Tuna.

So, finally, the big Tuna Blog. I had a really hard time deciding how I'm going to go about this, because I know you don't want to hear about aaaaaaaaall the bands, and I kind of think that would be redundant and silly anyway. So I thought it would be fun to do it high school yearbook mock-election style.

Best Misfits: Boy In Static (Night One)
After an ungodly 40-minute soundcheck (we were told the band's gear had been misplaced by the airline and arrived one hour before their set was to begin), San Francisco synth/viola 2-piece Boy In Static sheepishly took the sheepish-looking stage at the Strutt to a patient and enthusiastic crowd: house regulars (the K College- affiliated intellectual-and-hip-in-that-order crew) stood alongside disconnected hippie burnouts and aging upper-middle-class sophisticates alike, sipping pumpkin lattes and microbrews (goodness. I love the Strutt). At first, the crowd received them mostly with curiosity; a tiny Asian guy jamming on a viola and singing and a tiny white guy pounding on a drum machine don't exactly fit into the paradigm of the Kalamazoo scene, and this newfangled San Francisco shenanigan of a band felt a little like being in an electro-indie Oz. Needless to say, everyone loved it. Their music was fun and enthusiastic without an overwhelming or annoying amount of energy. The guys themselves brought a lot of personality to their set, which I really liked; although, at times their set felt a little bit like I was watching VH1 Storytellers or something, because they literally told us the name of-- and often, the story behind writing-- every. single. song. I had kind of mixed feelings about this. But, these guys had a great sense of humor and interacted with the audience in a way that made it feel like we were all friends, like they were playing a house show in the student ghetto.
Probably the most entertaining element of this set was just watching the synth player. I haven't seen a whole lot of electronic acts live, but until now, I have never seen anyone bring the all energy (and more) of a "real" drummer with a drum machine. At the end, everyone was having so much fun that an encore was all but demanded; the hipsters were a-jumpin' and the wood floors of the Strutt were creaking like it was some kind of indie hoedown. It was magical.

Most Misjudged: The Legendary Shack Shakers (Night Two)
Man-oh-man, do I have some explaining to do.
You might remember that when I was scoping out the Tuna bands, I said some not-very-nice things about the Shack Shakers. Lucky for you guys, I am pretty ok at admitting when I am wrong (don't ask my mom or any of my ex-boyfriends, but I am) if I do say so myself. And now is one of those times, because these guys BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE. Not only did they draw the biggest crowd I saw at any of the three shows, but they made Papa Pete's into the biggest madhouse I have seen it since I saw Mustard Plug there about this time last year. These guys played something that, if I had to, I would label "bayou metal." I think normal people call it "rockabilly." [I had heard this term used before, but apparently there is a whole rockabilly culture/ scene I had no idea about, which basically consists of guys with beards in flannel shirts and girls who dress like Lucille Ball but wear lots of makeup and have full tattoo sleeves. Huh.] Regardless, while their sound is uniquely country-slash-cajun-influenced, it's essentially just an extremely danceable bar rock. The Nashville four-piece (guitar, stand-up bass, harmonica, and drums) is lead by a singer who reminded me of a combination of Scott Weiland and my friend Kyle when he's on acid (read: batshit crazy, but captivating in a pied-piper kind of way) and they created a manic, tent revival-like atmosphere which even some of the biggest bands strive for, but don't always attain. And, oh yeah, it was a complete shit show. I haven't seen that many people THAT drunk since... well... Mustard Plug, about this time last year. And even though I myself did not partake (oh, the sacrifices made in the name of responsible journalism) it was completely impossible not to have a killer time. And I did.

Biggest WTF?!: Small Brown Bike (Night Three)
I hate to say I told you so, but...
This was my biggest Tuna letdown. By far. I had considerably low expectations for this band in the first place, and I have to say, they did not redeem themselves whatsoever as a live act. State Theatre is a historic venue with an amazing vibe and I've seen some of the best shows of my life there (well, only one comes to mind [Ryan Adams] but still) and Small Brown Bike managed to create an atmosphere with all the awkward, stagnant discomfort of a high school prom (just speculating, 'cause like I know what that's like). I don't want to write about this anymore, but I still want you to know what it's like, so I will give you some uncensored, unchanged, (semi-) unedited excerpts from my notes that night:
-at best, a poor man's Foo [Fighters]
-sorry, Chad Houts, I DON'T LIKE THIS BAND.*
-I feel like I'm being smoked out of a standoff situation. PANAMA!**
-LOL @ coordinated hair-flip***
-there are more important things in life than charismatic rhythm guitarists.
-[upon a bashful guitar re-tune between songs] "You guys might be getting the sloppy E right now" --oh really? is that what this is?
-un-miked shouting [shitty but common screamo move] alarming and spazzy.
-sound like a Rise Against cover band. Not ok
-Rise Against playing between bands. Of fucking course

*my friend, Chad Houts, had been telling me how awesome this band is.
** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_(song)
*** at one point, both guitar players and the bass player all flipped their hair in unison. Annoying.

