Whartscape 2009
This year’s Whartscape — the annual music and arts festival put on by Baltimore artist collective Wham City — was my first, and a great culmination of my first few months in this city. I only really went to the last day on Sunday (I only saw Liturgy on Saturday), but I managed to see most of the bands I know and love here. Blood Baby, who are always tighter live than their recorded material would suggest, had me in stitches with their ridiculous punk songs about Bingo and celebrity knock-knock jokes.
Crazy Dreams Band played sans synth player Nick Becker (he was rocking out in a rather colorful outfit at the front of the stage), but they were still great. Zomes, the Casio-playing trio fronted by Lungfish guitarist Asa Osborne were also amazing, churning out the hypnotically repetitive, deceptively simple, and droning melodies that Osborne is known for. Teeth Mountain also wowed me with their tribal drumming and droning squall – they’re also much tighter than their record would suggest, and they’re the first two-drummered bands I’ve seen that have a good reason for having two drummers. The surprise for me was actually Dan Deacon, who I’ve never had much interest in musically, but his energetic live show won me over. The figurehead of the Baltimore music scene (and main Whartscape organizer) had a crowd of hundreds obeying instructions that he doled out like a camp counselor – everyone hopped, jumped, sprinted, and danced off at his command, making for a truly interactive show, and even some of the more jaded denizens of Charm City couldn’t help but crack a smile.
Tagged: Baltimore, Whartscape 2009
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