Helping me kick off Fun Fun Fun Fest 2008 was none other the kids of the Paul Green School Of Rock. With a bunch of interchangeable members and cover songs, I can't say that they impressed beyond reason, but they undoubtedly have talent that I will never know. I look forward to seeing what each of them are involved with once they figure out exactly what they want to do with all those skills.
Grampall
Jookabox's debut for Asthmatic Kitty is definitely an effort
that tends to be very hit or miss with me, but live was a
different story since he builds all of the songs right in
front of you, which I thought added a much needed touch of
accessibility to his sometimes cluttered sound. Too
bad it was only me and about 20 other people that were
treated to his solid and interesting set.
As a good
friend of mine said yesterday, "when Centromatic goes rock
they just sound like Tonic." Now don't get me wrong,
the band's set was solid (especially the last half).
It's just that they know they're not an act that really
belongs at a festival, so they beefed up their material to
entertain the masses. Sure, that doesn't sound like
the worst decision ever, but for them it unfortunately turns
them into a bland rock group. I'll need to catch them
the next time they play a dark club at one in the morning.
To be honest,
up until this point I was wondering if there would be
anything about this year's FFF Fest that would make me want
to move on from last year's. Well, as if it was
destined to happen, Trail Of Dead hit the stage and blew my
face off.
Deerhoof was the group that I most looking forward to on the first day, and they did not disappoint. Their entire hour-long set was littered with selections from their diverse catalog of tunes and none of them had one single moment without a smile and some spunk in their movements. Professional would be an understatement.
At this point
in the night the dust was so bad at Waterloo Park that the
wife and I decided to end the first day with either
Atmosphere or Tim Fite. We went with the latter, and
it was one our best decisions ever. That's right,
ever.
- John Laird -
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