by Notes from Vivace
Eagle Rock Music Festival. I came across the Eagle Rock Music Festival three years ago. Since that time, I’ve placed it on my calendar as one of those yearly Los Angeles events I like to attend – such as the LA Times Book Festival and the International Tamale Festival (November 13-15, 2009, by the way). This year, I had a heightened excitement for the festival, because last year I skipped it. If I recall correctly, I thought it was going to rain and so I discounted it as a possible evening outing. When the weather turned out to be perfect a sense of disappointment swept over me, because I’d already made other plans with some friends – I know, somewhat pathetic since it is just a music festival.
When the band list came out on myspace I immediately took a look. I quickly realized that I was going to have a different experience this year versus my first year at the festival. This year was going to be fabulous, because I knew so many of the bands playing. The first time I’d gone, I hadn’t heard of any of the bands and it was a night of exploration. Exploration versus familiarity.
As the night of the festival came closer, I checked in with one of my friends to see if she planned on going. She was a go and gave me the name of the first band to see: Leslie and the Badgers. They were on at 6 p.m.
I spent Saturday afternoon hanging with some friends at Barnsdall Park. When 5 p.m. rolled around I said my good-byes and told a handful of them where I’d be if they wanted to hang out later in the day. All declined except for two friends who seemed rather excited about heading out. I told them where to find me and off I headed to Eagle Rock. (I never ran into them at the festival so I just assumed that they had decided not to come, but a week later one of them came up and told me how awesome the night was.) I parked at the Eagle Rock Shopping Mall where there was a free shuttle to the festival. Being a bit naïve about this since I’d always just parked closer to the event in previous years, I stood near the bus stop looking for a shuttle. I didn’t see anyone else hanging around for a shuttle so I just took off on foot.
I arrived at the Emerging Stage a little after 6 p.m., but the bands were a tad behind schedule so I got to see Leslie and the Badgers’ full set. I ran into my friend as well as a couple other friends during the set. After Leslie and the Badgers ended their set, we roamed around for awhile. During our roaming, we ran into another couple friends. This was suddenly becoming an awesome night of not only listening to bands, but also getting to hang with friends. A smaller group of us decided that we needed to get something to eat so the group split up with some of us crossing the street to Oinkster. Oinkster was crowded and I was concerned that we’d miss seeing some bands that we wanted to see, but the service was fast and the Oinkster staff was great.
We next headed over to the Razorcake Stage, but got sidetracked briefly at the Pep Boys stage where French Semester was playing. They sounded great, but we didn’t stick around too long as we wanted to continue up to the Razorcake Stage. (I have to say that I want to catch the French Semester sometime, because they really did sound good.) We then got sidetracked a second time at the Welcome Inn where Bonne Musique Zydeco played on the second floor walkway of the inn. There was a nice dance crowd in the parking lot. This is also where I found myself temporarily separated from my friends. I sent off a text message. I figured that perhaps they had continued on over to the Razorcake Stage, but when I got there none of them were there. I checked my phone and still hadn’t gotten a response back. So I circled back down and found them at the Welcome Inn. They were dancing away. Stupid me for not doing a full exploration of the Welcome Inn parking lot before heading off to the Razorcake Stage.
After the sidetracks, we continued our way towards the Razorcake Stage where we caught The Woolly Bandits. After their set, we headed back to Pep Boys to catch Nico Stai. My friends really liked his set. Then we headed back to the Emerging Stage where we caught Jail Weddings. Actually, only two of us caught Jail Weddings. Two others left to get some drinks. This group separation later led to a frantic phone call about where we might be located. Of course, I couldn’t even hear anything over the phone. I finally managed to get across to my friend where we were at – still at the Emerging Stage area. We met up again and it so happened that at that time my friend realized I’d sent her a text message awhile back. Note: I saw four teenagers, dancing in a circle while Jail Wedding played. I liked their enthusiasm.
After re-connecting, we headed all the way back up to the Razorcake stage to see Underground Railroad to Candyland. When we got there, I headed to the front of the stage where I saw a couple of my friends going crazy. (We’re not positive, but we – my Barnsdall Park friends and me — concluded that they also saw Underground Railroad to Candyland. They really enjoyed their set. Somehow I just didn’t see them.) This was where many of my friends seemed to congregate. If I counted correctly, there were fifteen of us.
