Throughout the night he switched back and forth between playing the two different styles depending on how he would like the song to sound. He started playing delta style with the song “Runnin’ from My Baby’s Gun Whilst Watching Butterflies from My Front Porch.” It has a strong, hard sound as he’d quickly move and slide his hands while stomping his foot. After playing a couple of delta style songs, Samuel would then switch guitars and play piedmont style blues such as “Baby Doll” to create a sweeter sound.

Because of the way Samuel played guitar meant that between every song he would have to tune his guitar, using his trusty iphone tuning app. This allowed him to joke around, and tell stories about his previous tours, adventures, girlfriends and the meanings behind his songs. It also allowed him time to explain what he was doing, why he had to tune in between every song and what the difference between delta and piedmont style blues were. Delta blues usually is played using a metal guitar and slide to create a hard, passionate and fiery sound, while piedmont style is played by finger picking on an acoustic guitar to create ragtime based more emotional rhythms. Piedmont also seems harder since the player has to alternate playing regular guitar strings with bass strings all whilst singing. Samuel explaining everything he was doing and why, was great for a blues newcomer to not only understand more about the music, but also learn to appreciate it more.

While talking Samuel is the calmest guy. He is very laid back when joking and telling stories, but when he breaks into a song he explodes with such a loud, raspy voice and so much energy for each pick, slide, strum and foot stomp that it seems impossible for one man to accomplish.

After Samuel was all said and done, he had played for over two hours. In addition he had played over 20 songs consisting of original and covers of Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Blind Boy Fuller, Townes Van Zant, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Booker White. I can’t wait for him to make another visit to the Acoustic Tavern and hopefully Rosa will make an appearance to do a little dancing for us.

There is a new movement in music where bands are simply plugging their instruments in and playing. This type of music has no effects, isn’t perfect and is raw. Whether meant or not, the sound is reminiscent of ‘fifties rock. As easy as it seems, it is generally hard to accomplish a polished and quality sound.

Strapped with flowers to their microphones, the three man band Sorry for Your Luck started off the evening. Their six song set jumped off with the fun, upbeat song “Tea Steam,” and then was followed by “Star Trek.” At first, it sounded like the band was mainly led by the piano, which would play a fun little melody and then the guitar and drums would come in and play something to match the melody. However, by the last song, it seemed as if all three members of Sorry for Your Luck were playing their own melodies and nothing blended together to create a cohesive or great sound.

The second band of the evening was Palmz. Led by the cute Lexie Corfiatis on guitar the band started their set with the song “Nothing in the Universe is Lost.” While listening to their simple guitar and hard hitting drums I was immediately reverted back to the 1950’s, especially when they played what Lexie called their 1950’s dance number “Big Overload.” Although the vocals were hard to hear, Palmz seemed to have no problem accomplishing a polished and quality sound through their charming six song set.

Having two bands play this no effects, raw style of music, nothing prepared me for what I was about to hear from the third band Slumpter. Now, Slumpter is usually a one man band by Jason. He started off the seven song set with a simple country song using an electric guitar and being sung by him. As the song ends, Jason claims “now comes the crazy music.” Jason comes off stage and six other members, Zach Zinn on electric guitar and pedals, Chris McGuire on another electric guitar, Chris Gusta on bass, Carl Punch on drums, Seth Hover on the oscillator and Ryan Wapnowski on saxophone, all come on stage. They all start playing what just seemed to be noise, and two minutes into the noise, I wondered if it would go anywhere or build into anything, but it didn’t, it was just created.

What the band was creating was based on a beat that Jason had made that he programmed to play off of a computer. The band would hear the beat, then improvise what they would play. Having only practiced twice before, each member had to listen to what everyone was playing and feed off of that to keep the song moving. Through the noise, it was interesting to hear what and how each member decided to play their instrument.

It was such a lucky experience to see six random guys on stage, not knowing what they will be playing, but knowing their craft, and being able to cohesively come together and play some incredible music.

Rhombus, a five piece hardcore rock band, had plenty of energy to spare. Their punk image was nicely complemented by an eco friendly lifestyle. For this show all of their equipment was hauled to the venue via a crew of bicyclers. There were at least 30 bikes on the sidewalk. They even played a song about the anger and anguish of getting your bike stolen, properly named “Bike Thief.” The heart of Rhombus seemed to lie in the midst of a cat and mouse game played between the rhythm section and Kat, the lead singer. Tyson’s power drumming and Meg’s solid bass riffs seemed almost to provoke Kat’s great intensity.

