Haim Rock Out Hard in Their Hometown

Sister rock-pop trio band, Haim, rocked out hard in their hometown of Los Angeles, at FYF music festival in downtown, as the crowd was dancing just as much as the girls on stage. All three sisters killed it on their instruments, interacted with the crowd, and showed that they know how to party. Any audience member could tell that this was an important performance to them and they were giving it their all because they were in their hometown. As they shredded their guitars, beat on the drums, and sang their hearts out, it was easily one of the best performances of the night.

FYF is an annual two-day music festival that takes place in the LA sports arena and Coliseum, usually around late August/early September. Some pretty famous artists in the indie/alternative rock scene have headlined FYF such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Death Grips, and Beirut. This year Haim sub-headlined, coming on right before the main act The Strokes. The festival is an all day event beginning around 1 pm and ending at midnight, so towards the last few acts, I was definitely worn out and getting tired. However, as soon as Haim came out, their energy was immediately exerted into the audience, making me want to dance and sing along.

The performance opened with an empty stage and the beat of their song “Falling,” which is also the first song on their album. As the audience waited, it only increased the excitement of the crowd, and left a sort of mystery as to when and how they would come out. Although it was nothing too spectacular, soon after the girls marched out on the stage, and began playing. During the first song, the lead singer’s microphone was on the quieter side making it hard to hear the lyrics. This did take away from the performance, and was not a strong way to start off. Even though I enjoy Haim, my interest in their performance was lost a bit because of the sound.

However, the band members clearly noticed as well because they fixed their sound by the third song. From then, their performance only got better. Haim is often compared to Fleetwood Mac because of their rock foundation that is mixed with a funky, bluesy and R&B sound. During their performance, they definitely played up their funky side by improvising and jamming in the middle of songs, which according to one of the sisters, Este, is one of their favorite things to do live. The lead singer, Danielle, also shredded on her guitar, using fast chord progressions and intricate solos throughout the performance.

About half way through their performance, they played one of their singles “My Song 5,” a catchy song, with a beat that is unforgettable. Prior to playing it, the girls mentioned how it was one of their favorite songs to play live because the crowd always dances. Este followed by saying, “I want everyone to dance; pretend like we are at one of parties I threw in high school and let’s get down.” After that, this inherently caused the entire crowd to move and groove their body.

Although Haim only has one album, since it came out about a year ago, it has done extremely well and received a lot of positive reviews. Their set ran about an hour, which gave them time to play almost their entire album, along with some jam sessions between songs.

They ended with one of their slower, more emotional songs “Let Me Go.” The beat in this song emphasizes the drums, as it beats loudly throughout the entire song. The song starts out slow, but then picks up to a faster tempo, and then slows down again, giving the song an interesting flow. During the song, all three sisters had a drum set up next to them, beating it to the rhythm. At the end, the three collective beat their drum harder and faster, turning it more into a drum circle jam and a great way to end the set.