Honestly, starting with Underground Railroad to Candyland, I found it tough to make decisions about which bands to see. At the same time as Underground Railroad to Candyland, Pity Party was playing at Pep Boys. Towards the end of Underground Railroad to Candyland, I made the tough choice to ditch their last two songs and my friends, and head back to the Pep Boys stage to catch Dusty Rhodes and the River Band. I caught most of Dusty Rhodes and then headed off to catch a bit of No Age at the Emerging Stage. No Age was the featured band of the night. I actually didn’t listen much to their set. I had too much fun watching their fans. There was a group just in front of the stage that was jumping in rhythm with the sounds of the band. Then there were three or so guys that were stage diving. The stage was set high off the ground and if no one caught you, you were road kill. The band took notice at one point and one of the band members yelled out, “You guys be careful out there.” As I was about to leave, I noticed a couple teenage girls moving out of the crowd, laughing. I’m speculating that they were rather excited about their mosh pit experience?
From No Age, I headed back to the Pep Boy stage to see the last few songs of Happy Hallows. For Happy Hollows, did I actually see a mosh pit form?
And so that ended the night of music. But before I left, I had to buy a pupusa from one of the food stands. If you haven’t ever had a pupusa, you’re missing out on one of the great food joys of life. Then I managed to find the Eagle Rock Shopping Mall shuttle and rode it back. I realized that I was supposed to park next to Macy’s. (And what about my friends that I’d left at Underground Railway to Candyland . . . they all vanished though I did get a text from one friend saying they needed to go home.)
Here’s a time line from my night out along with some stolen info from the Eagle Rock Program.
6:00 p.m. Leslie and the Badgers. Featuring a classically trained Taiwanese fiddler and led by an Oxy alum, Leslie and the Badgers’ repertoire includes odes to the country and the neighborhood, including “Ballpark Lights” about Dodger Stadium.
7:30. French Semester. A band that’s forged from the immigrant experience of its members from Vietnam, India, and the Philippines – California harmonies about the globalization of everyday life.
7:30. Bonne Musique Zydeco. The balcony of the Route-66-era Welcome Inn, built in 1950, will feature the infectious , danceable music of Bonne Musique Zydeco, led by Louisiana-born Angeleno Bervick J. Deculus BMZ specializes in the music of Louisiana and East Texas, drawing upon Creole and Cajun tradition as well as classic New Orleans blues.
7:40. The Woolly Bandits. Started as Sky Saxon’s backing band, the band features Tracy “Skull” Garcia of Thee Undertakers and former Disney star Christa Collins on vocals, whose good girl voice has grown into a force to be reckoned with.
8:30. Nico Stai. His album Park Los Angeles tells stories of wandering city like it was a small town, looking for promise.
9:00. Jail Weddings. A 10-piece musical extravaganza that blends 60’s soul with “swamp punk” to reawaken an Eagle Rock of sock hops, classic cars, heartbreak and Route 66.
9:30: Underground Railroad to Candyland. A San Pedro brain trust that employs Toys that Kill as a launch pad: energetic party songs, smoke-hooked melodies all in a DIY punk context.
10:00. Dusty Rhodes and the River Band: Mixing Gospel, Motown, and folk with a Celtic swagger; Dusty Rhodes and the River Band features two 4th generation Japanese-Americans and a Brazil-born Korean guitarist – all of whom now find their home in the iconic ‘burbs of SoCal.
10:15. No Age: Experimental lo-fi drum-and-guitar sound is part of a tradition of Los Angeles’ the Smell. As Smell residents, No Age began playing small shows, running sound, booking artists, and participating in the community. The success of their 2008 album Nouns has brought No Age to venues such as the New Museum and to festivals around the country.
10:30. Happy Hallows. Sarah Neghadari has led the Happy Hollows with wild abandon since 2006 “Noisepop” played fast, irreverent and melodic, with expressive and edgy hyper-feminine vocals.
Note: I do hope that the Eagle Rock Music Festival doesn’t turn into Sunset Junction in a few years where you need to pay $20 to listen to bands. I have to admit that I like the free admission concept – though I wouldn’t be opposed to paying a modest admission price to help with expenses.
A totally random shout out to a favorite band of mine, Spider Problem: Their sets are either brilliant or indicate a tendency towards implosion. I am never sure which observation is correct, making it an adventure every time I see them.
