070309 Northside Rock 'N' Roll Carnival

We will play for anybody. Anybody.


Chris Schadler charges his genius beam all year, then lets it go and pulls together one of the best music festivals in the city; annually held over the 3rd and 4th of July. He calls it the Northside Rock 'N' Roll Carnival. The giant party, which takes place in Hoffner Park in Northside, had us sharing the stage with great bands like Wussy, Culture Queer, The Chauncers and (dare I say the now-legendary?) Man Halen, among others.

Mike and I met Brian for load-in around 7 P.M.ish behind the main stage. The weather was really mild and folks were already spread all over the park in lawn chairs, on blankets, and by the beer stands. Approaching the stage from behind, the guitars and vocals of local alt-country indie-rockers The Turkeys bounced off of all the buildings around the park, and the echoes coming back made the band's material sound like the theme song to Pete and Pete (not a bad thing if you ask me!).

We started our set at 8 P.M. and a pretty wild dance party orchestrated by a group of five-year-olds ignited almost immediately. An occasional adult would find their way to the front to join in, but the pressure of having to constantly bust sweet moves proved too much for many. As our set went on I'd spot a familiar face here and there among the Carnival-goers—one particular friend, who has an impressive (and very easy to spot) mane of hair reminiscent of a medieval knight, stuck out in a way that makes him a good player for a "Where's Waldo in Hoffner Park?" book.

We love to talk to fans after our sets. For me, a particularly special moment in the evening occurred when, on my way back from the beer stand, a mom approached me and thanked me and The Seedy Seeds for playing an entire set of kid-friendly music. I'm really glad that her kids could enjoy our music right alongside my friend sir knight and all the other Rock 'N' Roll Carnival-goers.

The whole event kept going with amazing vigor throughout the evening, culminating in an indescribably fantastic set from Man Halen, my new favorite band. And while at the end I definitely found myself having had more OTR than I'd anticipated, I'd say this was, hands-down, one of my favorite nights out with the band.

—Margaret