Skipping Stones Records

Thanks to the many people who took video at Popfest - here they are!

Most of these were shot by Leigh, except the last two Locas in Love, shot by Benny - thank you!

Secret Shine playing "Loveblind"


Locas in Love Banter about Snails


Locas in Love - The Vaselines / Nirvana / Art Brut Cover


Locas in Love "Die Apokalypse erreicht Mühlacker"


Locas in Love "How I Wrote) I Get Lonesome"

More Locas in Love videos on their YouTube.

The Smittens Theme Song


The Smittens "Sapphire"


My Teenage Stride playing Belle & Sebastian's "Lazy Line Painter Jane"


The Specific Heats laptop remix:


The Brother Kite "Out of Sight"


The Brother Kite "Coat of Arms"


The Besties end their set:


Video shot by Maggi of Dyrdin:
The Besties

Many thanks to Chris Mac from indiepages, not only for doing merch so well, but bringing along these great mixes that we played throughout the weekend (see below).

Matthew from Otter Pop Radio also gave us some great mixes, thanks!

Scotland
Orange Juice - Blue Boy
Josef K - Pictures (Of Cindy)
Fire Engines - Meat Whiplash
Aztec Camera - The Boy Wonders
Jasmine Minks - Think!
Primal Scream - It Happens
Jesus And Mary Chain - You Trip Me Up
Shop Assistants - Safety Net
Jesse Garon & The Desperadoes - The Rain Fell Down
Pastels - Comin' Through
This Poison! - Poised Over The Pause Button
Fun Patrol - No Concern Of Mine
Vaselines - Molly's Lips
Baby Lemonade - All Down To You
Close Lobsters - What Is There To Smile About
Orchids - Caveman
18 Wheeler - Nature Girl
Bis - Kandy Pop
Adventures In Stereo - Waves On
Belle & Sebastian - Seeing Other People
Teenage Fanclub - I Don't Want Control Of You
Delgados - Big Business In Europe
Pearlfishers - We're Gonna Save The Summer
Speedboat - Truckin' Back To You
Cosmic Rough Riders - Melanie
Camera Obscura - I Don't Do Crowds
Nice Man & The Bad Boys - Tambourine

Mod/power pop
Boyfriends - I'm In Love Today
Distractions - It Doesn't Bother Me
Shivvers - Teen Line
Seventeen - Bank Holiday Weekend
BTP Folders - All Of A Sudden
Speedies - Let Me Take Your Foto
Strand - One More Ring
Babijar - Ice Age
Strangeways - Show Her You Care
Jags - Back Of My Hand
Tours - Language School
Monroes - What Do All The People Know
Regular Guys - Too Dumb
Andy Arthurs - I Can Detect You For 100,000 Miles
Leyton Buzzards - I'm Hanging Around
Moondogs - Who's Gonna Tell Mary
Sex Clark Five - Neita Grew Up Last Night
Stiv Bators - It's Cold Outside
Princess Of Peace - X-Ray Proved
Donkeys - Don't Go
Gas - Ignore Me
Puppet Rulers - Complicated Girl
Kick! - Let's Get Back Together
Gangsters - Best Friend
Keys - I Don't Wanna Cry
Rockers - Don't Leave Me Tonight
Times - I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape

Indie rock
Glossary - Fast Walkin' Shit Talkin'
Silver Scooter - Regret Sets In
Super Friendz - Stop Start
Track Star - Lifestyles
Ciao Bella - Another Pill
Thrush Hermit - On The Sneak
Sloan - Losing California
Sekiden - Autumn Glass
Moped - Turkey
Pee - IHOP
Flake - Mieke
Eric's Trip - Anytime You Want
Seam - Grain
Bear Quartet - Carsick
Butterglory - Demons And Avalanches
Polvo - Tragic Carpet Ride
Bob Hund - Istället För Musik Förvirring
Juniper - Think And Die Thinking
Swirlies - Sarah Sitting
Superdrag - Some Kind Of Tragedy
Mendoza Line - Dollars To Donuts
Spraydog - Lemonade
Beatnik Filmstars - Revolt Into Style
Henry's Dress - (You're My) Radio One
Plastic Mastery - Why Can't You Breathe Again
Deathray Davies - Is This On
Ropers - I Don't Mind
David & The Citizens - Song Against Life
Versus - Astronaut

