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The Fest 3 took place on Halloween weekend of 2004. Set in
Gainesville, FL, the city No Idea Records calls home, the annual
event occupied four clubs and was proficiently and not so
proficiently captured by three separate film crews. This DVD
presents a no frills approach to the events. Split into three
chapters The Fest 3 DVD offers a wide array of bands
ranging from the melodic and quasi-sumptuous to the lowbrow and
the mundane.
First up are the events that took place at 2nd
Avenue’s bar Common Grounds. This is actually the chapter that
presents a more professional look and sound. In it we can
also witness performances by the most high profile acts on the
bill. We find bands like The Lovekill (still so so post
hardcore), Mercury Program (chugging Pabst Blue Ribbon and delivery a
spacey guitar driven instrumental), Fing Fang Foom (two
keyboards at work make for a limited rocking space), Bishop
Allen (the opposite of metalcore or hardcore for that matter,
sunny pop with a Talking Heads obsession), married couple Mates
of State (beloved duo finally are the first to truly get the
crowd going), Stressface (are you down with the brown?
Plus a totally catchy and aggressive cut make for one of the
most memorable performances), The Saint Catherines (stage seems
way too small for a six-piece), Glasses and Ashes (saw them live
a couple of years back and don’t remember a thing, nice to know
what they look like. Vital angry punk with angular guitars and
elusive choruses), Memphis’ Lucero (one of the highlights of the
DVD), The Blood Brothers (whose flailing spazz really gets the
crowd rowdy and whose body types seem to be asking the question,
could you please spare some cash for food?), the
regionally adored Against Me! (homely melodies and a gruffy
voice make for some of the most memorable punk rock of the
times), Moments in Grace (either their guitars are really small
or they are really tall men), Fue the Fire (Bozo the clown meets
Scandinavian black metal, oh wait is Halloween!) Planes Mistaken
For Stars (scolding track, yet the crowd remains unfazed) and
Hot Water Music (play clergymen and deliver
fantastic punk rock).
The second chapter of the Fest takes place at The Side Bar,
where things get smaller, grainier, fuzzier and perhaps even
sweatier. The recording is less crisp and despite the lower
profile of the bands in tow the energy is still there. Here we
get bands like Whisky & Co. (country tinged rock led by a
female singer), The Tim Version (the singer has an awesome
mustache, plus their music gets the people pushy), The Horror
(great song but unfortunately because the recording is poor is
hard to appreciate), Toys That Kill (the people have fun, what can we
say?) along other acts like Rehasher, Rogue Set, Ninja Gun,
Dukes of Hillsborough.
At this point we are two hours into The Fest, but wisely No
Idea has kept some of the juiciest stuff for last. Too bad
the recording does not reflect the sound quality of the actual
show, because it is at The Atlantic where things actually get
rowdy and truly rocking. The general profile of the bands
is much more aggressive plus the knee-high stage makes for a
more intimate experience. Here the crowd is literally up
in the band’s face and the sweat is swirling communally.
The bulk of the bands is much more aggressive and generally
delivers some of the most pounding and memorable songs.
Here we get Army of Ponch, Circle Takes The Square (how old are
these guys? 13?), Escape Grace, Jerico, The Holy Mountain, and
what is in our opinion one of the highlights of this DVD,
Savannah, GA’S promising sons Baroness whose mixed of modern and classic metal
obliterates all our former ideas about who was the best at this
fest.
Kudos to the people from No Idea Records for pulling such
commendable celebration. Surely, people in attendance are still
salivating at the mere thought of it. The downside is clear the
subpar recording of the second and third chapters do not reflect
the music like it should. Still, The Fest 3 comes highly
recommended simply because the span of the bands, in number and
genre, reflects an open idiosyncrasy rarely seen in music DVD’S.
The label is actually releasing The Fest 4 and 5 really soon,
so keep your eyes and ears wide open.
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