Wall Of Sound Festival

LaGrave Field, Fort Worth, TX
September 22, 2007




I got to Wall Of Sound mid-day, somewhere around 2:30. So obviously, festivities were well underway. The set up was a lot different than I imagined. They said that there would be three stages, which there were. But they had combined stages one and two together, with bands switching back and forth between, rather than competing for noise. These two stages were set in the outfield, with plenty of grass to lounge on in the hot sun. Stage three was on the complete other side of the park, outside the walls, but within the perimeter fence. It was incredibly small, but so were the acts. These bands got less time to play, but definitely carried some interesting performances. I went to these with my best friend Amie, who will play great parts of the entire adventure throughout the event.

But I digress; we entered at 2:30 or so, meaning following the winding maze of seating arrangements out into the field, and finding a nice plot of grass to catch the performance of Pleasant Grove. We basically walked in on what I assume was the second song in their set. I hadn't heard of Pleasant Grove prior to Wall Of Sound, but they intrigued me when I saw them on the line-up; I was glad to be able to catch them. They played some very interesting music, to be true - experimental-ambient type, but with a beat, and good instances of harmony among the dissonance. They really reminded me of a tweaked version of Grizzly Bear. They put on a very nice show, especially for a band playing in the dead middle of festival.

Following was Ian Moore, who was a real trooper, for in the mid-day heat, the sun was scorching everything in sight. It was blazing hot, so Amie and I retreated to the cover of the seating. We couldn't see any of the action on stage, but the music could be heard perfectly. We bathed in the shade while Moore put on an pleasant, upbeat performance. Following Moore was Record Hop. I wasn't particularly fond of them, personally, but judging by the cheers of the crowd near the stage, they were putting on a solid performance. We used this time to check out stage three - we weren't sure, but I could swear Ghosthustler was playing. Unamused to say the least, we spent more time in the stage chatting and listening to the music - also trying vainly to find a schedule on paper so we wouldn't have to wander back and forth from the stages to the entrance, where the only schedule was.







But when 4:00 rolled around, there was no question as to who could possibly be next. None other than the infamous Paper Chase. I caught Paper Chase last with Explosions In The Sky at Granada Theater, where needless to say, they rocked away. The Paper Chase blows minds and ear drums with their bizarre form of experimental post-rock. Using powerful thematic elements with their music, especially with the inclusion of very repetitive yet wholly disturbing chords on keyboard, The Paper Chase blare music detailing neglection, violence, suicide, and any number of other sadistic lyrics in the contorted, sinister, menacing way that only they can pull off. This was my first opinion of The Paper Chase - which remains the easiest way to explain their act; they sound like the gruesome cutouts of a 16 year old's diary.



As for live performances, The Paper Chase didn't let down. John Congleton ripped and twanged away violently to the song while, throwing his voice from low to high volumes following the songs, and of course contorting his body in a sick dance while away from the mic. The band rocked out, especically daring in the evening sun, which was really taking it's toll. The toll was their drummer throwing up before their last song. "A Paper Chase first," Congleton boasts, "...just for you all."



Following The Paper Chase was Black Tie Dynasty (who I noticed setting up on the next stage over - they seemed thoroughly amused/intrigued/disturbed by TPC). Now, if I had to hazard a guess, Black Tie Dynasty has one of the larger egos of the guests to the festival. They are more nationally known than most of the acts, and have been getting a good deal of radio airplay, especially here in the DFW Metroplex, via 102.1 The Edge. In fact, I caught them last at How The Edge Stole Christmas, 2006 - they were a sponsored artist on night one of the concert.

With their groovy electronica-inspired tunes, they played a very solid, very admirable set last Christmas. Sadly, I can't say the same for the summer. Their Wall Of Sound show seemed to be lacking a certain spunk I found appealing in them last time. Though it could be the fact they were following Paper Chase. But with honestly, they didn't seem to hold their own at Wall Of Sound; I blame the outdoor environment taking its toll on them. Credit given, they were their very energetic selves on stage - but the overall set could have been better.




It was time for a break, so me and Amie decided we'd play hookie for a bit, as we had no artists we were truly interested in after Black Tie Dynasty. 21 and under weren't supposed to leave the park, but we ignored the rule and ran to downtown to grab a bite to eat. By 6:10, we returned mid-way through Micah Hinson's set. It was sub-par at best, but we decided to brave the sweltering evening temperature and head to the stages, because there was another artist we were both keen on seeing.





