Fest 22: Day 3 in Gainesville, FL

We woke up, rested yet exhausted and excited for the very final day. We got our stuff together – all the cameras charged up, all the bags packed, and made our way down to Karma Cream for our very last meal there. We had actually eaten at Karma Cream every single day, and I regret nothing. Their chickpea curry wrap is to die for and every single thing that I have ever had there has been amazing. After a good amount of caffeination, we were ready to start the day.

Matt and I had different schedules on this Sunday and as my energy was winding up his was winding down at the end of the festival. I headed over to How Bazar to catch Sweet Gloom. And for an early afternoon set on the final day, everyone in the audience was giving it their all. From there, I snuck over to Vecino’s and saw a bit of American Television’s set. I’ve been following these guys for years – since they were announced on the Wiretap Records roster – and they did not disappoint. Then back to How Bazar to catch Tiny Stills before making my way down to Heartwood for the almighty Bong Mountain. I don’t know what it looked like from the stage, but from the ground level, there were a ton of people, swaying, dancing, and singing along. Of course, everyone was fabulous, but no one is greater than back the guitar, slaying goddess who is now officially in the band.

Back over to How Bazar to catch Sadlands. I think it was earlier this year that this band came on my radar, and I was absolutely obsessed when we were asked to premiere one of the songs off their first release. Over the years, what I defined as “my type of music” has changed. The bands that I used to like I find now irrelevant, and if you don’t stand for something as a group and in your music, I lose interest quickly, but Sadlands is one of those bands that I would’ve loved 15 years ago five years ago and I love today.

I stumbled out of the darkness that is How Bazar venue and into the light to catch Matt Caskitt & the Breaks at the outdoor stage, The Bull. People were pouring out from either side of the tent; the band just brought too many people out for the small venue. I had caught up with my own Matt at their set and we were hanging out and having fun, but I started to feel weird. I had a headache almost all day and no amount of aspirin was making me feel better. I decided to head over to the car to put myself on an adult timeout when I ran into Bek and her partner Chris. We chatted outside of the little liquor store that everyone frequents and Bek offered me magic powdered electrolyte mix that she sweared works wonders. So, I bought the biggest bottle of water the store had and poured in the watermelon flavored powder and chugged and chugged. I felt better almost instantaneously! Magic powder! I felt so great that I decided to walk with them allllll the way over to Palomino to catch a band called Up Dog who I had never heard of before. This is the exact stuff that I love during Fest, these experiences where you have a plan, the plan goes off the rails, and the next thing you know you’re watching an amazing band who is super young and way, way talented and thinking I never would’ve seen this band if I let my day go according to plan. That’s my long-winded way of saying that Up Dog is fabulous, and everyone should follow them.

Headache completely gone I wandered back by The Bull and stopped dead in my tracks, because the band that was playing, Rancho la Chua, was fucking phenomenal. There was a banjo. There was twang, And there was dancing. It wasn’t typical Fest org core sounds that basically everyone plays. It was folk. It was fun. Period. And I wasn’t the only one who thought so because the crowd was huge. I had to pull myself away and was upset, but something bigger was in store for me. I squeezed my way into How Bazar, which was overpacked, for what was the most fun set of my weekend. New Junk City was covering the Goo Goo Dolls. The set was at capacity. Barely anyone could move. But it didn’t matter. The guys dressed in some of the ugliest wigs I’ve ever seen. One wig still had a tag on it. The stage banter was all about how they were all named Johnny except one. And how all of their songs were completely new, and no one had ever heard them before, and they theorized if it was going to be a hit or not. Everyone screamed along arm over shoulders. The cover sets that Fest does are always interesting to me because of course you’ll have your Strike Anywhere cover set or your Operation Ivy cover set and everyone’s going to know the words to all of those songs. But it’s sets like these, Goo Goo Dolls, where everyone does know the words where you realize that we all love punk music but we’re also all ‘90s dorks. And that were much more multidimensional than our Bad Religion T-shirts and our Pabst Blue Ribbon Tall cans make us seem. Anyway, best set of the weekend.

