Avail’s Tim Barry recently stopped by Mary Munford Elementary in Richmond, Virginia to play some songs for a bunch of second graders. He played two Woody Guthrie songs, along with one of his own tunes, done up “Munford style.” Our friend Virgil at Suburban Home Records is thinking about putting this out as a 7-inch. After hearing these songs, I say most definitely! Check out “Shoulda Oughta” below.
Ladies and gentleman, the wait is over. It’s time now for part two of our Fest VI day-to-day coverage special feature. Onwards my bearded friends!
Saturday was the most action packed day of the weekend in terms of the large volume of bands that were scheduled to play. A full day of music was at hand, with bands playing from 1 p.m. to nearly 2 a.m. There was even an early bird gathering at DIY record shop Wayward Council at 6 a.m. Well, I wasn’t mentally or physically prepared to wake up that early even though I wanted to see just how many people would actually show up. I did, however, get up early enough to hit up the annual No Idea Records yard sale at the label’s headquarters. The event was a little bit different than last year but the hour and a half wait was well worth it. An mindblowing amount of Hot Water Music and Against Me! test pressings and various rare and out-of-print records could be purchased. I could have easily spent all of my money in no more than five minutes but after dropping eighty bucks on some wax, I was ready to see some bands.
Photos from Bill.
Although I don’t feel too strongly about their new album, I was more than little excited to see the return of American Steel to the Big Apple. I was, however, a little worried about how the crowd would react to the band. The showcase, which featured both Lawrence Arms side projects the Falcon and Sundowner, along with Fake Problems, Tim Barry, and the Loved Ones, might have been either the perfect audience or the worst one. I still couldn’t decide but as soon as they started with the new number “Sons of Avarice,” I knew there were a handful of Am. Steel faithful in attendance. The band, unfortunely, played for only 20 minutes and did not play “Optimist,” but it didn’t matter really in the end. The band seemed incredibly happy to be back and if anything, it made me look forward to the Fest that much more.
More thoughts and photos after the jump.
Avail have announced the dates for their upcoming East Coast tour with Smoke Or Fire. The tour will have them starting off at the Fest, playing at NYC’s Knitting Factory and wrapping it up in RVA. As we announced yesterday, this will be Ken from Smoke Or Fire’s last tour with the band. Click after the jump for the dates.
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graphics by lauren at blackandredeye | layout/coding by bill
