Quilt played the Toyota Music Den at Firefly (review)

If the acid you took during Tame Impala last night didn’t wear off, the perfect early afternoon set for you on Saturday (6/18) at the Firefly Music Festival was Quilt at 2 PM on the Lawn Stage. (Just kidding — kids, don’t do drugs!) Their psychedelic harmonies sounded gorgeous drifting through the air over that big field, and it was just the right setting for the early crowd sprawled out on their blankets in the grass. Their set was a real treat, but yet another treat was seeing their second (of three!) set of the day in the Toyota Music Den. Their outdoor set was probably the closest Firefly 2016 will come to feeling like Woodstock or Monterey Pop, but Quilt are also a band that work very well up close and personal. And that’s how seeing them in the Toyota Music Den was. The stage is just a few feet above the ground, the crowd was small (but still a nice size), and Quilt looked like they felt right at home.

They did four songs, including my personal favorite off their excellent new album Plaza, “Padova,” for which they broke out an acoustic guitar. The real draw with Quilt is their three and sometimes four-part harmonies, which really comes across in a live environment. While Tame Impala’s brand of psych is very Beatlesque, Quilt really tap into the earthier sounds of late ’60s San Francisco and it’s those harmonies that drive it home.

Quilt’s third set of the day is at the Coffee House at 4:45 PM (so like right about now).

BrooklynVegan is also hanging and DJing at the Toyota Music Den all three days of the festival, and you can catch more intimate sets here from Son Little (today at 6 PM), Laura Stevenson (Sunday at 3:30 PM), and more. There’s also more than music. You can get your arm tie-dyed, you can get artwork carved on a 7″ record, the very funny Jermaine Fowler is hosting, and still more. Come say hey.

Check out our review of Friday and stay tuned for more Firefly coverage.