The Keaton Collective played next. Earlier in the day they played a completely different set at Maritime Heritage Park to officially release their second album Time & Pressure. Playing two sets of different music in the same day really showed how tight and professional The Collective can be. I’ve seen these guys four times and at every show they’ve had a different ensemble. Tonight they were a six piece with three guitars, drums, bass and four very talented vocalists. They followed the basic rock format but they did it damn well; they could pull off any format that they’d dare to try. The songs they played from their previous album The Wash were good indy rock with spot on harmonies placed perfectly over a steady and powerful rhythm section. The few new songs they played were more mellow and almost a little country, but great individual instrument sounds really pushed their overall presence to the limit.

The Red Racing Stripes had the last slot of the night. After a lengthy set up a weary crowd was subject to an onslaught of late 90s butt rock. Every song in their mediocre set was in drop D. The two men on vocals were very pitchy, to say the least. Their long bouts of guitar driven instrumentation gave a much needed break to the poorly sung vocals. Uninspired lyrics and stagnant guitar riffs made it sound like a band compiled of WWF wrestlers. The only redeeming aspect of the group was the steady and flawless percussion performed by Kevin Barton. Their songs weren’t horrid but it felt like the musicians were ignoring the crowd and completely caught up in themselves. They are a new band that hasn’t yet reached their full potential and yet they still did a good job of keeping the crowd.

Rob and Zach on July 6 at Wild Buffalo. Pinback. Photo by Haylee Nighbert

Before entering the Wild Buffalo, I heard the rumor that Zach wouldn’t actually be in attendance. I thought to myself, how could the show go on? It was supposed to be the “Rob and Zach Show,” and without one member, it would cut the show in half. And when the show started, it was just Rob on stage.

Zach had to make an emergency trip to his hometown of San Diego. Reason being, Zach’s new baby was born. So Rob centered himself onstage, started playing a familiar melody, and everyone dropped into its catchiness. Even without the assisted harmonies, Rob got everyone swaying in a daze of indie-rock bliss.

Projected behind him, there was old stock footage and videos of space exploration playing. At one point, the drummer from opening band Little White Teeth, a band whose dreamy pop-rock disposition complimented the main act, came up to the microphone to contribute harmonies with Rob on a couple songs.

The great thing about the show was its simplicity and deeper understanding of how interestingly complex their sound is as a whole. This was their original intent; playing as a more intimate representation of themselves, and with half the band present it made the independent parts shine through and highlighted its dynamic atmosphere.

The word “soundscape,” to me, sounds like a New-Age CD compilation advertised on TV, but I’ve never experienced a performance that felt more atmospheric, more like a landscape or an environment. The tent was surpisingly small considering the amount of sound coming out of it, filling the space, and bouncing off the concrete walls of the Jinx basement, in a way that shifted from eerie to subterranean to dreamlike and comforting.The cave-like basement, and the tent enclosing Zach within that space created a womb away from time. There weren’t distinct songs, and it was essentially one long piece, with subtle sonic shifts that divided the piece loosely into sections. The coming and going of audience members marked the passage of time and affected my experience of the music. As the performance began, First Friday Art Walk was also happening. People casually milled around, and the performance felt more like a spectacle. It felt like much less like a novelty after several hours had passed. As I became more immersed in the experience, it stopped feeling like I was an audience member and began to feel more like I was a participant.

Besides the low lighting in Jinx, a single red lightbulb lit the floor in front of the green tent, and there was also a bright light inside the tent. The self-built tent was nostalgic in its simplicity and the scattered logs and forest debris around the tent added a campy (pun inevitable) element. It felt like Zach was very far away until his silhouette would occasionally come into sharp focus, exaggerating the shape of his body and the movement of his arms, and reminding me that there was a human physically creating the sound.

Around 1 a.m. there were about 15 people there. Some had unrolled the provided sleeping bags, and were laying quietly, listening. By 4:30 a.m., the remaining audience members fell asleep in front of Zach’s tent. He continued to play To me, the most intense or profound part of the performance happened between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. I would wake up every hour or two, to see Zach was still playing. The music during this time was noticeably calmer and more dreamlike.

At the end of the 24 hours, Zach cut a long slit in the tent with a knife and emerged to cheers and clapping. Participating in a performance environment for this long felt like an accomplishment to me, and I can’t imagine what it was like for Zach. It’s difficult to write a review of 24 hours worth of music, but it was a performance that I will remember for the rest of my life.