indiepop
Allen Clapp - Why Sting Is Such An Idiot
Aislers Set - Hit The Snow
Wolfie - Hey It's Finally Yay
Barcelona - Sunshine Delay
Frenchmen - Hey Amelia
Holiday - You've Got Nothing
True Love Always - Buried Treasure
Bearsuit - Itsuko Got Married
Galactic Heroes - Neat Street
Lilys - A Nanny In Manhattan
Black Tambourine - Throw Aggi Off The Bridge
I Live The Life Of A Movie Star Secret Hideout - Figure Eights
Honeybunch - Endure Me
White Town - Bewitched
Birdie - Such A Sound
Eggplant - Often I Lie
Bartlebees - You're Still Beautiful
Push Kings - Pop Phenomenon
Rondelles - TV Zombie
Poundsign - Disaster
Haywains - Bye Bye Boyfriend
Madison Electric - Heavy Petal
Cat's Miaow - Third Floor Fire Escape View
Eggstone - My Trumpets
Papas Fritas - Words To Sing
Red Sleeping Beauty - You're The Kind
Monograph - Holding On In Colour
Winter Vacation - An Arsonist
Masters Of The Hemisphere - Anything, Anything
Hang Ups - Top Of Morning
Rocketship - I'm Lost Without You Here
Pencil Tin - Poignant
Waves - Bombarded
Wimp Factor XIV - Rebuilding Europe

dancepop
Acid House Kings - The Boy Still Dreams
Barcelona - Studio Hair Gel
Le Sport - Your Brother Is My Only Hope
Happy Couple - Another Sunny Day
They Go Boom!! - World At Our Feet
Even As We Speak - Drown
La Casa Azul - Cerca De Shibuya
White Town - Another Lover
Magnetic Fields - Rats In The Garbage Of The Western World
New Order - Mesh
Purelove - Ascendancy
Saint Etienne - You're In A Bad Way
Tender Trap - ¿Como Te Llamas (Tell Me Your Name)
Club 8 - Missing You
Pipas - Rock And Or Roll
Waltz For Debbie - He Loves Anna
Action Biker - Sandy Edwards
Slomo Rabbit Kick - Yr Not Gothic
Le Chevre - Everything Reminds Me
Vitesse - A Way To My Redemption
Family - Carlos Baila
Orchids - Striving For The Lazy Perfection
A Shrine - Silent
Wake - Talk About The Past
Famous Boyfriend - I Can't See My Way Out Of This

covers
Lenola - Catch
Salteens - Motor Away
Teenage Fanclub - Here Comes Your Man
Drawbacks - Teenage Kicks
Comas - Radio
Polvo - Mexican Radio
Smudge - Make All Our Dreams Come True
Heavenly - Art School
Lush - Outdoor Miner
Lucksmiths - I've Got It And It's Not Worth Having
Boyracer - Stop Killing Me
Rondelles - I Melt With You
J Church - Girlfriend In A Coma
Milky Wimpshake - This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)
Redd Kross - How Much More
Wedding Present - It's Not Unusual
Pansy Division - Jackson
Kind Of Like Spitting - Now I Can Smile
Bunnygrunt - Repulsion
Bartlebees - World Of Pauline Lewis
Fitz Of Depression - Glad All Over
Belle & Sebastian - The Boys Are Back In Town
Cat's Miaow - Born On A Train
Even As We Speak - Bizarre Love Triangle
Of Montreal - She's My Best Friend
Frank And Walters - Funky Cold Medina
Future Bible Heroes - Don't You Want Me
Mirafiori - No Te Necesito (I Don't Need You)
Softies - Hey Hey Girl
Pastels - Different Drum

