North Coast Music Fest 2010 part two: Maps and Atlases, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Holy Ghost!

Posted by Frank

Dave Davison of Maps & Atlases (photo: Windy City Rock)

After spending the first few hours of North Coast Music Fest Sunday watching The Coop, Loyal Divide and Phantogram (read more about that here), the next few acts I decided to take in proved just how eclectic the fest was.

The first of the second batch of performances I caught was locally-based experimental folk-rock band Maps and Atlases. This is another band I had always heard a lot about but never had the opportunity to see live, and as soon as they came out and began playing it was apparent they represented a rare breed at this festival. As opposed to the majority of the performers comprising the lineup, there did not seem to be an electro, trip-hop, or hip-hop bone in Maps and Atlases' collective musical body. The big, untamed beard of front man Dave Davison suggested that this was going to be an earthy, folky affair, and that it was. However, it wasn't the sleepy, chilled-out sort of folk, but rather a style that was rather upbeat and experimental, made even more unique by Davison's tinny vocals and unorthodox delivery. Their set was a welcome change of pace in the lineup, and made me think of how it would be great to see a few more indie rock acts present at future installments of the fest.

From there, I headed to the "Groupon" stage to check out the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans. I didn't know anything about the band going in, but apparently they've been active since the '70s. They turned out to be as lively and fun as their name suggests and were another band that stood out in the fest's lineup with their funky, jazzy take on traditional NOLA-style music. People seemed to really enjoy them, and it was a prime example of the power of the music festival - it wasn't something I ever would have sought out on my own, but something that I ended up being happy to experience.

Closing out the afternoon on the North stage were New York City's Holy Ghost!, which I can best describe as synth-heavy disco dance rock. Their set was incredibly fun and easy to listen to, though past a certain point the songs started to sound a bit too alike to me (admittedly, though, that could be a result of me not having been familiar with any of their music). At one point the vocalist commented that it was strange to be playing in the daylight, but the music fit the atmosphere very well and got people dancing.

As the evening went on, I decided to close out my Sunday with Mayer Hawthorne, Flying Lotus and Lupe Fiasco. Check out my next post to read about those performances.

See photos of Maps and Atlases, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Holy Ghost! after the jump.

Maps and Atlases