Summer's Solstice: Landmark Festival

Thought I'd take a minute on a glorious little mental health day to pop in and offer up some discoveries from the recent Landmark Festival that took place right in my backyard. It was a pretty great little two day affair, the lineup a good balance of smaller regional bands getting an opportunity to shine next to some household names like headliners Drake and the Strokes.  (Neither of which disappointed.) Similar to my beloved Lolla (it was run by the same promoters), the BMI stage offered up some of the concert's best moments, from the lush glow of some vintage soul with The Suffers, to the howling fuzzbomb of the London Souls (whose technical prowess was almost as impressive as the amount of noise the two generated), or conjuring Mardi Gras in the park with the Rebirth Brass Band. And then there was the multicultural mayhem that was Red Baraat, with its primal Indian drums, New Orleans style brass band, and lunatic punk spirit (they had a rapping sousaphone player, among other things, whose instrument was distorted like a deranged barge horn) that whipped the crowd into an absolute lather. It was the place to be, offering shelter from the cold and rain by way of shaking your ass with fifty of your frothy friends.

Some other noteworthy performances came from TV on the Radio, who dusted off several of their older tracks and reminded people that they weren't always a pretentious art rock band, but one of the cooler gang of misfits around, and the Southern-tinged twin bill of Houndmouth and Band of Horses, who offered up warm, inviting goodness like a pot of your grandma's grits.  Overall festival champion was easily Alt-J, who were absolutely -- and somewhat unexpectedly, due to their precious, precise studio offerings -- mindblowing live.  Forget the state of the art light display that accompanied their performance, the band sounded amazing and the combined effect of the two was utterly mesmerizing.  No kidding, people after their performance were shuffling around the field as if they had just woken up from total hypnosis.

It was a great weekend, made all the moreso by picking up a few new discoveries, including these three local offerings -- Ex Hex, the Hunts, and Avers.  First up is Ex Hex, an all-lady threesome helmed by DC-native Mary Timony  Similar to her last band of lasses Wild Flag, Timony specializes in channeling the snarled lip sneer of Joan Jett at her finest.  The lyrics may not knock you over, but the attitude and hooks will, and Timony throws out some pretty nifty solos to top everything off. From the opening "Don't Want to Lose" to barnburners like "Beast," "You Fell Apart," and "Waterfall," it's an upbeat, raucous affair.  Cars-style "How You Got that Girl" and "Hot & Cold" round things out nicely on what is all in all a fun little listen.  "Waste Your Time" captures the band's strengths -- Timony's aforementioned talents, with drummer Laura Harris and bassist Betsy Wright thundering alongside.  Give it a listen here:



Next up is the seven-piece brother and sister combo from Chesapeake, MD, The Hunts (actual last name, Lavendopoulos* -- go figure!), whose combined age may barely clear triple digits, but similar to Lolla young'ins Hippo Campus they sound far more polished than bands twice their age.  These guys evoke a Head and the Heart, Of Monsters and Men type sound, full of rich, swelling harmonies and big booming emotions, and they do their predecessors proud.  The songs are all winners -- from exuberant gems like "Valentina" and "Just for a While" to more melancholic beauties "Illuminate" and "This is Love" -- the kids cut to the heart of the matter, playing everything from violins and guitars to bongos and chairs, and hit yours in the process. ("Douse the Flame" is an absolute stunner.) Nothing tops "Make this Leap," though, which is one of those once in a lifetime songs for a band -- pure, unadulterated joy.  Check it out here:



Last up is the Richmond six-pack Avers, who march in with a wall of sound onslaught that -- similar to kindred sounding Jesus and Mary Chain or BRMC -- sounds good on their album, but sounded absolutely amazing live.  They blew the 150 or so of us that managed to stagger out of bed early Sunday away with a five vocalist, four guitar attack that had even the peewees in the audience rocking around. Similar to the aforementioned forebears, this one's best digested in total for the fuzzed out haze it fills the room with rather than tiny nibbles and bites.  The band seesaws nicely between British invasion ("The Only One," "Girls with Headaches," "Hangman") and the shimmery noir of their psychedelic offspring ("White Horses," "Mercy"), the latter of which really calls to mind those former bands.  None moreso than "Harvest," which they build to a nice crescendo before slinking out the back.  Crank the volume and kill the lights before giving it a whirl here:



(*Actual last name not Lavendopoulos - I just like the idea of these kids coming from a clan of Greek importer/exporters, singing their heads off below deck on some giant cargo ship with their swarthy, mustachioed patriarch refusing to give them approval, over the din of engine and the clanking of wrenches)