My day covering Dexfest began with The Froggy Johnson Boys. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, with a name like the Froggy Johnson Boys, an image of five old rednecks filling up a spittoon comes to mind. However, FJB are five young guys from Eastern Tennessee. It’s hard to find anyone, who doesn’t remember Tennessee before TVA, who loves bluegrass like these guys. The Froggy Johnson Boys’ bluegrass posses a Brother Where Art Though feel with bluesy littered with stories of light hearted substance abuse. The crowd enjoyed the change of pace from the Froggy Johnson Boys.

All photos not watermark for Alex Person were taken by Chucky T


Robosapien
Having never heard of any of the bands I saw at Dexfest, I was slightly skeptical. I have a bad habit of being harder on a band when I see them live as opposed to listening to their songs before seeing them live. However, I ran into my buddy Brandon Swinford and he convinced me to give Robosapien more than a glance. So as I sat I noticed that the long trancy phaser induced jams mesmerizes the crowd into a slow bend and stop; dance style. It seemed as if E.T. had discovered a Dub step groove influenced by classical keyboarding. The airy feel was coupled with a rhythmic tidal feel from the keyboardist and exagerated by the bassist’s complete ease, he was drinking a beer on stage without missing the note. Robosapien surprised me a great deal and at the least has one new fan after Dexfest

Gifted
Gifted’s Indian influence is undeniable with their ambient sounds and voice overs that sound like traditional mantras. Yet, DJ Sam is not just another college kid trying to promote a version of India’s house scene, they are in the Indian music scene! Gifted has been giving their transcient and sometimes high energy sound to Bolliwood, helping with the music for Indian film, “Chana-Unspoken”. I am not sure if Pijou’s hard rapping style is featured on the Bolliwood film, however, if it is not, then India is missing out on an Eminem like delivery blurred with the New York sound Pijou is surrounded by now. Gifted definately is worth checking out

JerkFace
JerkFace was a definate change of pace compared to the rest of the shows. JerkFace started with a mix of Lovely Day, which drew in a small but appreciative crowd. JerkFace then moved to a smooth, 70’s influenced R&B sound. It was easy to groove to but held a certain elegance to the beasts. JerkFace can be summed up as a Dr. Dre influenced classy after hours club fusion. Definately advised to listen to when you need a chill night the the lady.

Softer, Louder
Softer, Louder began the show with a funky beach vice. The feel was perpetuated by the listeners sitting around the barn as if it was a fire at high tide. Once the crowd was captured like tuna in a net. Softer, Louder breaks out an outstanding Cover of Voodoo Chile. The band showed their musical depth and pure ability to fuse their beach vibe with a bluesy funk. I believe this experience is best summed up by one phrase I over heard, “Softer, Louder is what the Expendables would have sounded like if Hendrix had taught the guitarist to play”
Medesin
Watching Medesin rock to his own beat you can see he loves what he is doing. As he sways to the Celtic dub step beat, he radiates the chill vibe of his music. The fusion that takes place between a robot like scratch and a belly dancer feel drew people to the tent. Medesin’s version of Psychedelic Dub creates a flowing dance feel anyone can listen to.

Somni Suite
As I was walking across the unshaded center of Dexfest a Tool like drumming drew me to the barn. I sat down at my usual spot and listened to a dreamy mix of bluesy guitar licks and electronica. As the music began to lull me into a trance, Somni Suite blasted into a harder sound offset with Dub step guitar rhythms. I sat and waited as the epic sound of Somni Suite built to an Oddesius like level abd finally gave way into a fusion with a Dark Side of the Moo quality. Finally, the Asheville band showed their range with an eerie set, reminiscent of suffocating peacefully. For me, this was one of the surprise experiences of the festival.

Magma Blood
Reviewing Magma Blood was a challenge, I have come to understand that the stereotypical adjectives prescribed to Electronica are merely euphemisms. Yes, everything is trippy, spacey, etc., so I have had to find a new way to describe a band. I could use sounds and onomatopoeias, but then I would be degrading the readers and the bands to reviews that feature the phrase, “whomp whomp” repetitively. As I came to this realization a whirl of fire from the outside of the tent caught my eye. As I was gazing into John Young’s wheels of fire, it was then that I realized I would have to go beyond myself and ask others for their thoughts. I found a guy I had talked to earlier that day and asked him, “If you were to describe a situation where this music would be playing, what would if be?” He thought for a second and said, “Funkgasm!” Next, I asked someone the same question and got, “This is the kind of music that would be playing while crashing into an alien planet.” It was then that I realized this awesome description came from someone out of his mind on drugs. But these descriptions are dead on! The cascading synthesized lazers sound as if they are being fired past a crashing ship in a moment of pure ecstasy induced funkgasm.

Dark Party
Saturday night of Dexfest was an experience unto itself. The Desfesters were filled with an excitement that could only be satisfied by Elliot Lip and Dark Party. While I was writing the notes for this review, I was fifty plus feet away from the amps and their heavy jungle beat was slamming into my chest. Once I became acquainted with the heavy beat, I looked to their light show. The spinning orbs of light resembled solar winds protruding from the sun circling the entire area. The ceiling became a playground for the solar particles as the lights merged with a swampy fog playing against the crowds faces.
A Fireball in the background ripped me from the lights back to the music. It was at this moment my buddy, Brandon Swinford, summed up the myriads of experiences Dark Party Portrayed, “It feels as if their beats are a recording of a robot coming to life and deciding it wants to get funky.”
I could continue writing and tell you about how Dark Party’s sound transitioned from ambient and spacey, to Jungle beats, to a sound that reminded me of the old school mario games, but this would be a waste. Dark Party achieved the goal of every live performance, making the entire experience seem tangible to the touch.

MidNight ACE
Having seen MidNight ACE earlier that day ride by on a scooter, I was prepared to experience something completely new. So as I walked into the tent and was blasted by green and red lasers, I honestly wasn’t phased. However, everything else did. I looked around my surroundings and MidNight ACE’s “tron suit”, lacrosse pads lined with glow sticks, matched the feel engulfing the tent. I was surrounded by an ecstasy induced dance frenzy fueled by MidNight ACE’s funky bass lines. Realizing that my notes were rather flat compared to the experience, I asked for some help. I turned around and saw a girl with a Panda mask on and covered in glow sticks. I had met her earlier, so I asked for her opinion. My pretty panda helper immediately said, “a slip and slide funstastic voyage of light and sound.” Looking back, I realize Panda girl’s description captures MidNight ACE’s flow from a heavy club friendly beat, to metal influenced mixes, to a Dub step funk, all playing off the fog filled tent and the stationary lights they captured.

This is Art
Art Webb successfully intertwines fat bass lines, jazzy, native American flutes, with hip-hop beats. His heavy beats makes me imagine that marshmallows are being shot out of a cannon. Yeah, that kind of sound. His mix of tripped out voice overs and reggae riffs, set up a trippy dub step journey.

Mr. Invisible
Rapping at machine gun pace Rap duo Mr. Invisible gave the crowd something to move to outside of the Electronic/Dub box of Dexfest’s lineup. Viewers straggled in one at a time from the camping area to get a better look at one of the more exciting visual performances of the evening, with one of the members even using an mpc to improvise beats on stage. The duo utilized a throwback vocal style similar to that of Binary Star with equally throwback beats proclaiming ‘Rappers now days won’t make it in the rap game longer than a year’.

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