I guess you could call this Fuzzmas. Illegally Blind mastermind Jason Trefts did it again. 4 of the best bands who all played Fuzzstival in August come together once more for one magical night. First it was Magic Shoppe‘s turn to cast their spell on the awaiting audience. This was their first time ever playing with 4 guitarists. So of course they were louder than usual. I could barely hear the vocals with all of the guitar noise. I don’t necessarily mind that though because I feel like I’m surrounded by both a wave and a wall of psychedelic fury. They played most of their hits. Sadly they ran out of time before they got to Midnight In The Garden Of Evil.
Set-List:
No Place To Go
Dead Poplar
Trip Inside This House
Burn Right Through
Shangri-La In Reverse
All The Way
Haunted HollywoodHere come 1/2 of the Nice Guys to take the stage with Ryan, Melanie, Peachy & the rest of The Fagettes. I am a big fan of their retro inspired fuzzpop. I love their energy live. I noticed that they added a few newer songs to their mix. The swagger came to a climax with the last song about feelin’ good. Ryan and Mel were bouncing around the stage. Throughout the whole show the light shows were going off. Major props to Video Joe and Wax House AV on the amazing visuals. This was one of the best light show performances I have ever seen. I love the combination of the digital projections with the liquid light show.
Set-List:
Jake
National Geographic
Luv
Bad Catholics
Sleep Talk
Street Queens In Heat
On Drugs
WTA
I Wanna Feel Good
Black Beach got everyone wild. This was not only Fuzzmas but also Black Beach’s record release show for their new EP Play Loud, Die. They did a few stompers from that album. There was a major pit in the middle of the Middle East during their whole set. I think I got punched in the jaw. Even worse though at one point one of the light show projectors got smashed by someone getting powerslammed towards the stage. There was a reason why this was all going down BLACK BEACH ROCKED MAJOR COCKS! They are just loud dirty rock n roll which there needs to be a lot more of.
Set-List:
Rats
Ego Death Ritual
In Circles
Born To Lose
You’re A Ghost
Untitled new song
Kreep
Youth Is Out There
Psych rock heavyweights and Boston Music Awards nominees CreaturoSclosed the night. (I know all good things must come to an end). They showered everyone with psychedelic bliss sending everyone home happy. They put on a helluva fun show every time and tonight was no exception. I think I had more fun than usual tonight. I’m hoping for more nights filled with this scuzzy goodness.
Set-List:
James Days’ Milkshake
Last Summers’ #1 Hit Single
Hand In My Pocket
Sunrise Wedding
Weird Queen
Going Out In Style
The Mole
The Master’s Dope
Ruff Puff
Date: Saturday, August 2, 2014 Venue: Middle East Upstairs and Downstairs (Cambridge, MA) Bands: Dinoczar, Black Beach, Gymshorts, The TeleVibes, Beware The Dangers Of A Ghost Scorpion!, CreaturoS, Atlantic Thrills, Abadabad, Magic Shoppe, 28 Degrees Taurus, The Fagettes, Fat Creeps, Doug Tuttle, Ghost Box Orchestra, The New Highway Hymnal
Once again, here’s another show review in spectacularly late fashion! Ahh at least last year’s review was completed merely hours after leaving the show. Can’t win em’ all, but we live to fight again or something like that. Anywho, here’s some fond recollections of my favorite bands’ performances at this year’s Fuzzstival…. oh and a lengthy introduction as to cap it all off. You didn’t think you would escape one of my lengthy introductions now did you??? Haha.
We love going to shows. You don’t need me to tell you that unless you assumed we were masochists this whole time. It’s all been our great displeasure seeing all of your bands perform live year after year. It’s been ever so painful. Though, if it’s painful for a masochist isn’t it also pleasurable? You got me. We’re actually not masochists, we’re sadists. We spew filth and fury. Hate us on facebook.
Festivals are simply shows on steroids or better yet shows in the midst of a nasty coke binge. One band and then another and then another and then another and then another. Sensory overload. All senses are fuzzed up by the end of this shindig. All senses. The Lysergic Factory Lightshow, Video Joe Turner, and Wax House A/V scrape the mucus off your brain, Emma’s Pizza deliver mouth watering slices, and fifteen of New England’s feistiest tear through what’s left of your withering eardrums. I think that covers all the senses. Ahh well, you get the gist.
