Calafia Puta

The early start of the fourth edition of the All My Friends festival at 2:00 p.m. saw barely any patrons when the first band started playing on a stage that was set up poorly on top of some stairs inside the entrance. But as soon as it got dark, all three stages went on full power and the people started going from stage to stage choosing the music that fit their musical taste.

ACxDC

The stage on the entry steps offered rock, punk, hardcore, and indie music. The patio had electro and hip-hop — music that got you dancing. Inside the theater, everyone sat down to listen to glitch noises, post-rock, jazzy acid trips, and experimental anything and everything.

White Ninja from Monterrey stole the show and kept everyone on their feet dancing. They played on the patio and attracted the largest crowd with their experimental psych-electro. Their sound is fresh, with slick, sick bass lines pumping fat tones and electronic beats accompanied by a drummer and a keyboard player that sings in a beautiful falsetto a la James Brown.

Biocrisis

Other notable performances came from Jewish ghostwriter and rapper from Moreno Valley Speak! The crowd was loving him, and he reciprocated by playing more songs as everyone chanted “una mas” whenever the beat stopped. Confused faces littered the seats of the theater when Rancho Shampoo accompanied by La Indian Gold Orchestra went onstage. They sounded like a peyote trip guided by an Apache shaman.

For those who prefer harder music, both ACxDC and Apocalipsis melted faces with their heavy sound. The powerviolence band from L.A., Antichrist Demoncore, finished up the work that Calafia Puta started when they got the crowd rowdy enough to destroy the poorly set up stage on the steps. Apocalipsis did what other bands on the theater failed to do, enticing people off their seats and up front to rock to their three-piece instrumental metal.

The festival was 100 percent vegan friendly, as Pizza Fria, La Brownie Girl, Veggie Smalls, and more food vendors offered delightful and creative eats. Sponsored by Indio beer, drinks were $4 for two beers or other mixed drinks.

The success of the AMF festival is a clear indication that it is here to stay.