Boston Hassle’s Dan Shea made no secret of the fact that making outdoor music a reality in Allston is, capsule well, a hassle. Ringer Park has held fests in the past, like DIY Fest, which ran into permit and licensing issues in its 2013 installment.
Still, the Fresh Air festival, held Saturday, made the compelling case that with the collaboration of a respectful audience live music outdoors can be a great thing for the Allston community.
The festival was divided into two separate stages at Ringer Park, just off Allston St., an acoustic stage at the top of a hill, and an electric stage in a patch of grass in between a basketball court and a baseball field.
And now, a list of superlatives from the festival:
- The What The Hell Did I Just Witness On The Electric Stage? award goes to … Frank Hurricane. This was… something. Frank Hurricane blended a mix of spoken-word rap with electronic fuzz as background, and recorded spoken-word skits about semen. It was juvenile and vulgar, of course. The performance elicited laughs — unsure laughs, to be sure — but description doesn’t do it justice: so maybe see Frank Hurricane.
- The What The Hell Did I Just Witness On The Acoustic Stage? award goes to … Homeshopper (Steve Norton / Dave Gross duo). It started with a long, droning, single-note brass song. When the song ended, the duo launched into its business meeting, drowned out at times by passing helicopters and planes. From what I have in my notes, there were repeated mentions of “it’s so cuuuuute” and “corporations are people.” Then, their second song was interrupted by an iPhone timer notification, noting their meeting was over. So!
- The Hey, This Is Pretty Good Instrumental Work By People Operating Under Their Given Names award goes to … Rob Noyes (Acoustic) and Keith Fullerton Whitman (Electric). Rob Noyes played an engaging set of fingerpicking acoustic guitar. A talent that just fits right in with nature; it was almost a cliché to hear the music performed under a tree. Keith Fullerton Whitman played one long electronic song, which mixed in sustained, unidentifiable noises.
- The You Really Got People To Get Up And Move Closer To The Performers? Wow, Good Job! award goes to … Tomboy. Lead singer and drummer Madeline told the crowd to get up and dance, and — despite prodding from earlier bands being ignored — they did. If just that last sentence isn’t indicative of the set Tomboy played, then here’s this: the trio was spot-on with garage-punk songs that are seemed catchy.
- The Now That’s Folk Music Award Goes To … Poncho The Kid. The duo of guitarists played folk songs reminiscent of that of The Milk Carton Kid. They were wonderful.
- The Unexpectedly Great Part Of The Festival That Had Nothing To Do With Music award goes to … dogs. Ringer Park is, of course, dog friendly, and they came out to enjoy music and run around with reckless abandon.
Fresh Air brought together a diverse range of artists and the audience was respectful of the environment around them. It’s a vital institution that should be held more often with the cooperation of city government.
Check out the full list of bands and sample their songs at the links below: