The weather was perfect, the crowd festive, the beer chilled in ice-filled tubs, and the lineup of local bands truly impressive: Chatterton, Goodwin, The Me-Thinks, Stoogeaphilia, Dove Hunter, 100 Damned Guns, Addnerim, and on and on.
First off, let me dish a disclaimer: My band, the Hellcats, kicked off the show at 1:30 p.m. on the indoor stage, cementing our place in local rock ‘n’ roll history as the first band to play at the first ever Lola’spaloozza. Woo hoo! We were like Richie Havens at Woodstock (except, unfortunately, we didn’t wear our robes.)
Lola’s sound systems at the indoor stage and at the new outdoor patio both kicked ass. The new back patio is a great place to hang out especially on a perfect day like Saturday.
Fred’s Texas Cafe put the kibitz on Fred’s Fest because of complaints from nearby residents, and so Lola’spaloozza is poised to become the new festival of choice for the 7th Street District.
On the inside stage, The Boss Level went on next and delivered an energetic and eclectic show, followed by Dirty Pool’s mixture of blues and funk rock with a twin-guitar attack that channeled the improvisational forays of, say, the Allman Brothers.
Blues master James Hinkle came out next and threw down an electrifying set. Hinkle goes out of his way to avoid the tired old licks favored by so many blues players. He breathes freshness into a somewhat tired genre and brings it to life.
My buddies and I left after Hinkle’s set, but I talked to fellow Fort Worth Weekly staffer (and Rivercrest Yacht Club frontman) Eric Griffey about Sunday’s festivities, and he reported a similarly great time.
“There was about a hundred people there,” he said. “Three girls jumped onstage and danced lasciviously for most of our set. The sound was really good. After us, Goodwin played a very cool, high energy show.”
The closing act was the long awaited reunion of Woodeye, and they didn’t disappoint.
“Woodeye fucking killed it,” Griffey said. “There were a lot of Woodeye fans there singing along to a band that hadn’t been around for five years. Carey Wolff was in rare form. You could tell those guys really missed each other and enjoyed playing together.”
Can’t wait until next year’s Lola’spaloozza II.
AGREED! Sunday’s lineup was awesome!! Funkytown’s music scene is definietely alive and well!