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In an effort to bring local bands as well as support Artspace, an art gallery on the corner of Orange and Crown Streets in New Haven, Tweefort Productions teamed up with Artspace and CT Indie to bring an entire day of indie pop to the Elm City on Nov. 14.
The festival was a showcase of talent from around Connecticut and beyond as several of the bands who performed were from the area. The Dayzies, who kicked off the festival are based out of Middletown, Conn., while Fey Rey, The Cavemen Go, and The Tyler Trudeau Attempt make their home, at least partially, in New Haven. One Happy Island, out of Boston, and Brooklyn’s The Metric Mile rounded out the daytime portion of the event, while A Sunny Day In Glasgow was the festival’s headliner and performed later that night.
There was a relatively small crowd of people who made their way down to Artspace for the entire day. At first glance, one passing by the windowed gallery might have not been terribly interested with what they saw of the denizens-- a girl collecting money reading the selected works of Karl Marx and a group of 15 people with cardigans, leggings and tight jeans.
Despite the stereotypes, which one might ascribe to such a collection of individuals, the atmosphere of Elm City Popfest was a pleasant change of pace from the frantic scene at other venues in New Haven.
Ali Jaffrey, who made the journey down from the University of Connecticut to enjoy the entire festival, said, “there was a certain novelty of a small venue with a small crowd sipping wine together and shooting the breeze about Indie rock and the art displays in the gallery.”
Indeed, the people who decided to make a day of the event were quite an affable bunch. Conversations were sparked in-between sets and smiles were almost perpetually plastered upon the faces of many. Since the venue also serves as an art gallery, artwork was on display for all to see in between performances.
Bryan Murphy, who also came from Storrs, Conn. for the festival said, “One Happy Island was probably the highlight of the day for me. It was really obvious that the band was having fun and enjoyed being there.” Murphy was from Storrs, Conn. and traveled down to New Haven for the festival.
One Happy Island lived up to the billing of a “twee pop band” with- electric ukuleles with cow patterns, songs about temporary unicorn tattoos and small instruments which looked more like Fisher-Price toys than anything. The eclectic instruments added a palpable charm to the band’s set. They closed with their two most recognizable songs, “Temporary Tattoo” and “Mothball,” both of which are available on the band’s Myspace page.
While twee pop does not have the largest following, Dan Goodwin was pleased by the recognition among some of the members of the crowd. “Thank God for local twee kids, honestly,” he said.
The local bands put on surprisingly fun and energetic sets. The Cavemen Go had a particularly catchy sound and The Tyler Trudeau Attempt, who share two members with The Cavemen Go, also put on a good showing before A Sunny Day In Glasgow took the stage.
As the nighttime portion of the show began, more people began to filter in. A Sunny Day In Glasgow’s set was mournfully short, perhaps due to time constraints on the part of the venue (one could see additional songs, which were on their set list, but did not get played), but nevertheless, they opened with “The Best Summer Ever.” It’s one of the catchiest tracks off their first record entitled “Scribble Mural Comic Journal.” “Shy” was another standout song off of “Ashes Grammar,” which was played during the set. Despite the fact that it would have been nice if the band had played for a longer amount of time, A Sunny Day In Glasgow’s performance was well worth the price of admission.
Overall, Elm City Popfest was quite an experience and a delightful way to spend a Saturday. Though there were not many college-aged people in attendance, those who were there embraced the happy-go-lucky nature of the music at hand. Moreover, the event gave some much-needed publicity to Connecticut music.
Tweefort announced that they plan on having another festival in 2010 so mark your calendars!
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