Live Review: Nophest 4&20 2008

I spent the majority of last weekend at Nophest and had a really fun time. The weather was perfect, the fest was extremely chill and I got to see a ton of cool local artists. I don't really have a play-by-play analysis because I decided to just kick back and enjoy this one rather than play the hardcore journalist, plus after my DJ set on Sunday I was pretty obliterated. I ended up missing many of the acts I wanted to catch, but that typically happens at a fest packed to the brim with great bands. Missile Command was one of my favourite sets of the weekend. They were noisy and brutal, two things I highly appreciate. Envie was really stellar again, although the vocals and keys were not loud enough and they are the sort of band that I think requires a good sound setup. I really enjoyed the Ship To Shore set. Mice In Cars rocked it. And of course Sorry No Ferrari and This Piano Plays Itself both put forth typically amazing sets. If you missed this one, be sure not to make that mistake again and catch the winter edition later this year. Here's some photos I took:

R_Garcia:



Lovesick Scientist:



Missile Command:







Ship To Shore:



Mice In Cars:

Ohmpark's Guide To Nophest 4&20

The weekend is almost here and I am very excited. Nophest announced a third stage of bands for Sunday April 20th at The Doogallery. For details on that and the full schedule, go to the Nophest website. I'm going to break down the acts that stand out to me and help you discover some new bands from the massive line-up. Click on the band name to listen to some tracks on their myspace or website:

Friday:

7:45pm Lovesick Scientist: A project of Justin Sias (Elevado) that is produced by Brian Slusher (Slushco). With those two top tier ATL musicians involved, it has to be good.



8:30pm R_Garcia: I've just sort of been introduced to Randy Garcia through Nophest, but everything I sees points to him being a pretty badass musician and dude, so I'm ready to catch this one.



9:15pm Missile Command: A band featuring members of Elevado. We got a sneak preview performance of these guys at our one year anniversary party and they rocked out hard so I've been excited to catch the Missile Command again. Here's some tracks to jam:

Level Up


Dark Matter


10:00pm Push Button Action Man: This is an electronic music side project of Zachary Hollback, who has been a part of great Atlanta bands such as I Almost Saw God In The Metro, The Brodie Stove, and Tenth To The Moon. Here's a sweet electro-jam:

Gray Tile


10:45pm Blue Screen Love Scene: Electronic dance pop that sounds really nice.


BSLS

11:30pm Tenth To The Moon: Experimental music that incorporates dance and industrial sounds with lots of insanity. I caught them last year at ISP Space and thought they were extremely entertaining. They are on Stickfigure and it appears that Sean Moore of Lid Emba (who's new release I just listened to and is awesome, more on that soon) is now involved with the project:

Deadbeat Bath




11:30pm A Fight To The Death: If you're looking for some low-key Americana that is really good, checkout this ATLien band.


Saturday:

1:30pm Wonder Root Non-Profit Workshop: Wonder Root is a really cool organization supporting artists in the Atlanta area. I will be going more in depth about them next week, but just realize they kick ass and Ohmpark will be working with them to accomplish some neato things.

3:15pm Capibara: Never heard of this band before, but they have cool influences, and the two songs on their myspace feel like they may have some potential to rock out hard.

5:30pm Mooseknuckle Sandwich: Song names like "I Hate You We Should Fuck" and "Skull Fuck Of Death" are enough to spark my interest in this OTP band from Pensacola, FL. They seem brash and experimental, and I'm always looking for acts like that.



6:15pm Ship To Shore: Atlanta post-rocking trio I was unfamiliar with until now, but they sound really good.

6:15pm Citizen Green: Interesting sounding IDM.

7:00pm Devoradora: Nu-'60s Psych-rock power trio that sound damn good. This is high on my list of bands to catch at Nophest that I've never heard of before.



7:00pm The Subliminator: Atlanta's avant-garde demi-god armed with spoken word and theremins is a required show for anyone who reads this blog and hasn't seen him before. He's a badass and someone who has a special place in this city.



8:30pm Envie: I recently caught Envie for the first time this year at a Stickfigure Distribution show and they were awesome. You can check out a video and pics here. This is one of the best acts at the fest, so don't miss it.



Glass


9:15pm Swank Sinatra: These guys just seem to do unabashed rock 'n' roll that rocks hard.

9:15pm Harmaline: Cool sounding experimental electronic stuff.

10:00pm Nerd Parade: I've been hearing noise about these guys lately and am excited to finally catch them and see what it's all about. Cool sounding indie-pop.

10:45pm Cassavettes: I caught these guys late last year for the first time and became a fan. This one is definitely a can't miss show.




Sunday:

1:45pm Mice In Cars: This is another band high on my list to check out that i haven't before. They do a tasty blend of post-rock and post-punk. This is completely worth getting an early start for.

Our Focus Was So Strange


The Sky Is Drowning


4:00pm The Ohmpark Official Party featuring DJ Douschebag: Sunday night Ohmpark will be partying hard at the 166 Stovall Stage featuring acts such as Flexor81, S.K.I.P.(Orlando, FL), Gift Horse (Athens, GA), Chicken And Pigs, and DJ June Eleven. The show gets started with me spinning a 420 set as DJ Douschebag at 4pm sharp so be there by then for the a-party-calypse.

6:15pm Miles From Pangea: We just did a piece on Miles From Pangea and the other Hijacking Music bands so I am pretty stoked to catch them at Nophest.



7:00pm 13 Day Mission: Another Hijacking Music band I'm excited to catch, you'll notice their EP from last year is currently in my heavy rotation, and you can download the album for free by clicking on it.



8:30pm Sorry No Ferrari: ATL post-rockers that I have really enjoyed both times i caught them live this year. I have some videos here.



10:15pm Batata Doce: Atlanta super group fronted by a Brazillian singer. Seems rather interesting

11:00pm This Piano Plays Itself: They just finished their self-titled debut release and it is simply amazing. This is one of Atlanta's hottest up-and-coming bands and if there is one Nophest act you can't afford to miss, it is these guys. Behold:

Day Of Symmetry