Almost seven years ago, the now-defunct Lincoln venue Box Awesome held a two-night, ten-band extravaganza called Boximus Maximus. It billed some Lincoln heavyweights alongside local up-and-coming bands. UUVVWWZ, Dean Armband, Ideal Cleaners, Domestica and Columbia vs. Challenger all played The Box in one weekend.
The bygone venue’s spirit showed itself again on Saturday night — spread across the triad of Duffy’s Tavern, The Bourbon and the Zoo Bar — in a collaborative 12-band mini-fest of old Lincoln staples, rearranged lineups and altogether new faces.
Version 2.0 gave downtown Lincoln a boisterous second helping of the scene’s past and present. To say that things were simply “loud” might actually cheapen the subtleties in Saturday’s shows. It was a post-Thanksgiving feast of prog rock, pop punk, sludge punk, hard rock, plenty of riffs and licks, earth shaking bass and wall busting drums.
“Hey, we’re Yesh, and this is our first show,” guitarist Craig Reier announced at the start of his new prog rock band’s set at The Bourbon.
Yesh sat on the most recent end of the time continuum as the festival’s newest band. Fronted by keyboardist/singer Amy Hana Huffman and comprising Dirty Talker’s Justin Kohmetscher on bass, former Bright Calm Blue guitarist and current Omni-Arms keyboardist Mike Bredehoft, Low Horse’s Reier and former Machete Archive drummer Ian Francis, it’s members are no strangers to the scene. Indeed, a careful observer could feel them working the kinks out as they went, but they also seemed more relaxed with each song. A pair of keyboards allowed tons of depth in their dark, ominous sound. The potential energy gathered with each pulsing bass note, each octave wailing from Reier’s guitar, and was unleashed at the end.
A first show for a band with such a notable lineup is always a draw, but Yesh’s debut had an essential air about it, aided by the crowd of other musicians that amassed to see them. Part of the fun of events like this one and Lincoln Calling, aside from seeing a ton of bands in quick succession, is artist support for one another.
A quick read of the billing might have given the impression that time would be compressed in each venue, both in terms of its multi-generational makeup and the tightly scheduled start times. Domestica followed Yesh on The Bourbon’s Rye Room stage, bridging the gap between the original Boximus Maximus 2007 and the latest iteration as the only band to play both.
Meanwhile, Kohmetscher bolted across the street to Duffy’s, where Dirty Talker was to perform immediately. With guitarist Adam Anderson and drummer Brendan McGinn, the trio has played in roughly 20 bands among them. The prog punk trio arguably drew the largest crowd of the night, which spilled out from the stage room all the way to the front door. They gave a wild ride of a performance, at once exhilarating and disorienting as they maneuvered changing time signatures and unconventional rhythms.
Of the three stages, Duffy’s held perhaps the most rambunctious volume and intensity. Crayons, faces painted and color-coordinated, blared through mirrored guitar and bass riffs and David Tysdal’s trumpet blasts. Including Freakabout’s heavy, sultry riff rock and Bogusman’s breakneck thrash-fest, there were moments that achingly separated the earplug wearers from those without.
Crayons
Freakabout
Bogusman
And just around the corner at Zoo Bar:
“I know I’m not the only one that thinks Katy Perry is catchy as fuck,” Once A Pawn singer/drummer C Balta said, midway through their 11 p.m. set.
According to Balta, Perry’s “Dark Horse” was the first cover the longtime Lincoln pop-punk band had ever performed. They sapped Perry’s sugary pop hit of its cloying sweetness, adapting it to their sound seamlessly with bouncy rhythm.
Representing the old-guard Box Awesome delegation, Once A Pawn was crisp and tight for a band that has played sporadically over the past few years, and it was a treat to hear new material. For Balta’s part, the singer/drummer nailed complex fills and impassioned chorus lines simultaneously.
Quick Notes:
Thirst Things First played with only one guitar, as frontman Mikey Elfers dealt with an injured shoulder. Neither that fact, nor that he was either forgetting words or intentionally uttering nonsense, prevented them creating their typical joyous atmosphere.
And shout out to Stonebelly for nailing it on the last time slot at The Bourbon, when most of the festival-goers could be found across the street at Duffy’s for the common nightcap. The jam rock band appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely and it rubbed off on those who made it over to see them.
[Lastly, our apologies for not making it to Blue Sky Angel’s Parade’s set. Next time.]
The Gems
Red Cities