Krazyfest 4

[read Day One]

When we last left off, our intrepid heroes Scott, Liz, and Carol were turning in for the night. Little did we expect what would come next: Harrel. At 4 AM. With 3 of his friends, who none of us knew. But it's Krazyfest, so big deal. We had 7 people in a one bed room that night, and it was a blast. With Harrel [and friends] present, Day Two was upon us.

We all stirred around 10 AM, raiding the continental breakfast for as many muffins and bagels as we could grab. Punk Rock. Then, since apparently we didn't spend enough money the day before, Carol, Liz and I headed off to Ear-eXtacy in downtown Louisville. This was a really bitchin record store, and as we arrived, an unknown band was setting up for an in-store. It turns out the band was Stretch Armstrong, who I had never heard before but Harrel always talked about. So we stuck around and were immediately won over by their great blending of intelligent lyrics with heartpounding hardcore beats. Good times. After paying for my purchases [a Hot Water Music 7", an [International] Noise Conspiracy 7", and a Volta Do Mar CDep], we ventured towards the Historic Water Tower.
We ended up getting there late again, and missed the first few bands: Blood Red, Christiansen, and Harkonen. I apologize if any of those bands were good. The first band we heard [again, we only heard the first few, due to more record browsing], was Burnt By The Sun. I remember absolutely nothing about their set. That can't be good. Up next was the buzz band of the moment, American Nightmare. At this precise moment, Liz and Carol decide to leave for the gas station to buy some refreshments, and I was obliged to go with. I missed their whole set, but apparently they were really good and for an interesting fact, the singer only has one hand [so I was told].
Review: American Nightmare - Background Music
Review: American Nightmare - The Sun Isn't Getting Any Brighter

Hope Conspiracy was up next, and I honestly again can't remember anything about them. I guess metal really isn't my thing, I'm an emo wuss. All that was about to change next, though, when Stretch Arm Strong came on.

Just like when I saw them earlier in the day, they bowled me over. They're incredibly energetic, as well as really, really talented. Don't miss them if they come your way.
Picture: Stretch Arm Strong
Review: Stretch Arm Strong - A Revolution Transmission

As soon as the positive hardcore vibes ended, so did the chance of avoiding rain. The skies opened up as half the crowd ran for the safety of tents [myself included], and half the crowd became Krazy by playing in the rain and impending mud. Eventually, some guys got the bright idea of mud wrestling in their underwear. A crowd soon formed, and more participants came forward, including a trio of three naked men. I can't say I enjoyed that particularly, but the whole shenanigans were hilarious. No ladies took up the challenge, though, till way after the crowd dispersed. Alas.

As the rain started to break, Bane went on with the intention of rocking the crowd out of their slumber. It didn't work on me. I sat there avoiding the intermittent rain, waiting for Bane to end. It felt like they never would. Their half hour seemed to take over an hour, but that might have been just me. Regardless.

We made our second trip to the gas station to get some more Gatorade as Ensign started to play. They were nothing special, in my book, and I didn't mind missing them.
Review: Ensign - The Price Of Progression

The day to me was starting to look lost -- I had only really enjoyed one band so far [SAS], and there was only one more band I was looking forward to seeing [Boy Sets Fire]. Hopefully Poison The Well could turn it around for us. It did for Liz, at least, as she is a big fan. I enjoyed watching them, they had a very good stage show and the pit for them looked to be the roughest as of yet. They gave a temporary shot in the arm to an otherwise lackluster day for me.

Botch came on next, and they again fell into the category of "I can't remember anything about them." They just made the day seem longer than it already was with the rain delay.

Up next was Converge. I've always heard good things about this band. I'm not sure why. They bored me to death. The coolest thing I saw during their set was a guy moshing with his dog [don't worry, it was all in good fun].
Picture: Man Vs. Dog

The night was looking to be a loss. That was, until Dillinger Escape Plan began to set up. EVERYONE always talks about DEP. I had never heard them, only heard of them. As my anticipation grew, so did the crowd size. It seems like I wasn't the only person who had heard of these guys. As we waited for the stage to be ready [DEP has a crazy light show to accompany their music], a guy got on stage and beatboxed for us. But this was no ordinary beatboxer, oh no. He was fucking amazing. I loved him more than the majority of the bands I had seen that day. Honestly. He was really, really, really good. Finally, DEP got their shit together, and began. I slowly crept forward, trying my hardest to stay away from the pit that was increasing exponentially. How does one describe the music? Well, for one thing, it's fucking heavy as hell. And it's more complicated than I could ever imagine. Their keyboard player breathed fire. They had strobe lights going on and off. Guest vocalist Sean Ingram rocked the house. They even did a Nirvana cover [which Sean forgot the words to -- oh well]. I came away from this band completely rejuvinated, although none of my pictures turned out, they're all of the backs of peoples' heads. Rats. Either way, catch DEP live, you will not go home disappointed.

To cap off the night, Boy Sets Fire came on. I have always been a BSF fan, since their very first EP. I think they are the epitome of well thought, intelligent, rocking hardcore music. They put on one hell of a set, even playing "Vehicle", which, I've been told many times, they never play live. That made the show Krazy for me. This was the only band all day long that made me get into the pit, and it was worth it. They played for 45 minutes, covering stuff from all of their albums as well as taking potshots at labelmates Creed whenever they could. It's obvious they're taking their newfound success in stride.
Picture: Boy Sets Fire 1
Picture: Boy Sets Fire 2
Picture: Boy Sets Fire 3
Picture: Boy Sets Fire 4
Review: Boy Sets Fire - Suckerpunch Training
Review: Boy Sets Fire - After The Eulogy
Review: Boy Sets Fire - The Day The Sun Went Out

I left Boy Sets Fire a new man. Really. I had never been in a pit that strong before [I tend to avoid pits, as I'm always afraid of getting hurt -- yeah, I know it's pathetic]. My clothes had never been that sweaty after any show, and I've been to tons. Boy Sets Fire brought out something within me that I had never felt before, and I liked it. It was my first time seeing them and hopefully it won't be my last.

Liz and Carol escaped the pit while Harrel and I were engulfed, so we all met up after the show and headed back. Harrel's friends all decided to crash at the Krazyfest Hotel, so it was just the four of us on Saturday night. Nothing special happened; we were all too wiped out to even try to be Krazy. As our heads hit our respective pillows, we got ready for the day we had all been waiting for: Sunday. Little did we know that Krazyfest would be swallowed up by the leviathan that is Vagrant America.