I had a great Independence Day at the second annual 80/35 Music Festival! (The only bad news I have to report is that is seems that there is an epidemic of males that are dressing like the Jonas Brothers. Guys, the skinny jeans and poofy hair doesn't even look that good on them. Stop...Please!) The weather was overcast all day but with no rain so it keep things cool...which was great because I spent the whole day.
The Des Moines Social Club made a nice pit stop between shows. They had local musicians playing in their Sideshow Lounge and cupcake shots in the main room. It was a great place to find a spot to sit to rest your feet or eat your spam sushi (the food vendors were excellent). It also had bathrooms with flushing toilets and sinks for washing up:)
The music of course was awesome! I started out the day with folk-rockish Anni Rossi. The only instrument that she use other than her voice was the viola. The highlight was her hauntingly beautiful cover of the Ace Of Base song "Living in Danger." I won't have realized it was of cover of the 90's song if she hadn't told us. I also enjoyed "Machine" and "Wheelpusher."We listen to a little bit of Baby Teeth who were okay before we moved onto local band Beati Paoli who were quite enjoyable. I'm not quite sure how to describe their music but it had elements of punk, rock, and new wave. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing a lot of them. I already plan on stopping by next time they play show.
Beati Paoli was followed by Miss Derringer which ended up being my favorite act of the day. I guess you would call them punk/country. They had honky-tonk lyrics with a vintage rock sound and reminded me a lot of Blondie. They were a lot of fun to watch and the lead singer Liz McGrath was very nice and autographed my CD for me. It looked like they had a really good time at 80/35 as well. I keep seeing them walking around the festival eating food, drinking beer, and listening to the other bands.
Miss Derringer is currently touring with Girl In A Coma who playing shortly after them. They had a really great punk rock girl band sound to them which reminded me of the Breeders and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They're signed with Joan Jett's label Blackheart Records which totally suits them. Later we listen to local darlings Cleo's Apartment (who remind me a lot of British band Morcheeba), Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos, and Maximilian Eubank before joining the large crowd of Envy Corp fans. The local band has toured with the Killers and had one of their songs featured in the movie "Run Fat Boy Run." They hit a little bit of red tape with their first full album but they have a new one coming out under their own record label, Tempo Club. I usually describe them as a less depressed Radiohead. They had a huge audience and said that they hoped to play the main stage next year. I ended up twisting my ankle while watching them so I can now claim that I was injured at a rock concert:) You can read an article about the band here.
The night ended with a fireworks show to celebrate the holiday. I had a lot of fun can't wait 'till next year's fest. You can get some more info at the offical website www.80-35.com