We at KLYAM typically cover the fuzzy variety – garage spunk psychaholics. So, it’s an absolute pleasure to have an entire festival dedicated to this “style” of music. Big thanks to Jason Trefts/Illegally Blind for doing what must be done. We thoroughly enjoyed last year’s Fuzzstival, but the line up this year is even superior: many of our own local favorites and on top of it all, the party takes place at our favorite venue, Middle East.
———— UPSTAIRS ————-
Gymshorts – We scurry into the Middle East, fretting that we may have missed our Providence dawgs in Gymshorts. As we slime into the Mid East Up, I notice a crowded room and Gymshorts setting up to play and I realize I haven’t missed anything. An awesome relief washes over me. Per usual they launch into “Scumdog” I WANNA GET HIGHHHH AND I WANNA GET STONEDDDD” ya you know. They shred the usual No Backsies jams then things come to a halt briefly when one of their strings breaks. Hey, rock ‘n’ roll ain’t perfect. They bounce back with an apropos tune for the moment in “Oh Brother.” Catch these shorts on a giant ass tour all across these here United States: https://www.facebook.com/events/250069071850157/ Bandcamp: http://gymshorts.bandcamp.com/
The TeleVibes – Dude, these vibes get right under your skin and crawl around for a few days/weeks at a time. You’ll be telling all your friends and loved ones about how awesome The TeleVibes were at the Fuzzstival. Fuck, your grandchildren.
The Tellies are fuzztastic, but they got a little more than just grit in their wee bellies. They possess a tenacious affection for mind melting psych noise that’s dripping garage snot rockets all over the place. Guitar riffs coming straight from the bowels of hell. That’s old Charlie Northin’ there and old Scott Lorin’. And old brother Christian Hardy packing heat and smacking away on the skins. Sounds like these young men have spent entirely too much alone time with Mr. Dwyer and Mr. Segall. So, I guess then that’s not alone time, ahh well it’s too late to go back now. The past is the past and we’re living in a modern world, whatever that means.
I’ve seen The Tellies in the past, but prior to this Fuzzstival, it’s been about seven months (HOLY SHIT I know, I was shocked as well) and they sincerely sound better than ever. Actually, my favorite band at the Fuzzstival. Dig it. It’s dug. These Tellies be vibin’ so hard. They slap me in the face like a bag of wet dicks. Each guitar lick is a new slap to the face and I suppose the masochist in me wants more. More More More, no wait, wrong fuzz band. Forgive me or not, whichever works. I’ll be seeing The TeleVibes again and again, in my head and in my bed, now that I got me my very own Washed Up EP on cassette! LISTEN to it HERE: http://thetelevibesofficial.bandcamp.com/
Beware The Dangers Of A Ghost Scorpion! – Listen up, you little freaks. Here’s one band you’re not going to FUCK with… ladies and gentlemen, Beware The Dangers Of A Ghost Scorpion!
I’ve been seeing these fine gents a lot lately. Starlab Fest, Black Lodge, and now here at the Fuzzstival. Beware is the premiere Boston surf rock band, a surf nut’s wet dream. They lean hard towards the nuttier side of the surf realm, fitting in perfectly within this fuzz fest as my friend Dylan likes to call it.
As always Beware puts on a fun, frenzied show, constantly hoppin’ and boppin’ around the stage, leaving the audience on the edge/over the edge. Definitely a band to catch in the flesh sooner than later. Their recordings sound just as demonic though, check them out here: http://ghostscorpion.bandcamp.com/
CreaturoS – Local psych juggernauts, CreaturoS headline the first half of Fuzzstival, being the last band to play at the Middle East Upstairs tonight. The group (as with most of the bands playing this thang) thank Jason Trefts for hosting such an epic event. They rip through an earache inducing set of psych pop that Boston fans have come to know and love.
At one point this dude climbs on stage and awkwardly stands up there with the band for a few seconds. I even think he’s a friend of the band for a minute. You know how sometimes bands pull up their comrades to sing or play along to a song. Not in this instance. The band smirks and kindly escorts the man off the stage. Perhaps he thought there would be a stage invasion like last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTFptrZH5Mc.
So, that’s the end of the first half of the fest. Oh and check out CreaturoS on bandcamp: http://creaturos.bandcamp.com/
———– DOWNSTAIRS ————
Atlantic Thrills – Providence dawgs Atlantic Thrills are kicking things off right for the second half of the Fuzz. Seeing the Thrillz up on stage here brings me back to the first time I saw them live about three years ago at this very same location opening for Those Darlins. Damn, and many more shows followed!
