Freaks Come Out Fest

Lately, the folks who book shows at thePabst Theater, the Riverside, and the TurnerHall Ballroom have been getting some much-deserved praise for the job they aredoing in getting quality bands to play in Milwaukee.No longer just a city to skip on the way from Chicagoto Minneapolis, Milwaukee will see, in the next few months,such acts as Holy Fuck, The New Pornographers, Liars and The National play atthese three venues.

Yet a city must measure the health ofits music scene by more than its ability to attract nationally known acts.There must be places for up-and-coming bands to play, to push and refine theirsound before supportive audiences. Without such places to nurture and cultivatehomegrown talent, scenes tend to stagnate and bands simply stop developing, oreven forming in the first place. And small venues remain the bestand sometimesthe onlyplaces to hear bands before they make a name for themselves on anational stage.

Thankfully, Milwaukee is lucky enough to have the BorgWard, an all-ages space on the city’s South Side that continues to put onwonderfully eclectic shows featuring a mix of local and nonlocal talent. FromMay 20-22, the Borg Ward will host its second Freaks Come Out Fest, three daysof shows featuring more than 20 bands, all for the low, low prices of $7 forone day or $15 for all three days (take that Pitchfork festival!). Among theperformers are Absolutely, Dear Astronaut, Terrior Bute, Fahri and Owlscry.While there may not be a lot of familiar names playing the fest, the threeshows will undoubtedly reward music fans ready to take a chance or two on actsthey haven’t heard of yet.

Two bands that I’m excited to see atthe fest are a couple of Milwaukee-based acts: Holy Shit! and Bzybodies. HolyShit!, playing May 20, specializes in feedback-laden bursts of punk-rock speedthat wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Touch and Go 7-inch from 1982. Thepure energy of songs like “I Shot Brock,” “JumpingIntoAGoddamnedWaterfall” and“Last Road Trip” is absolutely infectious, as Holy Shit! captures anuninhibited, off-the-cuff energy that most punk bands simply cannot capture inthe studio. If they can match this exuberance on stage, they should soon becomea can’t-miss Milwaukeeact. Their performance at the fest will celebrate the release of a new 10-inchrecord.

Bzybodies’ May 21 performance at theFreaks Come Out Fest will mark the release of a cassette tape of new material.The band describes itself as “Kraut Rock,” and I definitely hear a Kraftwerkinfluence in the group’s songs. Yet the band doesn’t perfectly fit within thisgenre, which is often marked by cleansome might say sterileodes totechnology. There is genuine warmth in the band’s surprisingly accessiblesongs, as the group’s woozy, spacey instrumentals also seem to owe a debt tosuch D.C. acts as Happy Go Licky and Trans Am. In fact, songs such as“Haardphonics” are actually quite straightforward and catchy, and the band hasbeen known to put on a raucous, engaging live show (you will not see any dourGermans hiding behind computers here). It’s a new take on an old sound, but onethat pushes the aesthetic in rewarding directions.

Photo: BzyBodies