c86
Primal Scream - Velocity Girl
McCarthy - Should The Bible Be Banned
Shop Assistants - All Day Long
Wolfhounds - Cruelty
Mighty Mighty - Throwaway
Razorcuts - Jade
Bodines - Therese
Wedding Present - Once More
June Brides - We Belong
Brilliant Corners - Meet Me On Tuesdays
Loft - Why Does The Rain
Chesterfields - Completely & Utterly
Pastels - Crawl Babies
Biff Bang Pow! - Fifty Years Of Fun
Church Grims - Seen It All
Flatmates - Tell Me Why
Groove Farm - The Best Part Of Being With You
Magic Shop - It's True
James Dean Driving Experience - Dean's Eleventh Dream
1000 Violins - You Ungrateful Bastard
Felt - Ballad Of The Band
Clouds - Get Out Of My Dream
Talulah Gosh - The Girl With The Strawberry Hair
14 Iced Bears - Balloon Song
My Bloody Valentine - Sunny Sundae Smile
Primitives - Really Stupid
Siddeleys - Wherever You Go
Weather Prophets - Almost Prayed
Holidaymakers - Everyday
Nivens - Let Loose Of My Knee
Pooh Sticks - Indiepop Ain't Noise Pollution

australia
Summer Suns - Girl In A Mexican Restaurant
Zebras - The Forces Of Light (Preloading)
Mid-State Orange - Losing Time
Darren Hanlon - (There's Not Enough Songs About) Squash
Ashtray Boy - The Tourist Living In A World Of Pain
Ripe - We're All Trying To Get There
Plunderers - Christo
Smudge - The Outdoor Type
Cat's Miaow - Stay
Singing Bush - Do What You Say (Richard Richard)
Crabstick - Cardboard Keg
The Go-Betweens - Cattle and Cane
Sugargliders - Another Faux Pas In The Cathedral Of Love
Rainyard - Hell Bent Suicidal Over You, Baby
Stems - Never Be Friends
Even - Stupid Dream
Lucksmiths - Synchronised Sinking
Architecture In Helsinki - The Owls Go
Showbag - East Or West
Sekiden - Autumn Glass
Godstar - Everything You Give Me Breaks
Richies - Little Petty Things
P76 - Headed Straight For The Sun
Pencil Tin - Poignant
Her Name In Lights - Against The Blue
Marigolds - Shame On You
Someloves - Know You Now
Cannanes - I Think The Weathers Affected Your Brain

2006
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken
Bears - When You're Away
Cats On Fire - Draw In The Reins
Beatnik Filmstars - The Greatest Of Minds
Kristallin - My Godchild (Is Franka)
Capstan Shafts - Defenstration Makes Good Neighbors
Lake Holiday - Press Record Then Play
Casper & The Cookies - Sid From Central Park
Charade - My Song To You
Minor Leagues - Different Planet
Boat - Last Cans Of Paint
Boyracer - Kids Don't Follow
Dýrðin - Brottnuminn
Pants Yell! - Don't Take It
Channel - Olden Days
Central Services - She Was My Ride
Electric Soft Parade - A Cold World
Love Is All - Ageing Had Never Been His Friend
Five Mod Four - The Sound Of My Own Wheels Has Driven Me Crazy
Voxtrot - Fast Asleep
Russian Spy Camera - Chance
Human Television - Tonight's The Night
Tender Trap - Talking Backwards
Harper Lee - I Could Be Wrong
Ivy League - London Bridges
Golden Bear - A Reason To Be Proud
Sex Robots - Knives
Tidy Ups - Dizzy Heights
Airfields - Lonely Halls
Patience Please - Unpublished

Sandwich And A Sweater
MacGuffins - Rich Together
Calloways - Kalamazoo
Windmills - The Day Dawned On Me
Prayers - Puppet Clouds
Men Of Westenesse - The Coldest Water
Chefs - 24 Hours
Gangway - Out On The Rebound From Love
Moss Poles - One Summer
Lovenotes And Lithium - When Love (Gets In The Way)
River Roses - Innocent June
April Showers - Abandon Ship
Room - One Hundred Years
Would Be's - I'm Hardly Ever Wrong
Big Gun - Heard About Love
Dislocation Dance - You'll Never Never Know
Apple Moths - Kymri
Servants - The Sun A Small Star
Buba & The Shop Assistants - Something To Do
French Impressionists - Castles In The Air
Spinning Jennys - I'd Laugh If Your Head Exploded
Wallflowers - Blushing Girl, Nervous Smile
Trixie's Big Red Motorbike - Norman And Narcissus
Laugh - Paul McCartney
Dubious Brothers - Don't Laugh At Me
Passmore Sisters - June In The Water

