Highs and lows of M3F 2023: Dance-worthy funk, soul and EDM; ear-gouging sound issues

M3F Festival returned to Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix on Friday, March 3, with former Grammy Best New Artist nominee Maggie Rogers topping a bill that also featured Becky Hill, Polo & Pan, Quinn XCII, Del Water Gap and Neal Francis.

Saturday's lineup was topped by Jamie xx with the Jungle Giants, Toro y Moi, Purple Disco Machine, Channel Tres, Peach Pit and more.

We were at Hance Park all weekend sharing highs and lows from the nonprofit festival, which has donated $4.4 million to local charities since it launched in 2004 as McDowell Mountain Music Festival. Here's how that went.

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Saturday at M3F 2023 festival in Phoenix: Highs and lows

High: Last night, a DJ saved M3F’s life

The M3F 2023 music fest never felt more like a major event than it did Saturday at 10 p.m. when EDM star Jamie xx hit the main stage with his turntables, electronic gear and mesmerizing light show after a crowd-pleasing second-stage dance party hosted by Purple Disco Machine, a DJ slipping hits like “Don’t You Want Me,” “Funkytown” and “Groove Is in the Heart” into the mix.

Suddenly the park that felt so empty well into the late afternoon/early evening was swarming with young music fans who clearly came to dance.

To those who question the long-running festival’s increasing drift into the EDM aesthetic, if you’d seen what happened when the DJs took the wheel, you’d understand that what the folks at M3F have done is reinvent your father’s music festival as something built to last — and not just last but thrive.

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High: Channel Tres was M3F's most visually spectacular performance

Compton hip-hop visionary Channel Tres turned in M3F's most visually stunning performance, flanked by two male dancers on an empty stage while executing sensual dance moves with a swagger that was equal parts D’Angelo and Isaac Hayes, the original “Black Moses.”

Tres and his dancers reinforced that swagger with their presentation. Dressed in black from head to toe, they never lost their shades as Tres treated the second-stage crowd to a seamless suite that drew on elements of robofunk, Chicago house and Detroit techno with rubbery bass grooves and relentless beats that often took things closer to the energy of West Coast G-funk, all while rapping with conviction and charisma.

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High: Toro y Moi, no ordinary pleasure

The electro-funk party shifted to the main stage as Toro y Moi made his entrance with a deeply soulful version of “Mirage” at the helm of a four-piece band that included a keyboard player, a bassist and a DJ supplying the thumping club beats with the bandleader playing guitar on songs that called for it.

After “Mirage,” he gave a shout-out to his friend whose set was ending as he hit the stage.

“How about a hand for Channel Tres everybody?,” he said. “That’s our homie.”

I was hoping that could mean a cameo by Tres before the set was through. Not because I thought the set required reinforcements. It’s just the kind of thing you hope for at a festival because that’s where that sort of magic seems to happen.

As it stood? There was still plenty of magic in the air as the singer led his bandmates through crowd-pleasing highlights as contagious as “So Many Details,” “Postman,” “Ordinary Pleasure” and “Girl Like You” before bringing the party to a close with “Freelance.”

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Low: More issues with the sound

As I was wondering whether Peach Pit frontman Neil Smith’s vocal monitor was even working, given how off-key his singing was on the opening verse of their opening song, his vocals cut out altogether. Then, the PA let loose with an eardrum-piercing high-pitched shriek quickly followed by equally painful, longer-lasting low-end feedback before the sound got sorted out.

On the bright side, it seemed pretty clear that Smith could hear what he was singing once the PA stopped attacking us.

He’s still no Freddie Mercury, but I enjoyed his singing. It’s got character, which suits his oddly charismatic presence and Peach Pit’s lived-in brand of rock ‘n’ roll, which brings together elements of jam-rock and the quirky side of indie-rock. Imagine Modest Mouse at a frat getting stoned with the Spin Doctors. Now imagine that would be a good thing.

Plus these guys can really play, which definitely came across when they tagged the dual-guitar lead from the Eagles’ “Hotel California” on the end of their own “Give Up Baby Go.” It came across in other places, too, but “Hotel California” was an unexpected treat.

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High: Joshy Soul brings the funk (and soul) to M3F

Joshy Soul led his bandmates through a very funky set of old-school soul and R&B — or dream funk, as he likes to call it — grooving his way through a Saturday afternoon performance on the third stage.

Soul is an engaging presence whose falsetto couldn’t be much silkier. And he’s assembled quite a crew to underscore those dream-funk vocals with the backing they deserve — a killer rhythm section, a stellar saxophonist and a lead guitarist who felt like he was channeling Prince at one point (with the way he played, not how he dressed).

