Excerpts from staff coverage of M3F published in Phoenix New Times on Mar. 23, 2023

For a staggering 19th year, M3F Festival emanated earlier this month from Margaret T. Hance Park. Over two days (March 3-4), a multifaceted lineup brought the vibes — and then some — including standout performances from Maggie Rogers, Toro Y Moi, and Jamie xx.

Here are recaps of just some of the weekend’s sets. Are we a little late with our coverage? Sure. But vibes this utterly immaculate rarely have an expiration date.

St. Terrible

St. Terrible, the music project driven by songwriter Zach Herbert, is based in Boise, Idaho. But it originally started, years ago, here in the Valley, when Herbert was at Gilbert’s Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences. That makes it something of a local show, and musically it felt like one, though the festival’s ambience didn’t match its sincerity. St. Terrible kept it simple on Friday, taking the stage with an acoustic guitar and a looper, which he used to craft layered, swarming harmonies at the end of tracks like “Emptiness Pt. II & III.”

Lyrically, he’s visceral and introspective, seemingly entranced by his own art on stage. In one moment, Herbert visibly shook at the knees belting the final blow of a song. On the vast Daydream stage, with only a few fans trickling in to catch St. Terrible’s 2:30 p.m. set, there was something voyeuristic about the performance, which drifted closer and closer to performance art than pure entertainment. While Herbert bled his soul into every piece, one fan rolled in the grass with a hula hoop, interpretive dancing for no one in particular. “You’re amazing!” another fan shouted during a song. In the silence after Herbert delivered the lyric, “Holy holy holy, whatever that may mean,” a street preacher could be heard shouting outside festival walls. For a 30-minute set, it was an excellent performance swallowed by its environment, and I’d love to see St. Terrible in a smaller venue. Perhaps there, the target audience will better align with Herbert’s musical candor.

Del Water Gap

As an indie rock frontman, Holden Jaffe’s greatest trait is his ability to not take things too seriously. In a genre laced with bravado and desire to get the next TikTok hit, Jaffe — who performs under the name Del Water Gap — stands out for his unpretentiousness. For the entirety of his hourlong M3F set, Jaffe was a ball of potential energy. Despite his occasionally giddy dancing, he was vocally reserved on both slow burners, like “High Tops,” and bangers, like show opener “Hurting Kind.”

His most engaged fans in the crowd at M3F were an even blend of millennial and Gen Z, and Jaffe was more than capable of closing the generational (Del Water) gap. He donned a shell necklace and covered Avril Lavigne, all the while maintaining the detached swagger of a ’20s college dorm everyman. Former bandmate and M3F headliner Maggie Rogers made an early cameo for “Better Than I Know Myself,” which earned the biggest daytime crowd reaction of the weekend. But it wasn’t until the end of his hourlong set that Jaffe himself let loose a scream, and it came on the final chorus of his biggest hit, “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat.” Even then, he left the stage unceremoniously afterward, nonchalantly tossing his microphone to the stage floor and walking out as his band wrapped up. Del Water Gap is perennially on deck as an indie rock juggernaut, and self-assured enough to sell you on it.

COIN

Nobody needs to tell COIN that they’re a pop band. Some fans at M3F appeared to know the Nashville band from their certified gold single “Talk Too Much,” which does little to indicate what a live COIN performance might be like. “Crash My Car,” the 2020 tune the band closed with on Friday, has been rotating at Macy’s the last three years. Hence my surprise when frenetic lead singer Chase Lawrence spiked his mic stand, scaled 15 feet of metal scaffolding at stage right, and screamed down at the crowd like King Kong after the song’s final chorus. Behind him, the video board sported an 8-foot ladybug and the words “Learning & Loving” in picturesque cursive font. There’s a strange dichotomy watching a band with such polished, mainstream appeal perform with such frenzy (or maybe it’s the Matty Healy effect). But I simply couldn’t look away.

The key to COIN’s success on stage seems to be drummer Ryan Winnen, whose departures during breakdowns led to some of the show’s best moments. Winnen was able to change pace with ease and guided a seamless transition between two of the band’s tracks, released five years apart — 2022’s “Take A Picture” and 2017’s “Hannah.” While a slower ballad like “I Think I Met You In A Dream” sort of derailed the set’s momentum, it was another slow track that brought it back. “Malibu 1992” was one of the rare B-sides to transfix M3F attendees all weekend. While performing, Lawrence seemed to be wrestling with himself, thrashing on stage to sing the hook. By the song’s end, a cathartic finale steered by Winnnen, Lawrence fell to the ground. He got up fist pumping like Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals, screaming into the night sky, simmering down in time for the opening lick of the next song — “Talk Too Much.”

