Concert attendees were greeted with the smell of local barbecue food vendors along with the sounds from local Midwest bands and artists as they entered the 2012 Muncie MusicFest on Saturday. The festival was held along the streets of downtown Muncie and took place from 5 to around 11 p.m., with some of the indoor venues, such as Doc's music hall and the Silo, hosting acts past midnight. The bill consisted of a diverse set of artists, ranging from all sorts of different genres.
FOSSIL GENERATION
One notable progressive rock act that took the 7:15 p.m. slot on the FM music stage was Fossil Generation. With songs consisting of wailing guitar solos, moments of improvisation, and the incorporation of space noises from a synthesizer along with auxiliary percussion and groovy drum parts, its high-energy live set really stuck out in comparison to the hip-hop act prior or the country act that followed. Imagine what a modern day Jimi Hendrix would sound like, mashed together with the Mars Volta, and sandwiched in with musical characteristics similar to that of Muse, Radiohead and sometimes Tool. This is the live sound of Fossil Generation.
The local Muncie quartet, formerly known as Bradley Thomas & Friends, all met at Ball State and are no amateurs when it comes to gigging around Muncie.
"We usually play out in Muncie every couple of months or so," said Bradley Thomas, singer, songwriter and lead guitarist. "We've also played Muncie MusicFest last year, Muncie Gras and Muncie RibFest."
Thomas is a former Ball State student who planned on double majoring in Japanese and telecommunications.
The band's collective favorite experience from the festival was the crowd and their reactions.
"It's really cool that a lot of people came out early and stuck around to see us play. We weren't really expecting that," Thomas said.
He believed the bigger crowd would start to come out later on in the evening, but that ended up being not exactly being the case. The band members agreed that the most memorable moment of their set was the reaction of the crowd, one intoxicated senior citizen in particular.
"I remember looking up from playing and seeing a drunk guy just jumping up and down," Thomas said. "He was really getting in to it."
THE DEUCE FUNK MONSTERS
The Deuce Funk Monsters, a funk filled electronic duo hailing in all the way from Chicago, Ill., also had a good run with its set at the Muncie MusicFest. They took the 8 p.m. slot on the Monarch Stage and turned the Muncie streets in to an all-out dance party as they jammed a long side the sun going down.
"It was the opportunity of a lifetime," said Matthew Kerr, producer and guitar player of the group.
Deuce Funk Monsters is the evolution of a funk band dating all the way back to 1998. Its live show consists of a DJ sampling house drum loops and other electronic soundscapes that are produced by the group in the studio prior to a live gig, and a guitarist jamming alongside. It's like house music, or techno, with a hint of funk in it. Think Deadmau5 meets the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
A unique tactic Deuce Funk Monsters brought to the table with its live set was interacting with the crowd. Kerr would take moments from singing to comment on some of the crowd's movements, sometimes even making fun of them. From saying things like, "there goes Katy Perry, my girlfriend with blue hair," to a female in the crowd with blue hair, or "yeah shake it lady. I see you out there, mama," to a female senior citizen dancing by herself to Deuce Funk Monsters's rendition of "Get Down On It" by Kool and the Gang. The funky duo packed its set with humor, and the crowd really seemed to vibe off of that.
"We just like to get weird," Kerr said. "We're a two man party and like to have fun with what we do."
SMALL-TOWN CHARM
One of the main goals of the festival was to keep the bill consisting of more upcoming and local acts opposed to bigger national touring acts that have been booked in the past. This notion was put forward due to multiple reasons. Barnell Vance, an employee of the Muncie Sanitary district and festival volunteer, said he believes this small-start approach creates more hype. He has been working for the festival and similar Muncie events for the past four to five years.
"We decided to switch to local bands because it saves money, and kids get more stoked on supporting their friends in bands," Vance said.
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