Kevin Bronson on September 22nd, 2014

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On the surface, this year’s Sunset Strip Music Festival looked bigger and better – two days of music on outdoor stages instead of one, with the most attractive lineup top-to-bottom ever, even with the late cancellations of Kaiser Chiefs and Minus the Bear. So where was everybody?

Until the headlining sets, crowds were noticeably thinner than on the Saturday-only outdoor festival in years past. On Sunday, fans who attended via discounted or free tickets abounded, with SSMF reaching a fever pitch only when Empire of the Sun launched their deliciously over-the-top show on the main stage at 8:45 p.m. It followed an equally over-the-top welcome from West Hollywood Mayor John D’Amico, who told the huge crowd, “You gotta get drunk, you gotta get lucky, you gotta get laid, you gotta get … and the you gotta get home safe.” No word on whether Hizzoner’s good fortune included free Uber passes.

The real heroes Sunday were whoever are responsible for Empire of the Sun’s otherworldly production design, which was changed up a bit since the Aussies visited Coachella in April. Their set alone was worth the price of a ticket – post-apocalyptic theater, creating its own mythology, set to a soundtrack of glam-meets-metal-meets-heavy-disco. So beyond Empire of the Sun, here were five memorable moments from Sunday’s SSMF:

5. NOSTALGHIA

Ciscandra Nostalghia’s dark, experimental electronic music cast a shadow over the modest main-stage crowd about the same time the late-afternoon sun did. That sunshine, however, caused a hitch the proceedings when the heat temporarily toasted multi-instrumentalist’s Roy Gnan’s laptop. “There is a god … There is not a god,” the singer said as the backing tracks flitted in and out. Nostalghia, dressed in flowing, caped white gown, brought heavy beats and even heavier eyeliner to the stage; her serpentine melodies weaved in and out of Gnan’s keyboards and drums, while Adele Stein’s cello added a haunting, mournful touch. Can we create a Charlie’s Angels of boundary-pushing goth princesses? Because, Zola Jesus and Chelsea Wolfe, we’ve found your third.

Postcript: Props to Ill Camille, whose all-female crew were the first thing we heard upon our arrival Sunday. Solid raps, and you gotta love the horn.

4. BIG DATA

Big Data’s main-stage set began with a robot voice, ostensibly the NSA, encouraging fans to tweet, Facebook and Instragram the hell out of the performance. “I am your friend,” the voice deadpanned, as if you soon wouldn’t need any enemies. The brainchild of New York City producer Alan Wilkis, Big Data purports to be inspired equally by the Internet, music and paranoia, so unlike a lot of electronic music with cheesy synths, video-game-like effects and toy-sounding keyboards, at least it’s conceptual. Which, nearing sunset on Sunset Boulevard, might have been lost in the translation. “This is a very iconic street, everybody,” Wilkis told the crowd. “A lot of drugs have been done on this street, and we might have done some of them.” Wilkis and band played their single “Dangerous,” as well as a couple of new songs, including “Kings and Queens.” The NSA voice also introduced a song “by two great American patriots, Daryl Hall and John Oates,” before Big Data launched into a de-tuned, vocoded-into-oblivion cover of “Private Eyes.” We hope Big Brother was not listening.

Postscript: Even playing straight into the brutal afternoon sun, Big Freedia got some butts bouncing – although if you’re playing to a sparse crowd, you might want to back off on that call-and-response stuff with the audience. Oh, and one of the dancers narrowly averted injury, jumping out of the way when a monitor fell from its perch.

3. PPL MVR 

As if the world needs anymore cartoon rock, PPL MVR arrived at the Roxy as the most buzzed-about band on the festival’s undercard. Operating under the veil of anonymity for now, PPL MVR is comprised of three people in anatomically correct Yeti get-ups (SNWBLL, K-PO and Q), plus a “handler” (Pino) who wields a guitar and bullwhip. The music is being advertised as “desert rock,” but it sounded like the Darkness’ emo side project to us. You will hear it soon enough, hair-metal guitars with catchy, vocoded choruses that sound like an awful lot of work for “frontman” SNWBLL, who wears a headset mic protruding from his mask. Without the costumes, does this band ever make it out of the Dragonfly? Maybe. But PPL MVR already has a record deal (word is that Elektra will be releasing their music) and marketing types (who already were seen passing out PPL MVR trading cards at SSMF) must be envisioning collectibles, bobbleheads, lunchboxes and games. The quartet did provide one comic moment – near the end of the set Pino cracked his whip and addressed the crowd for the band, because, he said, they don’t speak English. When, of course, they’d been singing perfectly well all along.

Postscript: Meanwhile, on the main stage, Tove Lo had two drummers. Wow.

2. BABES

The sibling-fueled quintet from Silver Lake will surely not be the only band to face this weighty question: How on earth do you follow an act like PPL MVR? At the Roxy, they gamely tried, with Sarah, Aaron and Zach Rayne, abetted by Bryan Harris and Jeffrey Baird, dispensing their sexually charged ’70s guitar-pop with a smile and a wink. They gave out red, embroidered “Babes” panties and lip balm to a few lucky fans up front – this being the Sunset Strip, both could come in handy later. And they dared take it down a notch, dangerous in a chatty room. “If you guys wanna rock out,” Zach announced, “f*ck you. This is a love song.” Sarah followed with “Isn’t It Love?” off their debut EP. During the finale, the new song “Life Come Into Me,” she went into the crowd to drape herself around and serenade those up front.

Postscript: Another sibling-propelled band followed, FMLYBAND, but completely unable to get over the fact they sound like “Kids of M83,” we moved on to see if anybody was dancing to Destructo (they were) and whether Killer Mike was killing it on the Murs Stage (he was, and it turned into a Run the Jewels cameo that was something like this).

1. MAYER HAWTHORNE

Nattily attired, indisputably charming and perfectly soulful, Hawthorne meted out a big truckload of feel-good as the second-stage headliner. “Back Seat Lover,” especially, inspired spirited spates of couples dancing, and he shimmied around the stage, taking to a floor tom during “Designer Drug.” Only one moment distracted from the proceedings, and it was every festival promoter’s nightmare. “We’re happy to be here, but I have to say I don’t approve of this Monster shit,” Hawthorne said, pointing to the stage-sponsoring energy drink’s big logo behind him. “I think it tastes gross, so I don’t approve of this banner.” Yikes. Just cash the check and play, man.

Postscript: This weary scribe, however, gives full approval to the Keurig coffee station between stages, which dispensed complimentary caffeinated drinks all day. See you next year.