Sarah
14 Iced Bears - Come Get Me
Poppyheads - Cremation Town
Another Sunny Day - I'm In Love With A Girl Who Doesn't Know I Exist
Sea Urchins - You're So Much
Golden Dawn - My Secret World
Springfields - Sunflower
St. Christopher - All Of A Tremble
Orchids - It's Only Obvious
Wake - Crush The Flowers
Brighter - I Don't Think It Matters
Action Painting! - These Things Happen
Eternal - Breathe
Even As We Speak - Goes So Slow
Heavenly - Our Love Is Heavenly
Tramway - Maritime City
Field Mice - September's Not So Far Away
Forever People - Sometimes
Hit Parade - In Gunnersbury Park
Secret Shine - Loveblind
Boyracer - I've Got It And It's Not Worth Having
East River Pipe - Make A Deal With The City
Sugargliders - Will We Ever Learn
Blueboy - Cosmopolitan
Aberdeen - Byron
Northern Picture Library - Paris

This post is dedicated to the highest concentration of women on bass I have ever seen. Rock it!

Emily from The Icicles


Sarah from Palomar


This is not a good bass pic, but here's Jenny from My Teenage Stride


Beauty Sleep


Stefanie from Locas in Love with her new vintage Rick


Andrea from The Brother Kite


Lisa from Surefire Broadcast


Jen from The Specific Heats


Marta from Polar Bear Parade


Carina from Hands and Knees


Karen from Bunnygrunt


My Chicks on Bass Myspace

We'd like to thank the support of the indiepop list! Many peeps came out, and although we've heard it said before, we didn't get out the name tags for Popfest!

We dedicate this post to you, the Popfest Peeps. I made a concerted effort to take as many peep pix as possible. Interspersed are some comments from the indiepop list. Enjoy!



"Thanks to William and Christine and Chris Mac and everyone else. MTS had a great time, I had a great time, and even though I was actually in a trance-like state during our set due to lack of sleep and overindulgence of Red Bull, the enthusiam of the pop kids kept me awake through the whole thing.

Locas in Love were a wonderful surprise as I hadn't seen them before. The Smittens axis delivered the goods as usual, with the Besties providing excellent guest work. I tried to take a picture of the french horn player's horn, but it came out badly. I wish I had been able to stay for the Sunday shows. I also wish I had been able to come to the Sat show before 10. I also wish I had cool horns, like satan, or the guy from Judas Priest.

Also, I liked Spouse, but as a former Northamptonite, I knew that already."
/Jed

Most of the band Dyrdin from Iceland:
Maggi, Einar, Maggi's girlfriend Anna and Sigrun:


"We're back from US, where we had an amazing time with lots of cool people! We got to play with The Besties, The Smittens, The Icicles, Locas in Love, Bunnygrunt, The Leader, Peter Dizozza the singing lawyer, The Metric Mile, Secret Shine and then some. We got to see the New England fall foilage which people travel from all over the world to see, got some real McDonalds that taste exactly like here in Iceland, got some small coffees that were huge, inched our way up Broadway on a shopping spree, met some crazy taxi drivers and battled angry german girls in hotel rooms. All in all a very nice time was had by all of us"
/Dyrdin



Colin signing everything for MichaelZ:


"1. Locas In Love are awesome. It is always fun when someone of whom you've never even heard turns out to be great. The wonderfully-maned lead singer also had the best line of the weekend: " asked if we were planning to engage in any terrorism or espionage. We ticked the 'no' box." His delivery was perfect. We talked briefly about how hard it was for German-only groups to come over here, and he was surprised that I knew who Die Sterne was. You could tell how happy he was to be there.

2. According to Magnus, there was some discussion about whether printing the descriptions of the songs on Dyrdin's CD would be a good idea or not. I assured him they made the right choice. He also told me Dyrdin translates as "The Glory," which unfortunately sounds like a bad Christian rock act. So I'm going to pretend I didn't learn that, and tell everyone it means "Puffins with Guitars."

