Even after all this time, I’m still learning new things about ComFest. For example, at least as of this year’s edition, this is apparently the largest volunteer-based such festival in the entire country. Also, I don’t even remember ever checking out the Blues Garage stage, which is located somewhat off the beaten path (and outside the park) over on Russell Street.
One thing that is absolutely new this year: a bicycle “valet” option. Yes, you heard that correctly. But it is a free service, mind you. In an effort to encourage less car driving, in an area that doesn’t exactly overfloweth with parking options during non-festival moments, organizers are hoping this latest service will inspire more two wheeled pedaling. In the past, doing so meant either knowing someone down here who was cool with you leaving your bike, chaining it somewhere random, or else walking with the thing wherever you went. Now they have some actual dedicated bicycle parking, near Buttles and Park, where you’ll receive a claim ticket from an attendant in order to retrieve it. Tipping is probably in order, but, eh, that’s still a major win if you live close enough to make this a viable transport option.
For 2006, Jackie Calderone, a leader and educator in the local arts scene, is named as the Honored Artist. Andy Klein, who has been involved with this festival for over two decades, is one Honored Volunteer and Jeff Lambert, whose participation dates clear back to ’77, is another. Local musician Bob Starker not only helped design the program, but he’s playing with four bands on Saturday alone: The Townsmen, Ukelele Man and His Prodigal Sons, The Mendelsonics, Whoa Nellie! That last entry mirrors my sentiment about his epic run overall. On one hand this is impressive, but on the other I can’t help wonder what other local acts who were shut out on playing entirely think about his antics. I guess the lesson here is that networking has its advantages. As far as the vendor booths are concerned, Nature’s Gallery jewelry and Ohio’s Roller Girls are but two of the many local businesses and organizations which have set up shop to peddle their wares.
The Solar Stage is about half music and half other things, so when it falls into the latter category, I’ll attempt to explain what the deal is in parentheses. At 2pm all three days, there’s Children’s Hour Under The Tree, which is held near the Solar Stage. On Friday, a group called Everything Under The Sun talks about how “The Sun Is Your Path To Energy,” while Saturday brings Tim Chavez on “How To Make A Solar Oven” and Sunday has Susan Moeller advising the kiddies on the finer points of “Recycle Your Brain – Collecting Discarded Ideas.” Regarding big name out of towners, John Sinclair is pretty much the centerpiece in that regard, as a noted muckraker and music scenester since the late 1960s, former manager/promoter for the likes of MC5 and Mitch Ryder, et cetera. The official draft beer provider/sponsor has changed from Rolling Rock to Labatt’s, and if you’re the least bit surprised about this, observe that the wine tents also aren’t exactly as local/indie supporting as one might expect. Not that this has been known to stop anybody so inclined from partaking.
In the official pamphlet, there’s a hilarious little paragraph on page 5, with a picture of a naked female art piece of some sort. With a headline of YES, WE LIKE BOOBS A LOT, it’s a reminder that not just Comfest but Columbus as a whole is a topless-legal zone for women. And as we know, you’re more likely to see such at this festival every year than anywhere else in town. But an advisory for “dudes” to chill over this phenomenon, because it’s not a big deal. Elsewhere, pages later, a similar suggestion of DON’T BE A GLASSHOLE! and reminder that glass is not permitted in the park.
Events tables are listed below, although as you know there may have been last minute changes. As for any names in blue – yeah, my people, that’s right, these are links out to the artists in question, who have dedicated bios somewhere on this site.
Friday: June 23
Brainbow’s instrumental set earns praises in The Other Paper, as does You’re So Bossy, a local supergroup of sorts featuring Sam Brown, Annie Light-Brown, Jovan Karcic, and Phillip Parks. Sam Brown is currently the drummer for The Sun, but here sings and plays guitar. And of course his primary group is playing this weekend as well. Again, I’m admittedly kind of torn on what to think about this phenomenon, people making the ultra-competitive cut with multiple different outfits, with so many others shut out completely. If it were a “blind taste test” submission process, and those in charge were making their decisions based upon nothing else but quality, then that would be totally defensible – but I suspect that is not exactly the way it works. Cronyism almost certainly plays a huge part. The flipside is, networking is a skill and takes a ton of effort in its own right, and there’s no reason to hate on people who have put in the time and established a bunch of connections all over town.
