Fresno Famous

Saturday night's show was the second in a series, the proceeds of which wil pay for the production an release of a complilation album (in conjunction with next year's Fresno Urband Sound Experience). The album will feature Fresno bands covering Fresno bands and sounds like it is shaping up awesomely.

What we've heard/heard about so far:

• David Kelley  (2 a.m. Orchestra) covers George Rotalo
•  Blake Jones and the Trike Shop covers Poplord
• Werebear covers Sleepover Disaster
• It'll Grow Back covers Pinkeye

Werebear: I remember catching a few seconds (maybe) of Werebear in the back room of Joe's Steakhouse at F.U.S.E. fest two years ago and thinking "Where did these guys come from?" Orosi apparently, but that's another story. The band would loosely be classified as "punk" in the old-school vein (think Ramones, etc.). It's loud and fast garage rock mostly about becoming a man-bear monster, eating people and otherwise f'in stuff up. What sells the band is that they play with such an overwhelming since of joy. Even at his most ferocious, pounding away on his guitar in a full on scream, singer/guitarist Cristobal Carrillo still has the silly grin on his face. As if he can't believe he's aloud to have this much fun. 

B Rawcity: B Rawcity is rapper Brian Robison (in this case backed by a bass-drum-saxaphone ensemble called FTM). Not being well versed in hip-hop, I don't rightly have the vocabulary to talk about his set, but the band killed it and Brian had good rhymes and flow and managed to keep energetic pace while being sandwiched between two seriously upbeat (to say the least) bands. I respect that. I could have used a little more boom-bast from the drums (read, I wanted them louder), but that's a personal preference maybe and not a knock to the band.  

Our set: We played well. Or it felt like we played well anyway. Tokyp Garden is like a second home and being up on that stage feels somewhat like jumping up on the couch in my living room and flailing about while I scream some undecipherables (which has happened).