Whartscape 2008: The Aftermath

3 days, 28 bands and about 1800 photos later, the first festival of the summer is in the books. I can't show you much at this point (that will be revealed later today) but I will say that Whartscape 2008 was both bigger and better than last year. The focus of the festival this year was on the outdoor shows, which were held in an alley between two buildings last year. This year they held them in a parking lot on W North Ave and had three separate stages going on throughout the day. It was a run very smoothly (they even added a food vendor this year), although the sound was a bit shaky on Saturday due to the power generators continually giving out. There were only so many mic stands to go around, so when one set was over, someone would run them over to the next stage and then the next band could begin.

It will be interesting to see who breaks out of this pack of bands. Last year's Whartscape featured Yeasayer (very first band on the bill, I am pretty sure I missed them but have to go back and check), High Places (who I loved), Spank Rock, Beach House and, of course, Dan Deacon.

Bands I enjoyed this year: Killer Whales (had this funky, Primus thing going on), DD/MM/YYYY (very percussion heavy), Future Islands (my boys from the North Cackalack, currently B'more residents), The Death Set (lots of fun although they play to an iPod) and my favorite band of the entire weekend, Mae Shi. They were full of the manic energy that the Wham City kids get off so furiously on, but unlike most of the other bands there, they had the hooks and show to go along with it.

And hey, lookee there. They are at the Velvet Lounge tonight. I am seriously thinking about going.

Also, on the way up to Baltimore on Friday, as I was going over the line-up in my head, figuring out who I was going to shoot, etc., I realized there weren't any D.C. bands on the bill. I found out why when I got to the 2640 Space and went to the ticket booth/table. I handed them my ID and the girl at the desk said, "Arlington, huh?" and then went out of her way to roll her eyes at me. I guess that answers my question.

**UPDATE** My photos of Whartscape 2008 are up on Pitchfork now.