Feature / Music
The Fest 9

In nine years, Fest has grown into a pilgrimage, a verb, and something of a lifestyle. Besides the 200-300 bands in town, annual activities include excessive drinking, a lot of walking, sporadic meals, counting Mikey Erg bands, and seeing how many times Dave Decker will run onstage.

Once again I find myself in re-cap mode. After taking a few days to recover from the malnutrition and general bodily abuse, it’s time to reminisce about highlights and pick out my favorites. With a similar line-up year-in and year-out, it’s hard to not write up the same bands each time. I may see The Tim Version, Tiltwheel, Toys That Kill, and others every year, but I can’t single them out for attention every time with so many great bands on the circuit. Besides, Fest is a time to find new favorites and to meet new people.

It all started at 1982 pre-Fest.

Thursday

Bridge and Tunnel

I was unfamiliar with this band coming in. I’d heard a few songs on compilations (likely from previous Fests) and was unimpressed, but the band carried a lot of buzz. Plus, there were only a handful of shows across town this night and I was there early enough to get in the door. Worn In Red and Young Livers also played, but Bridge and Tunnel stole the show.

The New Jersey 4-piece consists of your standard guitar/bass/drum combo, with vocals alternating between guitarists Rachel and Jeff. The band peppered their set heavily with covers, including four straight Minor Threat songs and Black Flag’s “Rise Above.” They did so with little banter, letting the music speak for itself and the true-to-the-original covers ignited the crowd into a mass of gang vocals. From my perch beside the stage, I had a direct view of Pat Schramm’s drumming, which was really sets the band’s powerful tone. Word of mouth says their official Fest set on Saturday was similarly cover-heavy.

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)

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.

Saturday

Each day Fest continues, the sets get progressively earlier in the day. After un-official late shows Thursday, and early-evening music on Friday, the primary venues opened their doors around 2 PM on Saturday. My first move was skipping the lines for Dear Landlord (regretfully, upon hearing they performed their day-before-Halloween set dressed as Juggalos) in order to see other bands in smaller settings.

That’s Incredible

San Pedro’s That’s Incredible started my Saturday highlights. The band is a side project from members of Toys That Kill, Soviettes, Killer Dreamer, and Dick Army and—as cliché as it may be—they sound much like an amalgamation of said groups. They blend Sean Cole’s distinct melodies with the Susy Sharp’s peppiness. For a band with only a 7-inch, I wasn’t expecting a lot, but they filled out a half-hour set without any filler, covers, or songs that sounded fresh from the drawing board. It was a polished performance of slightly off-kilter poppiness that helped kick in the adrenaline necessary to carry a Fester through his third long, hot day at the bar.

The Measure [SA]

Saturday also featured the most venue-hopping but, fortunately, there was little time wasted in line. After watching a few bands at 1982, sticking around for Bedford Falls on a recommendation well worth its salt, I ran down to 8 Seconds. There was virtually no line and I got in quickly for New Brunswick’s The Measure [SA]. The band continues to grow and this was the best performance I’ve seen from them. They played a mix of older songs along with some off the new LP (that I have yet to hear). It all carried the band’s signature quirkiness blended with dual-vocal pop-punk and an infectious, positive energy. The band also celebrated No Idea Records’ 25th anniversary. For a larger stage, the floor area was disproportionately small and the sound was adequate, although site lines away from the floor appear to be lacking. My only complaint: the bar unplugged their mechanical bull.

ADD/C

To continue the venue changes, the night ended with a 3-band set at Boca Fiesta, a Mexican Restaurant with an outdoor patio/bar and stage. How they manage outdoor music without noise violations is a wonder to me, but it’s a great, intimate, and temperate setting to catch a show. After hours in dingy bars with hundreds of sweaty punks and no air conditioning, the fresh nighttime air was a welcome change. Chattanooga’s ADD/C is a band I caught at my very first Fest after striking up conversation with their guitarist, and I’m glad we crossed paths. They play a blend of aggressive punk styles with something of a distorted-Southern thing underlying the decadence. The crowd was highly energetic with an active pit of slobbering, stumbling drunks. While the energy should be wavering at this time of day, the pure joy of loud anthemic music kept the audience at full tilt.

Sunday

Come Sunday there’s a mass lethargy. A glance between bands will show a 50-50 split of waters-to-beers in the crowd, and usually a few people hunched over on the verge of calling it a day before it’s even started. Of course, performers also have to endure the early set times.

Dopamines

“It’s too early for rock’n’roll,” bassist/vocalist Jon Weiner muttered before they started their set. While his speech was defeated and unenergetic, their set was anything but. With Mikey Erg on guitar and a room full fans of the gruff-vocal pop-punk style, the band played a solid set with a constant stream of stage dives (including an impressive octopus costume). They may have been the first band to play, but they managed to get a hung-over crowd dancing like it was after sunset.

Monikers

Besides Bryon Lippincott’s endorsement in our pre-Fest New Bruises interview, I’d enjoyed Monikers’ debut <Wake Up quite a bit and was excited to see the band for the first time. Naturally, ringleader Ryan Seagrist took the stage and announced, “We’re Monikers. This is most likely our last show.” He went on to explain, in less than glowing terms, that a couple band members chose not to come to Fest and that they were playing short-handed. To make things even more interesting, Josh Jordan (Stolen Parts, Jonesin’, ex-Off With Their Heads) was on bass—and was clearly learning their set on the fly. Throughout the set, he crossed the stage often, intently watching the guitar for ques. It sounded passable, which is clearly more than Seagrist thought of it, but they toughed it out with a mix of exasperation and whimsy, ending with not only a fun set, but a memorable one at that. I can’t say I’d buy any records based on their performance, but it was a stark reminder of how hard it is to perform on stage and I look forward to seeing their next project.

Frank Turner

With the official Fest ending at 10:30 Sunday night, Frank Turner was the last to take the stage. I only had a passing familiarity with Turner, mostly from his split with Tim Barry, but he didn’t disappoint. Not only did he play his song off the 7”, but he proved to be a great entertainer. With clever discussion between songs, a good back and forth with the audience, and general bemusement at their crowdsurfing to folksy music, he kept things down to earth despite his headliner status. He stirred the pot with an anti-Christian singalong and peaked the crowd’s enthusiasm by calling Fat Mike onstage for an acoustic version of “Linoleum.” All in all, while I might have been worn out from four days at the bar, Turner did more than merely capture my attention—he won me over as a fan. As time expired, he announced that he’d meet everyone in the street for a couple more songs. Of course, the Gainesville PD was privy and it never got started, but it serves to illustrate his passion, enthusiasm, and everyman ethic—all from a guy who’d just flown down on a day off from opening for Social Distortion.

My Fest 9, official and otherwise included the following band (likely missing a few): Worn in Red, Bridge and Tunnel, Young Livers, Claymonster, Julie Karr, International Dipshit, Night Birds, Soviettes, Too Many Daves, Future Virgins, Gateway District, HIDDEN SPOTS, The Tim Version, Tiltwheel, Chinese Telephones, Iron Chic, Brokedowns, Hot New Mexicans, That's Incredible, Born in a Cent, Bedford Falls, The Measure [SA], Laura Stevenson and the Cans, Toys That Kill, Tim Barry, God Damn Doo Wop Band, ADD/C, Dopamines, O Pioneers!, Sidekicks, Monikers, New Bruises, Arrivals, Underground Railroad to Candyland, Emotron, The Moaners, Ex-Boogeymen, Frank Turner.

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Photos by Loren; homepage photo (Frank Turner) by Nicole Kibert / www.elawgrrl.com