Fucking Awesome Fest 2011 - Launch Party in Review

FAF 2k11 kicked off last night at the Majestic Complex with a solid mix of rock, punk and electro spread across three alternating stages. The Magic Stick stage and lounge sported 8 mostly rock acts, while the Majestic Theater was transformed into a neon festooned dance club straight out of the movie Tron for the FlashClash launch party. The opening night crowd was noticeably thin, but that's to be expected on a Wednesday night. I started my evening at the Magic Stick main stage to catch a set of ambient space-gaze by Ferndale's finest, FUR. The foursome created a memorizing wall of sound kind of like Interpol covering the darker My Bloody Valentine material.

Immediately following FUR's set, Detroit's own Bill Bondsmen hit the stage in the adjacent Lounge with an unrelenting frenzy of guitars and screaming vocals. The Bill Bondsmen are mad about something and are not afraid to share it. Little time was wasted on stage between songs and each picked up where the last left off, matching in energy and throbbing BPMs.

I was curious to check out the newly formed pseudo-supergroup Detroy This Place who followed the Bondsmen over on the main stage. DTP exploded from the first note like a hermitically sealed 90s power pop group ala Jimmy Eat World released on the stage. Made up of local scene veterans (most notably Ryan Allen of Thunderbirds Are Now!) Destroy This Place seemed on a mission to show the kids what they missed out on ten years ago, but still kept it fresh and relevant. Highlights included the single up-beat "Pioneers" and Nirvana throwback "On a Plain" to close out the set.

After ironing some technical problems, Isosceles Mountain (another local supergroup of sorts) put their spacey mathrock on display in the lounge. The crowd seemed to build as the set progressed like flies in a bug zapper, lured in by the dreamy, jazzy instrumental grooves before being shocked by heavy noise guitar stylings. IM laid down the soundtrack to a bad acid trip marked with a myriad of delay pedals and wild time signatures.

After spending most of the night at the Stick, I strolled into the Theater to check out the FlashClash launch party. This was by far the most elaborate and expensive-looking production of the night. To celebrate the release of Born of Astronauts, this electro duo (made up of former members of Bump) turned the theater into their own one-night-only dance club, complete with a lineup of DJs and more neon tape than you can shake a glowstick at. The band resembled a 2 1/2 man Duran Duran with a part time horn player, straight out ofthe 80s. The set played out like a mixtape of falsettos and synth lines over worldbeat drums machines interspered with live guitars. The over the top visuals and stage presentation were no doubt impressive, but the lack of crowd interaction made it feel contrived and self-indulgent.

Technical difficulties and unfortunate scheduling forced me to choose between the FlashClash party and God Is An Astronaut. I am not afraid to admit I chose wrong, but I busted out early on the former and headed back to the Stick to catch the latter. Across the pond from Ireland, God Is An Astronaut hit stage and absolutely killed it. Ridiculously tight instrumental post/rock with ambient synths and heavy guitars washed the 80s out of my ears in no time flat. This was the most energetic set of the night and the crowd clearly felt it. I wandered back to the lounge to catch an underwhelming Deastro set and called it a night.

cheers!