My one Fest show

The 2nd Street Bakery was abuzz with peeps on Sunday for the Fest. Here’s my rundown.

Erin Tobey: the first person I happened to catch.

1. Nice set. More and more I am digging simplicity over, say, a horns section. Miss Tobey had a couple short, sing-a-longy ditties that make me say, “aww!”
2. When I hear someone play such simple sweet melodies, it makes me think, “hey, I could do that.” That doesn’t undermine the music to me, it just makes me feel lazy.

Result: Matt and I are going to start a band now?

Ghost Mice: always a pleaser

1. Argh microphones! I was lucky enough to witness their reported first-ever mic-ed (?) show at the Fest IV. I know they don’t wanna, but they gotta. It was really hard to hear. As a result, people were into it in a creepy way. Everyone had to sing along softly, the way you’d talk to a baby or someone you’re stalking over the phone.
2. I love that racecar song.

Result: should have bought a record from them, since mine is all scratched (not to mentioned burned in the first place)

Defiance, Ohio: Cello! (said like Hello!)

1. They sounded really good. Violin, cello, banjo (and some more conventional instruments, of course) all impress me easily. But its more their overall sound that really works. That scratchy lead singer’s voice works as a rough edge around the sweet violin melodies, and it all comes together really well with them.
2. I know about 15 Defiance songs, and not one of them was played.

Result: got a zine about fucking MySpace.

This Bike is a Pipe Bomb: missed most of this set

1. By this point in the day, I was exhausted, and those bakery pastries looked too good to not eat.
2. I did however, catch their last couple songs. I absolutely love the singer and his weird twangy… singing. Also, I got to hear “This is what I want,” which had undoubtedly the happiest looking mosh pit of the day. Those kids really loved each other.

Result: It’s fun to see a change in traffic between shows depending on who’s playing next. After This Bike, there was an influx of hipsters and an outflux of punks. I like them all, so it’s cool though.

Matt and Kim: my reason for attending

1. Like I said in a previous post, the banter really makes these guys’ shows. They played a short set, and not too many songs, mostly because their time was taken up by an explanation of what “supermanning that ho” means.
2. Got a little rowdy at the end, what with some drunk punk kids crowd surfing. Matt and Kim? Really? Matt (of Matt and Kim- not my Matt- he had a bad back) crowd surfed as well.
3. I didn’t see a lot of the “superfans” that were at the show they played in the summer at Common Grounds. I was disappointed because those kids could DANCE.

Result: I now know what supermanning a ho is.