The first day of Capitol Hill Block Party 2009 was about logistics. And music, of course. It day wasn't as crowded as last year's first day which made for nice access in and out of venues and stage areas and the new layout worked well. Also, the decision to make Neumos 21 and older made for a tolerable crowd size there too, which was a welcome change from last year's fest.

I started my weekend festival experience with the retro Stones sound of Hardly Art's Dutchess and the Duke. Warm, harmonious and very, very pleasant; it was the perfect music at just the right time of day. The only problem I have with D&D is that as beautiful as their music is, a lot of the songs sounded the same and blended into one another. Hopefully this will change on their new record. After D&D I got a tip about a special KEXP stage sponsored by Caffe Vita and the Seattle Times (which you can read about here) so I headed there right away. The stage, which required a special ticket, was in front of hundreds of bags of coffee beans, making it perhaps the most appropriately Seattle stage ever. One of the many surprises of this year's Block Party for me was Hey Marseilles, the first band I saw at the Bean Room stage. I was 100 percent sold on their music after their quick four-song set of dreamy indie pop.

A band whose music I will be looking into ASAP is Band of Skulls. This UK trio played the best set I saw in the afternoon. It was outright massive and loud rock. But it wasn't just me who was won over by their unabashed rock asssault. They managed to impress nearly every one of my fellow music jounos who saw them on the Neumos stage. If their album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey is half as good as their live set was it will easily be one of my favorite albums of the year. They took to Neumos opposite of Brode Dalle's new band Spinnerette. I wasn't that impressed by Dalle's group. It was safe, but sexy rock whereas Band of Skulls was heavy and sweaty.

Aside from the sweaty-versus-sexy rock battle, the other rock genre battle of the day was between two garage bands. Seattle's The Blakes played Neumos at about the same time Atlanta's Black Lips played the main stage. I caught two songs from each band and the clear winners were The Black Lips mostly because they got people to dance whereas The Blakes crowd was filled with your typical motionless hipster Capitol Hill set.

Sleepy Eyes of Death's set of psychedelic drone metal felt like it was going to blow the doors off Nuemos. I didn't watch most of the set because I was socializing with a colleague, but the music in the background was loud and its accompanying light show was intense, providing quite the spectacle even for those who weren't paying that much attention. Another spectacle, this one of the screamy singer type, was Past Lives. The band featuring former Blood Brothers members tore up the Vera stage. They're less hardcore than BB but still definitely not for faint ears.

The Cha Cha Lounge provided a nice refuge from the crowd throughout the weekend. Born Anchors played a blistering set drenched in bright red stage lighting that included several new songs (expect to hear one of them on Ear Candy soon as well as an interview with Born Anchors' Jason Parker). The band's big retro-90s alt-rock sound filled the small space of the Cha Cha, giving the intimate set the feel of a gigantic rock show.

The last set of the night I saw was They Live! and it is not a stretch at all to say these guys are going to be big. Get them on the right tour or get them the right amount of exposure and they will blow up, so see them while you can. There is nothing happening in Seattle right now that can match They Live!'s energy, stage presence and rapping skills. Be warned Seattle, your next rap superstars are here and they are They Live!

While the crowds on the first day provided room to maneuver around the festival grounds, by the time Sonic Youth closed down the main stage on Day 2 you had better be friends with your neighbor because it was a shoulder-to-shoulder situation.

The iconic New York noise rockers closed down the main stage of the Block Party's final day Saturday night with a set filled with material from "The Eternal," their latest release. Sonic Youth definitely drew the biggest crowd and was the major selling point Saturday but they really were just the musical icing on the cake during a day filled with amazing national and local artists.

Earlier in the day Ballard MC Grynch performed a set at the KEXP stage in the back of Caffe Vita's warehouse (his whole set will be featured here on Ear Candy soon). It included all material from his free EP "Chemistry," including "My Volvo" a song with the catchiest hook to come out of Seattle since Mix A Lot was on the scene, and it was capped with an a capella freestyle. Also appearing on the KEXP stage were nine-piece Americana band The Maldives prior to their packed set at Neumos. Kevin Murphy, frontman for The Moondoggies, a band that rocked the main stage at the beginning of the day, also played a solo set at the impromptu stage that had a backdrop of bags of coffee beans.

Sonic Youth also dropped by the KEXP/Vita stage to do a quick Q&A with Andrew Matson of the Seattle Times. During the 10-minute interview Kim Gordon shared her views on social media (she doesn't like blogs and encouraged everyone to delete their Facebook profiles), Lee Ranaldo said he dropped by SAM on Saturday to check out some art and Thurston Moore barely said a thing. But it didn't matter that the interview wasn't probing -- it was just cool to be in the same room as Sonic Youth. It was like the Block Party's own mini SXSW panel.

While Sonic Youth was being interviewed, Beth Ditto proved herself to be soul punk goddess during Gossip's set. Her amazing pipes combined with her charisma and energy seemed unstoppable. Gossip's cover of Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody" was an unexpected surprise. Less surprising, but still a bit of a surprise, was The Thermals' cover of Green Day's "Basket Case," a song they covered at the Pitchfork Music Fest.

The most generic set of the weekend had to of been PELA. I heard good things about their live show and I know they have a pretty big fan base in New York, but their music did nothing for me. Over on the Vera stage The Lonely Forest kept the kids dancing with some great rock in the rain. At the end of the night, Canadian duo Japandroids rocked against the clock at the Vera stage kicking out jam after jam from their excellent Post Nothing record. Look into it if you don't have it already.

I wasn't able to see Truckasaurus because there were lines out both entrances at least 20 people deep waiting to get in to Neumos. The same thing prevented me from catching The Maldives. At a festival where there lots of national talent, it was nice to see the local groups get lots and lots of love too. The Maldives and Truckasaurus sets weren't the only sets I wish I was able to see. I also heard great things about Starfucker, Wild Orchid Children and Akimbo.

*All photos by Alex Crick