Although the line-up on the main stage for the 2010 Live 105 BFD was nothing short of stellar with Sublime, Deftones, Hole, Silversun Pickups, and Cage The Elephant all slotted to play, what I was most excited about this year was the chance to see some of the lesser known bands that were playing on the smaller stages. Some of these groups had been on my radar for a long time, and I was stoked that Live 105 had brought them all together on the same day. Judging from the thousands of people that showed up early and braved the 90-degree temperature, I wasn't the only one either.
My plan for the day was to stay close to the Festival Stage for the most part, but make a run over to local stage when ever possible to check out some of the Bay Area's best. It seemed to work out just fine.
The first band I was able to catch and photograph was Middle Class Rut, a two-piece hailing from Sacramento. Please don't let the words "two-piece" fool you though. Guitarist/vocalist Zack Lopez and drummer Sean Stockham rocked pretty damn heavily, and at times sounded a bit reminiscent of a more guitar driven Jane's Addiction on steroids. Their brief 25-minute set was an awesome way to start the day.
Up next was Violent Soho – all the way from Queensland, Australia. Picking up right were Middle Class Rut left off, Violent Soho delivered a pretty blistering set of Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.-infused garage rock. Supporting their recently released self-titled album, the band had no problem convincing the ever-growing crowd that they are the real deal. I'm am really excited about this band, and looking forward to seeing them get bigger.
Next up was the band that people seemed to be buzzing about all morning, The Soft Pack. Although their Replacements-sounding songs were a bit of a departure from the previous bands that had played, The Soft Pack had the now packed crowd singing along with their melodic yet still guitar-driven sound.
After that, it was time for a few tough decisions. As much as I wanted to check out the next band on the festival stage, Dirty Heads, I opted for a quick beer before heading over to the local band stage to catch one of of my favorite local bands, Veil Veil Vanish and, although it seemed a bit strange seeing the band playing in broad daylight, their dark electro sound still rang through and they adapted quite well. Songs of their new record, Change In The Neon Light, including “Anthem For A Doomed Youth” and “Secondhand Daylight” sounded great, and I was glad to see a nice turnout for them.
Then it was time to make my way back over to the Festival Stage for Gaslight Anthem, who, like Veil Veil Vanish, I was really looking forward to seeing. Hailing from Brunswick, New Jersey and supporting their to-be-released-this-week record, American Slang, Gaslight Anthem blend together the perfect combination of rock and pop-punk, and had the crowd pretty much eating out of their hands.
Picking up right were Gaslight Anthem left off, Against Me! hit the stage and lay down some pretty catchy pop-punk that got the crowd moving once again. With their new record, White Crosses [slated to be released two days later], the band gave the crowd a bit of a sneak peak of the record, including "I Was a Teenage Anarchist,” which has already been released as a single. I'd have to say that Against Me! got the biggest crowd reaction of the day.
As the day wound down, I opted to hit the back stage area for a nice little acoustic set from Silversun Pickups. It was the perfect way to end the day.
Artists:
www.silversunpickups.com/
www.againstme.net/
www.gaslightanthem.com/
www.veilveilvanish.com
www.thesoftpackofficial.com/
www.violentsoho.com
www.mcrut.com/
Photos:
Raymond Ahner's Live 105 BFD 2010 photo essay
