“Hi, how are you?” opened the legendary Daniel Johnston right before starting his Beaumont Club set.
The answer? Incredibly fantastic.
Especially so because the weekend was jam packed with some of the best local talent alongside some pretty stellar national acts. The occasion was the first (and hopefully not the last) Middle of the Map Festival. This was a festival that for two days took over some Westport Clubs–Beaumont, Riot Room, Record Bar & the Union–and packed them with bands ranging from Lawrence’s Hospital Ships to Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club to Daniel Johnston backed by locals Capybara. It was a truly unique weekend and a great way to debut the fest.
Friday I arrived in time to catch the tail end of Spirit Is the Spirit. There were several other local bands playing before them that I’m sad to have missed, but work duties held me up.
Spirit Is the Spirit is a local band that performed a lively set that was heavy on the percussion. It reminded me of a blend of the distinct ‘Seattle Sound’ that’s recently become so popular. In other words, great vocal harmonies, almost tribal sounding percussion at times, and enough of a lilt to make you want to dance. I first saw the singer in a group called Yellow Walrus, and I could hear some ties to that Death Cab for Cutie-inspired band as well. These guys were a pleasant surprise and a great start for my festival experience. Sadly, I didn’t get my camera ready in time to snap any pictures. I was so lost in their music that they were done by the time I thought to take my camera out.
Another local group called Minden followed on the Riot Room stage. I had never heard of the band prior to this festival, which I assumed from their tight, rocking set that it was because they were one of the out of town bands. Turns out they’re reppin’ Kansas City and this was only their sixth show as Minden. Although, several of the guys have plenty experience in other bands, which might explain their confident set. Minden is a band to keep an eye on.
It was time for a change of venue and to take a gander at some of the non-local bands the festival had brought in. I went to the Beaumont Club to watch Maps and Atlases followed by Two Door Cinema Club. And what a change of pace it was. The atmosphere at the Riot Room was like being at a house show – everyone knew each other and was giving hugs. The crowd was a bit older – the matured veterans of the music scene. At the Beaumont Club, however, x’s on hands were numerous. The faces were unfamiliar – these were not frequenters of shows every week, but people drawn out for a specific band: Two Door Cinema Club. The young, Irish dance pop group has started to gain quite a following stateside and in Kansas City, they’re abetted by the recent radio play they’ve been getting. This show was almost like stepping outside of the festival and into a normal concert. I do hope that some of these people that came out specifically for Two Door ventured outside of the Beaumont to see some of the wonderful local bands and discover new loves.
Maps and Atlases, who are touring with TDCC, were just about to take the stage. They had me eager for their set as a raised, sideways drum was featured right up in the front of their set up. The Chicago rock band’s experimental, yet pop-influenced sound quickly had me hooked. At times, it reminded me a bit of Minus the Bear, but then there were times when it went off in a completely different direction.
Beaumont was running a little behind schedule, but when Two Door Cinema Club finally took to the stage – the place went nuts. Immediately, people were clapping, dancing and singing along to a lot more than just the radio single. I could swear I could even see a couple of people ‘air-synthing.’ The Irish accents were thick, so while few could decipher what was being said between the songs, people still cheered and smiled. The amount of love for this band in that room was electric. TDCC played through several new songs during their set, which have me eager for their next release. “Costume Party,” especially, is sure to be a stand out. They even performed an encore, ending their set with a personal favorite, “I Can Talk.” Again: dance party explosion.
There was no better way to end the first night of the festival than with some local legends. I went back to a packed Riot Room to see Appleseed Cast. It had been quite awhile since I had seen this ambient band perform and even then was a special occasion for them to play the Low Level Owl records in their entirety. It was exciting to hear a set with even more variety from their large catalogue -and even some material I had never heard before. Watching these guys rock out with their passionate lyrics and well-thought out guitar lines, it is easy to see why they’re such an influence for so many other bands today. Truly couldn’t have gone home any happier from their set.
My Saturday had to start with a very different sort of music: classical. I had an orchestra rehearsal before I could get to the festival. So again, I sadly missed some local bands that I would have liked to have seen. However, I did arrive in time to catch what might now be my new favorite local band: Saharan Gazelle Boy. Several of the guys playing in Saharan Gazelle Boy also play in fellow festival band Capybara. I had seen their other incarnation before and was looking forward to finally seeing this new project. There are elements to SGB that are similar to Capybara – the extra drums in addition to a regular drum set, the heavy use of tambourine and the vocals – which is to be expected when you have the same primary singer for both bands. However, this is also a very different different project. This is the brainchild of Darin Seal. For the live show, he’s joined by his friends, which consequentially happen to be his Capybara bandmates and several other musicians. With Saharan Gazelle, he sings indie pop songs about finding love that are laced with fun synth melodies and upbeat tempos. I’m not a dancer, but it was hard to stand still with these guys on stage.
Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship is a garage rock band from Omaha – so practically local. “1,2,3,4″ they rapidly counted off almost every song and then a wall of sound would hit. The drummer was hypnotizing to watch. The guy was non-stop smiles as he rapidly banged across his set. The guy played hard – and consequentially broke several sticks.