3. Chris Mac runs a tight merch ship. And he seemingly knows every song on every release ever.

4. It seems a great number of list people were there. Perhaps if I posted more than once every two years, I would've known who some of you were. No matter, I'm normally pretty quiet and had a perfectly good time drinking my beers and absorbing the music.

5. William and Christine have put on a great event three years running and I hope they have the desire and ability to keep it going for many more. They deserve all the kudos I can muster. My only complaint...

6. Next time, Popfest should be in Easthampton, so I can get home to bed quicker. It took me at least twenty minutes to get home, brush my teeth, and climb into bed. Twenty minutes!"
/Matt


Sherri, Joe Weincis, Marta / Polar Bear Parade, Kevin / L'il Hospital, Ellen, James, Gus & Marisha / Polar Bear Parade:


"Musical highlights for me were Locas in Love, Butterflies of Love, My Teenage Stride, The Icicles and Palomar. I am an old school fan of the Butterflies of Love and it was a treat to see them again with Mark Mulcahy. Locas in Love are total sweethearts and fuckin rock to boot -- love the hair-do and attitude and polar bear badges (step off the polar bears, man!). We all enjoyed playing as well last night and wished we had worked out more songs, like our surprise Neil Young cover that we will pull out one day soon for all of you. Everyone sounded just fantastic, the sound quality in the room was very good. Christine and William do an amazing job with putting together the popfest NE. The two of them are such sweet, thoughtful, fun people." /Marisha

MichaelZ, Dave, Holly & Colin / Smittens, Kevin, Matt / Specific Heats:


"Highlights of the Popfest:
Locus in Love stage presence and banter, getting to playing a song with William, Rikky, Marissa and Kelly, the Snow Fairies, actually seeing all of my friend's AMAZING bands (I don’t need to list you all, you know you were all great), The New to Me bands (Locus in Love, Panda Riot, Polar Bear Parade, etc), Matpat's reverb and wardrobe, Bunnygrunt playing "Freak Scene", Kev, Mat and Frank chilaxing before the Lil Hospital set on stage, watching people trying to eat the giant slices of pizza from Meimio’s (sp) Pizza, and the fact the their wasn’t a bad band at the fest.

Lowlights:
If there was a lowlight, I guess it would have to be the bit about Kev killing and eating the Snow Fairies. That kind of bums me out, they were nice kids."
/DavidZ

Jen / Specific Heats, Christine / Skipping Stones Records, Kevin, Leigh & Patrick / Brother Kite:


"what everyone said: LOCAS IN LOVE were fucking great. it's the same
with la buena vida, even though i don't know german, i just really
seized hold of their sound. i guess i should say that i also loved
seeing the besties for the first time. lalalala, they're the besties!
also seeing songs from the brother kite's new album played live was
awesome ... secret shine played loveblind and that pretty much made the
whole trip worth it alone.

sooo..as you guys can see, I too had an amazing time and it was such a
treat to put faces to names. I met a lot of new popsters, but it was
super great to see old friends from all over the place." /Leigh

Matthew from CA, Brian & Rebecca / Panda Riot, Dave, Holly and Kevin:



"I probably would have driven there just for the merch table." /Nick


Soulseek tweefolks, including Tim from Alberta, Canada


"1) William and Christine deserve a massive round of applause for putting on a stellar show and Chris Mac for yeoman efforts at the merch table
2) maybe we should make nametags for the next one so first timers will know who everybody is. or maybe just get Neal Snow Fairies or Colin to do the intros, since they were so darn nice about it
3) Kardyhm got attacked by a giant moth (not confirmed)
4) it's really nice to be at a show where everybody is there for the music, not just as the "oh I have to be there to be seen for the hipster quotient points" so the people talking don't drown out the band
5) it takes a lot longer to get dressed in the AM if you're listening to the Besties' "Prison Song" at the time
6) driving back to the motel with the stereo blasting and everyone in the car singing along to "Gin and Platonic" "Forever And A Day" and "George Romero" rules
7) everybody that I met was totally sweet, and thanks to Joe Wiencis for hooking us up with some great sushi on Sunday." /MichaelZ


