I’ve scrapped two versions of this post already, since there’s more than enough being written about the great performances thus far here at the CHBP. My highlights include Matt and Kim (the happiest band on the planet), Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head (more bands should throw Otter Pops into the audience), Silversun Pickups (it took a while for the vocals to get dialed in, at which point the set became great), and of course Girl Talk (those people were right to near-riot to get in, it was great, with lots of new material - Gillis is a contemporary pop music scholar). It’s early in the day but it’s looking like today’s going to be busier than yesterday, so here are some tips for those of you on your way down:

- The sun is out. Wear sunscreen. I’ve got melanin, so sunburn isn’t a risk I worry about much, but I know many of you aren’t as lucky in that regard.

- Bring earplugs. The sound is dialed in on every stage. Every band I’ve heard has sounded great (or rather, deficiencies couldn’t be blamed on the sound system). Even the Blood Brothers’ sound check was deafening.

- Bring a bag with your own “water.” I’m not advocating that you bring in your own booze, but I haven’t seen much in the way of bag searching. Do with that information what you will.

- Get your 21+ wristband early. The lines to get into Neumos grew longer as the day progressed, but for most of the day if you already had a wristband you could skip right past the line.

- Get to Neumos early. I don’t think tonight will be as crazy for getting into the late-night performances (Pretty Titty, the Spankrock DJs), but you still might want to head down to catch The Girls’ set to ensure your entry. They’re a great band so you should do that anyway.

- Be nice to security. I had a constant flow of texts going with a friend stuck in the Girl Talk line. Sounds like things got a bit heated, but as someone on the inside, the venue was really damn full. It’s too bad they didn’t let people in as people left, but that was only a trickle and when you’ve got crowdsurfing ON STAGE, it’s probably wiser to do what you can to keep things under control.

- Have fun. This is shaping up to be one of the best weekend’s of the year (CHBP AND Daft Punk, with an early kickoff from DFA/Beats in Space’s Tim Sweeney - hell yes!), so time to get out and rock out.

All photos by Dagmar Sieglinde Patterson