Going All Out @ Day In Day Out Fest

Day in Day Out is a three day indie music festival at Fischer Pavilion in the Seattle Center. This year, hundreds of people flocked out to see their favourite artists while withstanding some seriously hot weather, with temperatures hovering around the mid 80s over the weekend. The crowd was trending younger, with many people taking refuge from the sun sitting on a grassy slope looking out at the stage that was completely covered in people the whole time I was there.

There were food trucks and various booths giving out free energy drinks, breath mints, protein shakes, and the like as some sort of giveaway marketing campaign. The Celsius booth was particularly intriguing, with a bizarre silver ball sculpture in the middle of their tent that was reminiscent of videos I’ve seen of liquid mercury. Unclear how liquid mercury relates to energy drinks but it was kind of cool I guess in a waste of resources kind of way. All their reps were wearing matching all black outfits, matching Celsius tees, and matching fake tans. I shouldn’t be too judgmental though, as I did partake in the free Celsius. The festival setup was simple, with a mainstage, and in the 21+ section a DJ booth that had mostly local acts playing music in between sets. Philadelphia indie punk band Mannequin Pussy were fantastic performers, with guitarist and lead singer “Missy” Dabice oscillating between a breathless baby girl lilt and hoarse full throated screaming, both while singing and talking to the audience. She railed against the harmful heavy metals and toxins found in tampons in between songs, and many lyricshad a political message to them.

Pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen was undeniable on stage, and the crowd was absolutely hysterical for her. I saw two girls literally crying as they sang-screamed the lyrics to Run Away With Me. There was one awkward moment in the beginning portion of her set where she paused singing so the audience could fill in the song and there was an uncomfortable beat of silence where it was clear the audience (including me) had no idea what the lyrics were. Nevertheless, when she sang Call Me Maybe and did the same pause, virtually everyone was predictably screaming along to every word. Carly Rae Jepsen’s live vocals were nothing short of virtuosic. Something unique about her performance was the fact that instead of singing with a backing track as many popstars often do, she had a full live band on stage with her. There was someone on keyboard, drums, saxophone, two backup singers, guitar, bass, you name it! Better yet, every member of her band got their own solo moment where Carly Rae Jepsen took the back stage and was just hyping them up. That part was so wholesome and magical.

Another festival highlight was experimental electronic/R&B artist Sudan Archive’s performance. I noticed that there weren’t that many people in the crowd, but that may have had something to do with the fact that she performed earlier in the day, at 3:45. Wearing a leather harness over her green bodysuit that was attached to her violin, she sang, danced, and fiddled her heart out. On stage, Sudan Archives talked about coming up and her challenges in the music industry, before getting down to the media section in front of the stage and interacting directly with audience members, touching hands, locking eyes, and dancing with people in the audience.

All in all, the performances I saw were engaging and lived up to my expectations, and the festival itself felt like people were enjoying themselves despite the heat. Personally, even though I had sweat rolling down my arms, I still had a good time. Long live Day in Day Out.