RECAP!




FROM BOSTON PHOENIX

2011 is the year of the Successful Boston Music Festivals. DIY Fest ruled. Starlab Fest ’11 was simply amazing. Boston is hungry for more.



The recording studio/venue showcased Boston’s finest and Ohio’s metalest at an all-day festival of friendship and good times, a sequel to the success of last year's festival. Many of our Phoenix favorites were there, whether they were playing or just hanging. People that were at Deep Heaven Now down the street even wandered over for a peek at what Starlab had going on. And what Starlab had going on was something really effing cool.

Most outdoor venues have the aesthetic of nails on a chalkboard, like they hired Quint from Jaws to run the mixing board. Thankfully, the folks at Starlab, being quality audio engineers, created one of the best sounding outdoor stages in all of the greater Boston area. The stage even had a giant tarp in case of rain, which created a remarkably fascinating visual in the wind, especially when the sun went down and the lights went on.
Aside from the music, there was an incredible array of yard sale-style items, educational zines and pamphlets, and records, which eventually turned into something like the Allston DIY Fest Free Market, with people grabbing as many books and DVDs as they could before the rain destroyed them. Also, because everyone is hungry, thirsty, and broke, Narragansett and The Middle East opened the floodgates of beer and hummus, respectively.

BAND HIGHLIGHTS:
GIRLFRIENDS were far punchier and more danceable than their records will lead you to believe (and they’re already pretty dancey). It was a furious half hour of toe-tapping, hip-shaking madness. And they covered Gang Of Four. What else do you need?

MOVERS & SHAKERS took a break from being wonderful hosts/hostesses and played a spectacular set of gorgeous songs that can only be truly experienced while linking arms with your friends and shouting along at the top of your lungs.

Oh yeah, and a marching band showed up too.


SPIRIT KID was in fantastic flawless form on a lamp-lit stage under a windy night sky. Everyone in the band looked like they were having a blast, and everyone in the crowd was busting out their best rendition of that one time they took swing lessons.

After the show was over, most people stuck around for the Movers & Shakers video shoot. The band and the crowd waited anxiously, as the clouds threatened to unleash terror. Aside from a few unsettling drops, everything went as planned, and hopefully the Internet will be having a happy attack when the video finally drops.
At the end of the night, people left with arms as full as their stomachs. Starlab probably still has a lot of cleaning up to do, but it was well worth all the hard work that went into the organization of this event. So give ‘em a hand! Also, be sure to check out the Dopamines, Vacation, Awful Man and Dan Webb at Starlab on August 16! The shows go on. 


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