Photos and review of The Hives, Pure Bathing Culture, DIIV and Moonface from Saturday September 8 of MusicfestNW 2012. Check out our earlier photos and review from Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of MusicFestNW 2012 in Portland.

The Hives: Not dissimilar to their Capitol Hill Block Party 2012 attack, Seattle’s KEXP hosted a slew of day-time shows at MFNW. Saturday’s set list included Swedish garage rock act The Hives. After catching the Hives at Coachella, my hat was off to them for still delivering so much energy 20 years into their career, as garage rockers no less. I will admit that few bands I’ve seen all year matched the intensity of the Hives then. The Portland Mercury went so far as to say the Hives live show, when done right, will be one of the best shows you’ve ever seen. The 3PM afternoon set didn’t necessarily bode well for their type of music, but lead man Pete Almqvist acknowledged that and did well to get the crowd pumped anyways. There were a few slip ups (missed mic catches) and it felt a bit early. But the Hives did a stellar job rocking away hangovers with the early show.

Pure Bathing Culture: Hosted in easily the most unique venue I’ve been to in recent memory, Pure Bathing Culture’s MFNW set took place in the Old Church–which is exactly what you’d expect. It felt strange, yet surprisingly satisfying, to see a set inside a beautiful old church. And you can imagine how drinking a Heineken in there felt (#catholicism). Pure Bathing Culture’s soft, breezy, dream pop was a great match for the Old Church venue, as I’d imagine anything more rocking would’ve felt a bit sacrilege. The acoustics were unreal. Moreover, it was just as entertaining to see how all the crowd members reverted to their 8 year-old, church-going selves, remaining steadfastly silent and respectful.

DIIV: DIIV‘s Oshin was one of summer’s great surprises and a stellar seasonal soundtrack. Fortunately, the Brooklyn band also knows how to translate those stoney jams to the club setting. Their Ted’s Barbatis set demonstrated how much energy the young dudes pack into all those layered, jittery, clock-work guitars. As they danced, jabbed and spun around the stage, the dim blue lighting made for a perfect ambience to their oceanic tunes. Also, their Nirvana ties continue, as they covered the grunge kings, though I couldn’t tell which track the DIIV-ified cover was.

Moonface: Compared to the Friday and Saturday late-night, packed Doug Fir crowds at MusicFestNW 2011, the turnout for Spencer Krug’s new outfit Moonface was relatively sparse. This seemed fitting, as former Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown member Krug hasn’t received too much attention, relatively speaking, for Moonface. That made for a “sneaker” vibe, with those who did turn out fielding quite a bit of anticipation. Of all performers I saw at MusicFestNW 2012, Moonface certainly created the thickest and most unique mood. It seemed less like another MusicFest set than Moonface’s own show, unrelated to the others. The relentless, kraut-rock of Finnish backing band Sinai was reminiscent of a more psychedelic version of Iggy’s Stooges. Meanwhile, Krug–ever in his own world, lyrically and otherwise–hopped onto of Sinai’s work for some dreamy, enigmatic guidance that helped created said mood. If you have the chance, pickup Moonface’s new album Heartbreaking Bravery. It’s its own deal.

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