The last event of 2011’s Local Music Week is symbolic of the momentum enjoyed by the local music scene — it’s an all-out, ambitious event that combines some of the best, the most popular, and the most promising up-and-coming local bands in a wide variety of styles.
“This is barely the second year of Local Music Week, but this is the first year people really jumped on board and saw the potential of how big it could be,” said Angel Castorena, publisher and sales manager of Backbeat magazine, and the promoter who put together the event with a clear goal in mind: “To attract 2,000 people in attendance in a single day for a local music event.”
His chances of achieving that goal are high. The all-day show on Saturday is a great opportunity to appreciate the eclectic nature of the scene and to discover bands that are not as active as the bigger names. But many bands and artists who play regularly will offer reasons for us to see them yet again.
“We will change our set a tad, and perhaps introduce a new song,” said Philip Bowman, singer/guitarist for Education, which hits the outdoor stage at 11:35 p.m.
“We might also play a new song,” said Erica Monzón, singer/guitarist for Ledaswan, which plays at 7:55 p.m. on the outdoor stage. “We just wrote it but it just depends … We are still getting some arrangements down.” This will be Nicholas Ochoa’s first official show in San Antonio as Ledaswan’s new, permanent drummer. He already played with the band on WOAI’s The Garage and at Del Rio’s Southwest Fest. “We are excited about having a lineup where everyone’s heart is in the music,” continued Monzón, “and we can move to the next level of being a rock band, such as touring, playing live as much as possible, and writing and recording new songs.”
The Phantomatics, self-proclaimed kings of instrumental “horror surf” or “spooky surf,” are one of the most interesting names on the lineup. They’re fresh from releasing their album The Phantomatics in ‘She Left Her Brain at the Drive-In’ with a party at Nightrocker Live in February, and will play the basement stage at 10:45 p.m. The band just got back from playing at the Southwest Fest again (incidentally, that was the event where the Phantomatics played live for the first time), and are working to make themselves better known locally.
“As for what the future has in store for us, that still remains to be seen,” guitarist David Phantomatic told the Current. “We’re just planning on working on some groovy new tunes, booking shows, and continuing our never-ending quest to keep San Antonio spooky.”
Due to space limitations, we won’t list the exact set time of every single performer, but you can do the math — it’s not rocket science. Each band will play for 30 or 35 minutes, and the lineup, ordered by stage, follows below.
Outdoor Stage: Starts at 1:30 p.m. with Sweet Thursday, continues with Northern Lights, Illustrations, Egshan, Silent Minority, Say Revenge!, Perk, Ledaswan, Mexican Stepgrandfather, Slick Dickens, The Cobra Cobra Come On Overs, Education, and OBX & DJ Tech-Neek close the show at 30 minutes past midnight.
Main Stage: Starts at 1:10 p.m. with Day Like No Other, continues with Five Foot Five, My City Underwater, Kaleidoscope Radio, Ticket For a Trainwreck, Accord of Dissonance, The StereoTypes, FATMD, Glow in The Sun, the Offbeats, Disco Wasteland, Henry + The Invisibles, Second To None, and Viet-Ruse closes the show at five minutes to 1 a.m.
Basement Stage: Starts at 1:45 p.m. with At My Signal, continues with Micro Missile Attack, Steel Soldiers, Jobber, Joust and Parry, Suckerpunch, Bigwood, Deep in The Heart, Heather Go Psycho, Sans Faith, Hearts Fail, the Phantomatics, Nada Más Basura, Daytes, and the Great ’85 closes the show at 1:20 a.m.
Of course, this being rock and roll, set times could change at any time.
“It was very important for me to do this as a free event,” said Castorena. “I wanted everyone to come with their kids in the daytime, and just share the local music spirit with everyone.”
Downtown Live Music Fest
Free, all ages
Doors at 1pm Sat, Apr 30
The Korova, 107 E Martin
(210) 226-5070
