Fest 22: Day 2 in Gainesville, FL

I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic. It was just after 4AM and I thought I was dying. I was sweating, cramping, and out of breath. It was too soon to have contracted COVID what could it- oh god. I ran to the bathroom. Those tacos from Boca had turned on me. I spent the next 10 hours in and out of bed/bathroom, in severe pain, sweating, freezing, sick af. Matt was such a sweetheart; I had so desperately wanted to ensure that he had the best time at his first Fest and I didn’t want him to miss a thing. But he was okay with my not getting out of bed and feeling like a human until after 1PM. After I collected myself and we packed up for the day, we stopped at the Walgreen’s just down the way from our hotel. As I was wandering through the aisles when I saw a familiar face. It was Jorge, the lead singer and dancing king extraordinaire of DFMK! We hugged and chatted for a bit. They had just gotten in overnight and were staying right down the street from us. We said our goodbyes and went on our way.

We fueled for the day at Karma Cream before heading into the thick of it and starting the day, albeit a few hours late. The first thing on my list was to check out Jaake from Sweet Gloom playing acoustic. This was the perfect start for my day, which was shaping up to be slower than I’d like it to be. But I was determined to cover as much as I could while still feeling like shit. I stayed at the Bull’s outside stage for Tiny Stills acoustic and then Chris Fox of Boss’ Daughter. I slowly made my way down to Boca’s backyard – the scene of the food poisoning crime last night – for Wolves&Wolves&Wolves&Wolves. Matt and I got there early and ran into lead singer, Brian, who is literally one of the nicest people on the planet. We talked about the state of the world, the state of the scene, the band’s newest songs, and upcoming releases before he headed off to take the stage. Their set was wild. It started off with die hard only fans at the front of the stage running around and shouting lyrics. But as the set went on, the outdoor space filled to capacity with a line out the back.

Afterwards, I caught up with a group of friends outside the venue. It started as a brief “hey, how have you been?” But ended up being an hours-long conversation where we caught up on life, on scene politics, on podcasts, on band news, on personal news, and on laughs. It was one of those very great conversations that you only seem to have during a weekend like Fest where you see people you haven’t seen in a year or years and it feels like you were all hanging out yesterday within mere minutes. We rallied as a group and headed over to the Bull’s outside stage to catch Miski croon some acoustic City Mouse songs. From there, I followed my friend Jen into Loosey’s on a recommendation. They said that I needed to see Pohgoh, a band from Tampa, and would not be disappointed. They were right. Pohgoh is great! The band formed back in the mid ‘90s, broke up, and got back together almost 20 years later. The crowd was filled with loyal fans, many of whom knew every word.

I said bye to Jen and the other friends and dragged myself back down to Boca’s Backyard where I caught the last few songs from Seagulls. One of the absolute best parts of running a site like Bad Copy is that I am basically forced to stay up to speed on bands despite the fact that I am aging rapidly and rarely leave the house anymore (I have an excuse! I went back to school!) Seagulls is one of those bands that we covered before but I never got a chance to see; so happy I did, as their set was great!

My feet were so pleased that I was already where I needed to be for the next two bands on my list. From the aisles of Walgreens to the stage, DFMK took the stage to a packed house. I love these guys and I honestly think that they are one of the best punk bands out there today. Their live show is always insanely fun. Their songs are short, fast, and filled with energy. They are one of the bands that I will always go out of my way to see no matter how many times I’ve seen them before. And of course, this set was no different. Jorge did mention that they can formally announce that they will be releasing a new album through Alternative Tentacles sometime next year. Stoked!

My body was begging me to sit down, but I needed just a little Mean Jeans. The guys took to the stage and the crowd exploded into action. Head banging and shouting with raised beers in the air. They’re another band on my ‘always gonna see no matter what list’ because their shows always plaster a smile across my face. The Portland-based trio played a few songs off their most recent release, Blasted, which came out earlier this year. But it was their classics, like “Born on a Saturday Night” (let’s not talk about how that song is somehow 15 years old, okay?), that caused people in the crowd to lose their minds. My only complaint is that they didn’t play all the hits from their 2018 release Jingles Collection, which may be the best album of all time. 🙂

Their set gave me that fifth wind that I needed to power through the last two bands of the night. I headed over to the world’s darkest venue, How Bazar, for Chicago’s own death pose. The band formed back in 2022 and has quickly made a name for themselves outside of the Midwest. Their live shows are raw and captivating, you can actually feel the energy in the air. And this set was no different. Usually by midnight on the second day of Fest, most people are either passed out or blacked out. But the crowd was cognizant and loving every minute. This set was another testament to the band’s growing reputation as a force within the underground music community. I can’t wait to see what’s next for them.

I crossed the street and snuck into Loosey’s just before Middle-Aged Queers took the stage dressed as Muppets. I love when a band dresses up for Halloween during Fest! I have only been lucky enough to catch this band once before, at Fest last year, and I fell in love. This year, there were bubbles, so many bubbles, and a crowd surfer raft. It was all smiles and pogoing and love. This is another one of those bands that I have had tabs on since (near) the beginning and it has been a pleasure to see them grow over the years. They are getting bigger, and more well-known and they deserve every positive they are getting right now. I walked out of the venue with a smile so wide that my face hurt.

Matt and I headed back to the car and collapsed into the seats. I snacked on a giant bag of Sour Patch Kids as we headed back to the hotel, one last ditch effort to get a little more energy to be able to make it up the stairs and into our hotel room. Another night of scrubbing off the sweat, smashing chips into our faces, and winding down by verbally recounting what an epically huge and eventful day it had been despite the fact that we got a late start due to some devil tacos.

Check out Matt’s amazing photos below: