The Summer Side Show 9 experience: Part 4

Read part 1, part 2, and part 3 of the Summer Side Show 9 experience!

As darkness settled over the festival, Misfortune500, one of my top Athens favorites and the band sweet enough to share their Summer Side Show adventure with me, began setting up. A few weeks ago, I tweeted that I could happily see this band play a live show once a week and still never get sick of them, and since that time, I've actually caught them in action about that often. Hey, it's true! Misfortune500's strong and dark alt rock is so powerful, I just can't get enough of their sound. And I'm definitely not alone. Curious fans, seeing the intense display of lights and pure rock from afar, ventured over throughout their brilliant set to join their crowd of fans as they ruled the show. Even on a stage sandwiched between Attila's monstrously loud tunes and American Idol contestant Bo Bice's songs from across the river, Misfortune500 owned the evening and, after their set was tragically cut short, left us dying for so much more of their style. In fact, the guy standing right in front of me during the show said that it was, by far, the best act he'd seen all day. What an impression!

And then, there was nothing left to see but the headliner. Creators of iconic 90s hit Sex and Candy, Marcy Playground topped off the night on the main stage, lit by Misfortune500's awesome lights, in front of a crowd of mostly teens too young to actually remember their biggest hit in its heyday. Now, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from these guys since I, like most of the audience, only knew one of their tunes. During the set, their sound ranged from almost metal to more southern rock which, all in all, was pretty well-crafted. Unfortunately, though, until they performed the song that everyone eagerly awaited, their hearts just didn't seem to be in the performance. I suppose, after all those years of being known for one great tune, it can be hard to maintain enthusiasm for the others. When the time came to satisfy the fans' craving, however, all of the band members threw themselves into the song and even got the fans to join in, proving that there are some things, like Sex and Candy, that never go out of style.

After that intense heat and all of those bands and those wild sights and sounds, I really only have one thing left to say. Wow, what a day!

You can check out the full coverage of the entire Summer Side Show 9 experience right here!

The Summer Side Show 9 experience: Part 3

Click for part 1 and part 2 of the Summer Side Show 9 experience!

Breezes finally arrived to ease the heat of the day by late afternoon. Sweeter, more melodic tunes rode these breezes into our ears from every corner of the field as the general tone of the festival began to soften.

Over on the main stage, Florida's Quiet Science began their set of soft, soothing rock. The band's pure quality sound drew me straight out of the merch tent and across the field. From the instant I first heard them, I really enjoyed their style, but something about them just seemed so familiar. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what it was until, finally, it hit me. I had seen them before over a year ago at the Caledonia! I had even written about their set way back then. Small world!

The next band to catch my attention was a group so memorable that, even though I never caught their name during their set, I felt like it would be tragic not to do some research to that end. Apparently, they're called Lost on LeMans, and they hail from Columbus, GA. There was just something about this band's attitude that reminded me of Athens' own Reptar. Maybe it was the beach balls flying through the air, the insane Justin Bieber t-shirt worn by one member, or the guy who crowdsurfed onstage to sing into the mic with the lead singer, but their show garnered the same level of unbridled excitement from their many fans as our town's pop rulers. Different from Reptar, though, was their sound which had a distinct Fallout Boy feel to it that their crowd clearly enjoyed.

Just a while later, quiet singer-songwriter style tunes guided me back to the main stage where I found the Great Paper Castle. Their songs, infused with trumpet-woven melodies, had me smiling instantly, and I simply fell in love with their sweet lyrics. Quite a find!

Then the solid, radio-ready soft rock of Ocean is Theory finished out the daylight hours. With night fast approaching, some of the most anticipated acts of the evening were just a few moments away!

Check back tomorrow for more documentation of the purely crazy Summer Side Show 9 experience!

The Summer Side Show 9 experience: Part 2

For Part 1 of the Summer Side Show 9 experience, click here!

As the heat climbed to even more unbearable heights, I knew that every band's set I caught would be a violent battle between myself and the sun's harsh rays. So, armed with a can of SPF 70 sunscreen and a full bottle of lemonade-flavored Vitamin Water (that stuff's expensive but I highly recommend it), I journeyed forth to find more rad bands.

By an awesome stroke of luck, I ran into Athens rockers Come What May who began setting up on a stage just a few feet away. They've long been on my list of bands to see, so I settled myself onto the warm grass to await their set. From my vantage point, I found myself facing a most curious sight. Apparently, several guys, eager to have a side of shade with their tunes, opted to hear their favorite bands play while seated underneath the stages. Pretty clever, actually!

A few moments later, Come What May stepped onstage to blast our ears with their tunes. Characterized by a hardcore indie rock sound infused with intense melodies, strong vocals, rare punk elements, and the occasional death scream, their style was, without a doubt, a quality cross-genre production. Keyboards and even jingle bells mixed with the standard guitar, bass, and drum fare to give them quite a unique feel. The minute they began to play, several kids came rushing from all over the festival to check out their set. Gathered at the very front of the crowd, a few new fans even started dancing so exuberantly that the band offered to give them t-shirts for their enthusiasm. Nice! Rockin', writhing, and head banging across the entire length of the stage, the band members finished out their set with an awesome show of energy and sound.