So hopefully that gives you a pretty good idea of what it was like. It's so shitty to think that this band drew the second biggest crowd I saw for the whole festival; I estimated that there were over 300 people there. Not too many, but it was the perfect fit for State; when State is sold out, it is unbelievably claustrophobic and awkward. If you've never experienced a sold-out show at State Theatre, it kind of feels like being at your grandma's house for Christmas and all of your cousins are there instead of just you and your siblings like you're used to. You're excited, but then you get there and it's just a stuffy, crowded mess and you inevitably run out of gravy (in this analogy, Red Stripe).
Speaking of grandmas, at some point during Night Three, I noticed that there was an entire family behind me-- complete with a grandma (glean what you will from my description of Small Brown Bike and then imagine a grandma there). Imagine how weirded out I was in that moment. I am eavesdropping as I always do in public until I find out that they are people who say "whenever" in place of "when;" and at one point, I literally hear a naggy matriarch shout "You know, you could die from smoking!" And then, my favorite part of the show at this point: the dad (who had been slouching in a chair separate from the rest of the family, with his feet up on a chair in front of him) looks at his phone, stands up, shouting, does a victory dance and screams "TOUCHDOWN! I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!"
But, I digress.

Most Tragically-Underrated Band: Fruit Bats (Night Three)
When I see The Grandma up front, taking pictures on her cell, I realize why the family is there: for Fruit Bats! Of course! I always knew grandmas had great taste in music (although I find out that they are there with a band member [obvs] by the way they keep shouting "CHRIS!" and various song requests).
Actually, I am sad to report that this family makes up about 1/4 of the audience which witnesses the true glory of Fruit Bats' set. Everyone inexplicably left after Small Brown Bike's set and I have never taken such a blatant disregard of amazing music so personally. This band put on literally one of the BEST SHOWS I HAVE SEEN lately. I'm not even joking. Fruit Bats are an indie 5-piece led by a singer (he also plays guitar and keys) who resembles Ben Gibbard both physically and musically... The Death Cab influence is undeniable, but they sound essentially like a mix between the Shins and the Allman Brothers Band. Sounds crazy, I know, but this blend of indie-pop with a little (even though I hate this phrase) Southern rock resulted in a beautiful, completely original sound.
The best parts of Fruit Bats' set, though, were songs performed solo by their lead singer/ guitar player Eric Johnson. A natural vocalist and poetic songwriter, Johnson has a stunning ability to play to a room of 25, make it seem as though he feels like he's playing to a room of 2,500 and make you feel like he's playing to just you. His songwriting has a poetic, narrative style that I thought would be good, but was heartstopping to hear in person. Even though at times, like during the encore-- requested by essentially one guy-- the music was obscured by awkward (but well-meaning) clapping, they never lost their beautiful, intimate connectedness. This band was amazing and I would be surprised if I never heard about them again. Keep an eye out for Fruit Bats. If you like indie at all (and I'm assuming you do since you're reading this and it's pretty much all I talk about) check them out. You won't be sorry. That's all I'm sayin'.

And, so (I bet you saw this coming)...
BEST TUNA BAND: FRUIT BATS!
Honorable Mention: The Daredevil Christopher Wright (Night One)
Daredevil kind of sounded like the Decemberists meets Ben Folds Five. Delightful! They had me right at the first song, when their drummer (/percussionist) walked out from behind the drum kit and kept drumming on random shit that was onstage. It was amazing. I know that sounds weird, but everyone else thought it was cool too. I used to date a drummer and I know how annoying it is how they drum on everything in sight. But, take this and apply it to actual MUSIC, and it's actually really cool and creative. Their music has a sentimental vulnerability to it at times that was really endearing (like "East Coast," about a family member who gets married and moves across the country). As a band, they come off as the geeky choir boys from high school, who got picked on but then one day everyone realized how talented they were and then they got laid more than the lacrosse players. And rightfully so; one of their songs was led off by an a cappella doo-wop intro that was an entertaining, refreshing, amazing novelty. This is another band from whom I promise we can expect great things in the future.

The bottom line:
Three nights of amazing music... and I am simply exhausted. I had an awesome, awesome time and can't wait until next year. I'm going to take a little break from live music, but expect some new album reviews this week.
Special thanks to Clarke Babcock for being my companion throughout the festival!
-thejunkie