This music nerd has gone to heaven......
It's been a few weeks since The Fest down in lovely Gainesville, Florida. I had a blast; saw more bands play then you could imagine, managed to eat Krispy Kreme every day, saw some old friends & made new ones from all over the world, ate the spiciest meal EVER (jerk chicken at the reggae shack), and bought a handful of new records and books.
I've been having troubles writing about my fest experience simply because it was all pretty overwelming. I mean, there was so much going on that i was having troubles finding time to eat! It seemed like there was always bands playing somewhere.
There were all the "official" fest shows, then there was after shows, early morning shows, and i even saw a band pull up in front of common grounds and play a set on a trailer as we all waited to get inside.
I saw alot of great bands, some newer, some older. It was great to finally get to see American Steel, Fay Wray, Radon and Naked Raygun after all these years of waiting. Although i
was bummed that Naked Raygun ignored some of the "hits" (like Rat Patrol), it was pretty amazing when they brought Dan from Sludgeworth/Screeching Weasele/Methadones to play the Sludgeworth classic "someday"!! By the time this happened the band had gone over their time allotment, the house lights in the old movie theater had been turned on and most everyone had gone elsewhere. But those of us who stuck around all had the biggest smiles as we sang along with the "whoa" parts.
Gainesville, FL, has always been this special, mystical place for me. I was always enamored by their scene, just as much as i was the east bay scene. Most of the bands from Gainesville that i love rarely ever played out of state, so my chances of seeing them play weren't too hig
h. 2 of my favorite 90's bands from this scene played;
Fay Wray played a reunion set that totally blew my mind (and my voice). They've always been my secret band.
Radon played a rare set (now that members live all over america) that included their theme song that had hundreds screaming the word RADON at the top of their lungs. Their set list was perfect!!
One of the best sets i saw all weekend was American Steel. About 9 years ago i was at a show of theres in Calgary that got busted by the cops just as they were setting up. It's a pretty funny story, ask me about it sometime. I never got another
chance to see them as they broke up for many years. I was worried that since they were playing a big punk show with D4 and Avail that their set would be mostly their "punk" songs (which i love) and none of their mopey songs from the 3rd record. But they proved me wrong!! Their set was epic, and mind blowing!!
Other great new bands i saw; Measure (SA), Vagina Sore Jr., Canadian Rifle, New Bruises, Short Attention, Potential Johns, Ringers, the list goes on. More established bands i saw included Marked Men (so catchy!), Smoke or Fire, Avail (3rd time this year!), Dead to Me, Seaweed, Small Brown Bike (amazing reunion show. played for an hour) The Ergs and way more. I saw about 35 bands play over the course of 3 days. It was pretty intense running from venue to venue, but thankfully they kept everything running on the schedule that was posted and handed out to everyone.
To sum it up..... good times!!!
TRUE LOVE
I've been having troubles writing about my fest experience simply because it was all pretty overwelming. I mean, there was so much going on that i was having troubles finding time to eat! It seemed like there was always bands playing somewhere.
There were all the "official" fest shows, then there was after shows, early morning shows, and i even saw a band pull up in front of common grounds and play a set on a trailer as we all waited to get inside.I saw alot of great bands, some newer, some older. It was great to finally get to see American Steel, Fay Wray, Radon and Naked Raygun after all these years of waiting. Although i
was bummed that Naked Raygun ignored some of the "hits" (like Rat Patrol), it was pretty amazing when they brought Dan from Sludgeworth/Screeching Weasele/Methadones to play the Sludgeworth classic "someday"!! By the time this happened the band had gone over their time allotment, the house lights in the old movie theater had been turned on and most everyone had gone elsewhere. But those of us who stuck around all had the biggest smiles as we sang along with the "whoa" parts.Gainesville, FL, has always been this special, mystical place for me. I was always enamored by their scene, just as much as i was the east bay scene. Most of the bands from Gainesville that i love rarely ever played out of state, so my chances of seeing them play weren't too hig
h. 2 of my favorite 90's bands from this scene played;Fay Wray played a reunion set that totally blew my mind (and my voice). They've always been my secret band.
Radon played a rare set (now that members live all over america) that included their theme song that had hundreds screaming the word RADON at the top of their lungs. Their set list was perfect!!
One of the best sets i saw all weekend was American Steel. About 9 years ago i was at a show of theres in Calgary that got busted by the cops just as they were setting up. It's a pretty funny story, ask me about it sometime. I never got another
chance to see them as they broke up for many years. I was worried that since they were playing a big punk show with D4 and Avail that their set would be mostly their "punk" songs (which i love) and none of their mopey songs from the 3rd record. But they proved me wrong!! Their set was epic, and mind blowing!!Other great new bands i saw; Measure (SA), Vagina Sore Jr., Canadian Rifle, New Bruises, Short Attention, Potential Johns, Ringers, the list goes on. More established bands i saw included Marked Men (so catchy!), Smoke or Fire, Avail (3rd time this year!), Dead to Me, Seaweed, Small Brown Bike (amazing reunion show. played for an hour) The Ergs and way more. I saw about 35 bands play over the course of 3 days. It was pretty intense running from venue to venue, but thankfully they kept everything running on the schedule that was posted and handed out to everyone.
To sum it up..... good times!!!
posted by shaun citrus at 1:47 PM