Brothers and Sisters followed Micah Hinson. A troupe of merry members began to board the stage, and launched straight into their set. They played very nice, drawing strongly from a home-bred country style. They were definitely standing alone in their music stylings amongst the more indie at the concert, but needless to say they put on quite a jovial performance. I was particularly fond of their solo guitarist. Finally, at the end of their set, the sun retreated past the horizon, and they shed their sunglasses to aid the dancing of crowd-members with a few last songs. Brothers and Sisters earns a solid B performance, though they didn't seem to use the large stage they were given; overall though, a very solid performance.

But near the end of Brother and Sisters', the ominous pop of the amps on stage, and the drop of the strong bass that was pumping out of them shot through the ballpark. This was foreboding in the works, but as the speakers were fixed in a few minutes, it was played off as a simple mistake. Om was next up. I had only heard of them, but was made aware that they played mostly instrumental heavy-rock, and thought they would be interesting to catch live. I was sorely mistaken. HOPEFULLY, for their sakes anyway, their first song, the only of which Amie and I heard, isn't a representation of them. They drowned out all noise in the entire stadium with their ugly, repetitive, one-guitar-chord metal-ish trash. Anyone who was drunk slowly made their way to the front of the stage in a very zombie-esque fashion, slowly drinking their beer and bobbing their heads to the dilapidated beat. They were... TERRIBLE. There are no two ways about it. Amie and I retreated to stage three.


Though the droning zombie-rock could be heard past the massive ballpark walls, the merely muffled noise was drowned out by delightfully more folk-ish music played by Doug Burr. We found him past his half-way point, and he was slowly winding up his set with slow songs. His set wasn't about watching - it was about listening, and was a great opportunity to find a nice plot of grace to lay down with good company, and watch as the streetlights flickered on and the night sky faded into existence.



By the time sky had darkened, the sun had set, and the night became alive, White Denim took the stage. I hadn't expected to catch their set, but it offered to be an interesting treat. Think of it as a mix of Arctic Monkeys and Freedom Club, with just a dash of The White Stripes. Their music was very loud, fast, and sporadic - they paid no attention to song structure. They were there for good time, even inviting some guy amongst the crowd no stage for his birthday. Messy on purpose, White Denim may not be the most moving, introspective music you've heard, but definitely no how to create some musical havoc.



Following White Denim was another band Amie and I had been waiting through the day for, Peter and the Wolf. This is one of the artists, upon seeing on the schedule, I took an honest interest in, and actually did some research on. Their tracks seemed interesting enough, and as it turns out, Pitchfork beat everyone to Peter and the Wolf.

In a simultaneous act, Peter and the Wolf stood up to the prominence of their name by single handedly being one of the strangest and best bands of the entire festival. Peter and the Wolf sets themselves apart from all their peers with their strict use of minimalism. Red Hunter, lead singer/guitarist/percussion (to be noted, he plays both drums and guitar at the same time, while singing), is the predominant artist, though he was occasionally joined by the rest of his little group who aided in percussion and vocals. His songs shift from fast to slow paced, but remain steady and strong willed. I would easily compare Peter and the Wolf to a boiling pot of water with Architecture In Helsinki, Grizzly Bear, and Iron & Wine all mixed together. Standing alone was the eerie, lonely performance of Ghost Sandals, as well as their bouncy, jovial song Bonsai Trees, played with a cimbalom, if I remember the name correctly. Peter and the Wolf truly set themselves apart from the regulars that had been playing I suggest you get their new album, The Ivori Palms; I did!



After Peter and the Wolf finished their set, Amie and I returned to the main stages. We also returned to confusion. We couldn't figure out which band was playing; either some band played too fast, or someone played too slow, because the times didn't sync up with out schedule. We didn't know the severity, but it turned out to be a delay, and to my enjoyment we were mid-way through Pinback's performance. I had never listened to them before, but they were surely notable. They proved to be very good, putting on a spunky, high-energy performance. Their music was a delightful treat.