I guess my final verdict is that if this were a small town and we were struggling to fill three days, these incestuous lineups might make more sense. That’s not the case here in Columbus, however. I would like to see a limit to maybe two appearances, tops, for any musician. Whether they are approached by an existing band for a guest spot, are shamelessly mugging for such on their end, whatever, doesn’t matter. Certainly not this situation with some character cramming himself into four different set lists. It’s already a contradiction of sorts in that you seem to have everyone connected with Comfest crowing and quite pleased with themselves about their “diverse” lineup…but then they have to know they are booking the same dude multiple times. There’s no way they don’t know this. So what if he’s playing drums with a rock band but then fronting some mellow folksie outfit? There’s totally an opportunity here to get a little more adventurous and inclusive with the choices.
John Sinclair meanwhile is the biggest out of town booking and also apparently somewhat of a disappointment. He shows up 20 minutes late rocking this black turtleneck and white goatee which, again according to The Other Paper, make him resemble “a beatnik Colonel Sanders.” Proceeds to mostly spout poetry atop some musicians playing blues grooves, including a number where he intones, “This is the blues. Delta-style.” Also some spoken word offering about selling one’s soul to the devil.
Karen E. Graves is the one reviewing most of these acts for the paper, and she’s also a fan of The Rackets, noting that they seemed thrilled to be playing a larger stage and manage to thrive, though typically haunting much more intimate environments. And also praises B.A. Baracus for their enthusiasm, an hour earlier on the same stage.
| Time | Performer | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| 11:30 | Brian Griffin | Solar |
| 12:00 | The Mercury Retrograde | Bozo |
| Pretty Balanced | Gazebo | |
| The Neighborhood | Jazz | |
| The Brown Notes | Offramp | |
| drum circle | Live Arts | |
| 12:35 | Marilyn Joyner, RN (Energy & The Body) | Solar |
| 12:50 | Fearing All The Evidence | Bozo |
| Full Bliss Orchestra | Live Arts | |
| 1:00 | Medicine Wheel | Gazebo |
| Hairy Craig Explosion | Jazz | |
| Salvage | Offramp | |
| 1:20 | Moksha | Live Arts |
| 1:30 | Stereopoe | Solar |
| 1:40 | Starving Goliath | Bozo |
| 2:00 | Audible Detonation | Gazebo |
| Jon Coleman | Jazz | |
| Ramsey Band | Offramp | |
| Mark Turns | Live Arts | |
| 2:05 | Nikos Kaplanov (Bio and Flex Fuels) | Solar |
| 2:30 | Kate Weilnau | Live Arts |
| Giganta | Bozo | |
| 3:00 | American Cherry | Gazebo |
| Khasmir | Jazz | |
| The Main Street Gospel | Offramp | |
| Indonesian Mask Dances | Live Arts | |
| Victoria Parks | Solar | |
| 3:20 | Verner Caliper | Bozo |
| 3:35 | Easily Amused | Live Arts |
| Barry Adler (Off The Grid Gardens Year Round In Ohio) | Solar | |
| 4:00 | The Jared Mahone Band | Gazebo |
| Roddy Barnes | Jazz | |
| Elephant Bones | Offramp | |
| 4:10 | Bluestone Jack | Bozo |
| 4:20 | Truth Serum | Live Arts |
| 4:30 | Terry Keller | Solar |
| 5:00 | B.A. Baracus | Bozo |
| Frank Harrison | Gazebo | |
| Joe Diamond Quartet | Jazz | |
| Church of the Red Museum | Offramp | |
| Annie Finnerty | Solar | |
| 5:10 | Tablatronic | Live Arts |
| 5:35 | Hal Hixson & Matt Thompson | Solar |
| 6:00 | The Rackets | Bozo |
| 5 Guys Named Moe | Gazebo | |
| Madrugada | Jazz | |
| Brainbow | Offramp | |
| Spanda | Live Arts | |
| Kelly Richey | Blues Garage | |
| 6:05 | Dan Dougan & Tres Wahoos | Solar |
| 6:30 | Jeff & Jason | Solar |
| 7:00 | Alpha Zentradi | Bozo |
| Champipple | Gazebo | |
| Shaun Booker | Jazz | |
| Pretty Weapons | Offramp | |
| John Sinclair | Live Arts | |
| Anthony Stone | Blues Garage | |
| 7:10 | Parker Paul | Solar |
