Thursday, May 1, 2008

Mayfest 2008 features The Gin Blossoms among 40+ bands, musicians

By Erin Rice

Mayfest 2008 starts tonight, Thursday, along the Trinity River in Fort Worth. To help acquaint you with the festivities, we're providing you with this handy little musical guide. With more than 40 performances, over four days, on three stages, traveling at a rate of 60 miles per hour, carrying 200 passengers each... oh, sorry. Let's just say these figures all adds up to a lot of freakin' entertainment. So what's a person to do? Keep reading.

Thursday

Sure, you have to work on Friday. But has that ever stopped you before? The headlining act for Thursday night are The Gourds from Austin, TX. Getting their start in 1994, The Gourds are probably best known outside their loyal fan base as "that band that covered Snoop Dogg's 'Gin and Juice.'" Those more in tune with this group's alt-country/bluegrass sound know that they've released 8 albums so far, beginning with Dem's Good Beeble in 1997, and most recently Nobel Creatures (2007). They've also had a few songs featured in the NBC comedy My Name is Earl starring Jason Lee. Off topic note: Jason Lee has a local music connection in that he absolutely loves the local band Midlake. They are not playing Mayfest on Thursday or any of the other days.

But some other local bands are playing Thursday, including The Lifters at 4 p.m., regulars at joints like The Moon Bar on the TCU campus, and Calhoun at 5 p.m., who played SXSW this year. Calhoun releases their album Falter.Waiver.Cultivate this summer, but early reviews indicate a strong record and a promising performance set.

Friday

Kelly Willis is the closing act on the main stage for Friday night. The Austin singer has been described by NPR as alt-country's "golden goddess" and the L.A. Times writes that she has a "stunning voice that combines honky tonk sass with bruised vulnerability." She takes the main stage at 8:30 p.m. She is preceded from fellow Austinites, The Derailers.

Locals playing on Friday include The Campaign and The Tejas Brothers on the main stage. While all bands are veritable pools of talent, my suggestion for a do not miss is Poo Live Crew at 5:30 p.m. on the Streams & Valleys Riverbank Stage. The band, who very well could show up in any assortment of costuming, cover a wide range of contemporary artists like Huey Lewis, Britney Spears, Men at Work, and Duran Duran. All sung with their signature sense of humor and some tongue in cheek references, they also sport a lineup of original songs including "The Salad Ballad," and "Manuel Stole My Monkey."

Saturday

Saturday night marks the reappearance of the Gin Blossoms in DFW. Despite a somewhat surprising performance in March 2007 at RockHouse Live on Preston, this Tempe, AZ band hasn't had much of a touring presence in our metro. They are best known for a string of hits in the mid 90's ("Hey Jealousy," "Found Out About You," "'Til I Hear it From You," and "Follow You Down") hitting on every young person's so-called life at the time. They broke up in 1997 only to reunite in 2002. The Gin Blossoms released their first album in ten years, Major Lodge Victory in 2006, and are currently on a national tour crashing a slew of festivals on the way.

Saturday is full of great local acts. Starting at 3 p.m. is Doug Burr, whose latest album, On Promenade has been wildly approved of by the indie folk circuits. After the country bluegrass stylings of 100 Damned Guns, comes The Killdares at 5 p.m. It's no secret that we're fans of this Celtic rock outfit, but can I say once again how incredible not only their music is, but how cool it is that their lead singer is also their drummer? You don't see that often. Then, of course, the following band, The Drams, are a staple of the local music scene. If you get a chance to sneak away from the main stage, be sure to check out a song or two from the J Walkers at 5 p.m. on the Tarrant Regional Water District Art Area Stage. Taking the indie pop sound that is popular background music on MTV reality shows, they incorporate their own spin with some masterful fiddle playing. This is definitely a band to watch as they explode on the scene in the upcoming years.

Sunday

Sunday, like any other, is a mishmash. This will be a good day to stroll around and check out the action on all the stages. Starting off at 11:30 a.m. (if you didn't inbibe too heavily the night before) is the young yet talented voice of Maren Morris on the main stage. Later on there's The Cast for the indie rockers in attendance, Los Gallos for a Latin blues fix, and Joe Jonas for some straight up, SXSW certified blues. For a visual spectacle, take this suggestion: see The Frontier Brothers at 12:45 p.m. on the Streams & Valleys Riverbank Stage. Not only did they get a photo in the NYT for their "color" at SXSW, but they were recently interviewed by a very blond and curly John Norris from MTV. When you wear a full body, monochromatic, spandex suit on stage, much less on the street to grab a hot dog, you tend to draw attention. Luckily for them, this attention was paydirt.

If music is not your thing, there are tons of other activities to take part in. And may God have mercy on your soul.

Related stories

• Pegasus News Week in View: Mayday Edition (May 1, 2008)

See more stories in:

• Arts > Popular Music
• Festivals

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