PLUMP at SUMMERFEST in HOU on SUN JUNE 6

So we were invited to play at Houston’s Summerfest in Eleanor Tinsley Park. This was a very exciting event for PLUMP. Omar of Free Press Houston and Westheimer Block Party fame (along with Pegstar) were putting on this festival, which was in its second year. Two day festival, and we were playing on the second day. MMW was on the bill (first day), Flaming Lips were on the bill (2nd day), Slim Thug and Bun B (2nd day), a number of national indie rock and metal acts and DJ’s I had never heard of, and a bunch of local Houston bands across all genres.

The best thing that the organizers did was have such a number and wide variety of local acts. From death metal to punk to pop to us (whatever we are), the Houston bands were definitely celebrated and people checked out the local music to be sure.

The local and smaller national acts were allotted 25 minute sets, and we had to use the amps and drums provided by the stage. The equipment sharing I definitely understand and agree with. The logistic of all these bands and then moving amps on and off the stage would have been ridiculous. The set length is not really desirable (especially for us as 25 minutes is barely a warm-up) but understandable based on the number of bands the festival was putting on. Frankly, if the set times were longer, there would have been less bands, and we may well have not made the cut.

We actually practiced our set during the 3 practices prior to the show. Typically, we write a set list on a cocktail napkin about 40 minutes before we hit the stage for a show, but for a big time show/festival, it is nice to be prepared—especially with a 25 minute time limit. We agreed on a list of 6 possible songs, and then whittled this list down to 4 songs: Loose/Tight, The Guzzler, Reggae #2, and Buddy Boo. We even created segues into each song so we wouldn’t waste time in between songs and could maximize our 25 minutes. The first time we timed the set, it was 24 minutes. Perfecto. We went through it 2-3 more times, and it was always around 24 minutes. We can’t ask for much better than that. AND, we don’t have any 1 minute songs.

Sadly, none of us went to the festival on Saturday. On Sunday Josh, Jody, and I took Jody’s van into the Fest about 12:30 pm. The PLUMP set was scheduled for 2:35 pm on the KTRU stage. (Al and Jason, who also play in the Free Radicals, were playing at 11:00 am on the Main Stage, and per the instructions to the bands, we had to check in at our stage 1.5 hours prior to performance. As such, they were at the festival at 9:30 am). We felt high and mighty because we had a “band” parking pass, so we got to go to the road closure, show our pass to the cops, and then drive through to a parking spot close to the gate. AWESOME. We felt like big shots. We strolled on in to the festival. There were 4 stages open to the public: the Main Stage—which was down in the valley in Eleanor Tinsley Park; the Dos Equis stage—also in the “valley” about half the size of the main stage, the KTRU stage—up on the road and about 1/8 the size of the main stage; and the 29.95 stage, which was the mirror image of the KTRU stage. We checked in at the KTRU stage, and then started walking around. It was hot. I had a couple beers. Saw Grandfather Child (local Houston band on the Main Stage at about 1:30 pm), and thought they were very very very good. Heard a couple other bands, walked around, and such.

They were running a bit late on the KTRU stage, so we ended up starting our show after 3 pm. One thing I noticed (about all the stages), as soon as a band was done, then the audience would leave the front of the stage. Then, as soon as the next band started to play, the crowd would magically appear. This phenomenon was definitely true for PLUMP. We had a nice set. Good crowd. The stage had a couple power supply problems. Al had a bit of trouble with power for a second or two at various parts of the set. But that type of thing is to be expected at a Festival. It was very very very very hot. I sweat quite bit—luckily they had water bottles for us. After our set, we announced we were giving away 25 cd’s for those who would sign our email list. We gave 25 away.

About30 minutes after our set, a heavy downpour came on. Josh had left and Al was hanging with friends and Jason had gone to get beer. Jody and I were under the umbrella for a sno-cone vendor. They were very nice people. We met this girl who is in on the Austin scene and is informally helping bands with booking and such. Maybe she will help us get a better foothold in Austin. Who knows.

We caught the set of our buddies in Ashes of Babylon—very funky reggae and they had the crowd moving and shaking at the 29.95 stage. We will be playing with them at Last Concert cafe in Houston on June 25th--so don't miss it! Jason re-appeared with beers he had purchased at the store and smuggled in. Delicious. Soaking wet. I left the fest around 6 pm with the intent of catching a quick nap, but sadly, I didn’’t make it back to see the Flaming Lips. I feel like a loser.