Fest 14 must-sees round three: Modern Life Is War, Government Issue, Sunshine State, etc.

By Jason Schreurs

Fest time is almost here and those who have attended the punk rock festival in Gainesville, Florida (with two days of Pre-Fest in Tampa leading up to it) before this year already know what’s in store for them: a non-stop weekend barrage of some of the best punk bands in the world. We’ve already hit you with our Fest must-sees round one and round two, now it’s time for five more bands that you definitely should not miss if you are going to Fest this year. And if you’re not going to Fest, well, our condolences…

Modern Life Is War
Lots of buzz about this Iowa hardcore band playing Fest this year after an untimely cancellation last year that had some us weeping. But they’re back and ready to unleash their hardcore fury all over Fest. The only time I saw this band live they completely annihilated a community centre under florescent fucking lights. Imagine what it will be like to see them in a dark, dingy club in Gainesville?

Sunshine State
Part of the fun of going to Fest in Gainesville is actually seeing bands from Gainesville, not the least of which are Sunshine State, a melodic punk band that has plenty of hooks and melody to get you dancing. Last year I saw them twice, which was a treat, but this year it looks like I’ll have to settle for one regular set and one acoustic Descendents/All cover set. Wait, that’s pretty rad, actually…

Post Teens
And speaking of Gainesville bands, what better band to see at Fest than Post Teens? With a song-a-minute pace, these fast-punks are one of the best live bands going. Last year during their set I danced with a guy dressed like a beekeeper in a mostly empty pit, saw a dude get nearly choked out by an overly aggressive lady who didn’t appreciate him knocking into her, and single-handedly took the brunt of Post Teens singer Tony Marquez’ crowd dives. Fun times!

Government Issue
Granted, their set could be disappointing in that wish-I-had-seen-them-in-’85 kind of way, but the fact remains that Washington, DC’s Government Issue are a legendary band, and seeing any incarnation of them at Fest is like a dream come true. Those who followed the Dischord hardcore in DC are acutely aware that this band help to establish what became known as one of the best and most positive punk rock scenes in the world, along with bands like Fugazi, Faith and Gray Matter. Seeing Government Issue singer John Staab up on stage again (oddly, seeing his solo band, Staab, a couple of times in the early ’90s just wasn’t enough for me) is going to be a real treat.

Drug Church
Been jamming their new album, Hit Your Head, pretty damn hard lately, so I’m duly stoked to see Drug Church’s live set at Fest. Truth be told I knew nothing about this band until just recently, then made the Patrick Kindlon connection (he’s Drug Church’s croaky singer and also in Self Defense Family and End of a Year) and then, well, all bets were off. I mean, this band already rules, but just watch the serpentine moves of this madman, Kindlon. He’s just not giving one fuck.

Oh, oh, and… room for one more… Malcolm Lasky already mentioned them in our Fest 14 must-sees round one, but I’m so very, very stoked to see feminist punks War on Women this year, so here’s their radical performance on the Christ Gethard show to tide us over until Fest:

Fest takes place in Gainesville, Florida on October 30-November 1.

Pre-Fest takes place in Tampa, Florida on October 28-29.