by When was the last time you saw a sign that said no stage diving in Fife? Yeah, me neither.
Several hundred loyal Northwest Music Scene fans assembled at what has become the premier live music joint in the northwest. Louie G’s has a killer stage, definitely one of the best setups around but that wasn’t good enough for Dream Fest 2012. Lou Galaraza had a dream and we were all in it Saturday night.
His dream included 10 bands and ample doses of rock & roll, head banging and fist pumping. I think a few people in the crowd even got their faces melted off and I’m sure a lot of ears were ringing and voices hoarse this morning.
It is nearly impossible for this writer to pick the “Best Of” for the Dream Fest 2012. The contrasting styles and sounds make objective comparisons difficult and frankly not necessary. Let’s just say that all the bands that played took full advantage of the large crowd and brought their “A” games.
Fail Safe Project traveled from Spokane to throw down a monster set, while Jason Kertson unveiled a new guitarist and together they unleashed a youthful two guitar attack. Young Kertson also displayed his killer Talk-Box skills on one of his tunes. My guess is not many kids his age have those skills, heck most of them probably have never heard of that device.
By the time Riot In Rhythm took the stage the crowd was wild and the band was just as wild. The infamous bass amp catch will go down in local history as one of the coolest moves ever on stage, at least around here. Not sure how many people in the crowd were watching that side of the stage but damn that was awesome! The bass player Christon was standing on top of his amp and does a 360 when he launches off of it. As he lands, he catches a glimpse of his bass stack falling over, heading straight down on to the stage which would have almost definitely destroyed it. The quick thinking musician lunged toward the stack, mid-song and catches it with one hand, with the other hand still on his bass. Badass move!
EDITOR’S NOTE: After a Facebook conversation it turns out the “Iron Mike” really saved the day. He grabbed the cabinet while Christon caught the head. I was wondering how the head stayed on! Here’s the pic Mike shot as Christon landed:
WitchBurn once again did not disappoint and the “Burn” victims were out in full force. Pretty sure, in fact I know they picked up some new members for their ever growing “Burn Unit”. Klover Jane – Phenomenal set from these local favorites. If you’ve listened to this band then you know their music has more hooks than a Cabelas. Pretty sure this is the band that made my voice go out. KJ frontman Rane Stone likes to get the crowd involved and he had them(us) eating out of the palm of his hand.
The final band of the night was The New Originals, made up KISW staff and popular rockers from Windowpane and Superfecta….Steve “The Thrill” Hill was banging on the bass, ala “Flea” style. Rane Stone got up and sang his guts out on AIC’s “Man In The Box”. Hey Jeetz, I thought I saw him too…(Ricker)
Louie received a ton of well deserved praise from every band that took the stage. He got up on stage and chatted between the bands and he even announced he’ll be doing it again next year, bigger and better. Okay the bigger I get but better? Not sure how it could be better really. The lineup was top notch, the weather perfect, monster stage with killer lights and a production staff that shined. The show was as about as perfect as one could ever hope for.
Click the links below to view photos of the event from the lens of three different photographers.
Check out photos of Dream Fest 2012(Carolyn Frye)
Check out photos of Dream Fest 2012(Loren Gardner)
Check out photos of Dream Fest 2012(Savoia Concert & Event Photography)
Dream Fest 2012 has also been nominated in the King 5 Best Of Western Washington contest.
