Big Music Night

I usually start Friday mornings with KBGA listening to Swim Lesson with the Mermaid. This morning's show featured an interview with 10yoGF (10 year old Girl Friend), who will appear tonight at the Badlander as part of the Total Fest program. This may be one of your last opportunities to see this band,

because the drummer is leaving town. 

What these other creative folks will do without him, only the future will tell.

These images came from their Endathon performance on February 18, 2011.

Total Fest is the biggest event of this weekend, and expands beyond the Badlander/Palace complex to fill some other venues with the multi-faceted music its famous for. The complex will be jamming tonight from top to bottom, the Palace, the Badlander, Central, Golden Rose, the Savoy Casino, music, food and alcohol.

Japanther returns to Missoula, tonight, and will be over at Zoo City Apparel with four other bands, including Goddammitboyhowdy.  This, too, is Total Fest.

Goddammitboyhowdy is another local (or are they back in Browning again?) band I've enjoyed listening to and photographing.

Zoo City Apparel, in addition to iconic t-shirts, is making a name as an underground music venue. They are providing space lost with the closing of the BSMT and other shifts in the local scene.

This is one of those days when there is too much available in Zootown, and hard choices must be made.

Tom Catmull will be on the Union Club Stage tonight, beginning at 9:30.

Mudslide Charley will be at the Top Hat, along with the Frederico Brothers and Full Grown Men.

Timeslip Two Saturdays Back

A timeslip takes me back to Saturday, Jan 19th, after Fagrag at ZACC. I met Andrea, in the Badlander. She insisted on braiding my beard.

Wolf Redboy was also there, and Andrea took pictures.

Arrested Adolescence performed that night in the Palace.

Meanwhile, at the Union Club, people danced to Full Grown Men.

Jumping Jack Flash, I almost forgot. The night didn't end there. Places were at the Top Hat, and I had enjoyed two previous performances, making the Hat a required stop.

Logistics make band practices and performances hard for Places, because half the band lives here and half in Denver.

One Week Ago, Friday, July 17, continued

Another week has flown by, and I still haven't posted the full report on last Friday. If there was more than one alternative to growing older, I would take it. So where were we? At the Wilma for a movie preview.

After the movie, the post-event party moved to the Union Club, where the Full Grown Men were holding forth.

This is a talented and experienced group of musicians. This saxaphone player is particularly versatile, as I saw him the next day, playing with Mudslide Charley. He played the sax, harmonica and drums, behind Marco, at the Hip Strip Block Party.

Meanwhile, over at the Badlander, Pluto's a Planet was giving their final performance, before losing their front man to Portland. They went out with flair, delivering a vigorous and exciting show to say farewell. I first saw this group, when they were known as LP and the Federales, and enjoyed watching them evolve over the last year. More images from this night and previous action at Dauphines may be found on the flickr archive. Shit, we must say good bye to Dauphines, as well, because that great cafe is also gone.

Thomas Pendarvis left the sound booth to join his friends on stage for the finale.

Pluto is not a planet, according to NASA, and now the band is no more, as well.

Bump? I had never heard of them before, but I was glad to get in on their infectious, happy sound at the Top Hat.

There were many smiles around the Top Hat, that night, and more than the usual number asked to be photographed. Here's my favorite shot, as I went out the back door, and called it a wrap on a very busy Friday night.