Best of the Fest

As (mostly) life-long Yankees, with relatively little experience in the South, we were delighted with the charm, physical beauty, and hospitality The Tuned Inn staff received during our time in Asheville. The town seems to embrace all things Moog, and with the family and foundation's history there, Moogfest plus Asheville feels like the perfect fit. Restaurants and stores were obviously happy with the extra business brought in by the festival and the "Support Local" decals in many business windows are clearly more than just lip service.

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We only wish we had more time to eat (and drink) our way through Asheville. What we did taste was delicious: eggs Benedict at Over Easy on Broadway, a massive shared brunch spread at the Early Girl Eatery on Wall Street, and a fantastic staff dinner of shared pizzas at the ultra-groovy Mellow Mushroom (yes, it's a chain, but we drank local beers and loved the service!). The Moog Filtered Ale from Asheville Brewing Company was another excellent symbol of the Moog/Asheville love and made us wish we had time to check out the brewpub to try the rest of the company's beers. We also have to shout out to The Blend on Lexington for so generously and patiently hosting The Tuned Inn’s raucous after-party, featuring the incredible Fine Peduncle, on Sunday night (err—Monday morning?).

While our legs are still sore from a massive amount of walking back, forth, and all around downtown Asheville, seeing shows and art installations at 11 official venues throughout the weekend was the perfect way to get to know the city. Each venue had its own vibe, from the retro bar and huge glowing neon sign at The Orange Peel, to the cavernous, warehouse-like space of the Asheville Civic Center, to the cozy, theater-style seating of the Diana Wortham Theatre. Sure, having to hoof it from venue to venue made us a little (okay, a lot) short of breath (especially when doing the 15-minute uphill trek from The Orange Peel to the Civic Center  to see overlapping shows), but each new venue added another local element to the shows. Many of us had a favorite venue by the end—whether it was because of the super nice staff, the delicious drinks, the lax rules about how long you could stay in the photo pit, or the placement of the stage—but it was still awesome to mix it up at different venues throughout the weekend.

The Animoog Playground, which was Moogfest’s first outdoor venue, generated a more typical festival atmosphere—giant balls bouncing around the crowd, food trucks, tons of glow sticks, and yes, port-a-johns. While it was uniquely fun to have the outside festival experience in the middle of downtown Asheville, it was also great to periodically leave and go to an inside venue to thaw out some fingers (and use a real bathroom).

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Also of note? Ya'll are so nice in Asheville! The Tuned Inn team is split between Philly and NYC, and while we love our respective cities, we couldn't get over how accommodating everyone was. We didn’t hear a single car horn all weekend (you can’t go 30 seconds without hearing a horn in either NYC or Philly), and even the cops were nice. A sweet city embracing the freaks of Moogfest—we’re already looking forward to a return visit.

But enough about Asheville, let’s talk about the music. Below, The Tuned Inn presents our list of superlatives from Moogfest 2011.

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Best use of tongue in musical performance: Fine Peduncle

Most thankful performer: Moby

Most likely to smell like a dorm room: Warm Ghost

Best birthday celebration: Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Sexiest use of the harp: Active Child

Most reminiscent of a McDonald's ball pit: Flaming Lips

Most likely to make grown (straight) men swoon: Childish Gambino

Best game of laser tag...EVER!: Ghostland Observatory

Best use of belly dancers in a musical performance: Beats Antique

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Best act if you're in the mood for Cirque du Soleil: STS9

Hottest guitar-shredding chick: St. Vincent

Best attempt at a fifth encore: Kode9

Poppiest dance party: Passion Pit

Best semi-slow dance: M83

Most intense visual storytelling: Lunzproject

Best father-son performance: Terry and Gyan Riley

Best rain-soaked dance party: Chromeo

Most reminiscent of a basement punk show: Dan Deacon

Most laid-back peformance: The Field

Sexiest dance party: Special Disco Version

Best on-stage representation of a Tetris piece: Amon Tobin

Craziest Halloween dance party vibe: Holy Fuck

Closest that Moogfest will ever get to a Justin Bieber concert: The Drums

Most likely to spark your 12^th wind of the night: Gold Panda