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Multi-media metal
The Sweet Leaf Fest; plus Spookie Daly Pride get ug-uh-ly
BY IANN ROBINSON AND WILL SPITZ
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The 2nd Annual Sweet Leaf Festival last Saturday at Evos Arts in Lowell was another small step toward creating a New England answer to Emissions from the Monolith (a massive annual four-day metal fest in Ohio). With sets by Today Is the Day, Dove, Raw Radar War, Bury the Needle, Ogre, and others on two stages in an environment that featured paintings, video art, and slideshows, the event drew the kind of dark, moody kids who might not fit in but have an abundance of creative energy. On the downstairs stage, Bury the Needle dealt in heavy, smash-mouth rock, and Raw Radar War (formerly Septic Youth Command) were at an all-time raging high, with frontman Jonah Jenkins pouncing around the stage as the band moved from super-fast punk to thick, doom-laden grooves. Watching the crowd react was almost as much fun as watching the band. Upstairs, Ichabod delivered prog-influenced punk that brought to mind vintage Metallica. They were trippy and expansive but never over-indulgent. We’re All Gonna Die brought on the noise and some heavy grooves, and the dirty-’70s rock of Ogre was a pleasant surprise. But the night was ruled by Dove and Today Is the Day. The former, with ex-members of Floor and Cavity, were a punk-metal juggernaut; nobody even left for the bathroom or a beer. Today Is the Day answered with their thinking-man’s take on noise rock in a set that introduced new drummer Jeff Lohrber and the addition of keyboards. The event brought the expanding New England metal-punk scene together in a natural way by gathering artists, musicians, and fans under one roof. A week ago Wednesday, Spookie Daly Pride celebrated the release of their soulful, funky, funny Medicine Chest by inviting friends, fans, and a dog over to cozy Camp Street Studio in Cambridge. As the album played in the control room, folks mingled in the kitchen/living-room area and the studio’s live room, munching on finger food, pounding beer, sipping wine. Camp Street (formerly Fort Apache) is now owned by Paul Kolderie, whose long-time production partner, Sean Slade, helmed the board for Medicine Chest, and they were both on hand. Although they’d mixed the disc together, they joked that the house engineer, Adam Taylor, had done all the work; "Paul and I just smoked weed and watched TV," Slade quipped. Mr. Spookie Daly himself was in high spirits and looking sharp, if a little funny, in a baggy white tracksuit. The Billerica native and North End resident gathered his band in the live room for a short, low-volume, but nonetheless boisterous performance. The set culminated with the hilarious, catchy "Bumpin’ Uglies Song," a request from Slade, who’d been looking on like a proud dad. The band and the crowd couldn’t contain their laughter as Daly stretched out the syllables in the chorus: "Someone some-uh-where is bumpin’ ug-uh-lies right now." Contact Iann Robinson at iannrobinson@gmail.com; contact Will Spitz at wspitz[a]phx.com
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