2nd Annual Manimal Festival w/ Fool's Gold, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, VOICEsVOICEs, Juliette Commagere, The Polyamorous Affair, Warpaint + More @ Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace, 10/4 & 10/5/09

VOICEsVOICEs perseveres through the harsh cold and windy gusts at the 2nd Annual Manimal Festival

Earlier this month, local record label Manimal Vinyl (see our interview last year with its founder) held its 2nd Annual Manimal Festival at Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace. "In its second year, the two-day event showcases bands on Paul Beahan's record label... alongside musically bohemian peers," described Daiana Feuer from Papermag. "Manimal's experimental pop catalog -- which began most notably by releasing Bat For Lashes' Fur And Gold record two years ago -- lends a unified voice to freak folk and its close cousins, many which are collected on yearly tribute albums to Madonna, The Cure, and in 2010, David Bowie. Manimal's focus mainly follows two streams: The ethereal, spooky soloist tradition [and] the dance beat, taking pop to strange outer space."

With a festival lineup that included Pizza!, WEAVE!, Jonesin', Corridor, Amanda Jo Williams, Rainbow Arabia, Misty Mountain Bluegrass Band, We Are the World, Fool's Gold, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Hecuba, and Laco$te for Saturday and Voice On Tape, He's My Brother, She's My Sister, VOICEsVOICEs, Ariana Delawari, Alexandra Hope, Thrift Store Cowboys, Juliette Commagere, The Polyamourous Affair, Warpaint, and Moonrats for Sunday, LA-Underground raved that "This was probably the best top-to-bottom lineup of bands of any festival this year and with many of these bands growing past the small stages of Silver Lake it was nice to see them all in such a relaxed setting... This one will be hard to top."

The only real negative was the harsh climate. Indeed, "Neither WEAVE!, dressed for a future where human skin is far more thick and resistant, nor the crowd had prepared for the temperature to dip into the 40s by nightfall, or for the brutally consistent howling wind," reported Chris Martins from LA Weekly. "It's hard to get peevish whilst listening to great music in a gorgeously alien landscape..."

And while Devendra Banhart was reportedly spotted, rumors of a closing performance on Sunday night unfortunately never came to fruition.

Special thanks to Pizza!, WEAVE!, Corridor, Rainbow Arabia, We Are The World, Fool's Gold, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Voice On Tape, He's My Brother, She's My Sister, VOICEsVOICEs, Alexandra Hope, Juliette Commagere, The Polyamorous Affair, Warpaint, Moonrats, Manimal Vinyl, and Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace.