Show Review: Spazz Fest Night 3

The Love Language at Spazz Fest
Live at The Tipsy Teapot

Night three took the cake for me, and it most of all took me by 100% surprise.  I was coming into it really anticipating seeing The Love Language and The Charming Youngsters again because quite frankly it had been too long, and what I got to see all night proved to be an excellent surprise.  The post rock expertise of The Late Virginia Summers, the awesome psychedelic grunge folk group (if that could even accurately cover it) of Creepoid, and the breathtaking sets by Ceschi and Awol One.  Night Three was a phenomenal night and was also by far the most diverse night of the entire festival.


The day started off for me though with an in-store at East Coast Music and Video (where The Charming Youngsters also filmed their Bottom String Session which will be posted later this week!) where Creepoid and Mt. Moon played.  Nice short sets from both bands and a great kick-off for the night because it was certainly a teaser.  The night really started off though with Lamont Coal, Greenville based dubsteb artist who provides some truly unique samples featuring Rebekkah Todd (Greenville Singer-Songwriter), old soul vocals, and much more. It was a by all means entertaining set that showed off just how versatile the Greenville music scene gets.  Now this versatility showed off in the fact that right after the dubstep act went off the phenomenal post rock duo of The Late Virginia Summers came on and absolutely blew me away.  The band has crafted up some brilliantly layered songs that most importantly can make the listener feel specific emotions.  Chills occurred in the first song of the set and they had my attention for the rest of it's duration.  My least favorite part of the set was that it had to end when it did, if you're into post rock then definitely check out this Virginia based band.  It's great stuff.

After The Late Virginia Summers went off, Mt. Moon came on.  Mt. Moon is a trio that makes sort of minimalist dream pop in the sense that it's an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and drums but the melodies are excellently woven to keep you nodding your head and wondering just where the melody will take itself next.  Mount Moon is a very interesting band that I'd love to hear more of soon, it sounds like they've got mounds of potential.  And empty stomach and the 2nd set of mikingmihrab in two days led to me missing their set, but when I got back in it was time for what proved to be one of the most surprising set of the night with Creepoid.  Creepoid was a band I'd seen earlier in the day at East Coast Music so I wasn't really going in with the anticipation of hearing a new band, but that's almost what I got.  Their set at The Tipsy Teapot was amazing, it was loud, in your face, but still focusing on being melodic as well.  Quite frankly if I closed my eyes and pretended hard enough I could imagine I was at an Americans in France show (and quite frankly I'm an Americans in France fanboy through and through).  I walked away from Creepoid's set thoroughly impressed.  But next up was my most anticipated set of the night, The Love Language.

The Love Language went on with Stu McLamb and his brother Jordan on the drums and they certainly grabbed the audiences attention right away with a stellar opener in "Brittany's Back" from their 2010 album "Libraries" (The Bottom String's #1 NC album of 2010).  The set was filled with favorites like, the standout being "Heart To Tell" which is included at the bottom of the page in a video.  Stu and Jordan pulled off their duo set excellently, and "Brotherly Love" as Stu called it certainly took the night for me.  Excellent performance that was full of energy and good vibes.  After The Love Language the hometown favorites of The Charming Youngsters took the stage to the biggest crowd of the night.  Nolan Smock was practically beaming throughout the entire show and the entire band helped bring the energy in the place to it's peak with their infectious choruses and quite frankly...charming lyrics.  If I had to pick out one problem I had with Spazz Fest it would only be that there simply isn't enough time in the day to fit it all in, 2:00 a.m. just comes too soon.  Either way, The Charming Youngsters practically stole the show and proved to me just how vastly they've improved over the years.  It's going to be excellent watching the band blossom in the near future.

Last but most definitely not least was probably the most captivating set of the entire night, Ceschi.  Ceschi opened up his set sitting on the front of the stage with an acoustic guitar and a microphone begging the crowd to get closer, close enough that quite frankly a microphone was barely needed.  From then on he took his Folk-Rap/Acoustic Hip-Hop/whatever you want to call it act to new levels with intellectually stimulating lyrics that can send shivers up and down your spine simply at the way he spits it out with such raw and gritty emotions.  He knows no censor and knows no boundaries, it was an amazing experience hearing and seeing such an intense and incredibly talented rap artist connecting on such a personal level with all of the crowd.  Ceschi videos will be up soon as well.

After Ceschi was finished the legendary Awol One took the stage and Ceschi stepped aside and helped out with some of Awol One's set.  Awol One talked about "reading like 25 books and feeling real...smart" but most importantly he rapped about some incredibly raw subjects as well.  Awol has worked with legends like KRS-One, and some of the hottest names in the industry like Atmosphere.  Seeing Awol inside of the Tipsy Teapot with a crowd the size of Spazz Fest was an experience that you truly only get once in a lifetime.  Ceschi and Awol proved to me what Jeff said about Greenville's community was 100% true.  You get to experience some incredible things and connect on such personal levels with these artists.  That's what I took away from Spazz Fest, and that's whats going to keep me coming back for more.

Ceschi videos coming soon!