated. They tore into their first song, no nonsense. They just played  their thing with drum and bass, no frills and hardly any breaks. I was impressed with Jesse F. Keeler’s assortment of clear, see-through bass guitars. Unfortunately all of their songs kind of ran together after a while, and I spent the next couple of hours riding rides and relaxing. Cold War Kids rang out in the background near the amphitheater, providing a decent enough MOR background for the afternoon.

A while later a few of us moseyed over to see TV on the Radio. They sounded great. The band itself was augmented by a bassist and keyboardist; David Sitek switched between keyboards and rhythm guitar. I would have loved to have seen them before Gerard Smith died. The only problem with their performance is that they don’t have much of a stage presence. Even after Kyp Malone told the audience that “this next song is fun to play,” the just stood there bobbing slightly to the rhythm.

The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, and we squeezed back inside to see James Blake. I’ve known of him for years but never really gave him a chance. I’m very glad I did. His performance was by far the biggest surprise of the weekend. Backed by a drummer and a bassist/DJ, Blake sat at his keyboards and sang. It was both powerful and beautiful. The bass sounded amazingly – I could really feel it in my chest. Headlights above the stage shown down onto the individual players and shifted between white and purple with the beat and worked very, very well. For once the interior location was the place to be. His music was haunting and emotional yet powerful. To top it all off, he seemed genuinely thankful (and almost surprised) that so many people turned out to see him, especially at a festival with so many other big names. What a nice guy. When I got home I made sure to get both of his albums; they sound good but do not compare to his live sound. If you ever get the chance, do not miss him.

I was not able to stay to see the end of James Blake (much to my disappointment) but I was not going to let myself miss the Pixies. The crowd was probably the biggest of the day (outside of The Strokes), but I was able to squeeze my way to a pretty good location a little to the left of the stage. I’m pretty sure I saw Stephen King on the sidelines for a period, I can’t be sure, but it looked just like him (wishful thinking?). The band performed in front of rectangular gridded mirrors that reflected lights shown on them. They came out and launched right into “Gouge Away.” They didn’t say anything to the audience the entire time (but something tells me that’s not Black Francis’ style anyway). They sounded great and played almost everything that I wanted to hear, with the exceptions of “Monkey Gone to Heaven” and “Gigantic.” I can understand the exclusion of the latter with the absence of Kim Deal. I was interested to see how that hole was filled, but Paz Lenchantin did an admirable job. She really rocked the bass and provided competent backup vocals. Her mike was turned down a little too much. I’m not sure if that was an accident or intentional, but she could have been higher in the mix on “Here Comes Your Man.” They did “Where Is My Mind” smack in the middle of the set while covered in white spinning lights, and everyone had their phones up. It was a perfect moment. By the time they got to “Wave of Mutilation” and “Debaser,” I was jumping around having a great time. (My apologies to the people I almost smacked in the face.) They ended with a feedback laced jam that featured Joey Santiago absolutely tearing into his guitar as only he can. This show was the most fulfilling of the weekend, as not only did they sound great, but being able to see such an influential band as the Pixies whom I’ve liked for quite a while was a great experience.

Finally, it was time for The Strokes, but I’ll cover that later. All in all, Big Guava was a good experience. The people were great and the performers seemed to truly play with heart. The fairgrounds are big enough that it can expand in coming years, and it seems that, with the 2015 lineup and turnout, they’ll be able to. Hopefully Guava will be able to offer a slightly more tropical experience to rival Shakey Knees in the future.

Keep rockin’