sekoitus first day (two holes of man/oily menace/wett nurse/m. sword/mountain goat) 7/13/12

so yesterday i went to the opening day of the inaugural sekoitus fest in marquette, michigan.......this looks to be the start of an annual musical exposition in marquette........something the city needs badly in my opinion.....sekoitus is itself a finnish word meaning mixture, as in a mixture of different styles, which is what this fest is all about and that was strongly in evidence on the first day...the festivities commenced with the first three bands playing outside on the marquette commons, basically a big park with a pavilion for the bands to play infront of/under......when i got in, some bar rock band was playing......i sat in my truck and waited them out, basically playing with my phone......(also, it was the hottest day of the year up here yesterday, somewhere in the mid-upper 90s) then two holes of man, who id been told id like, set up and started playing....i was not dissapointed.....their sound is a kind of charged up excitable power pop with certain mathy sensibilities here and there.....(i think their guitarist also plays in witch's tit) they all had weezer shirts on and eventually played a cover of "say it aint so" which IMO was the low point of the set....i havent been a weezer fan since i was 15 so my appriceation for anything to do with that band is sorely lacking....but in any case, aside from that, their set was soild as fuck, the impromtu drum circle that started during their last song was fun too, wouldnt mind seeing them again sometime.

next up was the main reason i came.......oily menace are a band ive been jonesing to see ever since i got my grubby paws on their 3 way split (reviewed in this very blog) they set up and played as good a set as is possible when a band of their style plays outside....thick ugly (but socially aware) grind that hit the spot......after their set, i talked to kevin and the rest of the oily dudes for a while and then we all went swimming down at the beach (well i didnt because i didnt have a spare set of clothes) amazing people, amazing band, cant wait to see them again wedsday at michigan meltdown!

after the swim/talk, we all went over to upfront & co to catch the inaugural evening matinee of  sekoitus being held at upfront & co, a rather upscale bar/brewery(?) downtown.......wett nurse were first up and played for a little over half an hour......they were great but i think their style of psych/surf pop translates better in a cramped basement like merlot mansion than  a spacious club stage....thats just how i see it.........i feel kinda shitty that ive seen this band twice now and i still havent introduced myself to any of them.........hopefully that will change soon.......


m. sword too the stage next and played an uneventful (to me) set that, despite the nifty lightshow and alan parsons-esque 80s tv soundtrack music, never captured my interest........i loved his work with keleton dmd and especially quixote, but i just cant get into his solo shit...........



finally mountain goat took the stage and assaulted the audience with their patented brand of burly fuzz rock..........the first comparison that came to mind was fu manchu......big and lumbering......the sound was decent, but that whole scene isnt really my forte and i was largely indifferent to it......i did like the "black metal" song they played towards the end of their set.....


anyways sekoitus continues today with another 6 bands, most of whom i know nothing of.......just that swimsuit contains fred thomas, formerly of lovesick (who i adored), and witchs tit, who are great live, unfortunatly i wasnt able to make a return trip for tonights festivities.....saving cash for michigan meltdown dontcha know........anyways hanging with kevin & the rest of the oily menace was the highlight of my day. yesterday and it was one of the best days ive had in my 4 years in da UP..........id like to thank nick erickson for working his ass off to help put this fest on and being a hell of a dude too.




not too many pictures this time, as i was more concerened with taping full sets.....

impromtu drumcircle during two holes of man's set.

mountain goat.

fucked up cellphone pic of travis (oily menace) and their roadie just before everyone went in the water.........burns me up that my simcard mangled these pix so badly...........