B.O.M.B. Fest – Day 1

Enjoying its third year, B.O.M.B. Fest (Bring Our Music Back Festival) brought a wide array of musical talent to Hartford, CT for a two-day stay at the Comcast Theatre.  Headlined by Weezer and Snoop Dogg with key support from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Coheed and Cambria, Shpongle and Best Coast, the festival attracted a crowd as diverse as it’s line up (at least by Connecticut’s standards). Punks, dreaded Earth Children and “Internet seekers” navigated a maze of sunglass huts, ethnic food stands, and t-shirt entrepreneurs outside the arena.  B.O.M.B. Fest certainly covered all of its bases, showcasing a number of different genres, decades, and social circles throughout the weekend. Here are a few of the festival’s shining moments.

Boston-based David Wax Museum helped open the Budweiser stage before noon with a lively blend of Mexican and Americana sounds.  Classical guitar, fiddle, upright bass and an organic percussion salad of a donkey jawbone, tambourine and wooden box set a celebratory mood as the sun fought to break through the waning cloud cover.  Keep an eye on these guys, their fresh twist on the popular Americana resurgence  is catching ears and turning heads.

Free Energy followed on the Comcast main stage, bringing their scrappy rock ‘n roll revival to a small group of enthusiastic, dedicated fans. The charismatic Paul Sprangers (vocals) channeled Springsteen with his guitar gripping, female-toasting swagger.  Currently without their rhythm guitarist, Free Energy had been relying upon members of Titus Andronicus to help fill in.  Unfortunately, their van broke down while en route to Hartford, leaving Sprangers with no choice but to multi-task.   “Alright, we’re now at the part of the set where I don’t really know how to play the songs,” he joked before conferring with Scott Wells (lead guitar) on the next song’s chord progression.  ”We’re looking for a new guitarist, so if you shred, let us know.  Especially if you’re a lady.”  Despite the setbacks, their tight mix of power pop and good old fashioned rock music sounded surprisingly natural through the massive speaker stacks.

The Berklee bred Dirty Dishes followed with their own brand of shoegaze, mixing hushed female vocals with loud guitar and engaging drum rhythms.  Tempos shifted from lurching to frantic, crafting brooding backdrops for singer Jenny Tuite to offer her sickly sweet crooning.  Unfortunately, their songs seemed better suited for a blood red sunset or a dingy basement with a lone light bulb hovering above them, not an impossibly bright parking lot.  Environment aside, their performance was strong and certainly piqued my interest in their upcoming EP.  [Learn more about Dirty Dishes in their interview from B.O.M.B. Fest here.]

“If you’ve got weed, you should smoke it now,” declared Tubro Fruits‘ Jonas Stein (vocals, guitar) before jumping into their set of red-eyed hard rock.  Equally indebted to Motorhead and Eagles of Death Metal, the band rifled through track after track of outrageous rock with contagious enthusiasm.  Mixing indulgent guitars solos with bottom-heavy, rumbling riffs, the band balanced the intensity of metal with the carefree attitude of garage rock.  The result was messy, but sounded pretty damn good.

Titus Andronicus walked on to the main stage to a nearly full pit of eager listeners.  As the opening drum beats of “A More Perfect Union” boomed out, it became clear why they’ve attracted such a buzz over the last year.   Fists punched into the air with fingers outstretched as Patrick Stickles detailed his insecurities, the mysterious draw of New Jersey, and drinkin’ with the buddies over lo-fi indie punk.  Just as raw and urgent as on record, the band played like it was their last show.  Amy Klein (guitar, violin) never stopped jumping, her hair bobbing in time, as Stickles wailed on his guitar.  Paul Sprangers of Free Energy came out to join the group on “Titus Andronicus Forever,” screaming “The enemy is everywhere” as the heads in the pit shuffled around to the raucous tune.  Sweaty and smiling as they filed out after the performance, Titus had one the weekend’s best performances.

Afterward, I walked back over to the Budweiser stage where the infamous Dan Deacon was setting up his equipment.  Multicolored pedals, a pile of cables, and a midi keyboard rested upon a blue table as Deacon checked his sound.  Balding, flushed  and wearing shorts of questionable origin (lost and found?), Deacon does not look like a likely candidate to receive the “exprimental electronic music producer” tag.  Then again, there is nothing ordinary about a Dan Deacon set.  To say he makes left field electronic music is a gross understatement that doesn’t capture the positivity, inclusion, and pure zaniness of his performances.  Lines between audience and performer are blurred as Deacon whips the crowd up into a froth of dancing fools.  More than a musical artist, Deacon becomes the Crowd Conductor, leading them through dance circles, human bridges (“Baltihorse”), and interpreting the film Big through dance while he fiddles with the knobs, pedals, and keyboard spread across his table.  While his mash ups of fluttering synthesizers, bleeps & bloops, thundering bass, drum kit samples, and loops of feedback might not always be immediately accessible, they’re the soundtrack one of the most creative sets I’ve seen in some time.

The sweaty and sunburnt gathered en masse to cool off to Best Coast‘s infectious surf pop anthems.  Fronted by the smart-mouthed Bethany Cosantino (vocals, guitar), the group highlighted the fuzzy guitars, generous serving of reverb, and break up reflections found on their debut album Crazy for You. Using just guitar, bass, and drums, the songs left plenty of breathing room for Cosantino’s lush vocals, the songs nearly demanding a cool breeze and top-down cruising.  They also played a new song called “Gone Again,” which touched upon Cosantino’s cat, weed, and missing an ex.  Looks like fans of the band can expect more of the same, but something tells me they won’t mind.

The sun had set and the anticipation rose to a fever pitch as the start time for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros‘ set came and went.  Just as it seemed like they may not come on, the group walked up their respective instruments, their full set up nearly commanding the entire width of the stage.  Enigmatic front man Alex Ebert walked up towards the audience, crouched down, and began stomping his feat in time with the drum kicks that introduce “40 Day Dream.”  The rest of the band then entered in turn, using trumpet, piano, bells, and a slew of backup vocals to deliver an endlessly engaging performance.  The traveling family band vibe of the group gave their songs a quirky, theatrical feel.  Their set was unfortunately cut short, but they still had time to stretch their breakout single “Home” into an eight minute love epic, introducing each member of the band before culminating into an arena filling sing-a-long.

Pop rock heavyweights Weezer may have been the biggest surprise of the whole festival.  Often criticized by older fans for losing their touch, the vets followed a simple formula of giving the people what they wanted.  Drawing primarily from The Blue Album and Pinkerton, Weezer steered clear of new material for most of the night, instead opting for classics like “El Scorcho,” “Undone (The Sweater Song),” and “Hash Pipe.”   “Any Pinkerton fans in the building?” Rivers Cuomo (guitars, vocals) teased before opening into the feel good 1996 single “The Good Life.”  On top of that, the band looked genuinely happy to playing their songs, even to a half-full stadium.   They dug deep, playing the Blue Album b-side about their first A&R assistant at Geffen Records, “Susanne,” alongside Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.”  By the time “Buddy Holly” wrapped up the night, Weezer proved why they’re still a wonderfully fun rock band even if their records “ain’t what they used to be.”

Check back soon for the second day’s coverage!