It all came to a boil on the final song, “New Lover,” when Soul dropped to his knees and started shouting like he’d been possessed by Wilson Pickett. Or maybe the devil. It sounded more like Pickett, though.

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Low: This singer needs a “Bachelor”-bingeing intervention

The award for the weekend’s lamest sex joke goes to the dude in the Bash Dogs who said he put 12 people who didn’t know each other up in an AirBnB and then added, “I hope they they all got laid.”

High: Slug Bug's racket was a beautiful thing

Tempe’s Slug Bug stirred up a glorious racket with two guitars bringing the noise through a blanket of fuzz so thick it almost felt like we were hearing an audition tape for SST from the mid-‘80s. It didn’t hurt that Wyatt Hjerpe, the singer-guitarist who fronts them, is blessed with a serrated howl for a voice, the perfect instrument to put this sort of thing across. I hope he drinks some tea, though. That’s not easy on a throat.

Friday at M3F 2023 festival in Phoenix: Highs and lows

Low: The first set started while fans were still waiting to get inside

I’m sure waiting for the gates to open is more nerve-wracking in heaven.

But for those of us who showed up early to M3F so as not to miss a minute of Veronica Everheart kicking things off on the main stage, waiting for the gates to open a full 2 minutes after she was scheduled to perform was something of a buzzkill. Those gates were supposed to open at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

Making matters worse, they made her start playing within, like, a minute of letting the first people in. They should’ve pushed her set back 15 minutes.

High: Veronica Everheart opens M3F 2023 with a roar

Here’s hoping Veronica Everheart didn’t play her best song first while anyone who showed up early just to see her was still waiting to get in.

Despite the late start and the size of the crowd you half expect for the opening act at M3F, the local indie-rocker rose to the occasion in good spirits while making her first festival appearance, even honoring a fan’s request for “Sour,” a song she hadn’t planned to play.

Her “Cherry Picked” EP was one of last year’s most inspired efforts by a Valley artist and she more than lived up to the promise of that record as she led her trio through highlights as impassioned as “Antiquity,” “Sycamore” and “Sour.” She’s got a great scream for the kind of songs she writes and knows enough to hold it in reserve for just the right moment.

Low: With 3 stages of music, the fear of missing out is real

How was Furious George? I wouldn’t know. I was too busy watching Veronica Everheart. And therein lies the downside of three stages: fear of missing out.

I know Coachella has more stages and it looks like value added on the poster. But for those of us who want to see it all, it just means having to decide which act you’d rather miss. And yes, I realize you could watch part of one set, then dip out and catch the back half of the other set.

But here’s the thing. You never know exactly when those magic moments might occur — that unexpected cover or surprise guest or some James Brown-worthy stage move they were saving for the end of that one song.

And if M3F really wants to do three stages, they should make the third stage all one genre and create a mini-festival within a festival for fans of that one genre, so you know that if you’re into stuff like that, you’ll want to park yourself at that stage.

Low: Technical difficulties cut one of the best acts short

Technical difficulties meant Neal Francis couldn’t start on time. Then he had to cut it short after struggling to get the sound dialed in until a full 12 minutes after he was scheduled to perform, by which point he’d led the crowd in a good-humored chant of “Stall for time.”

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High: Neal Francis making lemonade with the lemons he’s been given

To his credit, Francis didn’t let a very disappointing situation get him down. In fact, he did the opposite, working it into his set after telling the crowd, “We’re gonna do a cozy 18-minute set.”

Francis is a wildly entertaining funk revivalist whose previous appearance at M3F remains one of my favorite things I’ve ever seen at the festival.

After setting the tone with the heavy funk of “Say Your Prayers,” his bandmates segued into their next song as Francis announced with a devilish grin, “We know there are many ways that you could spend your time at M3F. Thank you for coming to see 15 minutes of us.”

As they launched into their third and final number, “She’s a Winner,” Francis said with a smile, “All right, we’ve got five minutes left, for Christ’s sake.”

I’d hesitate to argue that his mischievous reaction made up for the songs we could’ve heard if life had been more kind. Was his version of “Strawberry 23” on the set list? We’ll never know. But Francis made the most of it for our amusement and it certainly felt like we were witnessing an unplanned bit of entertainment that never would’ve happened in a perfect world.

High: Maggie Rogers crashes the stage during Del Water Gap

From the time he hit the main stage in his best green gym shorts, you could tell S. Holden Jaffe of Del Water Gap had come to M3F to entertain.

And that he did, leading his bandmates in a set whose highlights ranged from “Shortest Love Song” to “Alone Together” and a tender “High Tops.”

