Friday I spent a lot of time wandering around, although I was front and center for Town Monster. They played a great set, and the light show was pretty cool. The addition of the guy on bass for a few songs didn't do much for me one way or another, but that could be because I was blitzed.

I also caught some of the Phantods set. They have been pretty much dead perfect every time I have seen them play... not that there's anything wrong with that.

I wasn't able to attend Saturday, although outside of The Lost Revival, there wasn't a whole lot I personally looked forward to seeing.

Sunday I parked at the Off Ramp pretty much the whole day. Started off with Harboring Ghosts at 11:45. I have honestly seen them play better sets, but they had a tough time slot... still one of my favorite bands in town.

The Spruce Campbells had a tough time slot as well. They played a pretty solid set nonetheless though... vocals were hard to hear at times... sort of surprising given how beefy the sound system is.

I'm assuming (hoping) that Chaminade Fight Club don't take themselves too seriously.

Alert New London played their best set that I've seen -- by 2:15, the crowd had grown to a pretty decent size at the Off Ramp and they really fed off the energy. TJ from Circus gave them a very boisterous introduction... I never realized he was such a fan, but it's good to see the band getting some recognition.

I only caught about five minutes of Illogic, but what I saw was pretty impressive. The song that I listened in on seemed to carry a positive message... always a good thing considering the stigma that is often unfairly associated with rap. At any rate, I don't know jack about the genre, but the guy is extremely talented.

I watched about 15 minutes of some dudes having a jam session on the main stage. Too lazy to look up who it was, but it's always fun to watch guys who have chops like that -- even if I'm not into the genres they covered.

Headed back over to the Off Ramp to catch some of Bicentennial Bear's set on a recommendation. I wasn't really feeling the music, but that's more my problem than theirs.

I chilled over by the Gazebo Stage for a bit while Mike Perkins was playing... didn't pay too much attention to be honest. By this point, my sobriety was pretty questionable...

Overall, I had a great time playing and attending Comfest. Like anyone else, I could bitch about the line-up and some of the time decisions at the Off Ramp, but it won't do any good... c'est la vie.

i would like to add to the chorus of the nay against speakers on the music stages. it's just a bad idea. maybe comedians would work better?
it definitely was a major downer.

Oh man, it's good to be back. I'm one of the many people who love ComFest unconditionally. The music, the beer, the park, the friends…seeing thousands of strangers hanging out, smiling and just digging on the good vibes together--it all makes my heart shit rainbows.

In the few short years I have been away, I had forgotten what ComFest really does to you. It knocks you sideways just a little bit. It hits the reset button in your brain and clears your cache.

I missed some of the music chasing my son around…but watching him experience the spectacle of ComFest for the first time was pure magic. Little dude rocked it well and I am proud.

A lot of the music I did get to see was great. My favorites were all bands I had never seen before:

Saturday:

-- Righteous Buck & The Skull Scorchers: I will definitely be seeing these dudes again. Dirty, low-down, gut-rumbling, blues-soaked rock with sharp fuzzed-out hooks and good energy. No bullshit, just some dudes up there kicking ass and loving every minute of it. Great Off Ramp band. File under: get drunk and turn that shit up!

-- Lydia Loveless: I've been friends with Blammo for a while and have dug all the bands he's played in (anyone remember Solar System Navigators?), but I hadn't seen Lydia Loveless until Saturday night at the offramp. Great, tight, rock and roll with some country flavor played by a group firing on all cylinders. Lydia's voice was powerful and melty and warm, Ben brought his usual "I'm-gonna-beat-the-shit-out-of-this-upright-because-that's-who-I-am" awesomeness. I don't know the other dudes but they were on it as well. You could tell they had just come back from touring the country…between songs, they looked tired like true rock n' rollers but, once they caught the groove in each of the well-written songs, they all had fire in their eyes and got down to the business of whooping your ass. I couldn't have asked for a better band to see at the end of Saturday night, drunk off my ass at the Off Ramp and full of ComFest love. Woo-fuckin'-hoo.

Sunday:

-- The Apple-Bottom Gang and Grassinine: Jug band harmonies, gut-bucket bass and funny lyrics at the Gazebo on a beautiful, mellow Sunday? Hell yes. Nothing mind-blowing…just fun.

-- Way Yes: I hope I can find the words to describe this, so bear with me as I try to get my thoughts out just right. I bought this band's Walkability EP when it came out. I occasionally dabble in Animal Collective/Panda Bear-type-stuff when the mood suits me and I found Way Yes's EP to be a more organic, less abrasive and more honest approach to this genre of music. I've read that Way Yes are a young band…and that, coupled with the fact that this kind of music can go horribly wrong in live settings, had me unsure of what to expect as I found my spot under the Off Ramp tent. From the moment these dudes took the stage, though, I knew it was time for me to tell my mind to shut the fuck up and just listen. Each member possessed a quiet confidence and exuded a very evident love for what they are doing. I've never met any of these guys but it seemed like a really cool mix of personalities up on stage.