I met up with Matt who said he was going to spend the next few hours at Fest wrestling. I could tell he was losing steam. But what he didn’t know, this being his first Fest and all, that I have a history of getting a 17th wind on the very last day of Fest in the last few hours before the Fest ends. It’s where I run wild. I headed over to Vecino’s to catch Knives and then headed over to Palomino to catch Tides before heading down to Heartwood to see You Blew It! I chugged two bottles of water, ran to the bathroom, and then made my way up to The Wooly to catch No Man. Everyone had said what a great set they put on and I missed them last year, so I made it a point to keep them on my schedule this Sunday. Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. 10 out of 10, no notes. Would photograph again any day. Their set is so powerful. And they actually stand for something, which, in today’s punk society, holds a lot of weight, as most songs seem to be out absolute bullshit these days. But as much as I was enjoying them, I wasn’t done. I snuck out and headed to The Bull to catch a few songs by Endless Mike and the Beagle Club before running over to Boca’s backyard to catch City Mouse. City mouse is one of those Fest staples. They’re always there, I always want them to be, and I always love seeing them.

There was only one band left. And while other people were dropping like flies, I felt ready to go and give my last bit of energy to their set. They called themselves Broken Bottles, Empty Hearts, a play on Murder City Devils’ song, “Empty bottles, broken hearts.” They were a Murder City Devils cover band, consisting of members of Tsunami Bomb, The Hammerbombs, probably some other bands that have “bomb” in their name, one of the not creepy members of The Phenomenauts, and a lead singer I was not familiar with. So my bay area family I’m sure is going to razz me for not remembering; sorry in advance! They opened with “Press Gang,” the only song with which you should ever open a MCD cover set. My friend Matt on the keys absolutely killed the spooky riff that the song is known for. It sounded so good and I say that as more of a truest when it comes to cover sets. I want your set to sound like the real thing or else I won’t care. We weren’t quite there, but it was close enough that I was grinning from ear to ear while blowing what was left of my voice. There were some technical difficulties during the set but, being the last night and the last set of the festival, that was to be expected. Everyone loved it the band looks like they were having a great time. And honestly, I feel like the whole thing – while enjoyable – was an act of hopefully conjuring up the right energy to have Murder City Devil’s actually come and play Fest 23.

It was the end of the night. Everyone was exhausted. We met outside the big FEST sign which was back this year. Thank you thanks to the hard work and dedication of Rachel and the Feed the Scene team who re-created the sign after talking to the hotdog cart guy and getting the dimensions. It was so nice to have it back; you really don’t realize how important something like that is until it’s gone. We took our photos. It was Matt‘s first photo under the sign. We took photos for other people. And we talked. Even though Fest was coming to a close, it was one of those times where we didn’t want the night to end. Matt had no interest in going to the purge (thank god), which was great since no one knew where it was going to be this year. We stood around and laughed and tried to soak up the last few minutes of Sunday night at Fest 22 before heading back to the car and making our way back to the hotel for the final time. I used my last bit of the energy to pack my suitcase for the next day, while Matt checked his photos. We tried our damnedest to eat as many of the chips and snacks we had overbought days ago before passing out and ending our day three. What lied ahead the next day was a delicious breakfast, wandering around a partially abandoned mall in Jacksonville (just because I’m off on a music trip doesn’t mean I don’t do my abandoned shit too!), a sad goodbye to Matt as he boarded his plane to Detroit, and then long wait at the airport before I took two flights to make it home to Chicago only to be covered in kisses by my little dog.

Every year I think about how much I dislike traveling to Florida. I’m great a number of things, but not flying. As a Midwesterner, my body has been winterized for the season by the time I get there so it’s hot, sweaty, uncomfortable. I don’t deal with people the same way I did when I was in my 20s. I get tired faster. I don’t drink anymore. And yet, there’s still a place for me at Fest. That place has shifted, but it’s still there after all these years. And at times like these – I’m writing this now post-election – family is something we’re all going to need to lean on in the coming years. So, thanks to fest for putting on this massive event every year. Thanks to everyone who let me show them wayyyy too many photos of my dog. Thanks to Bek for saving my tired, aging body, two years in a row with items from her purse. Thanks to everyone who I had a heart-to-heart with over the weekend; you all remind me why I keep coming back year after year. See you at Fest 23, pending no nuclear wars or international global crises.

Check out Matt’s amazing photos below: