It was a fun-filled day of sweat and cheers this past Saturday as some of music's finest alternative acts took stage at the Student Activities Building. For the second straight year, the University played host to the Fest Full of Rock, a day-long event designed to bring together some of the less-known, yet remarkable talents in today's underground scene. With the strong efforts of PK German, a subcommittee of the University Programs Council, the show was another great success.
Festivities commenced around noon as local rock heroes Ted Stryker's Drinking Problem hit the stage. Playing cheerful tunes to a relatively small crowd, the band ripped through their set rather quickly, sounding like a hearty offshoot of Reggie and the Full Effect. After forgetting their own lyrics and performing a solid cover of The Cars' "Just What I Needed," the group ended with crowd-favorite, "Goonies," only to announce that it would be their second to last show ever. AA must have worked.
Next up was The Out Circuit, a spacy four-piece whose knack for uncanny jam rock had onlookers impressed. While the majority of their set consisted of instrumental pieces, they occasionally brought out their vocal glow, which revealed their more emotional, heavy influences. Fans of Tool might want to tap into this group.
One of the day's highlights was El Guapo, a D.C.-based trio gracing the fine roster of Dischord Records. Deriving much of their strength from the beats of a drum machine, the band possessed an eccentric stage presence unrivaled by any of the other performers. Acting rather bizarrely was their drummer/bassist, who shamelessly danced and made strange faces as if it were customary. With well-layered vocals and lyrical intellect, El Guapo was sure to have made a notable mark on many.
Engine Down had the pleasure of following El Guapo, and luckily, they did so with poise and professionalism. The rather mellow quartet evoked passion in their performance, exercising multiple tempo changes as they tore through much of their latest release, "Demure." Having not played live for some time, the band appeared somewhat stiff, but still felt comfortable enough to test out some newer, unrecorded material on the audience. For the most part, however, Engine Down executed everything just fine, wooing the crowd in the process.
By nightfall, Canada's favorite indie experimentalists, The Unicorns, had taken stage. From technical difficulties to crowd heckling, their performance had it all. All three members sported pink suits to accompany their already whacked-out musical compositions. They frequently exchanged instruments throughout the set, which engaged the crowd more than any other performance that day. At one point, both front men latched onto the rafters, swinging their way towards the sea of spectators, where they ultimately fell and crowd surfed. It was the witty jokes, storytelling, and overall incredible crowd interaction, however, that made this performance stand out. Who knows what else those guys have up their sleeves?
The heaviest act of the night was undoubtedly Hopesfall, who wreaked havoc for their entire 60-minute set. Barging into screams and finger-tapping guitar work from the onset, the group ignited a decently sized mosh pit, which was sadly tainted by the antics of a few inexperienced, hardcore concert goers. Halfway into their set, the group stopped to shore up support for their hometown football team, the Carolina Panthers, in Sunday's Super Bowl. They then proceeded to tear up the stage with an onslaught of songs from their most recent Trustkill record, "The Satellite Years."
One of the last bands to go up was Pretty Girls Make Graves, the lone female-fronted group of the day. Microphone mishaps detracted from the band's opening number, which otherwise set the precedent for the rest of the performance. While solid fan support boosted the quality of their set, it was the poignant voice of their singer that really shined through. The dim red stage coloration and full capacity building made for an excellent environment to play in as well, although the fatigue of a long day seemed to have taken its toll on the crowd by the time Pretty Girls finished.
All in all, the Fest Full of Rock proved to be an excellent display of music for those who attended. With the monotony of Charlottesville jam rock growing ever so old, it was nice to see a more diverse array of music hit the town. Hopefully, this event will not be the last of its kind.
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