This set was the highlight of my ComFest experience this year. Incredibly well written songs with fun but thought-provoking lyrics sung primarily by two of the band members (one of which sounds like Paul Simon). Huge, buzzing grooves excited by urgent, tribal rhythms and tasteful guitar hooks bathed in textures from other dimensions. If you saw a dude whose head inflated into a big, yellow smiley face balloon during this set, that was me.

In addition to being moved by the unstoppable energy of the band, I looked around to see that I was surrounded by people of all ages and backgrounds jumping up and down and beaming with bliss.

It was at that moment that it all converged for me…that I was there at ComFest with people who are inherently good, that music has the power to fill your soul with joy and that life can be as beautiful as we want it to be. It damn near made me cry.

Easily the worst Comfest I've been to
better luck next year Columbus.

What I liked...

Envelope
Jen Miller
Tim Easton + Madison Square Gardeners
The Bastard Sons of Neptune
The Spruce Campbells (should have got a better slot)
The Professors
Way Yes
Whoa Nellie!

Also, the girl at the beer booth who didn't understand the exchange rate and gave me 8 tokens for $20.

What I didn't like...

That The Town Monster are not actually cartoon characters like in their video.

+ P$C has a claw machine where u can win a LOB$TER

after 3 days of emceeing and comfesting all day then bartending all night i'm exhausted, i'm sore all over, my throat's ripped to shit and i can barely speak above a whisper.

god, i fucking love comfest.

My highlights:

- Saturday Giant is pretty fucking gutsy. There were a few "holy shit" moments when he was building his songs.

- Sticking Adam's Comfest mug in a USPS mailbox as a means of "cutting him off"

- Town Monster lived up to the hype. Beyond the videos and the light show and the cartoon characters, they have some great hooks and bring the hammer live.

- Spurgeon's kids opening the Bush League set on Saturday night was one of the coolest things I have ever seen at the fest. Plus, Jess was seriously channeling Christine McVie in her fancy dress and 'do. Best BL set I've ever seen.

- Playing on Sunday

- TJ's Comfest sermon about the superiority of the Comfest clean-up effort versus Red White and Boom (which I totally witnessed this AM when I hazily rode my bike through a pristine Goodale Park on my way to work).

Can't imagine what a bad time or worst time at Comfest would be; probably one where I was fucking up my personal life and still managed to have a good time or one where I felt like I wasn't a part of the community (which hasn't happened yet). If you haven't volunteered I hesitate to say you don't fucking get it man (Bcos I say that all the time in jest) but you probably don't. Comfest ain't about the lineup. A great lineup sure can help Comfest dreams come true but im an existentialist, theres usually no one to blame for your crappy time except yourself. If you dont like something try to change it or accept it. Or tell me and I will see what I can do for you, lazy ass..

I didn't really "go to Comfest" this year, just did my volunteer shift at the Offramp beer tent and got the fuck out. I heard that people hanging out at Comfest are what's really wrong with Comfest, so I decided to be the solution and not the problem.

Highlight: Carding dudes in their 50s because it pisses them off.

Lowlight: Queens Table running out of fish after my shift.

Other lowlight: Getting a T-shirt with a big fucking butthole mouth on it. They could've just printed an artists rendering of goatse on the shirts and it would have been less objectionable.

So everyone just drank alot

Whoa Nellie!, Righteous Buck, New City Gypsy, Lydia Loveless, Total Foxx, Mooncussers, Bavox humping the ground for the outro of "Rocks Off" early on a Friday were all quite memorable.

Dan's kids did a great job opening with Bush League All Stars.

Illogic was probably my favorite set.

At least that is what comes to mind, now. There was plenty more worth mentioning but the best time to be had was talking to the people I was volunteering with and hanging with the friends I hadn't seen in awhile. I laughed myself hoarse.

If you are socially awkward, agoraphobic, completely self-absorbed, painfully insecure, albino, not open to many genres of music or just simply loathe your community: this festival (and lots of others) could be a real downer for you.

The only glaring Community let down I see comes at no surprise: Ron Barker still refuses to box a few rounds for the charity of his choice against me. That's not just cowardice; that's selfish.

bands I had never seen before Comfest and ended up enjoying: Alert New London and Way Yes

More importantly my winner for most obsure sports jersey - the 6 year old kid wearing the Bulls "Tyrus Thomas" jersey ( narrowly beating out the man wearing the Angels era Reggie Jackson jersey)