Maggie Rogers

Friday night’s performance at M3F was Maggie Rogers’ first headlining set at a U.S. festival. If she didn’t say so, nobody would’ve noticed. Rogers carried herself with both pop-glam and rock ‘n’ roll conviction, and I’m wholeheartedly convinced that she’s a virtuoso deserving of more headlining placement.

Like the main act she is, Rogers theatrically took the stage, which was designed symmetrically, with percussionists on either side and a staircased walkway dividing it in two. Rogers stepped into the center, flanked by stand-up white lights on either side. And by the end of set list opener “Overdrive,” she was already sustaining lengthy notes that few indie pop vocalists can in a live setting. She originally sported a black leather coat, but shedded it to the cheers of her fans before performing “Want Want,” one of the standout singles on her 2022 album Surrender. (With the temperature 51 degrees at showtime, the coat went back on a few songs later.)

Rogers moved efficiently through her set list, ending each track with an assured nod and a smirk before the lights went dark. “Alaska,” with its thumping bassline and easily hummable hook, pleased the more electronic-skewing fans in attendance; “Love You For A Long Time,” with its acoustic foundation and folk storytelling, pleased the indie fans. Throughout the set, Rogers took time to dance loosely across the stage. She shared a moment with every member of her band, including guitarist Bryndon Cook, who also performs under the solo moniker Starchild. Cook’s riffs stood out on grittier tracks like “Shatter.” The set’s biggest misstep came from what Rogers didn’t play, as her usual tour set list was shrunk to fit the 60-minute slot. B-sides like “Begging For Rain” and Del Water Gap collaboration “New Song” didn’t make the cut.

Still, there were the hits, which more often made it feel like a Rogers show, and not like a festival booking. She closed with “Light On” and “That’s Where I Am,” and for 10 minutes after the set ended, a few dozen fans waited hopefully in front of the stage for an encore. They wishfully questioned if she would disregard precedent and give out one more, trying multiple times to strike up the chant. Event staff members were unplugging speakers and picking loose cans off the lawn when one fan asked a friend, “You think she’ll at least come out and sign stuff?”

Flora ElmColone

Before the Cosmic stage’s first performance of the afternoon, M3F festival organizers used the microphone to welcome fans. Just behind them, San Francisco singer-songwriter Flora ElmColone took a nervous deep breath. By the end of her 30-minute set, she turned to her bassist and let out a deeper exhale. While her early morning set time had a scarce crowd, ElmColone demonstrated legitimate songwriting prowess, performing sincere indie rock tracks that touched thematically on things like imposter syndrome and social anxiety. Performing “The Contortionist” seemed to bring out her musical confidence with its faster pace, which carried into its set list successors, “Heat Lamp” and “Reincarnation.”

“Fuck the ones who broke your heart, fuck the ones who wouldn’t,” she sang on her final song of the afternoon. Friends of hers who flew into Phoenix to support sang along in the front row, and it was a solid opening to the Saturday slate. It’s clear this was only the beginning for ElmColone, too. (Also, as an aside — ElmColone had my favorite piece of merch from the weekend, an affordable and minimalist off-white tee with the title of her song “I Want To Have A Garden” on the front.) 

PawPaw Rod

PawPaw Rod, the stage name for Rodney Hulsey, made a compelling case as the weekend’s most memorable early afternoon performer. Smoking a cigarette and looking at the crowd from over the top of his gold-rimmed aviators, he took the stage with John Wayne posture. Any time a photographer posed below the stage, Rod looked coldly down the lens, never missing a bar.

It was his first time performing in Phoenix, but many fans knew the words to upbeat alt-R&B songs like “Glass House” and “HIT EM WHERE IT HURTS,” which bookended the set. “I had to Google if weed was legal here,” he said before performing “Lemonhaze” — a song that prompted many fans to indulge, exercising their legal freedom. In a moment of openness, the Oklahoma-based artist discussed growing up in a military family, and how moving around as a kid prepared him for a life of touring. Even while sharing consecutive new songs late in the set, Rod had his audience jumping, because with his playful magnetism, it was impossible to stand still. 