The crowd is still building up, but those of us that are present are devouring all the punk slime and saliva these maniacs have to offer. My favorite tonight is “Day At The Beach,” a great Summer jam or as Dan Tanner puts it “this song is about drugs and the beach.” Reckless abandon. For mo’ Atlantic Thrills: http://atlanticthrills.com/
The Fagettes – Illegally Blind seriously rolls out the upper crust of local fuzz and Fagettes is a prime example of that. The group (featuring Nice Guy Jake Gilbertson on bass) pounds through a rockin’ set of gettes classics such as “On Drugs,” “Gonna Die Out Here,” and a bunch of others my fuzzed out dome is missing.
The crowd moves and shakes a bit more during their set, but are still too motionless for my tastes. That’s one of my few qualms about the Fuzzstival. Lack of significant crowd participation/dancing/moshing. Everything else is tip top A ok.
Ryan Fagette is as feisty as ever, prowling around the stage, fighting off some technical difficulties with his guitar. He gives a fiery performance during “I Wanna Feel Good” as he makes his way to the crowd, standing tall above everyone. He fervently shouts I WANNA FEEL GOOD directly into various patron’s eyes. He even messes around with the Lysergic Factory’s light show, making a mess out of all dem pretty colors. http://thefagettes.bandcamp.com/
Fat Creeps – FC is fresh off a two week tour with The Lentils. A friend of mine observed that bands always sound tighter when they have just come back from tour and I think that’s true in this instance. It’s like everything else, if you keep persistent, you naturally get better. I’m just happy to finally see the band perform at my favorite above ground venue; I believe this is their first time playing at the Middle East Downstairs. Anyway, definitely one of the better shows I’ve seen from the trio recently. No hesitation, kick out the jams, and raise some hell. Some hell.
I’m at the point now where I don’t really have much more to say about this band, I’ve seen them over 30 times and it’s always been a pleasure. I dig some of the audio assault in the “new” songs from Must Be Nice such as “Party” and “Having So Much Fun,” but I’ll always have a place in my heart for the oldies like “Nancy Drew” and “700 Parts.” It’s all good. http://fatcreeps.bandcamp.com/
We missed The New Highway Hymnal :( but, if I had seen them, they surely would appear in this article. Check them out regardless: http://thenewhighwayhymnal.bandcamp.com/
So, that’s my recollections. One big final shout out again to Jason Trefts/Illegally Blind. Like, follow, share, support, do whatever you do on the fascist book, just most importantly GO to the fine ass shows he’s constantly putting on around Boston. https://www.facebook.com/IllegallyBlindPresents
YO! Tonight is the night! Illegally Blind and Kids Like You & Me come together to bring you an amazing show of epic proportions. The sexy, sultry Electric Street Queens are releasing their ohh so exquisite debut tape release Live From Your Dreams, We’re The Electric Street Queens on our very own KLYAM Records! KLYAM-004. 8 songs of pure, unadulterated mayhem. You may need a cigarette after this one.
Joining the Street Queens are CreaturoS, Headband, and fellow KLYAM Records rebel rousers Nice Guys! All of that and more tonight at Church. Show starts at 8, $8, 21+. FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/635063383274410/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular
Hey, how’s it going? ….. Yeah, you look great. So, what are you doing next Wednesday?…. NOT ANYMORE BITCH. You’re coming to Church of Boston to witness THE ELECTRIC STREET QUEENS TAPE RELEASE SHOW!
We’re proud to team up with local mastermind Illegally Blind to present you a show in honor of Live From Your Dreams, We’re the Electric Street Queens, the next release on KLYAM Records. Playing alongside the Street Queens are Headband, Creaturos, and fellow KLYAM Records ruffians Nice Guys. It’s fixing to be a show of EPIC proportions. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 AT CHURCH. Got it? Good. Great. Grand. FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/635063383274410/
P.S. don’t forget to bring extra diapers. It’s going to get steamy…
Until then, go nuts with this l’il cassingle featuring two songs, “Beefcake Baby” and “Brew-Ha-Ha” from the upcoming tape: http://electricstreetqueens.bandcamp.com/
Boston Fuzzstival2014 organized by Illegally Blind’s Jason Trefts is going down tomorrow (Saturday August 2nd) afternoon and evening at The Middle East Upstairs (starting at 1 PM) and Downstairs (starting at 6 PM) and features exactly 15 bands of the garage/psych/surf/pop variety — exactly the styles of music that we appreciate most around here on KLYAM! Of course this is an event we’ve been looking forward to for months and if you remember back to last year Chris cranked out a review of the event as soon as he got home from it. It is a wonderful thing to see underground rock ‘n roll of this kind making the rounds around local blogs; just head over to the Fuzzstival FB event page to read a bunch of posts about Fuzzstival and the bands playing it.