| 7:50 | Marcy Mays | Solar |
| 8:00 | The Floorwalkers | Bozo |
| Dave Chisolm | Gazebo | |
| Shawn Thunder Wallace | Jazz | |
| The Squares | Offramp | |
| Lady Monster | Live Arts | |
| BiersDorf and Kolbe | Blues Garage | |
| 8:20 | The Speakeasy | Live Arts |
| 8:30 | Leah Carla Gordone | Solar |
| 9:00 | Autumn Under Echoes | Bozo |
| Spikedrivers | Gazebo | |
| Randy Mather | Jazz | |
| Necropolis | Offramp | |
| Sean Carney | Blues Garage | |
| 9:10 | Doctah Xs Seedz of Rasistance | Live Arts |
| Jonathon Burgess | Solar | |
| 9:50 | Hope Vitellas | Solar |
| 10:00 | The Sun | Bozo |
| Stretch Lefty | Gazebo | |
| Jim Maneri’s Straight with Gene Walker | Jazz | |
| Weightless Recordings | Offramp | |
| Mas Bagua | Live Arts | |
| 10:30 | Alyson Greenfield | Solar |
| 11:00 | Flypaper | Jazz |
Saturday: June 24
This morning, near the Live Arts stage, from 10am to noon, there was a Tai Chi and Chi Kung class; from 4:15 to 5, a workshop in the same, whatever the difference between those two might be. And from 5 to 5:45, a Muay Thai kickboxing demo.
The Townsmen play a well-received set, one of the aforementioned four different groups that Bob Starker plays onstage with this weekend. In this case, however, the saxophonist only joins them for a trio of covers: One Step Beyond by Madness, a tune I’m not familiar with, but then two other unmistakables: Miss You by The Rolling Stones, and Rosalita by Springsteen.
When The Evil Queens take the stage at 8pm, the masses respond in an especially unruly fashion. Singer Jacob Sundermeyer is reportedly telling the crowd on multiple occasions, “be nice, we’re at Comfest,” or variations thereof. And then, most hilarious of all, an especially violent moshpit breaks out with someone dressed as The Hamburglar and another character in a chicken outfit leading the carnage.
I’m off at 9:30 tonight and head down to Comfest only briefly. Park way up near B. Hampton’s because I don’t feel like hassling with it. Wearing my leather Aussie hat, per Danya’s request, even though it’s highly unlikely I’ll see her today.
Thronged with the masses at Neil and Goodale, walking both directions. Middle aged black guy at apartment complex on Thurber was chilling in yard with lawnchair, listening to the band, and here come two young black kids on one lone bicycle, clutching towering vanilla cones, weaving through the foot traffic – possibly his children, heading home with their treats. At Dennison and Goodale, the house on the corner is chock full of people, and a handful of them are on the front porch, with a stereo blasting and lit discoball twirling.
Near that corner, on the other side and at the edge of the park, I meet up with Dan Bandman, his girlfriend Kate, and sister Katherine. Katherine’s telling me she’s enjoyed most of the music so far but that Dan has not.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” I admit.
“The one band was playing a bunch of covers, like Prince and stuff.”
“I didn’t think that was allowed”
“That’s the same thing he said.”
Dan’s girl says she likes my hat. I explain how I won it at Wild Oats, selling a certain amount of Australian hamburger, and have even worn it on the job there. Incidentally, I should also mention that we have a full page ad in this year’s Comfest pamphlet.
“I don’t miss it there,” Dan says.
“Well, I miss you being there,” I tell him.
“Is there anyone else left now that’s surly, too?” he asks, “or are you the only one?”
“Pretty much. I did your classic thank you to a customer tonight, actually…Thank you…I SAID THANK YOU!”
Michelle Kilgore and Aaron pass by, she screams an ecstatic hello and then gives Dan alone a big hug before they continue onward.
Dan tells me, “okay, dem boys are pretty much just past Steak On A Stick, if you turn left, just past this patch of light, they’re right in front of the main stage.”
