Goner Fest 6 was an amazing, interesting, fun, annoying, exhausting, and exciting trip I will never forget.
Apparently, just about everyone woke up the morning of, or by the end of the first day felt sick. It hit me like a tidal wave on the drive up. Andy wasn’t feeling well since the night before we left. The running joke of the weekend was Huntsville has swine flu in Memphis. But it didn’t really get in the way of fun until Firday night so overall it was a blast! I guess the best way to tackle this is day by day, with pictures! I’ll go ahead and say that I didn’t get photos of every band and I’ll put the ones I did get behind a cut.
Thursday September 24th
Justin came by around noon to pick us up and we headed up to Memphis via Hwy 72 Alternate. It was a boring drive, but with good company (Justin, Sammy, Josh, Andy and me). When we got to Memphis we met up with Nichole, Travis, David, and Ellis at Payne’s BBQ and then we all headed up to Goner Records for the first show. It was packed so I didn’t get any photos during the show. In fact, a lot of people were outside cause it was a beautiful day and there was way more room.
In between shows there was a few hours of down time in which we all just hung out at the hotel and relaxed before heading up to the Hi Tone.
Fresh & Onlys
Reatards
me and Nico
Friday September 25
The night ended around 3am and the next morning was a bit hellish because of the congestion and crap. Eventually we made it to Soul Fish Cafe for a delicious lunch. Andy and I split a fried catfish basket with hushpuppies, mac and cheese, and fries. My eyes were way bigger than my stomach, so we had quite a bit of leftovers.
After lunch, David, Ellis, Andy and I went to a few thrift stores and Shangri-La, a local record store. I’m on the hunt for the Nancy and Lee lp, but no luck at any of the stores we’ve recently visited.
The day show started around 2:45pm at the Buccaneer with Shitty Beach Boys, but we didn’t get there until around 3:30pm. There was free beer (while it lasted) so that was cool. The only band I got photos of was Thomas Function…oops.
Zach borrowed my camera and snapped these shots…a confused Ben, and me!
I love this one of TT…sing it!
After taking a nap at the hotel during the downtime between shows, neither of us were feeling any better. We all got to the Hi Tone a bit late, as Yussuf Jerusalem (who is on tour with Thomas Function) had already started. The crowd was already pretty thick, and I didn’t want to force my way through, so we just hung out in the back.
Yussuf Jerusalem
Due to feeling like absolute shit, we made our way back to the hotel room to rest. Unfortunately, we missed several bands that played that night (Earthmen & Strangers, Intelligence, Davila 666, Thee Oh Sees, and Compulsive Gamblers).
Saturday September 26
Andy popped up around 9am feeling MUCH better. In fact, he was quite chipper! We were all up and about shortly thereafter and decided we all needed some good old fashioned breakfast foods, at Bob’s Barksdale Restaurant.
Before heading to the day show, David, Ellis, Andy and I went to a couple of vintage and music stores. The show was at Murphy’s and had an indoor and outdoor stage. We didn’t get there until after the first band had played, but that was ok.
Gentlemen Jesse and His Men
One of the main bands I really wanted to see live, Hunx and His Punx played on the indoor stage at Murphy’s and it was just as crazy as I hoped it would be. The show was insane!
Hunx and his Punx
We headed back to the hotel (haha someone changed the marquee!) for a short break and dinner at Central BBQ before the last six bands at the Hi Tone. Man, I couldn’t imagine cleaning up some of the rooms in that hotel after the weekend. It was booked to capacity, and just about every band and anyone who was lucky enough to get a room in time (us! yay!) was staying there.
The Magic Kids
Sonic Chicken 4
Box Elders
Although there were quite a few assholes that tried to ruin Nobunny’s set (pulling down Justin’s underwear, stage diving, trying to grab the mic, trying to rip off Marcus’ bunny tail, etc), it was still great to see them! MUCH different than when they played in our store. I only got a couple of photos cause it was so chaotic up front.
So Goner Fest…you kicked my ass. I’m bruised, tired, and sore but I wouldn’t have it any other way! Thanks for getting such great bands together for a wild ass weekend!
