III Points 2015 Day Two: Run the Jewels, Toro y Moi, and More

With names like Run the Jewels, Toro Y Moi, AlunaGeorge, Ghostface Killah and Doom, the second day of III Points was stacked. There was something to listen to in every direction you faced, and good music was never more than thirty yards away.

The crowd was big and eager on Saturday. Combined with Second Saturday, Wynwood was alive and buzzing with more man buns than it's ever seen before.

While the main question of the day was how exactly Doom would make his virtual appearance with Ghostface Killah (we're still not totally sure, to be honest) there was no shortage of incredible local and national acts taking the stage. Let's recap, shall we?

Fudakochi
To understand Fudakochi, you should hear his story. It's one filled with peaks and pits, heartache and triumph. It's a tale of making it in Miami, against all odds. But even if you knew nothing about the man in the purple cape, you still couldn't help but fall in love. Fudakochi has said before that, at times, he feels like an alien on a foreign planet. This deep-seated feeling of isolation was reflected in his 30-minute set, which left him lying down onstage, gasping for air one moment, standing tall with a fist in the air the next. Accompanied by his little sister (who's got some serious pipes herself) and the purple-masked Affiliated Soul Team (who jammed to dangerous levels of funk) Fudakochi played like he was a headliner, and I hope one day he is. — Ryan Pfeffer

Taylor McFerrin
Taylor McFerrin was an option for those that wanted something a bit more sedated than Run the Jewels. Taylor is the son of musician Bobby McFerrin, the man who sang the famous "Don't Worry Be Happy," and while Taylor followed his father's footsteps by becoming a musician, he has taken a polar opposite approach. While his father made his name from making music without instruments, save the sounds that come from his mouth, Taylor makes most of his music without a voice being heard. At 10:10 he introduced himself saying he was going to "play some music from my record Early Riser and do some improvisation and make some beats up on the spot." It opened with him playing piano and the sounds of birds chirping then he thumped in some bass and began drawing people in. He played one song, "Decisions," with samples from the singer Emily King and at another point he sang himself with less impressive results. Then there was one song in his forty minute set, where Taylor took to the mic and began beatboxing, perhaps an homage to his famous father's trademark mouth sounds. — David Rolland

AlunaGeorge
I’ll just get this out of the way now. Yes, AlunaGeorge performed “White Noise,” the Disclosure track they’re featured on, and the crowd went wild. “Just noise, white noise/I'm hearing static, you're like an automatic/You just wanna keep me on repeat and hear me crying.” The audience sang the lyrics loud enough that Aluna Francis could have put her mic down and sat on stage doing nothing. But before that all occurred, the duo, accompanied by a drummer, kicked things off with “Attracting Flies.” Francis looked like an S&M princess in a sequined bustier, with a vocals that were studio perfect. Others cuts included “Supernatural,” “Best Be Believing,” “Kaleidoscope Love,” and their new track with Zhu, “Automatic.” However, the showstopper, other than the aforementioned Disclosure record, was their cover of Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do it.” Whatever way AlunaGeorge does it, I’m listening. Seriously, best set of III Point so far. — Jose D. Duran

Kodiak Fur
I stand by my statement that Kodiak Fur is Miami’s best band that never plays. I first caught the synth-pop, darkwave outfit at the Vagabond in February of 2012, and I never had the pleasure of catching them since. I’m pretty sure I heard of them playing once again ever, and I missed it like a doofus. There was no way I’d miss them at Sector 3 Saturday afternoon, and they didn’t disappoint. My inner goth kid was dancing all elbows as they worked through tracks old and new. The band put out two tracks in the last four months, one with XYZA’s Pazmal (to whom they also gave a shout out). Perhaps it’s a sign of activity to come? I know I’m not the only weird superfan out there. A woman ran up to me all out of breath in the middle of the set and said “Is this Kodiak Fur?!” We bonded over the rarity as the sun slowly set. It was kind of a beautiful moment. — Kat Bein

Toro Y Moi
The great thing about having the musical chops of Chaz Bundick and his four backing musicians that are the live configuration of Toro Y Moi is you don't need to worry about stage presence. Just cut loose on your guitar and keyboards, let the drummer, bassist, and guitarist do their thing of being a 21st Century Steely Dan and forget about putting on a show. Jamming out jazz rock with hints of funk, Toro Y Moi made superior background music for the throngs of girls twisting in their hula hoops, the guys piloting their drones high up into the sky, and the blissed out III Pointers sitting guru-style on the various rugs laid out on the asphalt. Toro Y Moi took to their instruments 10 minutes past midnight and didn't let up until 1:30 in the morning, with their final song "Empty Nesters." After which Bundick quietly added, "We're not playing an encore. This is really it." And it really was. — David Rolland 

Roman Flügel
The Black Hole might be the most underrated stage at III Points this year. But when you have iconic producers like Roman Flügel take over the decks, it makes for an amazing experience. Techno probably reached its popular peak last year, and there’s a bit of a backlash taking place with critics complaining that techno fanboys will listen to anything that comes out of Berlin regardless if it’s good or not. Well, Flügel isn’t just anything and he more than commanded the crowd’s respect, even if the warehouse wasn’t packed to the brim. He played like the entire festival was present and kind of broke the notion that techno has to be this chilly thing. His set was funky and filled with life. But that’s not surprising. His 2014 album, Happiness Is Happening, was one of the most tongue-in-cheek takes on the genre I’ve ever heard. — Jose D. Duran

Shlohmo
Someone must have taken Shlohmo’s lean away, because the LA-based DJ and producer delivered a surprisingly energetic set. The A/C in the Main Frame was crankin’, but it still got steamy bumpin’ and grindin’ to his space-age sex tracks. He moved brilliantly from ethereal trap sounds into flat-out “fuck your bitch in Gucci flip-flops” Future swag. He played crowd pleaser with hip-hop neo-classics “Sippin on Some Syrup” and “Overnight Celebrity.” Mostly, he ramped the crowd up for the onslaught of rap sets that were to come from Run the Jewels, MF Doom, and Ghostface Killah. He just made sure to give us a little of that wedidit get low in the process. — Kat Bein

Danny Daze
One of Miami’s best examples that hard work pays off, Danny Daze is a hometown hero to the Magic City’s legion of DJ and music producers. He still calls Miami home part-time, but more often than not he's traveling across Europe, wowing crowds with his take of techno and house music. In some ways he’s never quite let go of his Miami influences. His set at III Points was still so very much full of deep grooves and even pop influences that it kept things interesting and more importantly pretty approachable. Then again it’s not entirely surprising, considering Daze has built a career on making well-crafted cuts that still have incredible hooks (see “Silicon” and “Your Everything”). As I sweated among a sea of man buns (seriously, techno guys, find a new hair trend), I really wasn’t looking forward to my night ending. Thank you, Daze, for helping me close out Day Two with a great beat. — Jose D. Duran

Run the Jewels
If I had only one take-away from RTJ’s monster performance, it was that they’ll be returning to Miami very soon. Killer Mike and El-P were unabashedly blown away with the love and support that flooded their set from beginning to end. Fans screamed along to tracks from both albums and mosh pits got real as fuck. They handled their role as MCs masterfully, reminding people to look out for each other and be mindful of security. They boomed their political ideologies, encouraging folks to vote Bernie Sanders for President and inviting us in a collective fist-up in honor of protesters in Ferguson and around the country. The duo led a naughty sing along to “Love Again” and shamed selfie-stick users everywhere. No doubt, the experimental outfit gave one of the best performances of the festival so far. Miami is officially ready for an RTJ headlining tour. — Kat Bein