The 2014 Fun Fun Fun Fest Survival Guide

Mike Brooks

The orange stage at Fun Fun Fun in 2013

Black Stage

METZ - 3:00 PM - Sub Pop act METZ wear their influences on their sleeves. Even better is that all of their influences are cool as hell. Influenced from Dischord Records to '90s noise and alt rock, METZ play hard and loud. The band is playing on their 2012 self-titled debut album released on Sub Pop (read: the guys that put on for Nirvana way back). Check 'em out and take in sensibility by way of acoustic assault.

Iceage - 4:05 PM - Danish post-punk band Iceage have been going for a long time. When they dropped their first album, much of the band weren't even adults yet. Now, six years later, the band has released their third album, Plowing Into the Fields of Love, to a great deal of fanfare. The band is destined for great things. Check them out at black stage and say you saw them when.

King Diamond - 8:05 PM - Danish metal god King Diamond has been doing this for a long time. He was wearing corpse paint years before it ever became fashionable in Norway. He was already a genre icon for his work in Mercyful Fate before the formation of King Diamond. In King Diamond, the band is heavy metal with an extra emphasis on theatrics and concept. A King Diamond performance is a straight-up experience; if I had to pick one act that I will not miss under any circumstances this weekend, it is King Diamond.

Blue Stage

ASTR - 1:10 PM - ASTR is a duo exploring the realm of electronic music in the vein of Italo-disco and pop music. If you're a couple that just had a fight the night before, check out ASTR and reconcile to help get your Saturday going the right way. The band is playing behind their Varsity EP.

Nas - 7:15 PM - Illmatic is immortal. For all that has been said about Biggie and Pac, so much more has been left unsaid about Nas. He is coming to Austin, Texas performing Illmatic in its entirety. This is a gift to audiences and it should not be wasted. If you even marginally claim to like rap, you need to be at blue stage for Nas' performance.

Girl Talk - 8:45 PM - The mash-up guru in the flesh. Girl Talk's brand of mash-up electronic music has been adored by fans for years. Girl Talk must love Fun Fun Fun Fest with the act returning after headlining orange stage in 2012. If you're feeling whatever drugs you're on by 9 o' clock, hit blue stage for a dance party to close out night two.

Orange Stage

Courtney Barnett - 3:35 PM - Garage rock is a staple at Fun Fun Fun Fest. There's always at least a couple of acts there representing the genre. In Courtney Barnett, the fest is blessed with one of the best female-fronted garage rock bands in the game today. Barnett's music is the perfect soundtrack to hang out on a Saturday in Austin and to welcome the late afternoon.

The New Pornographers - 5:55 PM - 15 years for an indie rock band seems like a lifetime in this day and age. Canada's the New Pornographers hardly need an introduction. If you are at the fest for indie rock, or have always had a curiosity for the genre, you should be at this set and take in a performance from one of the genre's best in recent memory. The band released their new album Brill Bruisers last summer on Matador.

Modest Mouse - 8:30 PM - Modest Mouse helped to bring in an entire generation of kids to the indie rock persuasion. Having been active for over 20 years, Modest Mouse are a brand name, in both the mainstream and initiated music circles. The Lonesome Crowded West is one of the most beloved indie albums ever and indie rock fans often swear by Modest Mouse. A performance by them is not to be missed if indie rock is your forte.