On the whole, 80/35 delivered a solid two-day festival to a Des Moines crowd looking for a bit of variety in a lineup. The second day did leave me wanting a bit more diversity of sound from the chosen bands on the two main stages. 80/35 didn’t have the biggest name acts, but turnout for the two days was impressive. In it’s fourth year it seems 80/35 is now the music festival for Iowans and perhaps the Midwest to attend.
Day One began hot and ended hot with a sweaty dance party. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Girl Talk sets consisting of a lone man merely playing tracks off his laptop. It seemed unimpressive, but after Gregg Gillis played a couple mashed together songs, a person can just take it for what it is, a bunch of great hits you already know and almost certainly like. The crowd was sprayed with confetti, toilet paper and balloons. Ending the long day with one huge hour and a half dance party seemed just right.
The Kum & Go Stage posed a problem throughout the day, usually running around 45 minutes late. For those not from the Midwest, Kum & Go is in fact a very reputable gas station. Jessica Lea Mayfield‘s set was affected the most when a generator went out midway through her performance. She did her best and continued to play acoustically.
Day Two brought cloudier skies and of Montreal as the final act. Their set consisted of catchy songs with costumes and streamers a plenty. While they played “Suffer For Fashion”, dancers and wrestlers filled the stage and one band member dressed as a referee. Of Montreal may not be used to headlining festivals of this size, but after this performance it is likely more opportunities will come their way.
SATURDAY, JULY 2ND
Main Stage
The Chatty Cathys
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Kicked off Day One with a small local crowd in front of the stage. The Chatty Cathys were the youngest band to play 80/35 with ages ranging from 14-18. The set started off pretty low key but eventually as nerves settled frontman Conrad Bascom staged dived a couple times.
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
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Reverend Peyton took the stage looking more like a star of Ax Men then the lead singer of a band that’s played Warped Tour (QRO recap). This was the first and last washboard player of the event with Reverend’s wife ‘Washboard’ Breezy Peyton on washboard and vocals. The crowd jumped to the beat of “Mamas Fried Potatoes”, a toe tapping song that made the crowd want to hoe down. Reverend Peyton was there to prove the naysayers of his guitar abilities wrong by playing both Yankee Doodle and Dixie at the same time.
Titus Andronicus
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Titus Andronicus made up for weak vocal with tons of energy. They head banged, jumped and crowd surfed throughout the set. Their form of punk rock performance and vocals reminded me of Dropkick Murphys (QRO photos).
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
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Edward Sharpe took the stage and was greeted with cheerful applause and around a dozen band members, which filled the stage. This set involved the most intimate interaction with frontman Alex Ebert telling stories between songs. During “40 Days” he held hands with an audience member adding to the personal feeling of the song. Later a crowd request sent the band into a spontaneous version of “This Land is Your Land”.
Galactic
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The set began with some original New Orleans only instrumental funk sounds before moving into songs from their recent album Ya Ka May. This day Galactic was joined by special guest Living Colour frontman Corey Glover. He brought some star power having the crowd repeating the choruses throughout the set.
Girl Talk
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Before Girl Talk was to begin, the crowd started chanting, “Girl Talk, Girl Talk.” As soon as Greg Gillis took the stage he was joined with around 50 festivalgoers that danced throughout the hour and a half performance. The first song of many well-known hits was “Can’t Deny It” by Fabulous and Nate Dogg. When I was able to meet up with the photographer through the crowd he said it was like a crazy combo rave dance party up front. Personally this was the most fun I had all day.
Kum & Go Stage
Wolfgang
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Wolfgang‘s late start on the Kum & Go Stage brought the biggest crowd of the day. The melodic introduction caused the audience members to do a silent sway. The Des Moines band was not much for crowd interaction with lead singer Jacob Tyler ending the set with a soft, “Thanks, guys.”
NewVillager
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The performance by NewVillager included many a synthesized sounds and echoed lyrics. There did not seem to be one lead singer but members harmonizing throughout most songs. They brought catchy songs and amusing chitchat to the stage.
Generationals
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This was New Orleans band Generationals first time in Des Moines, informing us that they were pretty psyched. They played short pop songs that kept the crowd from ever being bored. The duos band looked like they would fit in more with a psychedelic sounding group then the classic pop that Generationals performed.
Cory Chisel
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Cory Chisel‘s unassuming performance was a true blend of Americana, blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll. The female in the band occasionally joined in during the chorus making a sweet duet.