After Omaha’s Noah’s Ark, KC took over again with Making Movies. I’m sure Kansas City has plenty of bands that sings in Spanish besides the few mariachi bands I’ve seen at Mexican restaurants around town, yet this is the only rock band in Kansas that I can think of that sings in Spanish and has been this successful. These guys had just driven back from a show in Texas, but they still had plenty of energy to get people to dance to their rock music with a spice of salsa. I doubt many people at the Riot Room could understand the lyrics, but it really didn’t matter. They were addicting just on their sound quality alone.
State Bird was a bit of a surprise. The clip I had listened to online had a lot of instrumentals and cutesy whistling. So I went into the Beaumont Club expecting some gentle, indie act. Instead, I got screaming and harder rock than I had even anticipated was at this fest. Sorry guys, but this was not my thing. I left after a few songs to find some friends at other venues.
I found myself back at Riot Room, which had yet to let me down with its constant lineup of killer Midwest bands. When I made my way back, it was packed for Lawrencians Hospital Ships. So packed, in fact, that I couldn’t get up close enough for any decent pictures. So I enjoyed the wave of music from the back. It sounded a bit different than the last time I heard them – which I later learned was due to them missing a few members for this particular set, but it was still quite enjoyable and I was sad to have leave early because their set conflicted with another local band that I adore.
Back at Beaumont, Lawrence former three-piece and now foursome Cowboy Indian Bear was setting up. These guys work harder than most KC/Lawrence bands and are constantly touring and writing. They’re most recently fresh off of a string of shows that carried them to SXSW and back. They started off with several new songs – some which have me eagerly anticipating swaying to a new record and some that have seeds have potential, but I’d love to hear them do more. Their older material always brings a smile to my face and I love how they’ve adapted their pieces to include the beautiful vocals of their latest addition: Katelyn Conroy. If you’ve never heard this band – it’s very chill music with lots of fun beats and some of the most haunting harmonies you’ve ever heard. It was great to see them playing to such a large crowd.
Capybara is the other incarnation of Saharan Gazelle Boy whom had already performed earlier in that day. These guys would earn the title of the hardest working band of the festival by rounding out the day with a third performance as Daniel Johnston’s backing band – most impressive and an unforgettable moment for their career. As I said earlier, Saharan Gazelle Boy might have earned the ‘my favorite local band’ spot, but I still loved Capybara. It had been over a year since I had last seen these guys perform, so it was nice to see them rocking out in the Riot Room with their blend of indie folk rock pop.
Dinner was becoming a necessity with the increasing heat and all the walking. So after grabbing some pizza, it was back to the Beaumont. Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s were finishing up their set. They’re not from Kansas City, but they have that dark, folky quality that I’m finding increasingly common among Midwest bands. East Coast has a sort of grainy glam sound they fall into, while West Coast tends to embrace the surf rock sound and the South tends to be more straight up rock. Midwest has its own quality that is a bit harder to describe, but is definitely present. I loved the variety of instruments Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s used, too – violins and slide guitars. After their set, it was time for one of the most anticipated shows of the festival.
Daniel Johnston was an experience. The guy is a living legend and for that reason alone he was worth seeing, but he also has a very troubled story and a reputation for being a little peculiar on stage, which is also worth seeing. If you’re only familiar with him in name, but not sound – it is very lo-fi. Mostly just Johnston with acoustic guitar. Although tonight, he would be joined by Kansas City’s very hard working Capybara.
Johnston started with a smile, slyly asking, “Hi, how are you,” and then playing a few songs from behind a music stand. He told bizarre stories in between about dreams and things he’s seen and he even spoke of his love for root beer. Then he said he was taking a brief intermission before coming back with the band. Already, this was unlike anything most had ever seen before at a concert. When Johnston returned, Kansas City’s Capybara was with him. They guys looked nervous, but excited to be playing with Johnston. Unlike Johnston, they did not have any sheet music stands, but either they practiced a lot or were just really suave at making things up on the fly because they never seemed to have any giant falters. My pride with the Kansas City music scene multiplied by a thousand during this performance.
I thought I’d be fine to watch another Omaha band, Little Brazil, before heading over to Cursive at the Riot Room. If you’ve never been in the Union where Little Brazil was performing, it is kind of like being in a cave. The band still played a killer set despite the unusual surroundings. Little Brazil has changed quite a bit since I last saw them perform. Landon Hedges and his distinctive vocals are still the star of the show, but they had a new member with them – a girl on keys – which added a nice grounded sound to their music.
When Cursive‘s singer, Tim Kasher, took his leave from watching this set to go to his own, I figured that be a good cue to head over to Riot Room as well. To my surprise, the Riot Room was already at capacity and a huge line had formed hoping to be one of the lucky few to be let in should someone leave. Sadly, it looked as those Cursive would not be happening for me that night. Fortunately, I have seen the band several times before and though I’d have to miss it, I’m glad to see that this festival would end on such a high note. The band was getting to play to a packed house, the organizers had put together a festival so successful that it would reach capacity not only here, but also at the Raveonettes across Westport at Record Bar. And of course, all the patrons of the festival got to see some fantastic bands, even if they found themselves shut out from the last few headliners like I was. It’s hard to be too upset when the whole weekend was so great.
I think it’s safe to say Middle of the Map was a great success and I’d love to see it back next year – even bigger. There’s plenty of venues in Westport that could easily be added and with the 90 degree weather – outdoor venues should be thrown in as well. Let’s see it happen, KC.
