Here is a brief slideshow of the Sound Tribe Secton 9 show on the “Moonshine Stage.” It includes some other photos as well as the band themselves. Security, fire dancers, faeries… All photos by me.

We had some time to kill before we were going to photograph Girl Talk, so while my interview with Gregg Gillis took longer than expected (again, not a bad thing, and that story is forthcoming), Face went and photographed Sound Tribe Sector 9 on the Moonshine Stage. I had never seen them before, and I got there about 20 minutes into their set (after braving the mud and overall soggy trail). I didn’t get to see much, but what I saw was impressive. This is a good jam band, and what they were doing is very interesting. For those of your not familiar with STS9, they are a jam band with electronica influences, and it works quite well. I’ll have to check these guys out later (yes, I am admitting ignorance), but the way today has worked, we haven’t been able to see many full sets.

At 7 p.m., Girl Talk took the stage. Face and I got in the photo pit for the first few songs, and watched most of it outside from there. I have listened to Girl Talk’s third album, Night Ripper, and I had loved it. The show was taken to the next level live though. The setup is simple, just Gregg Gillis and a table full of laptops and a microphone. Still, he didn’t stop dancing the entire time, and as the show progressed, more and more people got on stage and danced with him

Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips was visible through parts of the set, and you could see the Lips lent him some confetti and streamers to make it that much more enjoyable.

Then there is the music. This is mash-ups in the best way. Take a beat from Kanye West, a melody by Rick Springfield and a bass line from Parliament (note: that’s not what really happened, but hopefully you get the gist of it) and you have a Girl Talk segment. I had never seen him before, and his stuff works just as well live as on record, if not better.

Gillis himself was able to give off a lot of energy from his physical performance as well as his beats, which is the best thing any DJ (excuse me, producer with samples) can do. It was an impressive set, and may have been the best thing I saw so far that day.

P.S. This is added later, but both Face and I saw a very pregnant woman standing by the loud speakers during Girl Talk’s set. I pray for that baby, and let’s hope the little one won’t come out deaf, dumb and blind or with any mental disabilities. Moral of the story, if you are pregnant, don’t stand directly in front of the speakers.