After the way last night went and the way Saturday night (the last of the festival) I decided to have Amber bring her camera and that we'd split up the coverage just in case any stage times were off.  So that meant that'd she'd have to write too.  She was pretty nervous about the whole thing but I knew that she could do it.  So a lot of what you'll be reading is from her perspective, and trust me...I've put this poor girl through enough over the last year of documenting festivals and big marathon concerts that I knew she could handle it.  Here's what she had to say:

Woooohooo!  These guys rocked so hard they scared away the top 40 preppy drunkards who’d been trying to get their groove on in stiletto heels that kept getting stuck in the cracks of the cobblestone street prior to their set.  It was actually kind of entertaining to watch while the roadies and members of American Bang finished setting up their gear.  They must have been premeditating “wow, we’re gonna so fuck this place up!”

Because with their blend of hyper-spiked, southern, blues and punk-infused rock, it really was kind of like an explosion when they attacked the stage!  With beautifully polished Gibson guitars that they shredded the hell out of, there’s a reason why these guys have gotten signed to Warner Records, have gotten tons of press over the last few years and are creating a ruckus wherever they play. 

Honestly, I really needed hear something loud, raw and so original that would satisfy my craving for some major bad-assness to get all excited about, so listening to and watching them close down Wall Street was the perfect way to end the rollercoaster ride of my 3^rd night of 2007’s Anti-pop Music Festival.

Upon leaving Wall Street I realized that I had pretty much missed both AESOP and IAMX which was really disappointing, so I regrouped w/ my assistant Amber and relieved her of her duties for the night since I was now going to be bouncing back and fourth between there and the Lodge backlot. 

So I headed back down the alley way between the Lodge and Room 39 for the gazillionth time and happened upon Johnny Cash’s Tennessee 3.  The band backed Johnny Cash for 40 years and the guitar player Bob Wotton, since Cash’s death, has stepped up to fill his shoes.  It’s actually rather freaky how much he sounds like Cash and if you didn’t know any better you’d think you were watching and hearing the real thing.  Evidently that’s part of the reason he got the gig with Cash back in 1968.

He told stories in between songs about things Johnny and the band did on the road and how playing at 12:40 in the morning was way past his bed time even though they’d been trying to get to Florida for quite some time.  The fans were all liquored up and a few gentlemen kindly offered up their spot and stepped aside so that I could get a few decent photos, but some others were a little bit scary and I decided for the safety of my camera I’d go back to Wall Street to check out the last band of the night, American Bang.

Heading over to the Court St. entrance of Wall Street, I left my assistant at the Lodge backlot in hopes that I’d get in a little bit easier and in enough time to catch the tail end of Leslie’s set, but no - I had to stand in line w/ the rest of the crowd and therefore did not reach my goal.  At least I’d be early enough to sit down, jot some notes and wait for The Lighter Exchange to take the stage.

Ah, finally.  Christian Wilson has found the right combination of musicians and life experience to leave the days of Sill Naïve and his stint with Spacebar in the past.  The Lighter Exchange formed out of the truly organic experience of ups and downs that this industry can create for a musician in their personal and professional life, and what has come out of that rang through loud and clear during their performance.

He and James McMullan’s vocals came across in nearly flawless accord, and some of their songs exhibited catchy guitar riffs that echoed and resonated down the more popular avenue of 90’s grunge ballads.  That, along with Christian’s sincerity in songs like “Upside down” show a more vulnerable, matured man whose ability to express himself musically and lyrically has come full circle.

They had many fans in attendance that really knew every word like the back of their hands, and it put a smile on my face to see how cathartic it seemed for them to sing along.  Creating that kind of connection with a crowd is what makes rock n’ roll so much fun, and last night proved that these guys definitely know how to accomplish that.

After leaving Black Moth Super Rainbow having my spirit totally lifted (since missing 2 out of the 8 bands I wanted to cover) I felt pretty good about they way things were headed and thought that maybe the rest of the night would go a lot more smoothly.  Leave it to a bouncer at Wall Street to treat me as though I’m not a professional by suggesting that my schedule is obsolete and that the details of my job don’t matter just because my assistant whom is not yet 21 couldn’t sit with my laptop by the cop and my friend who was working @ that entrance.

I mean really, do I have to get it tattooed on my forehead that: “I’m freakin’ over 30 and have been workin’ my ass off doing this for about a decade – damn it – so please let me do my job!”  It’s not like my assistant didn’t already have big huge X’s on her hands all ready, besides she was WORKING – not trying to sneak drinks! 

Sorry, had to get that off my chest, sometimes it’s just too loud and there isn’t enough time to argue w/ a security guard.  I know they’re just trying to do their jobs too, but there’s no need to be so brash.

Dodging people, traffic lights, cops ready and willing to give j-walking tickets, cars and arriving at the pavilion was almost a feat considering it’s only a block away!  Luckily I had a moment to gather myself before having to blurt out “excuse me, pardon me, comin’ through” as I weaved my way through the already tightly packed crowd. 

The group started off with a “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” video being displayed behind them and a sonic reverberation so loud everyone’s organs and innards rattled together which kind of tickled and everyone giggled a little bit.  I really enjoyed the vibe of being in this crowd because everyone around me was definitely there to have a good time and the pretentious vibe of some festival goers I’ve experienced throughout the week was rather void at this show.

The thing about having a live drummer back a lot of psychedelic trip-hopish electronica is that they can flub up - and unlike a live fusion jazz or jam band, it’s more difficult for that drummer to come out of it sounding like they knew what they were doing. When there is a little glitch so early in the set of this type of performance, unfortunately it stands out like the kid who took the bad acid.

Thank goodness the 2 or 3 little groove breakers I heard didn’t warp my perception enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth, in fact it made me want to stick around for more because everything else about what they were doing was so unique and positive it was truly enchanting.  Songs like “Drippy Eye” and “Lost in the Woods Picking Flowers” will be stuck in my head for weeks now, thanks guys and gal!

Originally I wanted to go from Firestone straight to The Lodge backlot to catch Orlando’s own The Sugar Oaks, but after parking for the second time closer to downtown and getting through the crowded alley way enroot to the backlot, realized that they were no where near playing yet. An entire half hour behind schedule!

I was now officially way behind schedule; evidently this would be a theme throughout the rest of the night, and not just for me.  I headed over to The Social to catch what I could of People Noise, a band whom I’ve grown fond of via a little bit of research on their myspace page prior to the festival.  Their tunes are rich and thick with melodies and guitar fuzz that are the perfect magic carpet ride for lead singer Zeke Buck’s grand and gallant vocals to steer around.  They make me feel like I’m floating around on a cloud, kind of like I felt the first time I heard A Storm in Heaven by The Verve.

However, I don’t know if the crowd in the Social got that, if they were expecting something more like Zeke’s old band VHS or Beta, or if they were just too cool to visibly express the type of body language that would’ve suggested they were into it.  There was a fair amount of applause after each song, and Zeke even stated that it was one of their best shows ever in Orlando, but I’m not sure if he was being sarcastic because for a second, he thought he was playing Back Booth and not the Social.