Following Pinback was another of the best performances that night. It was time that the duo that comprises The Books stepped on stage with their acoustic guitar and electric cello. Very calm, very coyly even, The Books introduced themselves, and launched into their audio and visual escapade. Mixing absolutely fantastic ambience with random, repetitive, and poignant video on a screen behind them, they hushed the entire audience that engulfed the field. In complete silence, The Books wove their odd, beautiful songs in circles around the crowd, leaving everyone very enthused (and the drunks thoroughly confused). They put on an amazing performance; I would have picked up one of their albums, but I was out of money.



As mentioned before, there was great foreboding with the sound mishap, and then the delay in band times. These problems escalated to a head as soon as The Books left the stage. Midlake, apparently a notable indie band, was up next, and the speaker for Wall Of Sound said they would be on momentarily. They had been setting up equipment for some time during The Books' performance, so I was confused as to why they weren't ready. But the crowd waited in enthusiastic anticipation. Nearly 20 minutes later, everyone still waited. It was a horribly grueling delay, focused entirely on the sound team with thorough mishaps. As if this extended delay wasn't poor enough, they were apparently already 20 minutes behind, not including this delay, totaling to nearly 40 minutes of wasted time. But more on that later; the crowd continued to wait, and become far more anxious as the delay extended onward.

Finally a represenitive announced that Midlake was taking their sweet time, so they're flipping them with the band after them. To this, the crowd gave a thankful cry. But it wasn't shouts of thankfulness, per se, so much as cries of sheer exuberance; now on stage was Ghostland Observatory.


I knew nothing of Ghostland Observatory, but apparently everyone else did. The stage was quickly rushed upon by a horde of listeners as the duo of guitar player and a silly boy in a cape with an electro-synthesizer came on stage. Ghostland plays electronica/techno music, and wasted no time in ripping straight through the delay and starting the party. They blew the crowd away with strobe lights and pumping bass with Aaron Behrens high pitched singing voice and accompaning guitar amply contrasting. The crowd, as they say, went wild - everyone danced, many climbed the amp stands and went wild. Wall Of Sound was in complete control of Ghostland, who took no hesitation in turning it into a crazy rave. They had tons of energy, and blew entire stadium away with amazing tunes.

Finally, after Ghostland Observatory destroyed their competition, Midlake followed. They had a solid performance, but dull to my tastes. Very generic indie rock, they played their straight to general acclaim from their onlookers. But I was busy putting my handy-dandy foam earplugs in - was I ever going to need them, because there was only one band left...





Explosions In The Sky. They stand alone as a beacon of modern independent rock, and push the envelope with their experimental,instrumental post-rock oh so iconic of picaresque vistas of the barren west Texas landscapes. Their textured, ambient waves of harmonic rythmes are only rivaled by their sheer volume and intensity. When they named themselves Explosions In The Sky, there was no exaggeration.





Explosions opened up slow, quickly building into an epic-as-usual performance, only seen in their company. Nearly in the front row (behind the safety of my earplugs (which I assure you, are necessities if you intend to be up close in an EITS show)), I got a special feature of Mark Smith and his high notes twinkling like stars. Micheal James insured that everyone lost their hearing with his deep, low chords, and both he and Munaf Rayani were going particularly crazy. Their performance of The Only Moment We Were Alone was immaculate, and their set as a whole magnificent and unrivaled by any previously performers... until...











At the end of The Only Moment We Were Alone, for those of you who just watched the video saw, Munaf stepped up to the mic to speak. Instrumental bands don't need mics! What is this tom foolery?! the crowd protests. It turns out this was their last song for the night. They announced that Wall Of Sound had to obey by a curfew of 12:30, and everyone had to disembark. But Explosions had only been playing for 20 minutes, at least a mere 1/3 of their full scheduled set. But unfortunately, Explosions left the stage without hope of return.


"Towards the end of the day some unexpected conditions arose that forced the schedule off a bit. We immediately spoke with each band left to perform and asked if they were OK with cutting one song from their set to allow us to catch up and end the evening as originally planned. Each band was very understanding of the situation and we thank them for that. Through a miscommunication between the sound company and the event's stage management team, Explosions in the Sky was incorrectly told they could only play until 12:30 AM. The reason for cutting songs from previous sets was to allow EITS to play their full set. Unfortunately, the band was never told otherwise, and this miscommunication we very deeply regret!"
-Wall Of Sound team.





But with these mishaps, overall, Wall Of Sound was a very fun, very great experience. The bands were wonderful, the day (though hot), was full of great music and fun times. I can only hope to be visiting Wall Of Sound a year from now for another day full of music.