KLYAM’s pretty energetic about the bands we care about. We’re also eager to see any bands we have not had the pleasure to see yet. I’m just going to say some words about some bands I have seen and really really dig:
GYMSHORTS – Playing at 2:25 UPSTAIRS – Providence scum surf roquers blasted into existence about one year ago, but it just might seem like they’ve been around longer with the amount of shows they’ve been playing around New England and New York. Sarah leads the pack in their mosh friendly jams on vocals/guitar while Devin complements her with fuzzy lead twang. I think this will be about my tenth time seeing them and it’s always a real fun time! [LISTEN]
TELEVIBES – Playing at 3:00 UPSTAIRS – North Shore ass jigglers / ball ticklers – course these words are courtesy of Chris, but I agree completely – playing that slimy Migsian stuff that’s had us in a tizzy since hearing their Washed Up EP and damn that release show is still one for the record books. It’s been seven months since – far too long a wait for us so the anticipation runs highhhhh. [LISTEN]
BEWARE THE DANGERS OF A GHOST SCORPION – Playing at 3:45 UPSTAIRS – Everybody ought to pace themselves at this point – I mean on any other day these guys would probably be playing at 12 AM and closing out festivities. Two weeks ago they put an end to STARLAB FEST and wow I fondly recall bopping up, down, and around, perhaps at one point falling as they pounded out southern evil Dicky Dale instrumental after southern evil Dicky Dale instrumental. Guess I just suck at describing surf and should stick to bumping into people with a shit eating grin. Must see group! [LISTEN]
CREATUROS – Playing at 4:30 UPSTAIRS – Have seen these new era Boston garage/psych legends (a term I’ll use loosely to let the crowd response to their 2013 Fuzzstival set do the talking) rather intermittently over the past couple of years. I was really won over when they opened for FUZZ at Great Scott last fall. That was a killer set… then just a bit ago they dropped ‘SHORT SHORTS‘ a pure garage pop goldie. Forgive me for not really knowing any of their other songs by heart, I will know that one! [LISTEN]
ATLANTIC THRILLS – Playing at 6:00 DOWNSTAIRS – Alrighty garage bro so you know the Atlantic Thrills, you read about ’em online somewhere. OK yes it was probably here. We’ve championed their rock ‘n roll since the year 2011, about three years before they dropped their first LP (KLYAM recommended obviously). Tripped to Providence a bunch of times to catch them in their abode and have had some really memorable experiences both on stage and off stage in their presence. Very happy to hear that they are kicking things off DOWNSTAIRS (where they once opened for Those Darlins), here’s to another round of sloppy debauchery. [LISTEN]
THE FAGETTES – Playing at 9:00 DOWNSTAIRS – Without feeling like a local rock n roll snob, I am confident calling The Fagettes the Boston kings and queens of the garage, flower punk style. They have a history of playing with some of the world’s finest rock n roll bands (NOBUNNY, Shannon and the Clams, Hunx and His Punx) and that is surely no coincidence. The energy, vocal trade-offs of Ryan and Melanie, dueling drums, sax here and there, the noisy POP racket, I could go on and on. You wanna feel good. Catch THE FAGETTES. [LISTEN]
FAT CREEPS – Playing at 9:45 DOWNSTAIRS – We’ve seen the Creeps the most out of all the bands at Fuzzstival about three times over, which should not come as a shocker to anyone as we’re intense supporters from way back. They just released their first LP Must Be Nice [pick one up if you haven’t, along with their klyammy debut 10″ of course] and IT’s great! For those who like both the sun and the shade, the fast and the slow, Fat Creeps pack ’em all and their live show is a stellar reflection of what’s got the Americans, Europeans, and Japanese going nuts!! [LISTEN/BUY 10″]
NEW HIGHWAY HYMNAL – Playing at 12:15 DOWNSTAIRS – What better way to cap off this night than with New Highway Hymnal, emblematic diplomats of the meaning of FUZZSTIVAL. K, didn’t mean to get that deep all of a sudden, except I’m telling the truth here. Psych/garage/surf/noise The New Highway Hymnal can dismantle a Lowell basement and a 575 capacity venue just the same. Don’t think I’ve seen them since Charlie joined on guitar, should be sweeeeet! Heads up crowd you might get bumped in the head by Hadden’s guitar, but you’ll love it all the same. [LISTEN]
Hot damn, look at this line up! So many KLYAM faves!