The night got its start from a solo performance by Vantage front man Jon Garrett. Typically one problem I find with Jon is that he sings so falsetto, it’s hard to understand him. Tonight, however, that wasn’t the case as he impressively displayed his vocal range and could be heard loud and clear. Jon played a short six song set that consisted of four original songs, a cover of “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5 and a breathtaking soulful cover of “Take on Me” by Aha.

The second act of the night was the No Name Band, but just for fun I’m going to refer to them as the Bellingham Boy Band (BBB). BBB consisted of Craig Jewell (Juicebox) on acoustic guitar, Brian Hillman (Spaceband) on electric guitar, Aaron Guest (Polecat, Vantage) on bass and Kevin Chryst (Vaughn Kreestoe) on the drums. Since Craig, Brian and Aaron are all front men in their respected bands, they all took turns singing and performing their original songs. They performed three of Brian’s original songs such as “Rich” and two of Craig’s original songs such as “The Skies.” They also showcased each band member’s talent through the covers “I’m on Fire” by Bruce Springsteen, which Aaron sang, “Waste” by Phish, which Craig sang and “You Wreck Me” by Tom Petty, which Brian sang.

As their set was ending, the Plan B Saloon started to get packed. The tension and excitement in the bar was high as everyone was psyched for Dawes.

Minutes after getting on stage, Dawes immediately picked up the energy and jumped into their set. They confidently and loudly charged into their set with the song “When You Call My Name.” Using a guitar, piano, bass, drums and harmonies, Dawes creates layers to build their songs. First the drums will come in and start building, then the piano will come in with a beautiful solo after which the guitar and bass will go all out with Taylor Goldsmith, Griffin Goldsmith and Alex Casnoff singing harmonies. Doing this every song they express a variety of melodies, rhythms and sounds.

It was so shocking with their road warrior tour schedule that they still play so passionately and ferociously. After talking to pianist Alex, that’s all just part of the job. Each member was playing with such full force and attacking their instruments so intensely that I’m surprised they didn’t break a string or a drum head or that Taylor Goldsmith could actually talk after the show since he was yelling the lyrics of every song.

Although hard to say, since the entire show was incredible, the climax of their set was when they played “When My Time Comes.” The energy in the bar was so high and when Taylor turned the microphone on the audience to sing the chorus, everyone just broke out and started screaming with the band. After that the crowd was going out, yelling every word right along with the band, which completely humbled the band as they thanked us multiple times for coming out.

Unfortunately after playing their entire new album North Hills, plus four songs, the band had to stop playing since they didn’t have anymore songs. Boy should you be kicking yourself for not going to this show.

When I got to the Green Frog at 9 p.m., the place was already packed, even though the band wasn’t supposed to start until 9:30. Little to my knowledge, the band likes to start early and play for as long as they can. The crowd there was really diverse as well as their ages ranged from 20s to 40s. Even though the Green Frog was packed, you could still hear JD, Chuck and Tim’s harmonies through their single microphone. It was only after a baseball team came down to enjoy an after game drink that it was hard to hear the singing.

While sitting back and enjoying the show, it was clearly evident that these four guys know bluegrass. They masterfully demonstrated how to play the banjo, mandolin, bass and acoustic guitar. After playing for about an hour, Bentgrass started to pick even faster and brought out the kazoos. It was really impressive how fast their fingers were moving considering they played for over an hour without a break.

After playing two hours of mostly original material, they snuck a cover of “Stayin’ Alive” by the Beegees in their set, the band called it a night. According to Chuck, they played a “short” set since the entire band wasn’t there. And here I thought they couldn’t get any better…

Nearby, a tree of paper balloons bloomed–symbolic of months spent asking citizens to make balloons in order to raise money and awareness for the cause. Even though I could only catch a little of the meaning of the songs, I was moved by their palpable sense of desolation and loss.

Next came a short film by Nina Mouritzen, “Pola-film,” which slowly built an enigmatic story through a series of dreamy stills and words.

Marsha, a piano and guitar duo featuring Ariel and Alexis Diltz, performed lush songs reminiscent of CocoRosie. A vaudevillian banter between songs contrasted amusing with the kind of minor harmonies one imagines might be composed by freak folk opera school drop-outs.

