Big Ass Boombox Festival – 01/13/12
As whispers started to float around about the Big Ass Boombox Festival, there wasn’t much known. A bunch of bands, a few venues in Old Town, free, be there or be square. Bands started to announce their bookings and even they didn’t know much about it. Finally, about a week or two before, it was finally announced: 20 awesome NW bands, four venues within a couple blocks of each other, plenty of all ages options, all organized by Eirean Bradley of Hollywood Tans and Portland’s musical Renaissance man Arya Imig.
With a long night of great free music ahead, nothing less than tired legs and lots of beer were expected. Kicking off the night at Backspace was local three piece gone two piece Profcal. Though they were missing their bassist, the few songs we heard sounded tight and well put together, especially for only being juniors in high school. Their grinding post-rock was a great way to start the juices flowing for the quickly growing crowd. One beer down.
Following Profcal at Backspace, the inevitable festival challenge was upon us. With so many great bands playing, schedule conflicts forced missed sets even among a smaller pool to choose from. The Torn ACLs got our nod instead of the three other groups and it turned out to be a good choice. Opening their set with “Two Four Six Eight” from their album Make A Break, Make a Move, their melodic power pop hit with a bang. Instantly catchy and forever hummable, the Seattleites were cool and confident on stage and were often reminiscent of early Weezer. Not wanting to miss out on the rest of the venues, it was off to the SoHiTek gallery to catch the end of The Morals. Two beers down.
SoHiTek operates as a record label for local Portland acts as well as running a small art gallery, currently displaying awesome concert posters from some top Portland bands. Tucked into a corner of the small space was an acoustic set from Ben Hubbird and Casey Jarman of The Morals, with smiling fans packed around them in any nook or cranny they could find. The two veterans intimately bantered between themselves and the crowd, with Ben jamming on guitar and Casey breaking out his harmonica every so often. Both playfully improvised on every song, seemingly inventing new verses and giggling to themselves. After finishing up a couple heart felt call and response songs, they said their final goodbyes and turned the room over to Fanno Creek, literally setup on the complete other side of the room, about ten feet away. Three beers.
By some sick twist of fate, three of our favorite Portland bands were all playing at the same exact time, so we had choices to make. Two songs at each of the first two, and finish it off at the third in time to catch our breath and grab a drink. Fanno Creek at SoHiTek was a complete departure from The Morals. Ditching the acoustic for plenty of amps, the trio did what they do best. Folk pop, at times loud and grating and other times soft and soothing, the room packed in tighter as people continually streamed in. The crowd attempted to dance to “I Am Learning” which the band had recently shot a video for, yet there was no room. Always a good sign. Two songs in, it was back to Backspace. About four beers now.
The We Shared Milk were already at full speed at Backspace while the room had completely filled out at the all ages venue. While the band sounded as great as always from what we heard, the guys admitted afterwards that a lot had gone wrong when we left. The crowd sure looked like it was still enjoying itself. Two songs pass and we’re next door at Someday Lounge for Charts for what turned out to be the set of the night.
We had only caught Charts before at small venues, playing in corners with no real sound system to speak of, and it was great. Their performance at Someday Lounge took them to new heights in our eyes as they sounded bigger and better than ever. Guitarist Michael Rowan croons beautifully over his guitar and dances in place at his center stage microphone. Bassist Andrew Clyde roams the room, bringing the show to everyone there, whether they like it or not. Josh Smith bangs his drums masterfully, never looking out of his league or in a hurry. Much like San Francisco’s garage pop scene, Charts draw a lot of inspiration from early-60s garage rock and psychedelic pop. Rattling guitars, reverb all over the place, and an overall carefree attitude makes the band an instant hit inside the venue and one to watch in the future. As the band wrapped up, we head over to Backspace for Queued Up. Beer number six.
Queued Up plays some pretty solid power pop, if not a bit manufactured. They list one of their influences as The Hives, even going as far as dressing in unfortunate full black suits. As superficial as it is, it’s hard to look past that. A quick jaunt to the bar and back out there for the hard hitting Sons of Huns.
Loud, fast, and sloppy are three words that sum up a Sons of Huns show perfectly. This is the type of band that has patches for you to sew onto your denim jacket and they’re awesome. The first mosh pit of the night shows up at the all ages side of the night as the band’s thrasher garage rock turns the room into a sweat box. At this point, food is desperately needed and the “Boom Box Nachos” don’t sound so appealing, so over to Theo’s for a sandwich and more beer.
As it turns out, the food was the end of the night, mixing with the beer and sending us into an instant zombie like sleep walk. Tiger House seemed to be doing all they know how to do back at Backspace, closing the night out with a high energy synth-pop show with the whole room dancing. We would’ve loved to stay to the end, but sleep was already upon us.
Here’s to hoping Big Ass Boombox Festival part two is as great as the first. Everyone involved seemed to be having an awesome time and Portland music really showed what it has to offer.
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