Day for Night Festival Pushes Through Obstacles to Become the Festival Circuit’s Next Big Thing

Jordan Bailey

Resilient, innovative and straight up weird: These are the words many used to describe the second annual Day for Night festival that took place over the weekend. With Houston as its home, Day for Night turned a defunct post office complex into a wonderland of eccentricity.

What made this young event so utterly intriguing was the mere fact that it refused to conform to festival norms. The venue was the abandoned Barbara Jordan Post Office, smack in the middle of downtown Houston. The compound’s hardened interior of concrete, metal and endless industrial aesthetics made for an optical delight as ground-breaking artists showed off their skills, both visually and sonically. As thousands walked the looming halls of this warehouse-like space, many found surprise and awe as they stumbled across art installations like Damien Echols’ cryptic neon signs, the mythic/furry world of Shoplifter , the ambient light-bars of Nonotak or the immersive light room put together by Michael Fullman of VT Pro Design. Tundra, a Russian audiovisual team, created one of the more impressive installations with a massive red laser-show coordinated symmetrically from floor to ceiling, straight out of a Hollywood heist movie. Legendary Icelandic artist Björk brought with her an exhibit in VR. Here, fans waited in long lines to experience a virtual reality in which one could dance alongside the singer on a black beach in her country’s town of Grótta.

Music of course played an equal role over the weekend with Aphex Twin creating the most headlines. This elusive, albeit renowned, electronic producer has been creating experimental sounds in the U.K. since the 80’s. This was his first U.S. performance in eight years. It was obvious how appreciative and excited fans were, particularly when within what seemed like a few moments temperatures dropped 15 degrees and a rain storm moved in.  Some eagerly whipped out their rain jackets and ponchos while others embraced the wet chaos as Richard David James dropped old school hits “Polynominal-C” and “Set Up 707.” Aphex Twin also surprised fans at his merch table with sales of a mysterious 12” vinyl. Only 500 copies were (quickly) sold of this ambiguous album that contained no track-listings or credits.

Björk made waves not only for her VR exhibit but with her digital DJ set as well. Fans were both elated and confused as the eccentric artist hid behind a colorful wall of ferns for the entire set, never showing herself to the large indoor crowd until giving an appreciative wave before she left stage. The set was essentially a live mixtape, with mainstream tracks from Jeremih and Ariana Grande played next to strange animals sounds and tribal chants. Mykki Blanco was another highlight for most as the NYC-based queer rapper twerked on stage to fan favorites such as “High School Never Ends” alongside tracks from his recently released debut album “I’m in a Mood” and “The Plug Won’t”. Other notable performances came from Odesza, RZA, Travis Scott, Kaskade, Blood Orange and famed horror director John Carpenter.

Though when reading reviews online one may come across complaints, particularly from VIP purchasers who felt slighted when complications arose concerning what they were owed, the festival overall was far too interesting to look at small inconveniences as make-or-break. It’s important to remember the scale of such an endeavor, and that this event is in its adolescence, having only been around two years. Rumors have spread that the post office will be bought by a developer who will no doubt turn the space into generic loft apartments and chain-style retail stores. Keep your eyes peeled for year three of Day for Night, as it could once again become a whole new animal.

Day for Night took place in Houston, TX from Dec. 17-18.