Devon Kay & the Solutions
I had so much fun picking bands for Fest the first time in our Fest must-sees round one, I thought I’d do it again. And with Fest in Gainesville, Florida mere days away now, I feel like I may have forgotten some super cool bands the first time around, so I’m just gonna go ahead a pull a Kanye West and grab the mic (keyboard) to tell you about them. Time to buckle in and get ready for a bonus round of Fest picks from yours truly!
Protagonist
Protagonist is a skate-punk band from… well, the entire United States. They’re finally working on another record after putting out the excellent States in 2011, which has been getting heavy rotation in my ears for the past month. I only found out about these guys by perusing the bands section of the Fest site this year, and am somewhat ashamed given they’ve been around since 1999, according to Google. Wait, is that right? Holy crap, I suck. This band is excellent. Recommended if you like pre-Exile in Oblivion Strung Out or anything shreddy and melodic.
Guerrilla Poubelle
Guerrilla Poubelle has been a band since 2003, but they recently started touring the States a lot (or I just recently started noticing). I got to see these very angry Frenchmen play an incredible set in the small town of Chicoutimi, Quebec in a one-off date with The Flatliners and A Wilhelm Scream. Right before their final song they disassembled their drum kit and then reassembled it in the middle of the dance floor. What ensued was a fantastic chaos I don’t often experience and am very excited to repeat at Fest.
Devon Kay & the Solutions
The side-project of Direct Hit!’s Devon Kay. I’ve been trying to see them since my first Fest (Fest 12) and now I’m going to do it. You won’t get many chances to see this band because, well, it’s a side-project that doesn’t really tour, so you’re going to have to do it at Fest unless you live down the street from them. This band looks incredibly fun and if you can watch the video below and tell me that’s not a party you want to attend, well, I can’t help you.
Beach Slang
I was hesitant to put Beach Slang on my original list for three reasons: the first was that I put them on my list last year and didn’t want to repeat myself. The second reason was… well, most of you have probably heard these guys by now and have made your decision on seeing them or not. (However, for those of you who have been living under a rock; allow me to take this time to tell you that you absolutely must see this band.) The third reason I was going to leave them off my list is Rice and Bread contributor Amanda Starling already enlightened you to them in our Fest must-sees round two, but since Rice and Bread co-founder Jason Schreurs added War on Women onto his round three after they were already on my list, I said, “What the hell?” This band is also awesome and deserves more than one mention.
Jabber
Another band on the list that I have not seen. A friend convinced me I’d be fucking up not seeing this band. Upon listening to them thoroughly, she was right. So, seeing as I’m a nice guy, I thought I’d pay that forward and let you know that this band is not something to be missed. This here is some high-grade, west coast pop-punk. When it comes to Jabber, don’t say to yourself, “Maybe Next Year.” I apologize for that pun, and I’ll let myself out.
Fest takes place in Gainesville, Florida on October 30-November 1.
Pre-Fest takes place in Tampa, Florida on October 28-29.
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