This is the ultimate pic! This was taken on Saturday night.
From the left - Colin / Smittens, Kate / Smittens guest french horn player, Annabel / Beauty Sleep, Rob Christiansen in the back, Aileen Popfest helper, and Locas in Love: Mauri, Stephanie, Benny, Bjoern and Nicholas:


"By the time the beautiful Besties we were scared straight of playing ourselves. Everybody was so great and well received that we were quite scared of failing. Utterly. All that couldn't prevent us from enjoying the Besties, however. The way the voices of Marisa and Kelly interacted reminded us of all that was great about that dog. and Rikky had his great rock-star-frontman looks to keep us from worrying about his guitar that kept cutting out. It was impossible not to have a good time while they played. Next up were The Smittens. Before we saw them we didn't know anyone or anything from Vermont, now we think it must be the coolest place ever. They had the Besties on stage for a couple of songs adding further prove to the assumption that they're just about infallible.
We were next and when Mauri started to play all fear evaporated. This was fun! You can see a video of our first song on a foreign continent here and a bit of in-between song banter here. We could see all the bands in our audience and everyone seemed to be having a good time and that was about the most enjoyable experience ever. We played a bit longer than previous bands because one of the later bands hadn't been able to make it in time and, even though we sung in a language that hardly anyone in attendance understood, people stuck around and cheered us on.

After the show we got about as many compliments as we gave to the other bands and all in all we've hardly ever felt as much part of a scene. People we'd never met before suddenly felt like friends and for everyone involved it was one of those nights that reassures you you're doing the right thing. Sometimes it's pretty hard to understand why some people don't play in bands, or write fanzines or release records or plan shows or any of those things that gets you in touch with the awesome people of this world.

After us Dyrdin from Iceland played a set that saw some ecstatic crowd dancing and some happily exhausted onlookers from Germany smiling at them from the back rows. At the end of the night it seems like everybody had bought some of everybody else's stuff and only knowing we'd meet a lot of these people a couple of days later in New York made it possible for us to even think of leaving.

And, admittedly, all the superlatives in the world could do justice to the great time we had in Northampton. So let's all hope there's another Popfest next year, because if there is we can all just meet there and let the good times roll."
/Locas in Love myspace blog



Neal & Jayme Snow Fairie with MichaelZ looking proudly on his signed album:

"... j mascis has really long grey hair and a cool looking dog ...
everyone in northampton is sexy ... everyone loves the german language
... chris mac can organize a merch table like nobody's business ...
indiepopsters are too shy but when it's so dark in bars you can't see
anybody anyway so what's it matter? ... playing a show with your new
drummer when the old drummer is in the audience is just wrong ...
everyone has an iPod ... shots of tequila are always a good idea ...
veracruza's burrito is better than bueno y sano's burrito ...
haymarket cafe has great coffee ... math and physics club are the best
band in america ... you will miss your picnic date if you stay in the
woods and there's no cell phone reception ... i'm stupid for
forgetting to drink at ye olde watering hole AKA the beer can museum
... locas in love looks just as good as they sound ... mat pat's
reverb is fucking unreal ... there is no answer to the question,
what's a better song "zombie song" or "saphire?" ... even though i
missed both surefire broadcast and lil' hospital's sets, I secretly
wish they would release a split 7" and end war, poverty, global
warming and bigotry forever ... rainbow vests make people happy ...
limited edition vinyl makes them happier ... last shows are almost --
but not quite -- as cool as first shows ... next year, someone should
really cover that jonathan richman song "new england" ... i still like
to dance ... THANKS EVERYONE! xo, neal"

Colin and Christine


Colin and William / Skipping Stones Records:



"I just had a fight with a rude crazy woman at the supermarket, I wasn't ready for that after such a great weekend." /Joe


Chris Mac, Christine & Matthew:


"the popfest was swell.

the weather was great and i got Night Of The Living Dead on DVD for $5
and Texas Chainsaw Massacre for $8.00, at that used record store.

dyrdin were especially ace.

i had decent burritos two days in a row and the elevens sold ENORMOUS
red bull and vodkas for only $5, so you can imagine who only slept
like seven minutes all w/e.

joe and i got to talk about prog rock without worrying about boring
the marchlist to tears, and he even tied my cape for me.

oh, and ellen gave me pumpkin spice pop rocks."
/brett


Charles / Math & Physics Club and William:


"Thanks a million times over to William & Christine for putting on such a fantastic weekend. It was incredible to see so much wonderful music and people in one place at one time. Being only "virtually present" for the most part, It's reassuring to know that the live indiepopscene is flourishing (and it's a tremendous personal treat to be able to get it in such big doses!).

