Cee Lo Green continued to disappoint on the summer’s festival circuit. At Coachella, he was late to the stage, where he was eventually booed, and Saturday at Gulf Shores’ Hangout Music Festival, he missed half of his set. A crowd of thousands waited for Green, who was scheduled for 3:30. Instead, the Foo Fighters subbed for Cee Lo at around 4 p.m.. A Hangout rep gaily announced to a confused crowd that the Foo Fighters were playing instead and the band immediately appeared onstage. People were understandably confused since the Foo Fighters were scheduled to close out the night. They jammed through three covers, the third of which was Prince’s “Darling Nikki.” Right before the song, Dave Grohl announced, “We actually really like Cee Lo Green, so if he is here we’d like him to sing with us,” which set up Green to join them onstage during the end of the song.

The Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl at Gulf Shores' Hangout Festival. Photo by Erika Goldring.

At that point, the Foo Fighters cleared the stage and let Cee Lo take over, but he rushed through the set. Cee Lo seemed particularly off during “Crazy,” but he hit all the right notes on “Fuck You” and mixed it with the Clash’s “Rock the Casbah” at the very end of the set. Despite the chaos and forgettable performance, at the end of the day, “Fuck You” was the song that was still stuck in my head.

Medeski, Martin & Wood

Medeski, Martin & Wood’s sound was perfect for the early afternoon. In terms of temperature, their set was the hottest of the day. Their psychedelic, largely improvisational jazz became funkier as the set went on. The trio’s skill at each of their respective instruments was impressive to see live. The highlight of the set was when Chris Wood played slide on the electric bass.

Primus

Primus had a huge, very mixed crowd—not all ’90s alternative children. They packed in front of the Surf Style stage. Les Claypool’s heavy bass was, as usual, the standout feature of their set.

Khris Royal

If Khris Royal played Hangout to reach new fans in new markets, it was a success. Overheard from someone with a thick Alabama accent later on—“Dude, I just saw this guy Khris Royal and he tore it up!”

Avett Brothers

A great set, much like their recent Jazz Fest set. The pairing of punk/metal vocalizing—complete with harmonies—and fast-paced bluegrass were sweeter than you’d expect, though the highlights were two slower, prettier numbers from I and Love and You—the title song and “January Wedding.”

Flaming Lips & Motorhead

Judging by the giant crowd, most people chose to see the Flaming Lips over rock legend Motorhead, who rocked the Grooveshark stage despite the smaller crowd. The Flaming Lips were supposed to perform last year, but Steven Drozd’s health issues forced them to cancel. This year, they made up for the cancellation with a strong show, but perhaps the same show they would have played a year ago. The songs and effects were great, but it would have been nice to see something fresh in the show.

Review of Hangout Festival Day 1

Review of Hangout Festival Day 3

Motorhead's Lemmy at the Hangout Music Festival. By Erika Goldring