Seven Breakthrough Performances at Fest

Continuing our The Fest 10 coverage, this week we're focusing on bands that "broke" either at a Fest of yesteryear or shortly thereafter. There are many tales of "there was no one there." You should probably also reference our post about Ten Under the Radar Bands in preparation for your schedule making so you too can say you were there when right before they blew up.

Go ahead and click Read More to see our list of breakthrough artists. As always, please be sure to give us your two cents in the comments section.

The Gaslight Anthem

Lightening, meet jar. Before they headlined massive rock shows, before Pitchfork gave them the stamp of approval, even before they had a follow up to Sink or Swim there was something about Gaslight Anthem. Something that is hard to describe even now, and was certainly almost impossible to do back in 2007, but it was there and it was building. Maybe just in an insular community of beard punks and internet music nerds, but it was building nonetheless. In a US Tour, The Gaslight Anthem were playing dispersed shows, with small attendance (at their stop in the Bay Area there was literally 6 people in attendance), but Fest 6 was the rare opportunity where potentially all of a bands fans (even those who missed their first US tour) were in one place at one time and it was all hell breaking loose. Fest 6 was perhaps the first time anyone had a chance to really see The Gaslight Anthem in their best element, surrounded by swarming rabid fans. Some smaller bands are intimidated by over zealous crowds or frustrated by fans who can't keep the action off stage, but Gaslight played it as if this was the only way they'd ever imagined playing music. More than a stellar performance it was an indicator of things yet to come. —Rich Verducci

The Menzingers

The Menzingers made their Fest debut at Fest VII playing opposite heavyweights Dillinger Four. Bummer for them. As Rich, Schultz and I watched along with a few others, the band did it the way they usually do a show like that - they crushed it, putting their all into the performance. At the time, all they had was their debut release from Go-Kart to pull songs from (even if the label had stopped actually giving the band copies of the album by this point). The next year they upgraded to a larger venue (The Market St. Pub), got their first feelers for a deal with Red Scare and moved onto the conveyor belt that now has them recording a debut album for their hero, Brett Guerewitz. Depending on who you ask, they took off after Fest VII or VIII but I'll always treasure seeing the band with a couple of my best friends, watching them play their hearts out to nearly no one at all. —Justin August

Against Me!

Against Me! hasn’t played The Fest since 2005, which seems like even more of an eternity once one factors in the evolution of both the band and the festival. The Fest grew exponentially in those mid-years (remember when registration took place at Wayward Council?) from a small, relatively fanfare-free event to arguably the premier underground music festival in the country. Concurrently, the star of AM! was rising as well; after shunning overtures from major labels, the band released Searching For A Former Clarity earlier that year to heavy critical and fan acclaim, reigniting the label discussion both internally and externally. Their set at Fest 4, seen below, happened two months before they signed to Sire Records, and captured the band at perhaps their hungriest. Now, after a pair of major label releases (2007’s New Wave and 2010’s White Crosses), Against Me! has come full circle—label autonomy, a rejuvenated live show thanks to new drummer in Jay Weinberg, and a Gainesville homecoming at The Fest 10 that’s bound to be memorable. —Bryne Yancey

Mastodon

Way back in 2003, a barely known band called Mastodon that few people knew took a smaller stage at the Fest 2 during an early afternoon set. In contrast to the rawer, somewhat country influenced punks on adjacent bills, Mastodon kicked off their set with low, rumbling metal riffs that were more Black Sabbath than John Doe. Although their earth shaking warble attracted a few curiosity seekers, for the most part, they were over shadowed by the feistier punk acts in the surrounding areas. But, as is often the way with influential bands, their tracks were larger than their volume, and word began to spread of "this new band, that's kind of stoner metal, but kind of southern, but kind of not." Now, some nine years later, after having cut four in-depth concept albums, and a new multi-faceted piece, Mastodon isn't so much the band that no one heard as the band that sees to it that no one can hear after they leave. —John Gentile

Frank Turner

Frank Turner has come a long way since he played the tiny stage of Durty Nelly's Fest 6 back in 2007. In the past 4 years he has been signed to Epitaph Records, released 3 full-length records, been featured on CNN twice, had albums chart on the UK music charts, and toured the country with the likes of Green Day, The Offspring, Against Me, Gaslight Anthem and Chuck Ragan's Revival Tour just to name a few. As you read this article Frank is currently on a North American tour with Andrew Jackson Jihad and Into It. Over It. with most, if not all, of the shows on the tour selling out. Mr. Turner has accomplished quite a bit in the past 4 years to say the least, so one can only wonder where the next 4 years will lead him. —Armando Olivas

Bomb the Music Industry!

Now, I wasn’t at Fest 6 - the Fest that Bomb the Music Industry! apparently "blew up." You know, made it big. Headed for the top. But I would say that’s fairly accurate. It wasn’t too long after that set when I first heard of the band; when I had a misguided attempt (and completely misinterpreted the lyrics) to try and get an ex-girlfriend to leave me alone. I made a mixtape with only one song, "I Don’t Love You Anymore." Clearly, the band had made it big. However, I was at their Fest 8 show. I drove almost 24 hours to see them and pretty much only them (I had only heard of 4 bands playing the Fest at that time.) I waited an hour outside the Kickstand and right when they started to play I was the cut off man. Came so far, only to get so close. I didn’t see that set. However, the music I could vaguely hear while standing outside the Kickstand sounded like one hell of a party. And their Fest 9 show - well it was legendary. AP even called it the best show of Fest 9. If anything, that was an understatement. Who knows how they can top all that at Fest 10? —Alex Eschbach

Polar Bear Club

Back in 2006, if you ever googled Polar Bear Club, the search results were guaranteed to show how many sites were dedicated to half naked Russians swimming in arctic rivers. Despite this, the Rochester based band was able to branch of their native town and in a year gained a gathering of fans dedicated enough to sing their hearts out at every show including The Fest 7 that October. What made Jimmy and company particularly strong in those years was that their sound on record was enhanced in the live setting and that made lots of people wanting more from the band's only available output at the time. Their first full length would be later put out on Bridge Nine in 2008 but you can't help but re-watch their set from fest 7 and feed off their energy. Watching carefully as lead singer Jimmy, leads fans in collective lyric embrace, you can see the passionate approach and sincerity the band brings to the sweaty room in Gainesville. Combine that with a fresh sense of energetic power that radiates from the other members is what makes this band not only a staple in the ears of everyone that took time out to check out that set but for any future listener that is missing something genuine in their musical tastes. —Steven Pitera