“Okay, well, my list of priorities is beer, beer, then finding someone I know,” I joke, following this brief interlude.
“I hope you brought beer, ’cause those lines are long,” Dan advises.
“They’ve (dem boys) got beer, though,” Katherine says.
I wind up paying $5 for one plastic cup of Labatt’s. It turns out that not even a half assed effort is ever actually made at finding dem boys. Regarding the music, Lab Rats – a white rap duo – are on the Off Ramp Stage. Great beats and lyrics and they flow well, but there’s a sameness to the delivery that gets a touch old after a while. Some black chick wailing on Main Stage, for a group called Middle Child, but you can’t even hear music above her pieces. And I suppose she has a good voice, but this frequency is one I would never call anything but annoying.
Two hot blonde chicks with breasts painted pose for a friend’s picture. Wanted indigenous eats of some sort but don’t pass anything of substance – unless Jeni’s Ice Cream counts, which I’m really not in the mood for. Watermelon For Peace is giving out plastic cups of it, but I’m not interested, don’t even stop to see what they’re about.
There’s a great rockabilly band playing on the Gazebo Stage, The Midnighters. The lead singer bangs on a drum out front. Perfect weather, tons o’ people. Drum circle in the middle. Danielle is dancing at 11 with this band, Jamnesia, and that’s probably what dem boys are sticking around for. But these sandals are hurting my feet and I’m really not into it, decide to pack it in relatively early.
| Time | Performer | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | Nexlevel | Jazz |
| Aspara Tribe | Live Arts | |
| 11:15 | Eric Nassau Band | Bozo |
| Electric Grandmother | Offramp | |
| 11:30 | Moses Avalon (The Music Business Workshop) | Solar |
| 11:40 | Desert Dancers | Live Arts |
| 12:00 | Room Nineteen | Gazebo |
| Pooma | Jazz | |
| Bill Stockwell | Blues Garage | |
| 12:10 | Stone Groove | Bozo |
| Illogic & DJ Eyamme | Offramp | |
| 12:20 | Raks Shadan | Live Arts |
| 12:35 | Meera Parthasarathy (Recycling 101) | Solar |
| 1:00 | Whoa Nellie! | Gazebo |
| Mitchel/Paetsch Quartet | Jazz | |
| Sacred Shimmy | Live Arts | |
| Ryan Leist | Blues Garage | |
| 1:05 | Grasshopper Pie | Bozo |
| The Receiver | Offramp | |
| 1:30 | Michelle Lundy | Solar |
| 1:40 | L&B Rappers | Live Arts |
| 2:00 | Band Of Brothers | Gazebo |
| Magia Tropical featuring Jessica Agler | Jazz | |
| Greenlawn Abbey | Offramp | |
| The Joe Miller Duo featuring Al Smyth | Blues Garage | |
| 2:05 | Stone Byrd | Bozo |
| Bill Price (Activism 101) | Solar | |
| 2:20 | Raks Jahanni | Live Arts |
| 3:00 | Bum Wealthy | Bozo |
| Groove Soda | Gazebo | |
| Matt Adams Quartet | Jazz | |
| The Skillet Lickers | Offramp | |
| Lydia’s Native American Dance | Live Arts | |
| Barry Chern | Blues Garage | |
| Elliot 12 Trees | Solar | |
| 3:20 | Zahira & Janaan | Live Arts |
| 3:35 | Tai Chi & Paul Brown | Live Arts |
| John Knouse (Strawbale Construction) | Solar | |
| 4:00 | Mike Perkins with John Zuck & Sogbety | Bozo |
| Jimm | Gazebo | |
| Magically Delicious | Jazz | |
| Townsmen | Offramp | |
| Slanted | Blues Garage | |
| 4:15 | Snakes Rising | Live Arts |
