The Octopus Project

Photo by Shelley Hiam

The Octopus Project

With the still-early sun beating down on more fans than the Octopus Project expected, the party began when the Austin High School Band bounded onstage and with all manner of brass and woodwinds raised opener "Malaria Codes" to a new, epic level. With raccoons on the PA and Toto Miranda in rare form on any instrument he touched, the locals kicked off another tennis match, Josh Lambert sliding across the stage to make it to the keys on time. Yvonne Lambert's theremin cried against the midday sky, while "The Adjuster" saw the multi-instrumentalist on xylophone after she switched to guitar. Miranda echoed her theremin on guitar before hauling to the kit. It's not the switcheroo that's so impressive; it's that the Octopus Project does it seamlessly. Closer "Truck," from 2007 highlight Hello, Avalanche, brought the marching band back and the house down.