Once Come What May's set ended, I wandered over to the main stage to catch a few of the earthy yet ethereal creations of the musician called Panda. While it was unfortunate that there were a few sound and mic issues during the set, when everything was working as planned the simple keyboard tones blended with the exotic texture of the rain stick to create a style like no other. Most tragically, though, it was during this set that I began exhibiting all of the early signs of heat stroke, so I high-tailed it back to Misfortune500's merch tent before my heat-induced state of mental confusion had me laughing at the trees like it did last Athfest.

After relieving my headache, becoming less disoriented, and recovering vision in my left eye, I decided to give myself a bit of a rest and cool down with the help of Jordan's life-saving misting fan. Most joyfully, though, I was able to stave off any boredom I might have had while confined to the tent, thanks to all the sights and sounds of the festival that surrounded us. From my seat, I could see one band squirting silly string all over their fans while tossing beach balls over the crowd's heads. I also couldn't help but notice one drummer's less than savory exposure of his entire backside as he was beating away on his drums. The most ridiculous sight, however, had to be the man in the head-to-toe, face-covering black lycra bodysuit who hugged on a few girls he didn't seem to know before running off in the opposite direction. Just plain weird. Best of all, though, I had the chance to hear a bit of the funk-style rock tunes of Surround Sound on the stage behind the tent. I liked what I heard!

Finally, after a few hours of recovery, I was back to the grind again thanks to some unbelievable, professional-grade songs that reached my ears from afar. Over on the main stage, I found that Columbia, SC's Sent By Ravens had gathered a huge crowd of fans yearning for a taste of their true rock. Seriously, this band had just the right amount of every element of progressive rock tucked into their tunes. And such energy! Wow, I wish I had managed to see their whole set. As it is, just the one track I saw them play was enough to get me hooked! And, as that melody ended, late afternoon arrived, bringing with it a lineup of band after quality band.

Check back tomorrow for more documentation of the purely crazy Summer Side Show 9 experience!

The Summer Side Show 9 experience: Part 1

This past weekend was most eventful! Quite unexpectedly, I was invited to join my friend Jordan and the always-spectacular band Misfortune500 for a trip to Columbus, GA's festival of tunes, Summer Side Show. For me, it was my first true look into the action behind the scenes, from start to finish, of a day-long multistage show. Exciting, indeed!

The day started off rather early as hundreds of band members gathered to await the verdict on where and when they would be rockin' for the fans. Surrounded by a crowd of mostly high schoolers, my pals and I were certainly some of the oldest people there, but since we all looked to be somewhere around the age of sixteen, we blended in perfectly. Fashion-wise, however, it seemed we were a bit out of the loop since, despite the already intense heat of the early morning, we were standing amidst a sea of black fabric. No one, though, was more overdressed for the mid-day sun than the guy sporting the Batman costume who passed the time during the two long hours of band registration walking back and forth between the band area and the tent beside his own unique, gun-adorned version of the "batmobile". Oh, the things you see at music festivals! Finally, after quite a bit of waiting around and hiding from the sun's rays in the ever-shrinking shadows, the bands were given their time slots for the four stages that faced outwards in a rectangle in the middle of a large field on Columbus State's campus. Scrambling for what I would call a "prime real estate" spot, we quickly pitched Misfortune500's merch tent and set about displaying the goods. It was then that the cacophony of metal engulfed us from every angle.

Now I'll be honest, I'm not the world's biggest metal fan. Just like in most genres, I'll take the best and leave the rest. But even if I was a huge fanatic for screamo metal, that crushing mountain of sound would have been overwhelming. See, that's why earplugs are always a good idea! And that, kids, was my public service announcement for today. ANYway, after jamming in my industrial grade ones (best gift my brother ever gave me), I ventured out into the dire heat to scope out some quality tunes. And, joy upon joy, it wasn't long until I found some!

The first rockin' musician to catch my ears was creative rapper G Nasty. I only heard a small bit of his set, but the taste I did manage to get of his tracks put a sure smile on my face. My next find was a band whose name sure sounded like The Old New Standard, but since I've been able to find nothing of their particular existence online, I am tragically uncertain of their identity. No matter who they were, though, I must say their quality classic rock was a welcome choice! Finishing out the discoveries of my first few rounds of the stages, Asheville, North Carolina's Issachar grabbed my attention with their jazzy take on the metal genre, especially during their last few more melody-driven tunes. I couldn't stay long, though, because by that point, the heat became unbearable enough to warrant another trip back to Misfortune500's merch tent for a much needed bit of shade.

Check back tomorrow for more documentation of the purely crazy Summer Side Show 9 experience!