For me, there were a number of new & lovely discoveries hidden among the treats I knew were coming. Some of the unanticipated gems that made my weekend even better than I could have imagined:
My Teenage Stride (I know, for my NYC peeps it is crazy that I never got to actually see them play before!)
Locas in Love (yay for German pop!)
Polar Bear Parade
Surefire Broadcast
The Specific Heats
Math & Physics Club
And, of course, a big shout-out to all the tremendously sweet and funny people who make going to pop shows such a nice experience. I miss you guys already." /k.

Matt / Specific Heats with Farfisa:


"What I learned at Popfest:
1. 2 dollar PBR is wonderful, but Jameson's and Ginger Ale is even better.
2. Making up is far easier when there is Pop involved.
3. I shall never tire of the Smittens.
4. Chris Mac is my hero.
5. Polar Bear Parade are my new fave band.
6. Less debauchery than last year = more fun ( at least for me).
7. How Kardyhm got her name.
8 Who needs sleep?
9. Locas in Love made me feel proud to be American
10. One word: Wiencis" /MichaelM

Kevin, all packed up and ready to go:


"my fave bands:
- Bunnygrunt
- Hands & Knees
- My Teenage Stride
- Math & Physics Club
- the Icicles
and of course, i really liked the Snow Fairies + the Besties + the
Specific Heats + the Smittens; but those guys are my friends........

and weren't the new Icicles songs so good? they seemed heavy.

further, I was pissed that the Snow Fairies didn't play "Spleens,"
which is probably the most inspired swan song ever. i was so angry
that i was compelled to find them. and kill them. and then eat their
body parts. like Jeffrey Dahmer.

and it was nice to meet people i haven't seen in ages or ever: Sherri,
Marisha, Joe, Michael Murphy, Zakes, Math & physics club (the team),
Sarah Gentile, Brett, Jed, Ghandi, William, Christine, Keira, Adolf,
Jess....
god, shut me up."
/Kevin

View all of our pix Here

posted by christine  # 2:46 PM 0 comments

The backline served us well this year, and nothing blew up! I took some pictures for posterity, thank you tube and equipment gods! We are very proud of you:

William's drum kit (and his shoes): 1964 Rogers Holiday


Bass amp:* 1981 Peavy 400 Mark IV 300 head, Ashdown MAG 410T cabinet, guitar amp 1:* Fender combo FM 212R 100 watt, 2x12 w/spring reverb, great clean jangly sound, guitar amp 2:* 1974 Ampeg V4 100 watt head, 4x12 Peavy cabinet with Black Widow speakers.

The afternoon show finished about 6pm and we were able to keep the Club open in between the shows. We enjoyed some nice "down time" and a lot of people banded together to go invade some restaurant, while others went to get giant slices of pizza. I had some deliciously evil fries and a sandwich from the bar next door.

We started the show a little earlier so that there would be plenty of time for everyone to play. Hands and Knees from Boston played first, featuring yet another female bass player (and singer), Carina. Next up was The Specific Heats. They played a great set and even brought the Farfisa! There were a few "guest appearances," including Marissa from The Besties and Colin Clary / The Smittens on guitar. There was even a laptop-super-dance-mix!



Colin on guitar with his signature striped sweater:


The Brother Kite came on next and they put on a great performance. Their label, Claire and tonevendor also helped us to promote the Popfest - thanks Dan & Heather (and congrats on the new baby)!
The Brother Kite:


Bunnygrunt from St. Louis, MO were their usual rockin' selves. We've seen them every year at Athens Popfest, so we really appreciated that they made the trip out east! They were in a car for a real long time, but you wouldn't really know it.