LINEUP (SET TIMES TBA): 28 Degrees Taurus, Abadabad, Atlantic Thrills, Beware The Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion!, Black Beach, Creaturos, Dinoczar, Doug Tuttle, The Fagettes, Fat Creeps, Ghost Box Orchestra, Gymshorts, Magic Shoppe, The New Highway Hymnal, and The TeleVibes. In bold are my personal favorites. Purple bolded are KLYAM Records bands.
The show is being presented by Illegally Blind, the work of one Jason Trefts, and Trefts is also the man behind a sea of shows in the Boston area including last year’s first annual Fuzzstival, which was a hoot. This year will be even greater.
The whole shabang takes place on Saturday, August 2 at KLYAM’s favorite aboveground venue The Middle East in Cambridge. Upstairs from 1PM-5PM. Downstairs from 5PM- 1:30AM.
For more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1501237970104061/
In the meantime, while you’re twiddling your thumbs in anticipation, you can read our review of last year’s festival, written just minutes after the festival itself in a shamelessly drunken state of mind: https://klyam.com/2013/08/11/review-boston-fuzzstival-81013/
Or better yet watch this live video shot by fellow KLYAMER Joanna
CreaturoS: People arrived early and in large numbers to see locals CreaturoS on what would, of course, be a fun night of rock ‘n roll entertainment. I’ve seen CreaturoS on a few occasions, in a lil ole Allston shimmy, at the MidEast Upstairs, at Fuzzstival. At O’Briens. At Great Scott on this night – I can say I had my most enjoyable CreaturoS experience. They were loud, they were proud, and the songs just had a certain meat to them that seemed to be previously lacking. The guitar solos were virtuoso quality, one after another it seemed. You’d have to be stiffer than stiffs not to groove around. Maybe I was just not in a moving mood at the previous gigs or something. While the crowd didn’t flood the stage during “James Days’ Milkshake” as they did @ FUZZSTIVAL, I got the feeling that that could have happened at any point. This was an opening set to remember.
CCR Headcleaner: I think the only way I could describe CCR Headcleaner is transcendent. With their own light show and a relentless flurry of noise, pounding, squall, I haven’t seen a group serve up a psychedelic sludge stage show quite like CCR. This wasn’t really for me, though, call me a wussie all you want. I kind of like the fact that they never relented and just went full force through their whole set, which felt like it was at least an hour long. Oatmeal crackers can do that to you, kids. I checked these dawgs out before and after the show and I’m diggin on their recorded stuff. I may not be physically prepared for a Headcleaner show. Someday I hope.
FUZZ: For a dude who hadn’t been to Boston in years, Ty must have felt a little comfort playing among a dense, sold out crowd. I’ve praised the dude on this very cyberformat countless times since being swept away with Melted in ’10. So to finally see him perform in Boston with FUZZ …what can I say. You might fall into two camps, if you’re reading this review: you either went to this show or you didn’t. If you did, your mind was blown, you were deeply staring at the stage with a smile, nodding your head. Or you were in on the action, shaking around like a nut. I’m not even sure what songs FUZZ played or didn’t play, there was some differentiation, but it was hard not to get absolutely lost in Charlie Mootheart’s tormenting axing. Keep singing Ty and banging hard, but check out that solo! WTF!!!!!!!!!! I’m into the whole FUZZ thing – though metal and hard rock aren’t my go-to styles – but if you are really into those things, you probably walked away from this show, thinking to yourself, damn this might have been the greatest thing I’ve seen in a while. And I didn’t have to go to the DCU Center. wait, what. I feel you people. I know what that’s like. Loose Sutures, What’s In My Head, This Time I Got A Reason, ya ya ya you know them all.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 