Do It Together

Last night I attended the Do It Together Fest 2010 at The Vineyard in downtown Kent. Originally my friend Eddie had sent me an invite to it via the 'book about a month ago, but I hadn't really thought too much about it until a week ago. I went back and forth about whether or not I should actually attend the event, but (luckily) I finally decided to go. I was not disappointed.

To give you a little background into the DIT Fest, it all started 4 years ago when Matt Scheurmann (American War, The Sidekicks, No Target Audience) and RIchard Wehrenberg (No Target Audience) decided to find a venue and put on a music fest where all of their DIY (Do It Yourself)friends could stop doing things by themselves and could instead DIT (Do it Together). While trying to find a venue, Matt and Ricky came across The Vineyard, a church that agreed to host the event provided that the event helped charity. As a result, the agreed upon cover charge was a mandatory food donation. These food donations then go to impoverished families from the area, while all the optional cash donations go to the non-local bands. Traditionally he DIT Fest starts on a Thursday and goes until Saturday night, which is when the headlining bands play.

Having had to work Thursday and Friday, and having had to finish homework for my macroeconomics class, i finally showed up at the Vineyard around 9:00 PMish. The first thing that struck me upon entering the place was the set up: A small main stage surrounded by vendors selling arts/crafts and merchandise. reminiscent of the music fests we used to organize and hold at the VFW back when I was in high school. The second thing that caught my attention was the high number of hipsters wearing flannel shirts, skinny jeans, Chuck Taylors, and Sambas inside the room. They had to be well over the legal limit. You had the occasional frat rat who had sneaked in there, one of whom was wearing obnoxious boots and far too much leather. The first band I witnessed was far from spectacular, and as a result Eddie and I headed to Euro Gyro for a beer or two. After being attended by a bitchy bartender who was either PMSing or on vacation from running hell, we headed back to the Vineyard. As is usual with these kind of shows, they were running an hour and a half late.There was a poetry reading so we stepped outside and chatted with the members of Annabel. My choice of a cardigan and fake Chucks clearly had deceived people into thinking I was a hipster.

Upon hearing a sound check, we all headed back in to watch as Tigers Jaw took the stage. The hipsters were now wearing tanktops. The band played about 6-7 songs, with the two standouts songs being "Spirit Desire" and "B & C". The Sidekicks jumped on stage soon after Tigers Jaw and I got to witness more than enough hipsters convulsing and moshing to last me for a life time. There was also a long haired kid in front of me who was going nuts and was borderline annoying. I left after their amazing performance and returned about an hour later to witness the same annoying kid kill it on stage. Unfortunately, I had to leave shortly after this due to other reasons which I won't bother you with, so I missed Annabel and Delay's performances.

Overall, I had a great time at the DIT Fest, especially because it truly captured what the alt/punk scene is about: good music and good times. The venue may not have been ideal and the sound wasn't always perfect, but you could truly feel the energy in the air, and none of the performers neglected the audience(at least those who didn't get shitfaced right before the show), something that is a requirement for any good concert. A lot of great bands played last night and I expect great things from quite a few of them. This has truly given me the encouragement I needed to start going to more local shows in the near future, so keep an eye out for me at the next show you attend. I will be the dude not wearing skinny jeans.

(This is my first official venture into the blogosphere, so please bear with any tiny nuisances and faux pas I may have committed.)