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FKA Twigs, D'Angelo, Solange Dominate Dancetastic Day 2 of FYF Fest

Los Angeles’s FYF Festival used to be all about punk (get details on its controversial transformation here), but on Sunday this year, it was also about the funk. Following a triumphant set by last-minute headliner Kanye West (with special guest Rihanna) on Saturday, day two of FYF was dominated by FKA Twigs, D'Angelo, and Solange, who inspired more grooving than moshing.

The most stunning and creative set of FYF Sunday, and truly of the entire weekend, came courtesy of Tahliah Debrett Barnett, aka FKA Twigs. The British trip-hop experimentalist’s show on the Lawn Stage wasn’t a typical festival concert, but the L.A. debut of her elaborate, Kate Bush-esque, totally immersive theatrical/multimedia dance piece, Congregata, which has already had showings to fervent critical acclaim in London and New York. The piece, which featured ethereal orchestration, bondage costuming, and elaborately choreographed, Cirque du Soleil-style routines that seemed like something out of a best-of-So You Think You Can Dance special (vogueing, bone-breaking, lyrical contemporary, etc.), was the masterpiece of a phenomenal talent, someone who really should be known as more than just “Rob Patterson’s girlfriend.”

“I’ve always wanted to bring this to you guys, so thank you to FYF for allowing me to do so,” gushed a breathless Twigs at the end of the night, closing out the festival at the bewitching hour of 12:30 a.m.

Solange, who really should be known as more than “Beyoncé’s little sister” or “that crazy chick from the elevator,” also put on a soulful show, serving Diana Ross realness in flowing disco hair and a red caftan – although some of the momentum of her set was unfortunately lost due to its 20-minutes-late start time, apparently due to technical difficulties. (“After this, I’m getting so f—ed up. I’m rolling the biggest joint of all time,” Solange jokingly told the Lawn Stage audience in frustration.)

“Real talk: With everything that’s going on with this sound, I gotta free the nipple,” Solange announced halfway through her revue, reaching into her aforementioned caftan, pulling out her bra, and tossing it aside, but she seemed to loosen up and get into the groove after that, declaring, “All right, let’s dance!”

But the best moment of her set was a mellow one, when she was joined by her bandmate/producer Dev Hynes (of Blood Orange/Lightspeed Champion/Test Icicles fame), R&B buzz act Moses Sumney, and the women of soul trio King for a hushed version of Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black.”

Earlier in the night, also on Lawn Stage, funkmaster D'Angelo hosted his own dance party, continuing what is arguably one of the most thrilling comebacks in pop history after a 14-year recording hiatus. Appearing in a wide-brimmed hat and flamboyantly floor-sweeping cloak (which he swiftly shed, only to later reemerge onstage in an even flashier chapeau-and-poncho ensemble), during his magnificent 75-minute set the showman/soulman showed off his killer dance moves, shredded on guitar, and banged the piano on high-energy performances of tracks from his 2014 critics’ list-topping masterwork, Black Messiah.

But FYF Sunday wasn’t all about the funk. It was also about the grump. Yes, the notoriously flaky Morrissey did show up for his Sunday main stage set (unlike Saturday headliner Frank Ocean, who canceled at the last minute) kicking off his concert in true curmudgeonly, classic-Moz form with the Smiths’ “The Queen Is Dead” – standing in front of a video screen flashing artwork of Queen Elizabeth flashing the bird and mock British tabloid layout of William and Kate with the headline “United King-Dumb.”

Morrissey also complained about the many security guards surrounding the stage (“Apparently I’ve come all this way to play for security. Really? Really? Why so much security? Did somebody sneeze? Can at least 50 of you go away?”); entertained with acerbic solo songs like “Ganglord” (key lyric: “get your fat ass back to the ghetto”); and blasted Donald Trump (“Are you ready for President Trump? Please, I beg you… don’t!”). And he showed gruesome footage of slaughtered and suffering animals during his vegetarian anthem “Meat is Murder,” while crooning the altered chorus “KFC is murder.” (It should be noted that while meaty food options were plentiful at FYF, in the VIP area within smelling distance of the main stage, all the food was vegetarian or vegan.)

Typical Moz, then. But he was actually in seemingly good spirits, for the most part, just like the infamous Kanye the night before. (It appears that FYF brings out the best in cranky acts.) “If you happen to have a god, may he or she bless you,” Morrissey quipped at the end of the evening. Every day should be like this Sunday, really.

Other FYF Sunday highlights included the Hall & Oates-on-acid jams of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the kinetic math-rock of Battlee, and the winsome jangle-pop singalongs of Canadian Pitchfork darling Mac DeMarco, and especially the megachurch-like laser light show of Spiritualized on the indoor Arena Stage, proving that FYF has become an impressively diverse affair in its 12th year.

photos: Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic

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