KBGA college radio serves to bring Missoula and its university students endless nights of amazing music and all-age excitement. This year’s Fools’ Night Out will, undoubtedly, be no different.
While, of course, there will be Missoula band representation from the local favorite, Victory Smokes, a good deal of hype has been laid on event headliner at the Badlander, Acid Mothers Temple & Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
Wait. Acid Mothers Temple & Melting Paraiso U.F.O.? How could I possibly describe this band? They, easily enough, describe themselves as Japanese experimental psychedelic rock. After a good deal of listening, I found myself falling back to my high school Janis Joplin days, alongside something Zeppelin, with eccentric space odyssey sound additions, and some serious guitar rips. I’m sitting in the library. And it is still intense. It’s difficult to define, hard to hold steady, but that is exactly what makes it work. I feel like each song will never come to an end, but this consistency in most of their music helps tie together the albums in their finality. This group serves to be one I just can’t explain, but I recommend checking it out, without question.
Joining the line-up alongside Smokes and Acid Mothers is Brooklyn’s Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers. Ray described their music as semi-autobiographical. It sounds pretty raw, but the combination of harmonium and arresting female vocals does nothing but demand your attention. The newest album put out by the foursome has been called juvenile and sharp-tongued. It could be garage rock or blues, but, regardless, Shilpa Ray’s set will catch the audience’s attention. Along with Shilpa, the duo Ryat, Christina Ryat and Tom Conley, will take the stage at the Badlander, setting the scene with electronics, vocal loops, pedals, and various instruments, constructing a musical experience of multiple depths. It is, undoubtedly, electronic pop, but more. It blends together sounds unusual to bands in comparison, and is an additional treat to this Fools’ Night experience.
Downstairs, entering the Palace, the stage holds bands a bit different. Take, for example, New York’s O’Death. It’s something of an indie and folk combination, nothing too overwhelming, but just what we might need to escape the explosions upstairs. However, don’t get the impression it’s anything subtle. O’Death, along with its fellow Fools’ Night bands, brings some sting to the set. Fast fiddle, quick vocals, banjo, guitar, drums, and a little hollering are set to fit right in with a Missoula locale. Joining O’Death in the Palace is Austin, Texas rock and roll group The Strange Boys. There are elements of country, garage punk, blues-rock, and, some say, R&B. From what I could gather, there may even be a characteristic of bubble-gum rock; something Buddy Holly-esque meets Bob Dylan’s raw guitar slides, alongside oddities of sax and drums. Whatever you’d like to call it, it’s rock ‘n’ roll nonetheless. Last, but certainly not least, comes Nashville’s Natural Child. This particular band posed difficult to find much information about, but they couldn’t fall into this line up with any less effort. It is country and rock, a taste of bad-mannered lyrics, and rough, yet strong, guitar sounds. It’s something like true rock and roll. It’s in your face, intentionally, and always looking for a party.
I’d hate to do much more in convincing students to attend this particular Fools’ Night Out. You don’t have to be twenty-one years of age. The lineup proves solid in any place you might be at any time. And, chances are, you’ll find some merchandise you’d like to hang on to, vinyl, cds, and demos of some sort. It’s easy, and it’s cheap.
Thanks once again, KBGA, for setting up an impressive night in our little Northwest college town.
More information about the event can be found here.