Anyone who has ever heard of Charlotte FemmeFest probably pictures a few stages full of angry lesbians with acoustic guitars and most of my rock-oriented friends avoid those sorts of concerts like a bad case of herpes. I can’t say that I am much different. I can express adamantly that I love the concept of FemmeFest and its mission: “FemmeFest aims to reach, inspire, and strengthen our cultural community with the work of underrepresented female voices throughout the region and beyond.” However, as one of the many female rock artists who has tried and failed to break through the ironclad stereotype of FemmeFest, I must say I was delighted to see Grown Up Avenger Stuff make it on the bill this year with their quirky amalgamation of rock, pop, grunge, punk, and metal. Too bad it only took them three years of begging (and the prestige of landing a record deal last summer) to get them into the FemmeFest fold. They are the only reason I decided to actually go to the festival this year for the first time.
I went into FemmeFest with an open mind, because I do, from time to time, enjoy listening to some good ol’ folk music—but don’t tell my metal band friends. A lot of the artists were what I expected but I did find a couple of gems nestled in with the onslaught of acoustic emo-babble.
By far, the best solo acoustic performance at FemmeFest was not the headliner but Reeve Coobs, who truly blew me away with her powerful choruses and excellent guitar-work. Even my husband, the guitar snob who I dragged along for a male perspective, was impressed with her playing. Her sweet-yet-mighty voice ran the gamut from self-effacing, light folk to robust, head-bobbing blues. I missed her full-band set since it coincided with Grown Up Avenger Stuff’s time slot but I am eager to find another opportunity to see Reeve with her band.
The remainder of the lot of solo acoustic performers, on the other hand, canvassed the territory from boring to homogenous to downright cliché. With my show schedule in hand and hoofin’ it among Neighborhood Theatre, The Evening Muse, and Green Rice Gallery (Dolce Vita was a tease—no music there at the scheduled time!), I managed to catch a few songs from Natalie Royal, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Shana Blake, and Charlotte Parrott, but none of them presented anything I found noteworthy.
The headliner, Jennifer Knapp, not only did not impress me, but also approached unprofessionalism with her persistent references to the copious amounts of Scotch she’d been drinking and playing songs she didn’t quite remember how to play. She was certainly the Lilith Fair poster girl with an acoustic guitar and a chip on her shoulder, but at least the girl can sing on key when she’s drunk.
Outside the realm of regurgitated granola riffs lay a few hit-or-miss acts like HuDost, Donna Duncan, Chasing Pedestrians, and Stella Rising, I had been eager to hear StellaRising as they were the only band besides Grown Up Avenger Stuff whose name I had heard in the local music scene, but they disappointed me in performance. Each of their original songs smacked of a cover song I’ve heard too many times, but lacked the excitement of the real thing. When they finally did do an actual cover, it was Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” and vocalist Kristi Ormand choked the life out of it. The vocal ornamentations of the song were completely lacking, and Kristi didn’t quite have those high notes. It sounded almost as if this were the original version of the song from the early 80’s that Gnarls Barkley decided they could remake into something better.
Chasing Pedestrians was enjoyable, overall, though singer/pianist Michaela Amato was the only standout performer, belting out their bluesy pop in one juggernaut of a voice with a timbre similar to that of Nelly Furtado or Natalie Merchant. The horn section in cheesy, blue, 50’s-style tuxes was an interesting choice that added some musical dimension and visual whimsy to the set.
HuDost indubitably had the most eclectic mix of sounds in their set, using a sitar, cello, 12-string guitar with an “e-bow, “ and a harmonium, which I’d never seen in person before. I found myself profoundly mesmerized by their Eastern ethereal three-piece band. Their sonic profile displayed a continuum from new age/world meditation chanting to three part harmonies that could easily have come from a country station.
Despite a glowing recommendation as a rockin’ lady I should check out, Donna Duncan brought nothing but worn out southern rock with stage moves that belong more in a strip club than at an all-ages festival. One could easily find a band like this in any biker bar in the Carolinas. By this point in the festival, my ears ached from too much of the same thing without enough variety—especially since granola folk music is not my first choice of sonic cereal. Granola is great for breakfast; I just don’t want to eat it all day long.
When midnight rolled around and Grown Up Avenger Stuff finally took their places on the side stage in Neighborhood Theatre, they were truly a breath of fresh air to my rock-deprived lungs. Too bad their performance was so late, after most of the crowd had bought their souvenirs and headed home. I lamented that they didn’t have a better time slot so they could’ve shared their oscillations from charming sweetness to screaming bad-ass with a larger crowd.
Vocalist Deirdre Kroener seasons her vocals with one part 50’s housewife, one part Broadway star, and one part Courtney Love on a bender. The musical styling of the band behind her goes toe-to-toe with her, boasting an arsenal of assorted tempos, moods, and genres anywhere from the likes of The White Stripes or The Beatles all the way to Hole or Weezer. If you don’t like the style they’re playing right now, wait five minutes—it’ll change. Every song is a new adventure, and even some songs within themselves are pretty bipolar, such as “Disagreements with Gravity,” where it’s calm and psychedelic one minute and thrashing pop-punk the next.
One of the funniest changes comes at the end of their new song “Too Cool,” which remains firmly in the alternative rock pigeon-hole with a sugary chorus of, “too cool, too cool, too cool for me,” that sounds a little like a cuckoo clock—and then there’s the surprise ending. After a brief pause where the audience thinks the song is done, the Avengers come back in with a hardcore metal-style rebuttal to the song subject’s cockiness. Brilliant.
Humor is an oft-heard tool of Grown Up Avenger Stuff’s, but that is hardly to suggest that all of their songs are silly or funny. Songs like “Static” and “Wish” round out their aural portfolio with a little bit of straight-up alternative rock that delicately bares the fragile faces behind the rock-hard avenger masks. John Thomsen’s dynamic guitar riffs meld together with a solid rhythm section that fortunately possesses the sensitivity to lift up the beautiful agony of Deirdre’s soaring vocals.
As many times as I’ve seen Grown Up Avenger Stuff, I could see this was definitely not their best show. New bassist, “Mr. Red,” had some trouble getting his sound dialed in and it came across a bit clanky, some songs didn’t have quite the confidence to them that I’ve come to expect from the Avengers, and John broke a guitar string on the last song. After seeing them headline at Amos’ Southend with hundreds of adoring fans, I hated to see them close out their set at FemmeFest to a roaring crowd of… um… TEN. I hope to see them play the event again next year with better placement in the show’s lineup.
All in all, FemmeFest was significantly more entertaining than I expected, and I did come home with a couple of new and different CDs for my music arsenal, even if I had to run around like a headless chicken to find all the music I wanted to hear. Maybe next year they’ll have each stage representing one loosely categorized genre so it’s not such a trail mix strewn about everywhere. A rock stage would be nice.
To those who have yet to see Grown Up Avenger Stuff show their stuff: this band is a must-see. There are many upcoming opportunities on their calendar including June 17th at Charlotte’s own Amos’ Southend. To see their complete calendar that includes shows in Fayetteville, NC, and Charleston, SC, or to hear their tunes, visit their website at GrownUpAvengerStuff.com or on their Facebook Page. They also have a CD for sale, so definitely grab one if you like what you hear.
For more information on FemmeFest, visit CharlotteFemmeFest.org.
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