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Old 03.21.2006, 01:14 PM   #1
top 40 squeeze
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Alright, haven't seen a NO FUN FEST review, even on the old board so here goes... extensive coverage:

It was a real solid year, fucking amazing usual. Carlos Giffoni should truly be crowned the new Godfather of Noise, and we should all bend down to kiss his ring. Can't thank him enough, for putting on such a great event year after year.

I can't quite tell you how it related to the first two years. I think it somehow wasn't as good as the first and second No Fun Fests, but that might just be the novelty wearing off, or where my head is at at the moment. The sound was great, the sets were intense if somewhat shorter than the previous two years. Overall, the show was organized real tight with the upstairs and downstairs bands timed so that you could pretty much always catch the upstairs band, go outside socialize and smoke for 5-10 and then catch the downstairs act... Not always but more often than not. I think I pretty much caught all 40 + acts over the three days, barring a couple from the last day when the sets overlapped more due to the time constraints.

The Line-up was a bit more balanced this year. Last year it was heavy with power electronics and agressive abrasive pedal-driven scree. This year had a good balance, with day one being a good mix of different set-ups... Perhaps we could call it the feminine punch night, with the first 3 acts being all female... These girls bite though... Day Two, the boys stepped up and it was day of the harshest "FUCK YEAH!!!" attitude noise. Macronympha got things violent, but more on that later. Day three felt kind of like the lazy hangover sunday after a rough saturday. More the real instrument-improv night... DRUMS!!! Shit yeah! Guitars!!! Saxamaphones!!! Overall, balance was fucking great. And everyone brought the A-Game to induce cum soaked pants.

Oh shit! and did I mentioned it was fucking packed. 500+ people every night. Beards, Smiles, stinky leather jackets, burned out hippies, cute girls that hit hard in the mosh pit, people from all the fuck over: Ohio, Michigan, Japan, Rhode Island, California... I met one other dude from New York... Hipness was at an all time low... People CAME OUT for this shit travelled, crashed at each other's pads... This happened the previoius two years of course, but the sheer number this year was staggering. There gonna need a bigger venue, although I don't think that's possible, the place is fairly large and I can't think of a place in Brooklyn that's bigger or a club in Manhattan that's not lame that'll allow noise to be blasted till three in the morning, fucking unions. Things were set-up better this year though, with the record venues outside in this little bungallow/alcove/garage instead of downstairs crowding up room in the downstairs. Now to actual reviews.

Day One:
Upstairs:

Zaimph
- Damn, first act, mind's fuzzy. She was good. Nice and loud for one person. Nice tin-foil on guitar fuzziness... Definate solid start.

16 Bitch Pile-up
- These bitches rocked. Wanna buy a record. Man wish i could remember more.

Can't
- Awwww... Jessica was sweet as hell. I bought New Secrets on vinyl. She sang two songs acapella which brought out the hippie vibe I love about noise making folk. Also did usual thing of singing into microphone with high and low pitched noise processing (not really the word i'm looking for) through vocals. Amazing, really amazing. She should of played longer. She real shy, and sort of cut off an amazing new noisey-beautiful track off early, cause she said she heard someone heckle her which I didn't hear. Should have played longer.

Aaron Dilloway
- Great loud anarchic set w/ Carlos Giffoni, Wolf Eyes and Spencer Yeh onstage not playing anything but instead providing hillarious moral support... Fist pumping and fucking shit up... Kind of getting in Dilloway's way which was great... then inducing members of the audience to crash the stage... HAHAHAHA... real fun and funny... and loud. There's such a warm, goofy spirit to so much of this stuff... which kind of turned harsh unfortunately during MacroNympha's set on day two.

Lee/Corsano/Nace
- I've seen Lee play several times with Hooker, and he usually brings a very thoughtfull slow build attentive, delicate, wall-of-feedback approach. But honestly, is that possible when Corsano is hitting the skins? Oh I'm sure it is... but Lee when bonkers anyway bringing intense and immediate gratification. Good Set. Not the best, but more loose and immediate than other Lee sets... More of a beer-drinking, steak-eating Lee, but with all his usual class. Corsano is god.

Zbigniew Karkowski and Carlos Giffoni
- LAPTOPS!!! One of the louder sets if I remember... THANK YOU CARLOS!!!

Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori
- Always wondered what the hell Zeena did to that damn harp... and now I know... At one point I think she was hitting it with a brick... Probably not a brick but she sure was smaking it with something... Used an e-bow too. Was absolutely great. I love this set... Ikue pumped out the intricate sounds... Zeena created the wall, then varied it with notes. Really the set of Day One where noise was build up by lots of organic sounds distorted... and you hear things within you've never heard before. Deep.

Solmania
- Huh? Don't remember it immediately. Good though, I'm sure.

Smegma
- Aha! And then there was Smegma, here to show the upstarts beards in the audience what a real learned BEARD is. Yes! Truly the full potential of the beard was explored during their set. Man, I'm really glad I got to see these old folk play. So responsive, and seemed truly greatful to be playing for a huge, young, and appreciative audience. Something akin to vindication, perhaps?

Downstairs...
- The downstairs acts which were all from Hospital Productions are a complete blur, probably because I was usually in the back and couldn't see a damn thing. Sludge, and Squeel, and bass. Lots of thumping bass. Air Conditioning and Landed were pretty cool and I bought there split, which is decent.

Stop me if this is too long...
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