$1/day: WE FEST in Wilmington, NC

Uh, faithful readers, this will be the last post until the jump to the new website. Check back on Tues. the 26th for that special awesomeness.

WE Fest is the lil ol' music fest that could down in Wilmington, North Carolina held at the Soapbox LaundroLounge. It started as a zine exchange gathering several years ago and then meshed into a music smorgasbord of muck of grime (not only the music genre). It's four days every Memorial Day wknd and each day is $1. Holy moley! The price is intentionally low for the opportunity to discover new bands. I heard some rumblings that the management was handed over to some locals who just gave spots to a whole bunch of local bands rather than extending their reach far out, so I don't think the talent is as great this year. In my few years going (not everyday), I've seen some good bands like Happy Birthday Amy! and I Was Totally Destroying It and The Never among others who were so awesome, I think they're playing again and are the pick for the whole weekend--THAT IS REVEALED AT THE END OF THE POST!!!! (OH MAN!!! YOU'RE LUCKY DAY!)

Here are some of my selections for the wknd. For the full sked, check it at the WE FEST site.

Thurs., May 20
(Bands & Art from 3pm to 1am)
8pm: Hand Grenade (Myrtle Beach)--Fast and spunky punk
12am: Some Ambulance (Myrtle Beach)--Folk beats and brass w/ a vague maritime feel and random bouts of chanting
1am: LA Tool & Die (Charlotte)--Sarcastic electronic rock. Think Helvetica font and bright colors.

Fri. May 21
(Bands & Art from 3pm to 1am)
4pm
River City Ransom (Raleigh)--Laid-back post-punk (insert more hyphens here)
5pm Pistolero (Atlanta)--Rock grunge groove in a more typical song structure
9pm Dylan Gilbert (Charlotte)--Experimental, knob-twisting singer/songwriter like Bright Eyes when he was not enthralled with money
10pm Marionette (Richmond)--Quiet shoe-gaze trance inducing electronic rock
12am The Dry Heathens (Durham) Dirty distorted punk
1am Onward, Soldiers (Wilmington, NC)--Brooding Americana

Saturday, May 23
(Bands at 3pm)
10pm The Paper Jets (New Jersey and Minn)--Americana rock w/ harmonies
11pm Puritan Rodeo (Chapell Hill)--Honest straight-up country
1am Olivia and the Housemates (Washington, DC)--60's-lite pop w/ an excellent vocalist

Sunday, May 24
(Bands start at 3pm)
3pm Gray Young (Raleigh)--Instrumental rock
5pm Pink Kodiak (Savannah, GA)--Progressive melodic electronica
6pm Ponchos from Peru (Wilmington)--Understated creative folk rock
12am Western Civ (Chapel Hill)--Spacey alt-rock

Monday, May 25
(Bands start at 6pm)
8pm Hearts by Darts (Baltimore) Good rock w/ Feist-y vocals

***10pm Terminal Reynaldo (Jersey City, Jersey)***

Pretty sure I saw these guys last year (that's breaking a cardinal WE-fest rule), but holy cow, go see them. Some moody electronica rock, like a slowed down, more intricate version of what Titus Andronicus has been doing lately. Some nice chord changes, some unexpected upticks and beatdowns. They know the right moments to bleep and blip. Definitely the pick of the whole freakin' weekend***