Jonny Numb

16 bands were scheduled to play on Saturday, April 1 (and no, that’s not an April Fool’s joke haw haw).

The thing about 16 bands playing over the course of a single day – and, more importantly, wanting to see almost all of them – is, your feet are gonna hurt something awful by the end of the night.

And while I’m far from the most fashionable fellow at an event like this, I invariably always choose my beat-up, sole (our soul?)-eroded Converse as footwear. This makes all the standing around even worse.

That said, over the years I’ve learned the “trick” of shifting weight back and forth between each foot (example: if you’re tapping along to a band with your left foot, switch over to the right after 2 or 3 songs to give it a little rest).

I mean…your feet are gonna hurt no matter what you do, so some of it is just a masochistic game of “mind over matter” and suppressing the agony.

As for the Saturday bands, things got off to a great start with V is for Villains, who slayed the small stage with a plain down fun set. A mix of originals and covers (off their recent album, Steal the 80’s) that kept the crowd smiling and dancing.

Next on the small stage was The Rain Within (a mellower, synth-based project from Bella Morte’s Andy Deane). Their album, Atomic Eyes, was one of the first purchases I ever made from Negative Gain Productions, and their sophomore LP, Horrorshow, is just as good. It wasn’t until Andy brought out his super-cool, neon-green finger-lasers that someone came up with the novel idea of turning out the lights. Great set, and when he closed with a cover of Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella,’ I lost it and sang along.

Hey…I never said I didn’t have a sentimental side (and it’s one of the best songs about friendship ever written, fight me).

I always admire when musicians known for their dark and brooding sound do their own interpretations of upbeat pop tunes.

When I first listened to Actors, I didn’t give them a fair shake. Perhaps this was due to the hype coming from certain podcasts/websites that were hailing them as the Second Coming. But when I heard vocalist/keyboardist Shannon Hemmett’s excellent mellow synthpop side-project, Leathers, I decided to give Actors another shot. Their most recent album, Acts of Worship, is a captivating masterpiece with one great track after another. (I’m so glad I saw the error of my ways.)

It was a thrill to watch Leathers perform in the GB to a nice-size crowd. Similarly, it was great to see Actors themselves slay the main stage (to an even bigger crowd) right before Saturday’s headliner. Here’s hoping they stop by Baltimore’s Metro Gallery again on a proper tour soon, because I’ll definitely be there.

I had the privilege of seeing Josie Pace open for Aesthetic Perfection last fall, and her performance was amazing. After Leathers finished, I rushed over to the small stage to catch the majority of her set, which was as as good as I remembered. (Though it bears noting: it was from this point onward that the room became a sardine-tight sweat lodge.)

Curse Mackey is an artist I’ve admired for the better part of 2 decades, starting with his collaborations with Industrial supergroup Pigface. And his relatively young solo career is producing some exciting work. Imagine a version of Marilyn Manson that never succumbed to self-parody, and you may have a slight idea of the quality and content of his musical stylings.

As one-man acts go, Curse brings an element of the physical to his performances, moving around onstage and interacting with the crowd. One rather hilarious wardrobe malfunction found the overheated artist struggling to shed his leather jacket, which led to some self-deprecating humor that resonated with the audience.

As an aside, I saw Curse open for Chemlab and Pop Will Eat Itself at Baltimore’s Ottobar in 2019. He even got to come onstage and sing a track with Chemlab, and seemed humbled by the opportunity. I have fond memories of that show – not just in the context of the pre-pandemic world, but as part of my concert-going history, period. So it was great to express my admiration to the man personally after his set.

As previously stated, Bile’s Saturday encore set was much better than the one on Friday. I hope they take the positive reception at DFF as a sign to reform and start touring again.

I was really bummed when Empathy Test‘s U.S. tour fell through last year. More so because they were set to play J.B. Lovedraft’s in Mechanicsburg (about 15 minutes from my house). That said, I was overjoyed to see them announced as part of the DFF lineup. I love Isaac Howlett’s clean, ethereal vocals – a bit of an anomaly within the current landscape of grizzled distortion – and I was charmed at his lame dad-joke banter between songs. Looking forward to (hopefully) seeing them at a more intimate setting when they tour the U.S. proper this fall.

Another aside (I know, there are a lot of asides when I’m at the keyboard): since I am a master of coordination and asking friends both far and wide if they’ll be present at an event I plan on attending (/sarcasm), I totally missed out on meeting the very great Jen Palko (sister of the modestly great Greg Palko), who was there to see Empathy Test and Actors. Next time, Jen!

Now…every music festival has its holyshitwherehaveyoubeenallmylife?! moment, wherein the unsuspecting attendee steps into a room to bear witness to an act they’ve never heard before. I’ve made so many important musical discoveries by attending festivals (and just showing up early during regular tours), and Danny Blu was, hands down, THE discovery of DFF. From the moment he took the small stage (along with two madly skilled dancers!), an electricity flowed through the room that had everyone dancing and cheering and pretty much losing their minds in the best possible sense. I cannot wait to see him again this summer (supporting Moris Blak!).

A festival staple for so many Kinetiks, it was great to see the politically charged furor of FGFC820 take over the small stage. While a bit disappointing that their trademark video wasn’t being projected on the screen (not sure if this was a choice or yet another “technical difficulty” of the weekend), they brought their usual high energy to the half-hour set.

I didn’t have much interest in Combichrist‘s headliner set, so I took the opportunity to duck out and hit the only food truck that was still open (around 11:30). The day had been somewhere in the balmy 70s, but the temperature plummeted at least 20 degrees (with a brisk wind) by the time I wandered to the corner of the parking lot for some bacon mac-n-cheese.

Weird aside: the proprietor of the food truck – a very friendly fellow – greeted me as if we’d met before (I assured him we hadn’t). Do I just have one of “those” faces?

Returning to the more temperate Grand Ballroom, I was surprised to see the crowd extending pretty far back (encroaching on the handful of vendors that shared the space). I was also despondent over the lack of anywhere to sit. So I stood back, finishing off my bacon-mac, before venturing out into the hotel proper.

I wound up talking to Distortion Productions label head Jim Semonik, who was in the midst of his third Long Island Iced Tea and in a particularly jovial mood. Jim is also a musician (Red Lokust; Rein[Forced]) and a cancer survivor who spearheaded the successful Electronic Saviors compilations (I own the first two). I picked up some CDs, and he regaled me with tales of the Industrial-music biz and the struggles to get his bands booked on certain high-profile festival lineups (which shall remain nameless). I enjoyed talking with him – like me, he’s a very pleasant drunk, and I will always take that over the opposite. We spoke enthusiastically about Eva X, who will also be on tour with Moris Blak and Danny Blu this summer (triple-flame emoji!!!).

Upon seeing the mass migration of fishnets and leather from the Grand Ballroom, I politely excused myself and wished him safe travels back to Pittsburgh. I located Lizard and we headed back to the AirBnB, cobbling together as much sleep as possible before Sunday’s 10am check-out.

Even though she didn’t play DFF, it seems fitting to close out this portion of the recap with something by Eva X.

To be concluded…

(Header photo of Curse Mackey by Yours Truly)