what a bill! i had either seen and enjoyed or had tried to see 3/5 of these bands, and i was curious about the others. things started off with my name is rar-rar, whose unrelenting weirdness (crazy costumes, crazy dancing, reciting the boy scout oath between songs) should have been enough to loosen up the scenesters (it wasn't). they played no-wave noise with big beats for dancing but lots of improvisation and time changes to keep it interesting, and were super-nice guys (and girls) to top it off. for extra coolness, their bassist played on infection and decline, the latest flying luttenbachers lp.
anyway, the red light sting was next, and their noisy-yet-humorous blood brothers-style punk with synths was energetic and fun as usual. while not the most innovative band on the bill, they will probably be earning a lot of converts on tour (they deserve it).
the rah bras were next, and they were amazing. viking goth disco, sex cabaret act, melt-banana meets post-punk... i am not really sure how to describe them other than very danceable (cool epiphone viola-face bass laying down the groove) yet still musically interesting. some lyrics sounded dumb, but flames, swords, bisexual eroticism and partial nudity easily made up for that (and hey, the crowd was digging it, too).
ah, hella. very few bands could have successfully followed the rah bras, but hella easily earned their position. two sloppy looking dudes, one on drums and one with a guitar (and only one meager-looking pedal) made some of the most transcendent noise i have ever heard in a live setting. the drummer, for one thing, was godlike in speed, stamina, and pure talent (in terms of precisely pounding out extremely complex rhythms)--the kid next to me said that it looked like his heart was going to explode, and it wasn't much of an exaggeration. the guitarist was necessarily less enthralling, but his dancing fretwork was also flawless. they sound like what lightning bolt might sound like if they dropped almost all the metal and added some more jazz and math rock; trust me, it is worth your cash and your time.
the locust was last. the cool guys at crimcon like this band a lot, and i have been impressed by them at times, but i am starting to tire of the gag: play short grind songs with lots of keyboards and sound effects while wearing bug suits, then put out press kits that make grandiose claims about destroying the mediocrity of music. yeah, it is a hell of a lot more interesting than a lot of things out there, but it isn't the revolution it pretends to be (though an excellent "gateway band" for aspiring noise fans). still, some of the crowd actually moved and most people seemed to enjoy themselves. in summation, put on your dancing shoes and enjoy, and shout cryptic gibberish at any fancy-haired scenester who questions you.