By Yeowon Jung
Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black captures the bustling audience’s (and my) attention with its opening notes and rhythm. Timeless and smooth, Right Swipe reminds the excited crowd of a classic track and makes the stage their own. When I hear the saxophone sink its satin sound into the air, I observe a feeling of concrescence and behind it, a growing sense of anticipation. Then, Jabberwocky explodes onto the scene– a crowd energizer for sure, I mentally jot down. Jaws that bite, claws that catch… maybe not what Carroll imagined but the twisty, rough vocals emanate such a monster. Jabberwocky is chased by The Salem Witches. I’m excited for this and so is everyone else. I overhear a conversation. “Someone’s shit is getting rocked.” It’s an artful jumble of ecstatic movement, weighty noise, hands, and hair. And then it’s over and we wait.
With clear harmonics that ring in the space, giddiness is almost tangible. Haven and Hollow are hypnotic, their song sway hips and hands. The people move like a wave… a happy, merry wave. Joviality lingers above heads as another band and another classic manifests: The Little Green Guys covering Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive. The wave gets bigger and then splits into mini ones (rings of dancers and singers) as the Guys sing the fan favorites. Then, Fly Me to the Moon… I glance around, remembering my friend saying “This is my song.”
This next one might be a top three. Shop Dog radiates their own youth in a complete, perfected synergy. It is lively and lovely, fun and grand. Spaces that were left empty are filled with piercing aliveness until all my senses are focused devotedly on the figures on stage. I am enjoying this fully and contentedly.
After the band departs, we are greeted by the next band playing the familiar notes of Declan Mckenna’s Brazil. Another dancing song (I think, I don’t dance often enough). So the crowd dances and sings, and then I find my next favorite band. Strip is hardly stripped of anything at all. Rhythmic and smooth. I write down “a good set up of environment.” Each band/singer/musical group has its own environment, ecosystem, and if your ecosystem thrives, we can see it. Strip’s synergy competes with Shop Dog’s. I think they are both close to thriving.
These last two bands, in spite of their position, maintain the energy splendidly. Plastic Frog Offensive is powerful. I’m thinking of plastic frogs jumping up and down, scrambling over each other when I watch the crowd. So then maybe the people are their offense (because I hope they are not wielding plastic frogs as their primary weapon)? I quite like the title and it’s at this point where I start to look at the band names a bit more closely. Burgertown… I thought I had their name down with the Burger King crown but is it more than that? A town of burgers. I’m thinking about what the burger represents but then I realize their music is a lot more interesting. Just like the Plastic Frogs, they holster energy at their sides and create a noisy expanse. Plus, the lead vocalist has a cute burger hat.
Winners: Little Green Guys, Shop Dog, Strip, Burgertown
