INSPIRED RHYMER Lunchbagg. |
August, already? Yes indeed, and AS220’s annual block party known as Foo Fest is upon us — it’s hands-down the best $7 you will shell out this summer. Once again, Foo Fest 2013 will be rocking for 12 hours straight and boasts a varied and supremely stacked lineup of Rhody-based artists (on two stages) expertly inclined to rock-the-fuck-out, as well as national headliner SSION serving the role of requisite rump-shaker on the Empire Street outdoor stage (dude has some pretty big shoes to fill, considering the bootylicious bangers served up by Big Freedia & the Divas last year). There will also be the Mini Maker Faire, family fun, and plenty of brews and mobile eats to fuel your Foo Fest experience.
From VulGarrity to Vudu Sister, Medusah Black to Lolita Black, no genre gets left behind at Foo Fest. With more than 20 acts scheduled to perform, there certainly is something for everyone, and this year the Foo folks have conveniently gathered tracks from a handful of participating artists for your streaming pleasure (at soundcloud.com/as220). I’ve been hopped up on the gnarled blues of “Drank Too Much Devil” by PVD/Boston duo Cannibal Ramblers and look forward to their self-proclaimed brand of “unusual Delta swamp backwater stomp” when Mark Milloff and Kyle Anderson hit the outdoor stage at 2:30 pm.
Keith McCurdy and his Vudu Sister returned with a vengeance a few months back behind the excellent sophomore release Household Items, the rocking follow-up to the much mellower 2012 debut Bastard Children. The Low Anthem’s Ben Knox-Miller (and assorted Columbus Theatre brethren like Bryan Minto and Alex Garzone) jumped onboard and assisted McCurdy in delivering one of the best local albums of the year. Vudu Sister will command the indoor stage around 3:15 pm — file under Highly Recommended.
Veteran “psychedelic garage rock” quartet Atlantic Thrills are known for shredding stages with whiskey-soaked bravado, and just wrapped up a tour that spanned from here to Atlanta. The AT’s will take the indoor stage at 8:50 pm.
Some talented young bucks will deliver alt-pop and blues at Foo Fest, with singer-songwriter-pianist Clyde Lawrence (dude wrote a song that was featured in the film Miss Congeniality — at age six!) playing the outdoor stage at 5 pm, and Dylan Sevey & the Gentlemen will let loose on the indoor stage at 2:15 pm. I’m looking forward to catching my first 14 Foot 1 set (featuring Casey Belisle of the Rice Cakes) upon hearing the three tracks from a new seven-inch titled Two.
Apparently one-man noise assaults are a hot ticket this year (this is Providence, after all), what with the chaotic noise of Adam Morosky’s seizure-inducing Time-ghost (7:40 pm) and the highly anticipated set from Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale, aka Black Pus (9:50 pm). Chippendale is sure to rattle the cerumen right out of your fucking ears.
On the other end of the sonic spectrum, I was slightly disappointed by the minimal amount of local hip-hop acts on this year’s roster, but we will get a return performance from AS220’s ZuKrewe youth troupe (3:30 pm). And consider me among the uninitiated when it comes to punk-inspired rhymer Lunchbagg (5:15 pm), who cites influences ranging from Black Flag to Lupe Fiasco.
