I'm hoping everyone is ready for Kalamazoo's music event of the year: WIDR's Barking Tuna Festival. While a 3-night pass for $25 is pretty reasonable (available at WIDR and Corner Record Shop [which is awesome by the way]), you're probably just going to want to scope out what you're into and check out a few bands, because 9 in three nights is a lot... lucky you've got me.
So any way, what I'm going to do is post a preview of each night detailing who is playing and (vaguely) what to expect. Here's night one!
Night One: Thurs 10/08/09 at the Strutt
Airborne or Aquatic (Northern MI) {jam} [http://www.myspace.com/airborneoraquatic]
After one listen to Airborne or Aquatic, a semi- experimental jam band, you might write them off as yet another faux-Southern-trad (roots/folk/bluegrass) band like the legion of others that keep cropping up in the Midwest. And that response is half-right; songs like "Moose Man" had the effect of (as Butthead brilliantly said in response to a Nine Inch Nails video) "great, but, frankly... it's been done." But, on other tracks, you'll find AOA with a more organic sound and an appealingly melancholy vibe, (check out the spoken-word interlude on "Smoke in the Rain") and you might find that they bring a little something different to the table. Their accessibility and political/ social consciousness go together like thrift-shop tshirts and Urban Outfitters jeans... different, uncanny, mismatched and completely harmonious. I can't help but feel like they will probably go over extremely well tonight... this is Kalamazoo, after all.
The Daredevil Christopher Wright (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) {indie} [http://www.myspace.com/thedaredevilchristopherwright]
I hate to say this so soon, but I am already impressed with this act. The Wisconsin 3-piece has upcoming shows all over the country-- in the midwest, Colorado, Washington, California-- one of which is with Bon Iver (!). This band possesses such an unbelievable musical awareness and aptitude, weaving pop-indie with classical instruments (notably on the breathtaking "Hospital/ The East Coast). While, at times, they adhere to the monolithic indie status quo, they are still incredibly fresh and innovative (check out the ironically blithe "Bury You Alive"). I can. not. wait. to see this band tonight.
Boy In Static (San Francisco, California) {indie} [http://www.myspace.com/boyinstatic]
Somewhere between The Postal Service and My Bloody Valentine lies the sound of Boy In Static: wispy, melodic shoegazer driven by a quiet passion. There is a gentle intensity to their music-- a surreal synth-viola duo with intimate, close-sounding vocals-- with an effect that resounds inside you like the beating of your own heart. While I'm wondering how this 2-piece is going to pull off live what can be done fairly easily in the studio, I am nonetheless looking forward to this.
So, needless to say, tonight's gonna be a good night. Hope to see you guys at the Strutt.
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