The Junkyard Orchestra
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Their set started so quietly that most were unaware that a band had taken the stage. What made this bluegrass band stand out the most was the complete lack of percussions. The highlight of The Junkyard Orchestra‘s performance was an a cappella rendition of the gospel song “Children, Go Where I Send Thee”, truly showing off the bands vocal abilities.
BBU
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Many festivalgoers were at Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros but the energy of BBU brought many over after just a few songs. Most of these songs seemed to feature BBU giving shout outs to themselves. One song was a partial cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In the Name” and basically consisted of the verse “Fuck you / I won’t do what you tell me.”
Bitch
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Bitch came out with “Can you feel it in your bottoms, can you feel it in your bottoms Des Moines, can you feel it in your Des Moines bottoms?” A fun solo performance joined only by a young man on his laptop dressed as an alligator. She played both the electric violin, guitar and threw in the occasional rap.
Jessica Lea Mayfield
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Jessica Lea Mayfield had sound problems from the beginning with the instruments overpowering her vocals. After one song I was almost put to sleep by the melodies and spaced out. The sound eventually completely cut out and she continued acoustic playing for the first few rows of people.
Blackalicious
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Blackalicious finally got to the stage at 9:10pm, over an hour later then the original start time of 8pm. Gift of Gab on the mic and DJ Chief Xcel kept a surprisingly large crowd pumped even after Girl Talk had taken the main stage. A highlight was Gift of Gab’s speed during “Alphabet Acrobatics”. Blackalicious ended up being a great closer for the free stage on Day One.
SUNDAY, JULY 3RD
Main Stage
Rebel Creek
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Local band Rebel Creek had rock songs infused with a psychedelic sound that showcased instrumental solos more than vocals. It was like a ‘60s throwback, with both the vocals and instrumental breaks being notable.
YelaWolf
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I didn’t realize this set had started because at first it sounded much like the rap songs played between acts. Once I fully took note it was more a down-home hip-hop sound and YelaWolf was full of energy. His cover of Eazy E’s “Boys in the Hood” held the crowd’s attention the most.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
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Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe filled the stage with both members and hip swaying grooves. The set included an interesting cover of Cold War Kids’ “Hang Me Out to Dry” (QRO video of the original).
Okkervil River
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During Okkervil River ‘s performance there, was a steady growth of the crowd in the Main Stage area. Songs played were largely from the recent album I Am Very Far (QRO review), as well as a folksy cover of The Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B”.
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
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Most festivalgoers I encountered on day two were there for Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. They proved to be an interesting mix of blue-soul and classic rock. Some likened her performance to that of Pat Benatar mixed with Tina Turner. She strutted across the stage while belting out piercing vocals.
of Montreal
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It was during of Montreal ‘s song “Suffer For Fashion” that the America-themed costumed dancers and wrestlers took the stage. David Barnes, the band’s artistic director, and lead singer Kevin Barnes’ brother left the stage along with other members of the group by crowd surfing. Bassist Davey Pierce kept the night going with his side project Yip Deceiver.
Kum & Go Stage
Infantree
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It was hard to know what to expect from Infantree based on their vague bio full of symbolism. I would describe their sound as electric folk rock. All members shared in folk rock singing that was filled with drumbeats.
Bear Hands
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I found Bear Hands‘ lead singer Dylan Rau’s (QRO interview) voice to be a bit piercing at first, but his take on psych-rock grew on me. A song I can only assume is titled “Loving You More” was the catchiest song of the set.
The Giving Tree Band
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This indie folk band was able to make their twangy sound come across as modern. The talent was apparent with most members of The Giving Tree Band singing at some point and also switching out instruments.
Pink Mink
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This female duo played fun short pop songs to the mix. Unfortunately at the time it seemed as if the instruments overpowered the vocals for Pink Mink.
Gold Motel
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This female fronted quintet, Gold Mote , played a unique, very enjoyable poppy blend of songs during their performance.
Civil Twilight
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This trio was the epitome of alt-rock with noticeable influence from past American and British artists. Each song by Civil Twilight had a real presence with emotional lyrics.
WhiteWater Ramble
Another dance blue/grass band took the stage during the festival. The upright bass did add to WhiteWater Ramble‘s sound and made them stand apart from other earlier acts.
Handsome Furs
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This electronic pop two-piece consisting of a husband and wife duo brought their own version of power anthems to the stage as Handsome Furs.
The Macpodz
A lively ending to the second day on the free stage with The Macpodz unique world grooves. This was a nice change to the festival lineup and made me wish there had been a bit more variety overall.
