LouFest 2014 In Review, pt. 5

We stuck around at the from of the Bud Light stage after Portugal. to secure front row seats. We were among several OutKast fans who had been camping there already and were waiting for the last set of the day. We had a few more to see yet, but for now, the seats were secured for...

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

How about a rock band from New Orleans fronted by a soulful singer with a talent for the Trombone? Trombone Shorty may have been an out-of-the-blue choice for many, but we were more than excited to see him break out jams like "Hurricane Season" and "Buckjump".

Trombone Shorty himself was on top of his game, bringing out his full vocal range as well as some fine-tuned trombone playing to impress the crowd of thousands. Though many seemed to be unaware of the band, they were soon won over. The sheer energy of the set was mostly unrivaled throughout the day.

It's easy to forget the backing band with such a prevalent frontman, but Orleans Avenue held down the fort with ease. A notable alto sax player lent a hand to some of the more horn-filled numbers, while the drummer was as tight as he sounded on the album. Trombone Shorty may have been playing in a park in St. Louis, but we were all on Orleans Ave for an hour.

Having said goodbye to our friends still waiting for OutKast, we headed back to the Forest Park stage for the last time to dance to...

Cherub

A personal favorite of mine, Cherub is an easy go-to for dance grooves and disco revival fun. They started their high-energy set with the brilliantly cheeky "<3", featuring lyrics about taking a sledgehammer to a car.

Though a sizeable amount of the crowd was clearly only there for closer "Doses & Mimosas", the two-piece performed an unfazed and strong set drawing from all 3 of their albums. Of particular note was the partially acapella "Disco Shit", which still managed to whip the crowd into a frenzy despite almost no collective lyrical knowledge.

Sexual anthem "Work The Middle" was appropriated by our back-of-the-crowd crew as an excuse to start a swaying dance circle to the chorus of "back and forth, back and forth." What started small quickly grew to 30-plus festivalgoers, and once the beats kicked back in, the dance-offs began. Through a powerful cover of Calvin Harris' "Feel So Close", we and dozens of strangers fist-pumped and showed off our questionable moves. It was one of the most unique and memorable moments of the whole weekend, and I couldn't have asked for it to happen at a better set.

The set wound down, and as "Doses" blasted through the park, we headed back to the main stage for the remainder of the fest. I'll continue shortly with reviews of Grouplove and OutKast!