Geronimo Festival is back. Second time around. In short, it is Lafayette’s equivalent of an alt-rock Superbowl or NASCAR for indie rockers: a lot of bands getting together to rock at four different venues over one day full of live music. Although dominated by local bands, the festival incorporates many out of town acts, including Greg Ginn’s JAMBANG, Oso Closo, Snarky Puppy, and New Orleans’ Quintron. Some of the locals include Magic Legs, The Howdies, Uma Zuma, Ginger Lee, and Arbor Vitae. A testament to the diplomacy and hard work of festival organizers — Tiffanoid Lampulson and Jessiko Spiralli — three competing clubs and one deli have joined forces to help make the festival a spiraling, chimney-choking, non-over-bloating success. Bands will be playing at Sadies, Artmosphere, Blue Moon Saloon, and outside Cedar Deli from noon to 2:00 a.m. That’s a whopping 14 hours of music, holmes — better bring the SPF 45, P49, and MD 20/20. There will also be hospitality venders with tents, dudes with bongos, chicks in skirts, and a bunch of other cool stuff.
One of the most anticipated events at Geronimo will be the Matt Rock & The Powerboxx reunion. With a history stretching from Frigg a-Go-Go to The Transmission to The Good Captain, underground fun rock has been a firmly entrenched institution in Louisiana for many years. We like to pass a good time — plain and simple. No complex mathematics involved. Fact: People love fun rock, and for a good number of years, people loved none greater than Matt Rock & The Powerboxx. Lead by Matt Roberts, one of the most effortlessly likable frontmen of recent memory, the Powerboxx crew worked over audiences with a combination of witty and sing-along pop songwriting and party troupe background vocals. Lives shows were like a Talking Heads meets Rocky Horror Picture show theatrical party wherein no one got the blues or left bummed. From 2005-2008, they ruled the fun rock roost. Matt Rock & The Powerboxx reunites for a one-off show at Artmosphere during the Geronimo Music Festival which takes place all day, starting at noon on Saturday.
POST HASTE WITH MATT ROBERTS OF MATT ROCK & THE POWERBOXX
1. What’ve you been doing since the last MR/Powerboxx show? What prompted ya’ll to take a break? Listening to talk radio. Did you know that they are mostly conservative?
2. Why a reunion, now? Because we already had a union. The lawyers told us we had to put “re” on the beginning to avoid false advertising charges.
3. Did the band get rusty over the break? Turns out we were all anemic to begin with. We had oxygen and water, just not iron.
4. Your version of “November Rain” is a tear-jerker. Any other guilty pleasures beside GnR? Seriously, though, I listen to talk radio a lot. I can’t stand any of those guys, but, for some reason, I love to listen and argue back to my radio.
5. Most memorable Matt Rock show in the past? We once played at a place in Mississippi where the patrons told us not to sit on one of the couches in the venue because it had lice. We laughed but they were dead serious.
6. How will we survive the apocalypse on only 200 calories a day? I have heard something about internal organ massage therapy. That’s where my money is.
7. If you were to found your own church-like cult? What would it be called? I don’t know what I’d call it, but it would be based on the teachings of the Bonobo chimpanzees.
8. Wallaby shoes. Greatest invention ever or cultural anomaly? I recently bought a kangaroo hat but I have no kangaroo to model it for me, so I don’t know if it looks good.
9. On what occasion is it most appropriate to wear turquoise? When going to battle with The Mermen.
10. Pete Townsend is known for the windmill? What would be your contribution to guitar theatrics? The noteless solo.
Geronimo Festival Line-up:
SADIES NITECLUB: Downstairs (and upstairs)
12pm-1:00 Magnolia Sons- Geronimo Kickoff!
1:30-2:30 Langolier
3:00- 4:00 Oso Closo
4:30- 5:30 Bionica
6:00- 7:00 Big Rock Candy Mountain
7:30- 8:30 Magic Legs
9:00 -10:00 The CrackBabies
10:30-11:45 The Howdies
12:30-2:00am Fleur De Tease -Special NOLA Burlesque show!
ARTMOSPHERE: Porch and Inside Stage:
12:30-1:15 Kyle Craft (porch)
1:30-2:15 Flowtribe
2:30-3:15 Juke Joint Jam feat. Taron Lockett (porch)
3:30-4:15 Hatch
4:30- 5:15 The Specklers (porch)
6:00-7:00 JAMBANG
7:30-8:30 Markings
9:00-10:00 Caddywhompus
10:30-11:30 A Living Soundtrack
12:30-2am Matt Rock and the Powerboxx Reunion!
BLUE MOON SALOON:
1:15- 2:00 Julie Williams Band
2:30- 3:15 Giant Cloud
3:45- 4:30 Ginger Lee
5:00- 6:00 Arbor Vitae
6:30- 7:45 Snarky Puppy
8:15- 9:30 MyNameIsJohnMichael
10:15-12 Quintron and Miss Pussycat
BLUE MOON PORCH STAGE:
12:30-1:15 Ruby Rendrag
2:00-2:30 VoSteen
3:15-3:45 Dangerous D
4:30-5:00 Jay Burton
6:00-6:30 Dege Legg
CEDAR DELI STAGE:
1:00-1:45 Uma Zuma
2:15-3:00 Love Hog
3:30- 4:15 Dude vs. Bruh
4:45-5:30 ImagineIAM
6:00-7:00 Vagabond Swing