Feature / Music
The Fest 9

Words: Loren • January 3, 2011

The Fest 9
The Fest 9

Friday

The line outside the Holiday Inn forms earlier in the morning each year. While registration doesn’t officially begin until noon, I showed up at 11 and the line was already halfway through the lot. There were people sweating out their hangovers on the hot asphalt, as well as merch people walking the line, handing out free cozies and flyers. Of course, the hotel’s partner bar was also outside hawking PBR tall cans. I hit the flea market, skipped the pool party, and hit up a brand new Fest venue to kickoff Fest 9: The Lunchbox.

International Dipshit (listed as Davey Tiltwheel-acoustic)

IMG_4707.jpg

The Lunchbox is a small coffee/sandwich shop downtown with a walk-up counter and a fenced in back patio that overlooks a city park. With open air, green grass, and a few sleeping homeless people, I was afforded a relaxed view as Tiltwheel’s Davey Quinn and drummer Allison played an acoustic set. The setting provided a relaxed beginning, with the city of Gainesville playing a more prominent role than it does in an enclosed, dark club. The quiet setting allowed locals to bring their children and the feel was certainly more adult than elsewhere at Fest.

The set held true to his other band’s heart-on-sleeve, driving songs, but with toned down volume and more emphasis on craft and emotion instead of madcap rock. It was a heartfelt and incredibly fast twenty-minute set before I had to trade the clean air and bright skies for the smoky Atlantic—a far more traditional rock venue

Soviettes

The Soviettes are back. Or maybe they’re not. There really hasn’t been an official announcement of any kind. Regardless, the Minneapolis band who have gone on to share members with Gateway District, That’s Incredible, and Awesome Snakes played a mid-evening set at The Atlantic that felt as if it was still 2004. The band was tightly knit, alternating vocalists in their unique, poppy fashion—all with substitute drummer Mikey Erg.

Too Many Daves

Immediately following Soviettes were Too Many Daves—more or less a joke band that features a bunch of dudes named Dave. The reason for singling out their performance is mostly due to the chemistry amongst friends that the band embodies—it’s a gathering of like-minded people from across the country who come together for love of music, celebration, and more than a little debauchery. The band, who just released their first LP, carries an impressive energy and gleeful chemistry. Their cover of “Copkiller” was only icing on an already immensely entertaining and fun set that celebrates the important things in life: beer, sweat, and expanding waistlines.

Skip to page View as a single page

Loren • January 3, 2011

The Fest 9
The Fest 9

Pages in this feature

  1. Opening page
  2. Thursday
  3. Friday
  4. Saturday
  5. Sunday

Related features

Unseemlier

One Question Interviews • June 27, 2025

Mike Assatly (Unseemlier - guitar/vocals) SPB: Do you have a preferred model of van for touring? Assatly: Chevy G-20 Gladiator! It was my first van, I got it from my uncle with 115,000 on it. He got rid of it for a new van because it was "old" and would … Read more

Dollar Store

One Question Interviews • June 26, 2025

Dave Slaverave (Dollar Store - bass) SPB: This band hits a lot of styles, all kind of overlapping at the same time. How hard was it to find “your sound” when bringing these influences together? Slaverave: Not very hard at all actually. We're all old-ass adults who've soaked in a … Read more

Golden Shitters

One Question Interviews • June 25, 2025

Matt (Golden Shitters) How nervous were you the first time you played a show? My first show was around 2002. I was 15 years old and it was a basement house party in my hometown of Welland, Ontario. I’d just proved myself to my high school buddies by singing The … Read more

Arms Aloft

Interviews • June 23, 2025

Remember Election Day 2024? Maybe you shouldn't. Maybe you've blocked it out. That's fair, but there was one pleasant surprise that day: a new EP from Wisconsin's Arms Aloft. It took a while to claw out of the darkness in November, then Year End 2024 coverage took over the Scene … Read more

Small Steps

One Question Interviews • June 12, 2025

Jeremiah (Small Steps - guitar/vocals) SPB: What song has the best use of whistling? Jeremiah: I feel like the easy answer would be the Bobby McFerrin song "Don't Worry Be Happy". Which is catchy as all get out, but we prefer the road less traveled here in Small Steps. For … Read more

More from this section

Caterwaul 2025

Music • May 13, 2025

Each year in late May, the 4-day party and noise-rock festival Caterwaul takes over multiple venues in Minneapolis. It’s a stacked lineup this year, to put it mildly, with each night’s headliners FACS, Young Widows, Naw, Pissed Jeans, and Uniform -- and that’s leaving a ton of other great bands … Read more

Guest List: Steven Fairweather (Gob) – The Gateway And The Getaway

Music / The Set List • May 13, 2025

Steven Fairweather is a Canadian musician, radio show host, and comic book writer. He is best known as the bassist of the punk band Gob and the founder of Stranger Radio, an independent online radio station. -- Before the internet, before streaming, before Shazam could tell you what was playing … Read more

2024: A Year In Review

Music / Year End 2024 • January 13, 2025

It's a new year – hooray. And things are off to a fine start, too. If the thought of corrupt governments, AI domination, unmoderated social networks and endless war is causing you to retreat into the past, we don't blame you. In fact, we encourage it! Our writers have summed … Read more