Bunnygrunt rocks. End of story.


The Snow Fairies from Philadelphia were on next and everyone in the audience were just thrilled! They had copies of their new album available, Voila!


Clap along to The Snow Fairies:


Math & Physics Club gets the award for furthest distance traveled within the United States, hailing from Seattle, WA. They played their wonderfully beautiful music and it was bliss. I had some great conversations with Charles, but I didn't really get to meet the others.

Here is Charles and Saundrah from Math & Physics Club:


The end is near!

Secret Shine ended the night and Popfest. The performance was just incredible and amazing. They played quieter than I expected, but there were plenty of driving moments. The show ended the whole Popfest with a feeling that something monumental just happened. And it did.





I was so exhausted and had to sit down, but when Secret Shine started to play "Loveblind" I just had to get up and dance.



It was over! But everyone didn't want to leave! Everyone said their long goodbye's, bought and traded merch and were finally kicked out of the club. We had to pack up the backline and drive back home to CT, Secret Shine came with us. I wasn't sure how we packed a mini-van and a '90 volvo wagon with all our stuff, but we did it. I'm bummed that I didn't get a picture when we got home, but I was so tired.

Although there was room in the mini-van for more people, Richie, Dean, Rob and Jamie piled into the Volvo, which I drove home. William was ahead of me and when I got onto the highway, it was dark. I couldn't believe I had most of Secret Shine in my car and I almost panicked! But I reached for the iPod and put on some tunes and drove, very carefully, home. At one point Yo La Tengo came on - "Spec Bebop" - one of those monumental, droning, ten-minute songs. It was a sadistic attempt to fight it out on my part, me vs. yo la tengo - who will win???? The highway was empty, I was following the lights of the mini-van, the highway lines' monotony just making the music even more lulling. I won. I made it to the end of the song. When we pulled into the driveway all me mates woke up and gave me a hearty English thank you, "Cheers, right!"

The next day we had the classic Skipping Stones Records' band breakfast: lots and lots and lots of coffee, bagels and cream cheese. There was a slight problem with getting Secret Shine on a train to Washington, DC. They hadn't made reservations and the price had gone up significantly. They almost didn't make it, but instead they took a bus and got to see the country (albeit much cheaper!).

Secret Shine at SSR HQ, all refreshed!
Dean, Katherine, Richie, Jamie, guest Rob & Scott:

At this point in my story, I’d like to stop a moment to give thanks to all of the people who helped us, some of them unexpectedly. Steph and Joe are good friends, and they may not necessarily dig all of the music, but they stood by that back door for several nights in a row. Thanks! At least on Friday and Saturday night they got to watch the dance party next door, which, I may say, is very interesting. Steph said about the Popfest:

“Even if you don't like the style of music, even if you don't like most of the bands... it's a good time.
You meet lots of people from ALL OVER, and everyone is nice to each other, there's no big attitude problems, and by the end of the weekend it's like a big happy family .
Although musically this one was a LOT better than the first one. I really dug dyrdin, the locas, and my teenage stride (they got a lot better/different than the last time i saw them.)”

Thanks, Steph & Joe!

Next up is Aileen, who we met be chance last summer at a BBQ and now she plays keyboards in our band, Singing Bridges. Aileen stuck by the front door all weekend, rocked out in the back and kept me company amidst all the chaos. We even convinced her to come up for Saturday night, begging and pleading via text messages all afternoon. Thanks Aileen!!!!!

Chris Mac needs no explanation, he is the merch king. Look at this pic!


Doing merch ain’t so bad. I covered for Chris Mac from time to time when he had to make an obligatory Slurpie run at the Athens Popfest. No matter. We love Chris! We must get him another pin that says “I *heart* customers.” He lost his. If you ever see one, please send it to: po box 24, oakville, ct, 06779 usa. Thanks.

And the unexpected helper comes in the form of Matthew from California, who stood by the door ready and willing to go fetch pizza or look threatening. The best part was the t-shirt he was wearing that said "INSECURITY." People would look at it quickly and assume that he was the bouncer! Here's Matthew on the left with Panda Riot, Smittens & Kevin from L'il Hospital:


We miss you, Matthew!