Chelsea Cutler

By the end of the afternoon Saturday, M3F fans seemed restless for a headliner, and by some metrics, Chelsea Cutler fit the bill. After all, her last two performances came in Times Square on New Year’s Eve and in India for Lollapalooza, and she’s got more than 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify. A live drummer and keyboardist even threw an exciting wrench into her often risk-free brand of pop. But ultimately, fans at the Daydream stage seemed eager for more bass drops and less sentimentality. It made for somewhat of an awkward show with Cutler’s divided discography.

Cutler started strong with her upbeat 2020 track “Sad Tonight,” but I spotted a fan repetitively mocking a teardrop gesture during the titular lyric, which should’ve been a sign of things to come. After introducing the mostly acoustic “Crazier Things,” boozy, aspiring influencers audibly groaned, talking through most of the song’s vulnerable, catchy hook. Even Cutler’s biggest hit, her Jeremy Zucker collaboration “you were good to me,” was a sideshow. “I promise this is my last slow song,” Cutler said before starting it, and she cut the song short before the second verse. Quinn XCII — who was on the M3F bill before canceling at the last minute due to a scooter accident — got a shout-out before “Calling All Angels,” one of their many collaborations together.

But even there, fans got caught up in singalongs and thrown off by Cutler’s altered instrumental arrangement. Cutler was a formidable performer, at times both relatable and exciting, but sadly many fans at M3F saw her as a means to a drop.

Peach Pit

Things didn’t start off strong for Peach Pit on Saturday. They opened with “Being So Normal,” a groovy surf rock melody typical of the band. But before they could finish, the sound at the main stage completely caved. The vocals cut out, then the guitars rose to an intolerably loud level. After regulating the guitars, the bass increased even louder, vibrating the jumbotrons on either side of the stage.

The drums were only audible for those close enough to the band. “Turn that shit up!” one fan yelled. “How’s it going Phoenix?” lead singer Neil Smith asked into a broken microphone. Luckily, after some struggles, things leveled out in time for “Alrighty Aphrodite,” as guitarist Christopher Vanderkooy helped the band recover gracefully.

“Is somebody here smoking Palo Santo?” Smith asked after the mic allowed banter again. “It smells like my apartment in here.”

It felt like it, too. Watching Peach Pit’s performance felt like watching a group of friends noodle around at a house show. The Vancouver band was so cavalier that it was easy to forget just how challenging many of the licks they pulled off were until Vanderkooy reminded me by improvising a solo on 2017’s “Private Presley.” On “Brian’s Movie,” he busted out a dual-neck guitar, despite the song’s relative placidity, because why not? With he and Smith sharing the stage spotlight, everything sort of bled together into a subgenre of indie rock more accessible than psychedelia but just as hypnotic.

Their syrupy stoner rock was naturally congenial, pieced together with lyrics about Britney and Brian and Vickie and Tommy, who you don’t know, but you might as well. I’d argue that makes them a good fit for any festival bill.

Toro Y Moi

Despite starting his set eight minutes later than its scheduled 8 p.m. start, the veteran chillwave producer known as Chaz Bear made the most of his time. Backed by a bassist, keyboard player and DJ, he was participatory to varying degrees as a focal performer. He sometimes hopped on the turntables to add a layer, but mostly just paced and took it all in, donned with an orange letterman jacket and LED-laced sunglasses. On “The Loop,” Chaz Bear brought out a white guitar and played an impressive riff high on the neck. For most of the set, the instrument sat dormant on display, seemingly proof of his musical virtuosity. Whether it was looping, jangly keys or endlessly tapering 808s, subtle instrumental accents set his performance apart from the other synth-heavy artists on the bill. Late into the festival’s second day, it’s easy for things to feel monotonous, and Toro y Moi didn’t let that happen.

On “The Difference,” his hit collaboration with Flume, he showed off some serious vocal chops. And between tracks, he was keen on sharing some sort of one-liner, never going silent for too long. “Let’s try and wake up this apartment!” he joked before “Laws of the Universe,” gesturing to the condominiums surrounding Hance Park. “Make some noise if you ever saw us at Crescent Ballroom,” he added before “Rose Quartz,” nodding in approval to a fan sitting on another’s shoulders. It’s hard to believe Toro y Moi was once at a stature small enough to fit inside the local 500-capacity venue, because he had at least double that number focused on Saturday.