#eric osman

by Eric Osman of Lame-O Records

Let’s face it. The Fest is intimidating. I’ll be the first one to tell you that there are FAR too many awesome bands for you to catch everyone you want to catch. Doesn’t matter how well you plan out your schedule on the rad Fest 12 iPhone app, or how many times you convince yourself that you’ll go see that band instead of drinking that Pabst. You won’t. You need a small list of “must-sees” that you make damn sure you get yourself to instead of slugging a third PBR. Seriously dude — it’s only noon. This is my list, and I highly suggest you get to these sets.  We’re also super stoked to be having two Lame-O Records bands on The Fest this year: Modern Baseball (Saturday - 7:10 @ The Wooly) and Ma Jolie (Saturday – 1:30pm @ The Lunchbox, 8:00 @ Rockey’s). Definitely work those in your schedule and drink a beer with us. It is Fest, after all. 

The Menzingers The list always starts with The Menzingers. No matter how many times I see this band, if they’re playing a festival, it simply does not matter who else is playing or what else is going on. They’re The Menzingers, and they always come first. Some people might think or ask, “How can you reason driving across the country for a festival and seeing a band who lives in the same city as you?” They’re The Menzingers. They have three incredible LPs, each one better than the last. I’ve also heard that the band will be selling their new split 7” with The Bouncing Souls for the first time this weekend. Are the Menzingers my favorite band playing Fest? Yup. Are The Menzingers my favorite band playing punk music right now? If not, they’re damn close. You can’t miss The Menzingers at Fest. It’s simply not an option. 

<a href="http://runforcoverrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mixed-signals" data-mce-href="http://runforcoverrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mixed-signals">Mixed Signals by The Menzingers</a>

The Smith Street Band If you don’t know The Smith Street Band by now, you still have time to put your headphones on, ignore the outside world and any of your obligations, and sesh their latest effort: Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams. You have some time, they don’t play until Sunday at 8 at The Florida Theater. These Australian punks were onto something with the release of their sophomore LP, Sunshine and Technology, but fucking nailed it with the new EP, catching the attention of Asian Man Records for the first USA release of their back catalog. It’s just well done punk focusing on being in your twenties and kangaroos. Okay, not really kangaroos, but I’m sure they get asked about kangaroos all the time.  The band is currently on tour with Frank Turner, and you can expect they’re on their A-game, as it seems like they’ve been on tour forever, tweeting last week, “Canada is the 10th country we have played on this tour! Fuck yeah!”  Here’s a jam from their last LP. Don’t miss them.