Local Bands Take On Shabang Music Festival
KCSB’s Clarissa Rios reviews Shabang’s locally featured Saturday acts, including Santa Barbara’s own The Framers. Read on for her insight into the performances.
words and photo by Clarissa Rios
San Luis Obispo’s Dairy Creek Golf Course was home to dozens of musical acts over the May 3-4 weekend as part of Shabang’s 10 year anniversary. The music festival was an astounding success. Top acts — Thundercat and Peachpit were the headliners. Smaller, and locally-based artists also put on impressive performances.
Pictured: The Framers performing at Cuesta Ridge Stage
Santa Barbara-based band, The Framers, performed on Saturday. Back in February, they were the winners of Shabang’s Santa Barbara Battle of the Bands competition, which ultimately got them their spot on the Cuesta Ridge Stage. They are a band that I hold near and dear to my heart (as evidenced by their logo sticker that’s been sitting on the back of my clear phone case for the past two years), and thus I immediately knew I had to catch their set. The Framers put on a stellar, interactive performance, with guitarist Franky Sansone tossing friendship bracelets into an energetic crowd. They performed some of their previously released singles, as well as the entirety of their newly released first album titled, “I’m Feeling Fine!”
The album consists of seven songs, all bangers, and is about 45 minutes long. My two favorite songs are probably “I Would Fall Asleep If You Would Let Me” and “Rosalie”. The drums on both go absolutely insane (shoutout to you, Jake) and both songs did a great job of keeping the audience hyped throughout the set. The band also played “Angel” which I consider to be one of their best. In a heartfelt moment leading up to that performance, they dedicated the song to their founding drummer Tommy Soto, who they lost last year. The band played “Without You” to close off their set, which is also the song that closes out the new album.
San Luis Obispo-based indie rock band, Couch Dog, also took to the Cuesta Ridge stage on Saturday. They played several originals including one of their most notable hits titled, “Punch Drunk”. The band didn’t shy away from the covers though, performing an awesome take on Turnstile’s song “MYSTERY”. From the very beginning of the band’s set, the crowd was roaring with energy. Everyone in that crowd started moshing along to each song, and it was quite a beautiful sight if I do say so myself. Before I even knew it, people were taking their shots at crowd surfing. Both the band and crowd’s energies were so contagious, and those of us watching the scene from the top of the hill couldn’t help but dance along. My favorite part of the Couch Dog set was when a tall fella over on the left side of the audience started moving his arm in a circle motion above his head — signaling everyone else to start running in a circle. Eventually, people got the message, and everyone around him was running in this giant mosh circle in unison. I think this earns him the title of “mosh conductor”. Overall, Shabang put together quite a remarkable festival lineup. Their dedication to provide a platform for local artists does not go unnoticed, and I’m stoked for what the following year has in store.