Thursday was our first day of us covering the 35 Conferette here in Denton, TX. Words cannot even begin to describe how amazing it was. We saw 02D2, Mondo Drag, White Arrows, Analogue Rebellion, Achtone!, and Dr. Dog. We even rounded the evening out with the always fun Fishboy. We interviewed 3 members of Achtone!, and even Eric Michener(Fishboy himself).
The afternoon started at 4:30 when R2B2 took the stage. They are an experimental/folk/soul 2 piece from Denton. The singer, Ryan Becker, also plays guitar while Grady Sandlin is the man behind the drums. They sounded great during instrumental parts. It felt like two dudes just jamming and making great music. Ryan's unique vocal style really adds to the overall experience, and when he's just rocking out on guitar its obvious that he loves what he does.
Goon, one of the songs from their new album, was one of my favorites. It uses their classic vocals paired with Grady's drumming style to create something that's really unique and sounds great.
After R2B2, we saw Mondo Drag from Davenport Iowa. Their genre is "Psychedlic Space Rock". They had radical keyboard effects going on, the whole band was just jamming as hard as possible at times. It sounded like 80's post rock but with an indie vibe to it. It rocked, but not in an overwhelming way. It worked out really well, and I look forward to seeing them when they come into town again.
White Arrows came next, and they were pretty awesome too. The lead singer was fun and had a great vibe going on with the crowd. Random band members played a communal drum. It was very creative and helped make the performance feel one of a kind. The keyboardist used a laptop for added sound effects, and it was pretty cool to see the use of technology in music. Imagine if the Beach Boys were to form today, and had a electronic sound. That's kind of what I'd describe it as. The vocals were pretty cool with an eclectic drummer. Everything combined to create one hell of a great show!
Analogue Rebillion was awesome too. Its the product of Daniel Hunter, from Aledo, Texas who calls its genre "Stadium Lo-Fi". It's probably the best way to describe the sound - Stadium rock, but with a lo-fi feel - I'd say. Daniel was having a great time on stage with his guitar. He danced around stage and just created an awesome feel for everything. The drummer was really getting into them music as well. Like White Arrows, Analogue Rebellion used a ton of technology in their music - even with an Imac on stage. Some of the songs felt really powerful, while others were incredibly relaxing.
Following Analogue Rebellion, we went to Achtone!'s show on the square. Their music is self described by their bassist, Hunter as "Psychedlic Space Rock". Think of Pink Floyd, but in 2011 and made in Denton. There you go! It was pretty cool, and they put on a great show. Easily one of my favorite acts of the evening. We actually did an interview with the band afterward at The Hydrant so look forward to reading more about this band.
After that was the main attraction: Dr.Dog. They were awesome, which is what you'd expect. It was just getting dark as they went on, so the lighting and effects were amazing. They rocked and the crowd was insane! Everyone enjoyed it, and their keyboards, vocals, and guitars all worked really well to create their blues-ish sound that most know.
After the Dr.Dog show, we spent some time talking to Eric Mitchener before his show. He was a really nice guy and told us tons of stuff about Fishboy's past, present, and future. We're still polishing up that interview too, but look forward to it in the next day or so.
Then we ate at Geo's Pizza and drank red bull before going to Fishboy's show.(Interlude)
Fishboy rocked so hard. Fishboy is the musical vision of Eric Mitchener and last night their bassist and drummer there to create the full band. He played Taqueria girl, Aaron The Astronaut, and a ton of songs from old albums. He jumped around on stage, the bassist grooved around, and the drummer drummed his heart out, and the whole crowd was dancing and head bobbing along with the music. It was extremely amazing! They really show what good music should be. Fun, whimsical, a little silly, and just genuinely entertaining. Dan's silver leaf provided a really intimate atmosphere and Fishboy really shined.
I'm totally exhausted from last night's craziness, and we probably won't be covering much(or anything) Saturday, but look forward to Sunday's events. Portugal the man, !!!, and some other awesome bands will be playing!
35 Conferrete - Day 2
