Pop-Break Live: Catalpa Day 2

words and pictures by joe zorzi and brendan hourican

Day Two: 7/29/12

Bury Me A Lion
Joe: I only got to catch part of these guys set but they were really good. It’s a shame more people didn’t get to the festival earlier because they put on a good show.
Brendan: I thought they had a really full sound for a band with one guitar player. They looked really happy to be there and were fun to watch.
Joe: I’ll be keeping an eye on these guys, I think they’ve got the potential to get pretty big.

The Airplane Boys
Joe: The Airplane Boys were mad fun. They’re from Canada and you could tell they were really excited to be playing the festival. They talked to the crowd a lot and got the people really into it.
Brendan: These guys were the first ones at the festival to really try to get the crowd involved. Even though it was early, they were pumped and tried their best to put on a great show. Their hard work payed off because they really seemed to win everyone over by the end of their set.
Joe: Yeah, they were pretty charming and the crowd continued to grow throughout their set.

Aunt Martha
Joe: I heard of these guys earlier this year (or maybe late 2011?) on a best of Purevolume list. I loved what I heard and couldn’t wait to see their set.
Brendan: They had a great sound, and two of the members were constantly switching off instruments from keyboards to guitar and bass. Great musicians.
Joe: That was something I’d love to see more bands do. They were all really talented and the switching of instruments throughout the songs really added to them.
Brendan: I agree, there wasn’t a dull moment in their set.
Joe: And the last song was amazing.

City & Colour

Joe: Lead singer’s voice was on point; songs sounded exactly how they did on record; Dallas got upset at what he first thought was the fog machine but was actually staff blowing up balloons backstage – made hissing noises and it was distracting him, skipped halfway through one of his tracks (The Girl?); I was curious to see how many people would show up because they played on the earlier end but they had a good crowd
Brendan: Fans of City and Colour got exactly what they wanted. They sounded great and played a pretty long set.
Joe: Yeah I think they started like ten minutes early which was cool. They were awesome, Dallas’ voice was just as amazing as it is on record. And the bass player’s voice matched his well.
Brendan: My only complaint is that Dallas was bitching about some noise backstage that I didn’t even notice until he brought it up. He skipped half his song “The Girl” just because it was annoying him. It wasn’t a good look, and nobody else seemed to be bothered by the noise.
Joe: It was a bit uncalled for but I guess I understand why it annoyed him. Regardless, they played a great set. Their songs translate well live.

Cold War Kids
Brendan: They drew a pretty big crowd and people seemed to really be anticipating their set.
Joe: I only knew “Hang Me Up To Dry”. I wasn’t too interested by their set.

The Dirty Heads
Joe: I’ve heard about these guys but never listened to them. I knew they were on tour with Matisyahu. That girl Lauren that we met was pretty damn excited to see them.
Brendan: Yes she was. She insisted I pay attention because she somehow KNEW i would like them.
Joe: Well, was she right?
Brendan: No. But they definitely had a different and fun sound.
Joe: I enjoyed it. They had a cool mix of reggae, rap and rock and it was just really laid back.

Matt & Kim
Brendan: These guys were definitely one of my favorites at the festival and most of the crowd would probably agree. They got the crowd going more than any other band thus far. The first crowd surfers were at the Matt & Kim crowd!
Joe: I didn’t even realize that. But they brought the noise! This was probably the turning point for the audience, where they just started going ape shit. It was Matt & Kim’s first time performing in 2012 and they were so happy to be there. I’ve never seen a band smile so much.
Brendan: Me neither. They had a great time and their set was so original. Between confetti and balloons it really turned the festival into a party.
Joe: I love parties.

Matisyahu
Joe: Matisyahu is badass.
Brendan: Agreed. He was really engaging and he played great. People really loved him.
Joe: And his band was awesome! The guitar player was rippin’ it.
Brendan: I really loved his guitar player. His sound went so well with the rest of the music

Araabmuzik
Brendan: I saw youtube videos of how crazy he was and he really lived up to it; the crowd was going in.
Joe: Okay so I’ve seen videos of Araabmuzik and they just blew me away. He’s insane on a beatpad. He really lived up to it live. Not to mention the crowd was just going HAM.
Brendan: This guy just kept the party vibe going and everyone loved it. He was going nuts on that beatpad
Joe: I love how he mixes hip-hop style beats with trance and other dance music.

Girl Talk
Joe: This set was one of the most fun to watch. Everyone at the festival was dancing.
Brendan: Girl Talk’s set was seamless and so much fun. He brought out leaf blowers that blew toilet paper all over the crowd.
Joe: He’s sick with the mashups, he put together some really creative tracks. It was my first time really listening to him and I now consider myself a fan.

A$AP Rocky
Brendan: I’m not going to lie, I was intimidated by everyone during this set. Which means they had good intensity right? Definitely a good time watching them go wild on stage.
Joe: That’s exactly what it means. The whole A$AP crew was up there along with Araabmuzik. They were rowdy and fun and it was a really good time. A$AP Rocky will be huge.

Snoop Dogg
Joe: Snoop Dogg killed it. I knew it was going to be a fun set but he really went all out for it. He played Doggystyle in its full. The coolest part had to be the videos that were in between each song.
Brendan: As soon as his show started, it was clear why he was the headliner. His show was awesome. He had the crowd going the whole time and they were loving it.
Joe: I think every single person I walked passed was puffin’ on the ganja.
Brendan: Tokin the cheeba?
Joe: Rippin’ the reefer.
Brendan: Roastin’ some bones?
Joe: Hittin’ them L’s.
Brendan: So everyone was high. But anyway he put on a great show.
Joe: Even for the sober people like us.
Brendan: I also think its pretty cool that we witnessed Snoop Dogg’s last show.
Joe: That’s right! It’s now officially the year of the Snoop Lion! Reggae all day baby!

Overall, the second day had a more stacked lineup which changed the vibe of Catalpa in general. There were some great artists performing but it may have been too eclectic for such a fledgling festival. If it was four or five stages and twice as many bands, the lineup would be fine if it were this diverse. Since there was only really two stages (three if you count High Times) if you didn’t like an artist, there wasn’t much you could do. Maybe next year they’ll get the whole Arcadia portion of the festival to work. We still loved it though. The festival was a lot of fun and has really great potential. We’ll definitely come back next year, and maybe by then we will get over our cold feet and finally tie the knot at Frisky’s Church of Sham Marriages!