Tagged: forwardmusicfest2008

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On the second evening of the Forward Music Fest, after checking out the A Catapult Western gig at the Momo, I trekked around the capitol square to the Frequency for the hip-hop showcase. I was glad that the organizers had decided to include a hip-hop show in the midst of an otherwise rock-heavy festival, but knew that it would be a tough sell for most folks. Indeed, the crowd was smaller than the other shows I'd been to--which was a shame, because all three acts that I caught put on amazing, high-energy sets. Perhaps next time it would work better [...]

On Saturday night, I made stops at two venues for the Forward Music Fest, the first of which was at Cafe Montmartre . I arrived just in time to catch the set by local alt-country brooders A Catapult Western , who were playing their last show ever before singer/guitarist/drummer/songw riter Jason Nyberg "moves to Iceland" (or Texas, depending on your geography acumen). Their set was beautiful and contemplative, a nice respite in the midst of my otherwise hard-rocking festival experience. It's a shame that it was their last show (at least for a long while), but I'm [...]

19 photos from Jentri Collelo, Mason Jennings, Red Romero, Killdozer, and Flosstradamus performing on Day 2 of Forward Music Fest 2008: NB: As usual for my photo posts here, I recommend turning off the stylesheet while viewing this post (go to View > Page Style > No Style or something like that, depending on your browser).

By early estimates, Forward Music Festival appears to be a success. The two-day festival kicked off yesterday evening at multiple venues around Madison. In its first year, the festival is loosely modeled after the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Tex. The entertainment started early for a work night, with Bob Mould's performance at the Majestic at 6 p.m. Still, the crowd started to gather as members of Box Social opened. By the time Mould took the stage, the venue was filled. [...]

20 photos from Box Social, Bob Mould, the Blueheels, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Dex Romweber Duo, Leslie & The Lys, and Dan Deacon from Day 1 of the inaugural Forward Music Fest: NB: As usual for my photo posts here, I recommend turning off the stylesheet while viewing this post (go to View > Page Style > No Style or something like that, depending on your browser).

My day one of the Forward Music Festival ended up being quite memorable. I made it out for the latter half of the shows at the Majestic Theatre last night, and didn't regret a minute of it. The variety and energy of each performer was incredible, the audience was way into all of them, and in general, I had a blast snapping photos and getting caught up in the throngs of sweaty, happy people. I'd never even heard of Monotonix prior to seeing them live, but mark my words: should they ever come back to Madison, [...]

Artist: Droids Attack Website: myspace.com/droidsattack/ Regional Connection : Madison Showcase: September 20, 2008 at High Noon (9 p.m.) Co-Performers: Killdozer, Bongzilla, Helliphant, Dick the Bruiser, Heroine Sheiks Don't be quick to dismiss Droids Attacks' signature stagebot as just a robot that resembles the progeny of the "Danger!" robot from Lost in Space. It's not a gimmick, it's the mascot for Brad Van (Guitar/vocals), Nate Bush (Bass), and Tony Brungraber (Drums) and their rock/punk/metal band, Droids Attack.

9:15 a.m. Neko Case arrives in Madison. 9:05 : Donuts and orange juice arrive at Orpheum. Overture lobby is set up so people can pick up wristbands and badges. 8:50 a.m. Intellasound arrives to set up for the Neko Case show at the Orpheum. Follow Forward Music Fest on Twitter: http://twitter.com/forwardmadi son Load your photos to our Flickr group: http://flickr.com/groups/forwa rdmusicfest

Artist: The Dials Website: http://www.thedials.us/ Regional Connection : Chicago-based, Madison-loved Showcase: September 20, 2008 at The Frequency (7 p.m.) Co-Performers: His and Her Vanities, Box Social, The Alarmist The self-proclaimed "giddy" music of Chicago's The Dials is catchy and cheery, like the vintage pop music that inspired the quartet. Since the release of the band's first EP, "Sick Times" in 2003, The Dials received increasing attention from local Chicago music scene, while they struggled to find the [...]

Artist: Thao with the Get Down Stay Down Website: myspace.com/thaomusic Showcase: September 20, 2008 at Cafe Montmartre (midnight) Co-Performers: A Catapult Western, Gentlemen Auction House, Red Romero, The Alarmists Thao Nguyen began making music with a high school friend, citing the women's music festival Lilith Fair as an inspiration for her to desire to become a songwriter. After meeting drummer Willis Thompson in college, the two met Adam Thomson (no relation) at a coffee shop, and became a full band with [...]