Jaffe’s offbeat sense of humor only added to the entertainment value.

After being joined by Maggie Rogers, Friday’s headliner, on “Better Than I Know Myself,” he told the crowd, “Sorry about that crasher.”

Then when it came time to dust off their spirited cover of “Complicated,” he introduced it as a song by “the woman that inspired me to buy a skateboard when I was 12.”

Then he told us to join him in welcoming Avril Lavigne to the stage.

She wasn’t there, of course. And maybe that’s a good thing. If she had come out to join them, it would’ve ruined a perfectly funny introduction.

I know. It’s complicated.

As for Rogers coming out to join them? That was great.

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High: The Knocks play something with a beat

The Knocks hit the second stage hard, introducing an old-school hip-hop party with “We like to dance. We like to jump. We like to clap our hands. We like to shout. We like to act the fool.”

Or words to that effect.

After leading the crowd in a joyous singalong to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody “ they kept the energy higher than any act that had preceded their 5 p.m. set.

Highlights ranged from “Kiss the Sky” to “Best Friend,” “House Party” and “Get Happy.”

It felt like their entire set had been designed specifically to satisfy the vocal loop in “No Requests,” where a woman pleads, “Excuse me, Mr. DJ, could you play something with a beat. You know, something I can dance to.”

I’m not sure they know another way to do it. And I mean that in a good way.

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High: Fans lose control to UK ‘Voice’ contestant Becky Hill

Sharing the stage with a DJ and two backup singers, Becky Hill treated the main stage crowd to a night at the disco, taking the stage to “Heaven on My Mind” and following through with club-ready beats of “False Alarm.”

Having risen to fame as a contestant on “The Voice UK,” Hill told the crowd she was just “in the very beginning of what they call in the industry ‘trying to break America.’”

Given the enthusiasm with which people sang along to “Lose Control,” her highest-charting entry on the US dance charts, and “Crazy What Love Can Do,” she’s off to a pretty good start.

Hill brought some talent-show pipes to “Wish You Well,” a high-energy highlight of her set. Bonus points for that outfit she was rocking, a thigh-high boots/mini-dress combo with a matching jacket.

High: Coin’s electrifying set a thrill to witness

After three sets in a row of disco-flavored EDM, the clanging guitars that announced the arrival of Coin were a welcome change of pace at a festival that prides itself on the eclectic nature of its lineup.

It was the most electrifying moment of the day by far.

They met the club kids halfway on “Cutie,” exploring a funkier, more danceable aesthetic in a set whose highlights ranged from ‘80s New Wave (“Take a Picture” sounded like a great lost Molly Ringwald movie soundtrack hit) to the forward momentum of “Into My Arms.”

Lead singer Chase Lawrence, who also played guitar and synth, was the day’s most animated presence, throwing his entire body into the performance when his awe-inspiring upper register would’ve held our attention regardless.

This was Coin’s first concert of the year, so there’s a chance they had some pent-up energy just dying to get out. Whatever it was, it was a thrill to witness.

Low: Sound bleed was a drag. Rethink the speaker arrangements?

Any time Coin pulled the volume back a bit on songs that thrive on the extreme dynamic range it takes to make the loud parts even more explosive, they found themselves competing with the thumping club beats emanating from the third stage across the park.

M3F organizers might want to rethink how they have those speakers set up. Either that or they could rethink have loud acts playing at the same time as an act that drew as many fans as Coin did.

High: Maggie Rogers shows why her tour is called Feral Joy

Maggie Rogers was just getting started on Friday night at M3F Fest, having opened her performance with the one-two punch of “Overdrive” and “Want Want,” when she paused to tell the crowd, “This is my first time ever headlining a festival in the United States.”

It was a shocking revelation, given the total command of the stage the former Best New Artist Grammy nominee shown us after making a dramatic entrance in her knee-high boots and latex raincoat (which she had unbuckled and removed before the second song was through).

It seems she’s something of a natural, a contagious, energetic presence with the kind of voice that’s bound to stop a person in their tracks with both its passion and its power.

Rogers drew the largest, most enthusiastic crowd I’d seen all day and held a high percentage of those people as she led her six-piece backing band through such career-defining highlights as the pulsating post-punk of “Want Want,” the acoustic-guitar-driven “Love You For a Long Time,” “Alaska” and “Light On,” all before bringing her set to a rousing conclusion with “That’s Where I Am.”

She’s been touring the States with fellow M3F artists artist Del Water Gap on the Feral Joy Tour, a name that captures the unbridled sense of abandon she brought to the proceedings in Phoenix.

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: M3F music fest 2023: Highs and lows from Hance Park in Phoenix