Upon Recovering From The Fest

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Upon Recovering From The FestUpon Recovering From The Fest

Minus The Bear

The bruises are fading and the cuts are healing. Two weeks ago The Fest V swallowed the streets of downtown Gainesville. For three days, disciples of all the indie subcultures gathered to praise and sing. About 70 percent of the attendees came from out of town to witness their share of the 200 bands performing. Stopping first at Wayward Council, we were branded with grey, pink or green wristbands and given a schedule and a map. We drew out our separate plans and scattered across the eight venues.

Warming Up Friday

The line to get into The Atlantic for Russian Circles wrapped around the side of the building. It wasn't until I got inside that I was told I could have side-stepped the crowd with my press privileges. But it was worth the wait. The band's epic, sprawling songs built and burst, speaking volumes without vocals. The instrumental trio replicated material from their album using loop pedals to sample themselves live.

After braving the rainy weather for an interview with Russian Circles, I made my way back to The Atlantic, downed two beers and took a spot near the stage. Ultra Dolphins unleashed their spastic, post-hardcore tunes with frantic precision. Their performance was quirky and disorienting in a good way. I'd been anticipating their debut full-length, which Robotic Empire released this week, and it exceeded my expectations.

Before Die Hoffnung's set, vocalist/guitarist Jim Marbuger noted that he's been seeing a lot of movement on the fret board that night and asked when everybody got so good at their instruments. With his brother Jon on drums, you may recognize the duo from I Hate Myself. Their new material is more intricate and less frail, channeling bands like Faraquet. Between songs, Jim's commentary continued. He listed off all the sub-species of punk flooding the town that weekend. His favorite: surf punks, because they smell good.

I crossed the street to catch The North Atlantic at Bar One. The turnout was disappointing and it was way too loud for the small, empty room. But the noisy post-punk band will pass through Gainesville two more times before the year's end -- Nov. 11 with These Arms Are Snakes and Dec. 10 with Planes Mistaken For Stars and Appleseed Cast.

Despite being drenched from the night's downpour, I trekked the few blocks to Abbey Road for the second half of Minus The Bear's set. They blasted through songs from 2005's Menos El Oso. I let the technical, polished indie-rock songs wash over me before I stumbled home and drifted off to sleep.

Wish I Watched