A.V. Fest 2011 at Hideout, Saturday: Live review + photo gallery

The folks at The Onion’s A.V. Club made some safe decisions with the headlining acts for this weekend’s A.V. Fest on Wabansia next to Chicago’s venerable Hideout, going with a pair of '90s reunions guaranteed to draw a nostalgic thirty-something crowd. Sunday night features another trip to Chicago for '90s indie rock darlings Archers of Loaf. Saturday night headliner Hum was more successful in its heyday, but hasn’t aged quite as well.

There was excitement in the crowd, probably due to the fact that a lot of people liked Hum, but not too many people saw it play. The band's only Lollapalooza show was a second stage appearance in 1995, but these Champaign-Urbana natives had a number of Q101-era hits, and fists were predictably pumped in recognition as they worked their way through their back catalog. Hum played music akin to bands like Helmet and Filter (mathematic and precise) but were more melodic, mixing extreme soft-loud dynamic shifts with smart lyrics and unshowy vocals. Nerdier than the grungers but with similar taste in distortion, these guys wore glasses, cut their hair short, and sang like English majors, but rocked hard.

The younger kids in attendance probably knew Hum's biggest hit “Stars” from a recent ubiquitous Cadillac commercial, and most of the older fans looked like they’d done well enough for themselves in their twenties to own a Cadillac or two. The refrain “I think she missed the train to Mars/She’s out back counting stars” was catchy and unthreatening, but the lurching riffs were huge and menacing—that contrast was always one of Hum’s greatest charms. They sound as good as they did in 1995, but no better, and their music now seems like one of the many dead ends that litter the '90s alt-rock era.

Chicago’s own Disappears played earlier, and seemed like a closer fit to the current musical moment. With the advent of free streaming music services like Spotify and the decline of the concept of “rare and hard to find” records, influences that would have previously been obscure are shared and tweeted to anybody who has the curiosity to listen. Disappears doesn’t hide their debt to rock totems like The Stooges and Can, but these days hiding seems unnecessary. The presence of Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley is an instant credibility booster, and his straightforward approach is perfectly matched to the monolithic wall of sound that Disappears favors. Their set leaned heavily on songs from their recent album Lux, and there was more separation between the guitars live than on the LP, which added some nice complexity to Brian mid-rangey growl. It must be mentioned that these are some good looking fellows, and their unsmiling rock star swagger seemed effortless. The entire set was a hit, although most of the songs sounded quite similar. As if to drive home the fact that they could care less about that, their set-closer had the most basic drumbeat possible, zero chord changes, and a one note vocal melody. It rocked.

Portland three-piece The Thermals gave a nice gift to their adoring fans by playing their most recent album Personal Life in it’s entirety. Their catchy, wordless vocal hooks recall early I.R.S. Records bands like Oingo Boingo and Wall of Voodoo, while the music and lyrics are reminiscent of early Weezer, although more direct. Their songs were steeped in desperate longing and frustrated desire. “I’m Gonna Change Your Life” worked well as a weird, self-consciously narcissistic ballad, while “Not Like Any Other Feeling” cryptically claimed “It’s not just a feeling you get/It’s a feeling that you fight against.” At times, their reliance on the self-conflicting, ironic lyrical twist grew tiresome, but the music was always exciting. Singer/guitarist Hutch Harris kept it simple, bashing out chords on a duct-taped Telecaster Thinline and keeping the energy level high with his loud, nasally vocals. It was a good performance by a band that is clearly at the top of its game right now.

Earlier, Like Pioneers played charming tunes about failed relationships for a sparse, late arriving crowd. Milwaukee’s Maritime showed off their muscular, sloppy pop-punk, eventually winning the crowd over with clever songwriting and sing-along choruses. Eef Barzelay from alt-country band Clem Snide played a set of Journey covers on baritone ukulele, somehow transforming overproduced '70s monstrosities like “Any Way You Want It” into searching, soulful hits. There was plenty of decent food available from local food trucks (Tamale Spaceship was the best option in my book), and those in the know stepped into the Hideout for cheaper drinks and free water. The first, exceptionally sunny, A.V. Fest was a laid back good time with its $10 donation fee and easy reentry policy, and seems poised to become yet another successful entry in the overcrowded Chicago summer festival scene.