PREVIEW: Bob Fest (10/31)

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There’s just something so disarming about a crudely drawn mascot.

With a face reminiscent of early South Park episodes, a beard that abruptly squares itself off, and a knowing smirk that says, “hey man, I know your cat’s been at the vet a lot lately and everyone’s gotta buy groceries sometime, so don’t worry about paying me back,” the cartoon Bob of Bob Records just feels like a true pal watching over us via street signs and poles around Boston.

Lucky for us, the real human Bob Reider is just as widespread in influence, acting as a champion for now-beloved locals like Krill and Boytoy. Continuing the inspiring positivity that his cartoon form evokes, the inaugural Bob Fest feels like an absolutely essential matinee celebration on Halloween Day.

“Bob Fest is designed to be just like the shows I remember having the biggest impact on me,” Bob asserted regarding his self-titled fest’s inspiration. “All ages, low admission price [$5], small rock club, and a handful of loud bands. I couldn’t be more excited to finally see something I’ve been dreaming about for years come to life.”

Fitting five bands in a compact 4-8 PM slot at the Midway Cafe seems like a risky proposition, but Reider has compiled five of Bob Records’s finest current signees and affiliates for the Fest, starting with Somerville’s own Future Spa.

Their name sounds like a needless subgenre formed in the bowels of Tumblr, but Future Spa serve up scuzzy, fuzzed out garage punk on the same PBR-infused wave most of the Fuzztival scene originated from. Mull whatever skeptical feelings you might have over a young band that lists “a prisoners of war camp on the southern tip of Uranus” as their Bandcamp location, but they have a song called “Fuckin’ Mick Jagger” and I think I am okay with them solely for that.

People In Cars act as a sort of legacy act for Bob Records considering the group’s live EP was the label’s first release, but frontman Etay Pisano has been kicking around in bands like Aberdien and The Dangerous Summer for the better part of a decade now. The band’s self-titled 7” (which was also the label’s first vinyl pressing) is the sugary, post-rock tinged result of Pisano’s past projects, which will surely leave the Midway feeling confined underneath their stadium-sized riffing.

Maybe this is because I’m slowly becoming my grandfather and Tanqueray no longer makes me feel like I’m gonna dry heave pine needles, but I think I’d like to be a part of whatever a Gin War is. Other than the hope that they’ll bring copious amounts of tonic in their arsenal, expect the New Jersey natives to deliver nasally, emotive anthems recalling the heyday of Man Overboard minus all that self-righteous “defend pop punk” bullshit.

Fun fact: in my early days of Boston squalor, I slept on an… err, aged futon in The Rococo Bang’s jam space before finding my own apartment. While I wouldn’t recommend the futon or really sleeping in any band’s jam space, the instrumental improv duo certainly provided decent background music for existing in a temporary bedroom. Although I dubbed their sound “Miami Vice-core” to guitarist Zohar Azoulay one drunken night (and proceeded to post the genre name straight to Tumblr), their unabashed soloing in a canyon of reverb keeps away from indulging in retro cheesiness while still inspiring a deep desire to don the Don’s pastel shirts and brood. Zohar simply responded to the genre with a tentative “hmm… okay,” so maybe just stick to the simple “instrumental rock” tag around them?

Closing out the Fest, Rye Pines offers the chunky, off-kilter brand of guitar rock Allston is currently thriving on, while distinguishing themselves outside the du jour Exploding in Sound scene. With songs that detail demon dogs devouring them in bed and demented whistling following them through their ‘limbo shuffles’, there’s a certain folk/rootsy storytelling behind Edward Maguire’s Malkmusian delivery on their Dead Ocean EP that inspires immediate appreciation. It’s certainly not all good will and cheer though; the 8-minute “Drone Tone” is downright assaulting and brilliant for its curveball nature on Dead Ocean, cementing them as a band to watch over the next couple years.

Tickets are available now through The Midway Cafe’s Ticketweb page. For more information, consult the Fest’s Facebook page or your nearest Bob sticker for spiritual guidance.