Brightest Young Things

all words: Colin Wilhelm
all photos: Alex Joseph
With the arrival of tiger mosquitoes, humidity, and free live indie music, it must be time for the legendary Fort Reno concert series. For years Fort Reno Park, the area adjacent to an old Civil War fort and an inexplicable castle turret, has been the place for the underage punk, and his descendant the hipster, to gather and watch bands he’d never be able to see in a club, or perhaps had never heard of, all while eating ice cream, writing and sitting on a picnic blanket, or mischievously lighting off illegal fireworks around the park during the show.

Wild Fruit, a three piece garage band focused around guitar, bass, and drums, led the show off with a storytelling style slightly reminiscent of a less manic B-52s on one song and Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper” on the next, with a subdued but steadily straight ahead sound. Their sounded more fully fleshed when their bassist took on singing duties—and a guitar---for a couple of songs towards the end of their opening 7:15 set. They closed with their strongest song, a half tongue-in-cheek sci-fi ballad [believed to be called] “In Our Spaceship”.

The middle child of the bands, Cane & the Sticks, sounded like a standard college/garage/post-punk influenced rock group with a pedal-effects-heavy, angry subterranean bass, threatening to split open the ground beneath and envelope the rest of the band. They also looped in additional sounds via an .Mp3 player for a fuller sound.

Cane and the Sticks took their middle child status in Thursday’s lineup to heart, as they spent time in between songs complaining about a finicky amp. Despite hard work by the sound technician volunteers, Fort Reno can sometimes be held hostage by its sound setup quality; the amps and monitors are either donated or bought through charitable donations, which overall lends to the DIY atmospheric charm of the series.

Punctuating the night, The Blackberry Belles brought an oxymoronically modern anachronistic sound to the table, continuing the garage vibe of the night but infusing it with 70s-style jamming. Guitarist/vocalist Tony Blankenship played boozy, bluesy riffs while singing in the traditional bratty, nasally falsetto of garage band singers as popularized by Jack White amongst others. The Belles transitioned seamlessly from their predominant, sitting-at-the-bottom-of-steps-with-a-few-drops-of-liquor-left-in-the-bottle sound to rather tight organ driven jams reminiscent of early 70s bands like the Allman Brothers or The Band, and the occasional summertime rock, as on “Don’t Make Me Go”. Organist/pianist Jesse Hooper and drummer Alison Krayer supplied danceable grooves to go with Blankenship’s manic-depressive guitar, and Blankenship often danced along across the stage.

It’s still a little surprising to hear a Southern-sounding garage rock band play at a setting known historically for hosting hardcore punk or post-punk, but that speaks to the increasing diversification of D.C.’s indie rock scene, and the dwindling number of bands who sound like Fugazi, Rites of Spring, or Q and Not U (though notable exception Title Tracks, the project of Q and Not U founding member John Davis, plays at Fort Reno TODAY). While the introduction of formerly foreign musical styles to the D.C. scene is welcome, the absence of dueling guitars and screamingly passionate vocals was felt. Perhaps next week this will change.

As a footnote, all bands featured female drummers and played in part to benefit Girls Rock DC, a camp devoted to developing the musical talents of girls 8-18. To learn more go the Girls Rock website at www.girlsrockdc.org.

Previously in Live DC:

• 5/22: LiveDC: Astra Via @ Black Cat
• 5/22: LiveDC: Father John Misty @ Rock & Roll Hotel
• 5/22: LiveDC: Drive-By Truckers and Lucinda Williams @ Merriweather
• 5/22: Photos: Summer Camp takes the "Ladies of Town" Drag Show
• 5/22: LiveDC: Penguin Prison & Class Actress @ RNR Hotel
• 5/21: LiveDC: James Morrison @ 930 Club
• 5/21: Photos: Que Sera L'Anniversaire @ Napoleon
• 5/21: LiveDC: La Sera/ Beach Week @ Red Palace
• 5/21: LiveDC: The Black Keys & Arctic Monkeys @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
• 5/17: Gay Best Weekend Bets: Avengers Edition