Following the shows below we attempted to go to the Anticon Records showcase, where we would have seen Yoni Wolf and Themselves… again… but to no avail! After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, we found out that our wristbands actually allowed us to go in a different, secret sort of special not-really-a-line-at-all-just-go-right-in sort of line. But then, when we actually DID get in, we discovered that the venue was so small that we would have to stand in a room NEXT TO the room where the stage was and just listen.

Instead we re-routed and saw:

Tara Jane O’Neil. Her voice is just soft and beautiful, plus she wore a visor while playing, which was awesome.

Rafter. To be honest, we didn’t so much watch as listen because we were exhausted sprawled on a couch. They started out each song by explaining what it was about, but they didn’t really need to. Also, they used Auto-Tune for songs like “No Fucking Around.”

Paranthetical Girls. This was mesmerizing. Definitely a strong stage presence, and during one song the lead singer climbed up on a stack of amps and played them like a drum. They played marry/fuck/kill with the audience between songs, and confessed a deep love of Joni Mitchell.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. CFTPA’s Owen Ashworth was joined on the stage for almost every song by either another singer, or one of the guys from The Donkeys playing guitar or keyboard. Having someone on the stage besides Ashworth, who usually preforms alone, changed CFTPA’s lonely aesthetic.