“My Life in Saints,” by Liz Darrow, examined the narrator’s personal pantheon of heroes, from mothers and aunts to female icons like Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur, relating them to Catholicism’s rich tradition of female religious warriors.

Maple Nightingale, a former member of Yes We Are, sang a mixture of wistful covers and originals. Intricate guitar finger-picking complemented thoughtful, pensively humorous lyrics.

Mary Mary, a trio led by Alexandra Song and backed by Geoff Traeger and the suddenly ubiquitous Zach Zinn, will hopefully record an album soon. Their songs were impossibly loud and catchy, blowing the roof off not only the Meat Market but also drowning out the jazz performance taking place at the Chuckanut Ridge Wine Company next door.

Mae West’s Leg, featuring the formidable combination of Tina North, Kat Bula, and Amanda Kalkwarf, played songs with names like “Blood,” “Drinkin’,” and “Skullfuckery,” creating a mighty noise that both exhilarated and intimidated.

Then a film by myself, entitled “Male Heterosexuality: A Celebration,” was shown. It featured the acting talents of Tracy Reilly, Amanda Kalkwarf, Kelly Bjork, Jed Bailey, and Joel Hollander. Some liked it; others did not!

The evening finished with music by O Paon, the project of one Genevieve Castree. Beautiful, hypnotic guitar playing was backed by inscrutable, melancholy French vocals. Castree made brilliant use of her loop pedal, building trance-like circular melodies that slowly stretched into violently emotional crescendos.

NightraiN moved up the tempo with their brand of ass shaking rock. Imagine Bootsy Collins playing bass for the Stooges. Much of the crowd started up a dance floor to this bass heavy power group. NightraiN was able to liven the crowd belting out sexy raw lyrics that were reminiscent of The Gossip.

Council of Lions was next and kept the crowd pumped up with stellar guitar riffs that made heads bob and bodies sway. It’s always nice to see band members switch instruments, which Council of Lions’ drummer and bassist did.

The show was powered from the pedal project’s bike-generator provided by Makeshift. Kimya Dawson commented that she wanted all her shows to be powered this way, and she wanted to do a tour where she traveled on a train and just could setup at different train stops along the way with someone powering her from pedaling. Right at this moment a train whistle happened to sound which caused the audience to laugh. Dawson joked you don’t know how much I had to pay to make that happen. This was a magical moment that really exemplified how everything really seemed to come together that night thanks to the wonderful volunteers of Ladyfest.

Dawson played poignant a superb set with a whole range of emotions from starting off funny and whimsical, and then went into a somber, solemn, and mournful song about a transgender friend who died of cancer. She finally ended with an uplifting and sober song about understanding, as the sunset gave way to the night.

The rhythm section of Rhombu$ really gave a hard pounding punch. After breaking the low E bass string while tuning up at the start of the show, Rhombu$ wasn’t slowed down a bit as Meg Coultertron tuned down the rest of her strings to make her A the new E etc. The first songs were played on this makeshift bass until both NightraiN and Council of Lions lent their basses to Rhombu$. They were tight knit with strong energy and ruled with keyboardist Audra Robson freshly back from Europe. Most of the crowd sang along with the lyrics as a mosh-pit erupted from a stoked crowd. Cat Sieh has true charismatic stage presence, and is really able to connect with the crowd. Nicole Zapel gave a stunning operatic about a conspiracy theory that has aliens sending their deviants to Earth to spawn the human race. Rhombu$ had their set complimented by some excellent fire poi being spun behind them which added to their already fever pitched intensity.

Expecting only covers and orange jump suits, I was pleasantly surprised with what I heard. The five piece Spaceband takes our favorite rap and R&B songs, disassembles them, and then plays them live. Since there was a MMA fight in the bar prior to the band playing, the level of energy was high and the band made sure to keep that up with their first song, “In the Club,” by 50 Cent and then by singing “Tonight’s Going to be a Good Night.”

During their three sets, the band played over 30 old rap and R&B songs. They played everything from the Jackson 5, Montel Jordan, Dr. Dre to Justin Timberlake. Even though, the Spaceband does covers, they make sure to showcase the talent of each member as was evident during an extended jam session of the song “Regulators,” by Warren G. During their second set, the band played the song “Hey Ya,” by Andre 3000, which seemed to get the whole crowd singing and shakin’ it like a salt shaker.

In the middle of their second set, I found myself out of the dance floor, dancing and singing right along with everyone else. Even though the Spaceband does covers, their songs are contagious and bring back good memories from the past.