26 Jun 10

Hey, blogspot readers, it was another successful MOB Fest 2010! Fans were thoroughly thrilled and rocked by a variety of music performances like Steel Panther and Cealed Kasket (at Cubby Bear) to a hip hop showcase (at Bassment). This afternoon, indie artists/bands took part of the MOB Fest panel discussions learning about the business side to this industry which was held at Elbo Room. Afterwards, there were special performances by The Outer Vibe and Workout Music, recent winner of WGN's Breakthrough Battle of the Bands. SouthSide's looking forward to MOB Fest 2011.

Tonight on SouthSide's agenda, it was Martyrs' for some mucho spicy chicken quesadilla with tasty homemade pico de gallo (highly recommended) and rockin' music. When she arrived, the band - Say You Swear was already in the middle of their opening performance. Though missing the majority of the set, this reviewer enjoyed the energetic sound heard within their music - full of emotion and awesome guitar rhythms. With three guitars (two electrics and bass) rockin' the stage, SYS could have gone hardcore yet kept it within the alternative/rock range with plenty of energy you can feel and dance to. The highlight of their show came when Adam (front man on vocals and guitar) did an acoustic number. The pain and woe (mixed with some angst) in his voice certainly tugged on this reviewer's heartstrings. She suggests checking out Don't Stop for Lights, Cops, Nothin' and Merriam-Webster (one cool song named after a dictionary). Hey east coast readres, check out this band while they're currently touring your area this summer. For more tour dates and places, visit www.sayyouswear.com or www.myspace.com/sayyouswear.

Now with a name like Bambi Raptor, SouthSide honestly didn't know what to expect from this band besides a big-chested bimbo looking dino rockin' the stage. (So sorry about that, blogspot readers, sometimes she has a creeped-out imagination that will not quit.) However, this reviewer did have a fun time analyzing the split personality of a person suffering some serious anger management problems. Don't worry, with Bambi having a personality like that seems to be the "norm" especially when singing about a broken heart (i.e. Alaska). Behind this band's punk/alternative/pop (and everything else in between), was the "split" personality of Roger (front man on vocals) with the emo/angst in his vocals and Kenneth (bass and vocals) for that hard screamo/frustration effects venting that true emotion. And believe it or not, this type of vocal duo absolutely worked during certain moments of Bambi's set. Fans should listen to BSP (for its funkified groove fueled by the smooth percussion beat and raunchy sexaully-suggested lyrics), View to a Kill (not a Duran Duran cover but hot enough to become [007 James] Bond song ...even had SouthSide envisioning a movie opening sequence for it) and Greenology (definitely not about loving the environment unless you count getting "baked" with friends ...loved the pseudo reggae/ska-rock mix which had the audience dancing). As Bambi closed with Gunslinger (louder and angrier than most of this band's songs), SouthSide was ready for more fun-tainment of anger management. This reviewer highly suggests checking out the emo/angst split personality of Bambi Raptor - be prepared for one energetic and entertaining performance ...no dinos were harmed in rocking of the stage either. Expect that and more when they'll be rockin' House of Blues for I AM Fest showcase on August 28. For more information, visit www.officialbambiraptor.com or www.myspace.com/bambiraptors.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide