God bless Scott Verrastro.

Wait a second—that doesn’t sound right.

Satan bless Scott Verrastro (that’s more like it).

I’m not sure precisely when Scott became the Velvet Lounge’s booking agent par excellence (I want to say it was at least two years ago), but chances are if you’ve been to the venue this year or last and seen a cool band, Scott’s the guy to thank. The sheer variety of acts on the venue’s calendar has been hugely impressive, with all different stripes of “outsider” music represented.

What’s that you say? You likey the indie pop? Good news for you then–Scott’s got you covered. Oh. You’re one of those weirdos into that freakier-than-thou psychedelic improve-noise? It’s all good in the hood dude—Scott has tons on offer. Yes sir. Let’s say you have a thing for…oh, I don’t know, ungodly molten slabs of Sabbath-inspired sludge? Let me tell you something: Scott Verrastro swims in it.

Hell, the man even makes room for some truly whimsical and bizarre avant-electronic sound experiments (the current Sonic Circuits festival is just one example). My point is, Scott has worked his hemp-fueled tailfeather off to ensure the Velvet Lounge schedule has remained unpredictable, vibrant, appropriately weird and more than anything else, oodles of fun. In short, he’s made DC’s nightlife a lot cooler.

With so much going on in my professional and personal life of late, it’s been all too easy to not check the Velvet Lounge website calendar and make it a point to catch more shows. Now that Scott’s days as chief booking guru for the Velvet Lounge are numbered, I’ve found myself feeling the kind of lament one has when news of a friend’s imminent departure from the area comes accompanied with a deeper understanding and appreciation of what makes that person who they are.

Last Friday night’s Wall of Soundfest was yet another stellar example of what has made Scott’s tenure at Velvet Lounge such an important one for DC music fans. But before I get to the show itself, I should probably provide some context for BYT readers…

The Wall of Soundfest is the name given to a typically 15-band strong, nearly full day and evening-long annual music festival in Fredericksburg, Virgina. As you might gather from the event name, bands that play the fest typically possess sonic qualities at least tangentially related to the late 80s/early 90s U.K. shoegaze/dream pop movement, which itself was largely an extrapolation on the “Wall of Sound” production ethos pioneered by Phil Spector in the 60s.

Though the festival has occurred on an annual basis since 2005, there’s been recent speculation that this year’s WOS may not happen. One major factor: High gas prices. With most of the line-up typically coming from well outside the Fredericksburg area, that extra buck per gallon has made a number of bands think twice about making the lengthy sojourn to the gig, even for one as special as WOS.

Enter Scott Verrastro to save the day. Scott decided that, regardless of what happens in Fredericksburg, the District will host its own Wall of Soundfest this year. And by reducing the number of bands from 15 to 5, Scott made the event less daunting for concertgoers who don’t relish the idea of spending 12-plus hours inside a stuffy venue. For those of us shoegaze-lovers that live in the DC area, Scott has also saved us from a lengthy and costly drive.

Another smart move: booking bands that offered contrasting sounds. The fest’s opener, Electric Lions, played an engaging hybrid of 60s echo-laden psychedelia and classic, hook-friendly guitar pop. A little Velvet Underground here, a dash of classic Stones there, the Detroit-based band also featured a sometimes droney Farfisa organ sound that conjured images in my mind of a hippy Casper floating through the air wearing mod sunglasses while tugging a spliff.

And since I’m using Brit vernacular here, I’m chuffed to report the Velvet Lounge sound system was brilliant (ace job Sam!). This was especially noticeable during Electric Lions’ set––their guitars created a fantastic crunch and the speakers were flawless in ensuring that everyone heard. By the way, I hadn’t listened to much of Electric Lions’ music prior to the show, but my general unfamiliarity with their sounds didn’t stop me from grooving along to their catchy tunes. I dug. I dug. And it was obvious that the crowd were into them too.

The next band to take the stage, Dark Sea Dream, represented one of the more interesting developments in the shoegazer movement I’ve noticed in recent years—the merging of ‘gaze with metal. The prominence of the latter rearing its head into the former probably has more to do with the increased popularity of drone metal in recent years than anything else. You know the times are a changin’ when even formerly metal-shy indie-know-it-alls Pitchfork are championing the likes of Sunn O))) and Jesu, Justin Broadrick’s post-Godflesh band. And is it just me, or is Explosions in the Sky getting louder and heavier with each subsequent album?

While Dark Sea Dream never employed metallic screaming or growling like some of the drone metal bands do, they did share a number of other attributes: A love of thick, bludgeoning guitar thunder, an emphasis on elephant-paced tempos, and an oppressive atmosphere that would snuff out the fire of even the most eternal optimist. Vocals, performed by one of the guitar players, were sparse, but added an even larger emotional framework. However, it was clear the band was more interested in exploring texture, sound and atmosphere rather than melodies that would stay with you post-show.

Needless to say, the crowd got pummeled. I have to hand it to Dark Sea Dream—these guys have one mean-fangled beast of a sound. I simply couldn’t believe the guitars I was hearing came from what appeared to be only two guys (it sounded like at least 50!). I couldn’t help but wonder what Glenn Branca and Rhys Chatham would think of them. If the WOS were to hand out awards for loudness, there’s no question that Dark Sea Dream would have come home with the top prize.

Now I have to admit, the Dark Sea Dream lads exhausted my eardrums pretty good and I needed some fresh air at the conclusion of their set. I ventured outside to discuss the band with a few other punters, before heading back in to the bar to get some beer. Either time zipped by a lot quicker than I thought or the next band (Thee Ultimate Vag) started playing pretty shortly after Dark Sea Dream finished (someone noted they used the same drum kit), but anyway, I ended up missing virtually their entire set. I was definitely very pissed off at myself for being such a dolt.

Ironically, Thee Ultimate Vag is a improv-based musical project featuring the man himself, Scott Verrastro (!!!). And no, the irony of missing his band is not lost on me. Oh yeah—I might have neglected to mention that Scott is an accomplished musician in his own right and involved in a number of different musical projects.

Now I will say this: I’m not a particular fan of a lot of improvisational music (presumably Scott’s bread and butter), but I have thoroughly enjoyed Kohoutek, Scott’s main psych-gaze-instrumental improv combo, the few times I’ve seen them. In fact, when Kohoutek played at the 2006 WOS, I thought they were one of the most impressive bands on the bill. There is something oddly hypnotic about Kohoutek’s sound—I find myself getting completely sucked into it almost in the same way I do while watching a great film with lots of atmosphere. I was curious to see how Thee Ultimate Vag would compare to Kohoutek, but alas, it didn’t happen Friday night. Hmmm…what would Walter from The Big Lebowski say to me about my missing Thee Ultimate Vag? Probably something like, “Dude, that was very un-dude of you.”

The next band that took the stage, however, brought me out of my self-inflicted doldrums. Joy Wants Eternity were simply magical. Hailing from Seattle, the band would probably fall under a lot of people’s definition of “post-rock:” they eschew vocals, and their dreamy, highly melodic take on ethereal guitar with keyboards takes many interesting twists and turns and is evocative of Explosions in the Sky, Slowdive, and the darker moments of Sigur Ros.

At one point during their performance, one of the guitar players broke two strings and the band had to stop playing for several minutes. Though the band apologized profusely, the audience didn’t seem to mind; the band had already put the audience under their spell. It was clear members of the crowd were genuinely moved by the band’s beguiling sounds.

The final act of the event, avant-pop noise dabblers True Womanhood, had the tough job of batting clean-up at a show that lasted into the wee hours. To the band’s credit, and perhaps an indicator of the buzz around them, there was a good-sized crowd for them throughout their set, despite playing well after 2 am! This was a pretty amazing accomplishment itself—even Ulrich Schnauss didn’t sustain this much support approaching the 2 am mark when I saw him play Velvet Lounge in June. Singer/guitarist Thomas Redmond made a point to tell the audience how much the band appreciated everyone who had stuck around.

The band did not disappoint, once again playing a phenomenal set. Those in attendance that had seen True Womanhood play at Velodrome recently were treated to a slightly different selection of songs, with several “in process” tracks on showcase. Of course, the band made full use of their many oddball and unusual instruments, including that lovely four-foot metal blade on a track called “Mantle” (one of my current favorites).

The crowd lapped up everything they heard. I could tell by the enthusiastic response from the audience that I wasn’t the only one looking forward to seeing them play out again (although that might not be for a while from what I’ve been hearing, we’ll have to wait and see). When they do re-emerge for another gig, I hope they’ll consider adding “The Monk” (a track they shared with BYT exclusively for their recent feature with us) to their live set. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite song of theirs, but that might be it.

So there you have it. A great show all around and a job well done by all the bands, soundman Sam and one Mr. Scott Verrastro for making it all happen. With Scott discontinuing his DC-based booking after this year, the city will still have plenty of cool nightlife options, but you know something? Things will be a little more conventional around here; probably a little more polite. And I’d be willing to wager a hefty sum that, without Scott Verrastro to stir things up, DC nightlife will be a little less interesting too.

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