Sometime last summer I got an email about Arthur Fest in Los Angeles. At that point in time I was unfamiliar with Arthur Magazine and was quite impressed with the extremely eclectic lineup that was set to play the two-day festival at Barnsdall Art Gallery. I never would have guessed that little over a year later, we would have given away ice cream at all of their major music events stretching from Texas to California.
Arthur Nights was slated to go down at The Echo and it’s oversized downstairs neighbor, the Ex_Plex. Due to construction not being completed on the renovated downstairs, the gig got moved to the Palace Theater on Broadway, right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. I had rarely driven Bessie to downtown LA and was bit concerned that parking right out in front of the theater in a red zone for four straight nights would somehow get me in trouble. To my amazement, there was never an issue.
As I’ve stated numerous times before, the cream slinging gets in the way of rockin’ out to the majority of great artists that perform at the festivals we attend. The first night I hung out at the truck for most of the night but somehow slipped away for a bit to catch Devendra Banhart. Vetiver was backing him and you could tell these guys have all been playing together for quite sometime. I’ve seen Devendra four or five times in the last year and I’m always at least a bit amazed. Even if you’re not a big fan of his albums, you should try to catch one of his live shows the next time he passes through.
Friday didn’t quite have the turnout as Thursday but that didn’t stop Be Your Own Pet from pushing the limits of freak out rock. Tav Falco was a throw back to the days when people focused on music and not everything else that seems to have distracted people in the modern age. I wasn’t able to catch too much of his set with Panther Burns but it made me want to head down to Memphis for a spell and hang out at some juke joints. The headliner for Friday night was Boris and they killed it. Outside at the truck I could hear them shredding away and eventually I locked Bessie up and snuck inside to catch a couple songs. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what went down. lotta noise, lotta riffs, and a helluva lotta rock and roll.
We had a full card on Saturday. Matthias drove down from Ventura to shoot some “day in the life” pics and Andy tagged along to do an interview. We headed by Live Arts Group to give away some cream to the kids who were participating in the inner city video workshop class. After that we found a safe and tried to break into it before grabbing a cup of coffee. I then tortured Andy with my incessant ramblings about how free ice cream can change the world. Eventually I think I’ll just have a tape handy that’ll I play. Actually, it would be pretty funny to post answers to most common questions in video bits then have links on the press page.
We arrived a bit late but still had our choice parking spot out front. Sun Ra Artkestra was headlining and OM, White Magic, and Six Organs of Admittance were on the bill. My most anticipated show that night was Living Sisters, which consisted of Becky Stark, Inara George, and Eleni Mandell. I’m not quite sure how to describe their music but it was very pretty, relaxing, harmonious, and happy. The bean bag chairs on the 5th floor made all the difference for this set.
The folks at Arthur and Spaceland Productions were wise to pack the first and last nights with the biggest artists. Comets on Fire headlined Sunday night and they’re one of the best live bands around today. I followed through on my plan to work the truck all night until their set. As soon as I heard the first note outside I decided to take my chances and leave Bessie locked up and unattended out front. Cynthia found some luke cold beers and we sat down side stage before realizing we had to be out in the pit to really enjoy Comets. I swapped spots with Jeremiah who was shooting right up front and gave him my backstage wristband so he could shoot from the stage. I really don’t think there is a better band on the planet to finish of a four day fest like Arthur Nights.
Thanks to all the artists and to Laris and Jay at Arthur Magazine. Extra special thanks to Liz and Mitchell and the rest of the Spaceland staff for making everything happen. Can’t wait for the next run.