Artist: Star Fucking Hipsters Website: myspace.com/starfuckinghipster s Showcase: September 20, 2008 at the Stage Door (3 p.m.) Co-Performers: Dead End Rejects, Chinese Telephones, Things Fall Apart, Brutal Knights, Scared of Chaka, Dillinger Four Star Fucking Hipsters draws its talent from a myriad of punk bands like The Slackers, Chocking Victim, Leftover Crack and The Degenerics. If the former members of Leftover Crack are still any kind of leftovers, they are the kind that taste better the next day.

Artist: Killdozer Website: myspace.com/killdozerpage Regional Connection: Madison Showcase: September 20, 2008 at the High Noon Co-Performers: Bongzilla, Heroine Sheiks, Droids Attack, Helliphant, Dick the Bruiser Madison's own Killdozer was a Midwestern staple of sludge sound throughout the 1980's. Having had an influence on many defunct and current bands from Nirvana to the flood of current noise-rock bands Killdozer are unlikely heroes of independent music. Singer Michael Gerald found time in his day for Dane101 to cover everything from the beautiful city [...]

Artist: His & Her Vanities Website: myspace.com/hishervanities Regional Connection: Madison Showcase: September 20, 2008 at the Frequency (4:30 p.m.) Co-Performers: The Dials, Box Social, Apparently Nothing Ricky and Terrin Riemer's second labor of love, His and Her Vanities, emerged in the late nineties, as they wrote songs while their son slept in his crib. Ricky was in the band Transformer Lootbag, and Terrin had just discovered the bass. Their efforts soon attracted drummer [...]

Artist: Stars Like Fleas Website: myspace.com/starslikefleas Regional Connection: Keyboardist Ryan Smith is from Madison Showcase: September 20, 2008 at the Orpheum Theatre Stage Door (9pm) Co-Performers: The Pale Young Gentlemen, Rock Plaza Central With their 2007 release "The Ken Burns Effect" Brooklyn band Stars Like Fleas have solidified themselves as a band to watch. What started out as a recording project between Shannon Fields and Montgomery Knott in 1998 has become a musical [...]

Artist: Bongzilla Website: http://www.myspace.com/bongzil la420 Regional Connection: Madison Showcase: September 20, 2008 at the High Noon Co-Performers: Killdozer, Heroine Sheiks, Droids Attack, Helliphant, Dick the Bruiser The gritty foursome known as Bongzilla may love marijuana almost as much as they love heavy metal and Black Sabbath. Bongzilla makes no qualms about their continued support for the legalization of marijuana, by playing Weedstock and HarvestFest, and composing songs about their love of their illegal habit. They even [...]

Hard ticket sales for the Forward Music Fest 2008 will start on Friday, Sept. 13 at the Orpheum box office. Additional locations will be made available for limited hours starting Monday, September 15 (ticket pricing can be found at the Forward Music Fest website ). The locations are as follows and these are also the locations where wristbands and badges purchased online can be picked up. The Frequency from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday The High Noon Saloon [...]

Artist: The Detroit Cobras Website: http://www.detroitcobras.org/ Regional Connection : On Chicago's Bloodshot Records Showcase: September 19, 2008 at the High Noon Co-Performers: Blueheels, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Dex Romweber Duo In October of 2006 I did what has gone on to become one of my favorite musician interviews of all time when I spoke on the phone with Rachel Nagy of the Detroit Cobras. With the Forward Music Fest bringing the Cobras back to town on September 19 as part [...]

Artist: Dex Romweber Duo Website: http://ruraltone.com/dex/ Regional Connection: Recently signed to Chicago's Bloodshot Records Showcase: September 19, 2008 at the High Noon Co-Performers: Blueheels, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Detroit Cobras You may not know him by name, but you if you are a fan of the Black Keys or White Stripes, you need to be introduced. Dexter Romweber, former member of the seminal "psycho-surf-rockabilly-gara ge-punk" combo the Flat Duo Jets, is a noted major influence on everyone [...]

Artist: Mr. Gnome Website: http://www.mrgnome.com/ Home City: Cleveland, Ohio Regional Connection: Recent album mixed by Beau Sorenson at Madison's Smart Studios Showcase: September 19, 2008 at the Frequency Co-Performers: Skintones, Knuckel Drager, Drunk Drivers mr. Gnome is the duo of Nicole Barille and Sam Meister. Formed in 2006 this act already has four national tours under their belt and a growing following in Madison due to a number of stints at The [...]

• mr. Gnome - Pirates
• mr. Gnome - Rabbit