| 4:30 | Michael Lohre | Solar |
| 5:00 | John Mullins Band | Bozo |
| Quicksall Band | Gazebo | |
| Jen Miller | Jazz | |
| Chris McCoy and The Gospel | Offramp | |
| Short North Muay Thai | Live Arts | |
| Bob Sauls | Blues Garage | |
| Eileen Motok | Solar | |
| 5:15 | Columbus Movement Movement | Live Arts |
| 5:35 | Bob Fitrakis (Election Reform Now) | Solar |
| 5:45 | The Bettys | Live Arts |
| 6:00 | Watershed | Bozo |
| Ukelele Man & This Prodigal Sons | Gazebo | |
| Circus Of Cool | Jazz | |
| The Bygones | Offramp | |
| Mike Patrick and Big Al | Blues Garage | |
| 6:30 | Madlab | Live Arts |
| Jeremy Mills | Solar | |
| 7:00 | Willie Phoenix Band | Bozo |
| Myke Rock | Gazebo | |
| Jazz Poetry Ensemble | Jazz | |
| Mors Ontologica | Offramp | |
| Ray Fuller | Blues Garage | |
| 7:10 | Canonico | Solar |
| 7:20 | Highjinks Dance/Grimaldi Circus | Live Arts |
| 7:45 | The Mendelsonics with Jamie Lyons | Gazebo |
| 7:50 | Kyle Sowash | Solar |
| 8:00 | BHB./S.P.I.R.I.T. | Bozo |
| New Basics Brass Band | Jazz | |
| The Evil Queens | Offramp | |
| Damian Knapp | Blues Garage | |
| 8:15 | Anatomical Scenario | Live Arts |
| 8:30 | Drew Miller Davis | Solar |
| 9:00 | The Fabulous Johnson Brothers | Bozo |
| Jack Neat | Gazebo | |
| Honk, Wail, & Moan | Jazz | |
| Tough & Lovely | Offramp | |
| The Ooh-La-Las | Live Arts | |
| 9:10 | Isle Of Pines | Solar |
| 9:45 | Women in the Blues Presentation | Live Arts |
| 9:50 | Sarah Asher | Solar |
| 10:00 | Middle Child | Bozo |
| Midnighters | Gazebo | |
| Rendezvous | Jazz | |
| The Lab Rats | Offramp | |
| 10:30 | Heartbreak Orchestra | Solar |
| 11:00 | Jamnesia | Jazz |
Sunday: June 25
| Time | Performer | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | Z Sharp Big Band | Bozo |
| Molly with Grace | Gazebo | |
| Mike Patrick and The Blues Drivers | Jazz | |
| Storytellers of Central Ohio | Live Arts | |
| 11:30 | Derek Mortland | Solar |
| 11:40 | DJ Coreroc, DJ Drastic, DJ Self | Offramp |
| 12:00 | Last Big Town | Gazebo |
| Chief Johnny Lonesome & The Mound Street Stompers | Jazz | |
| Children’s Music Network | Live Arts | |
| Debbie Walton | Blues Garage | |
| 12:35 | Dale Hooper (Renewable Solar Energy At Work In Ohio) | Solar |
| 12:40 | Listen For The Jazz All-Stars | Bozo |
| Woosley Band | Offramp | |
| 12:45 | Leslie Zak | Live Arts |
| 12:50 | Barry Chern Band | Jazz |
| 1:00 | AHA collective | Gazebo |
| Hurricane Jerry and Storm Front | Blues Garage | |
| 1:15 | Joanie Calem | Live Arts |
| 1:30 | Elisa Nicholas | Solar |
| 1:40 | Phantods | Offramp |
| 1:45 | Men Of Leisure | Jazz |
| OSU Hillel Folk Dancers | Live Arts | |
| 2:00 | Lisa Webster and Trio | Gazebo |
| The Bluesville Drifters unplugged | Blues Garage | |
| 2:05 | Friends of the Alum Creek Tributaries, FLOW, and Friends of the Ravine | Solar |
| 2:15 | Columbus Police & Fire Pipe & Drum | Live Arts |
| 2:20 | Four Mints | Bozo |
| 2:35 | Blackcat Revival | Offramp |
| 2:45 | Brett Burleson | Jazz |
| 2:50 | Civil Rights vs. Gay Rights Workshop | Live Arts |
| 3:00 | Bucktown Kickback | Gazebo |
| Woody Pines | Blues Garage | |
| The Newlands | Solar | |
| 3:20 | Mojo Kings | Bozo |
| 3:30 | Ryan Smith and the Agency | Offramp |
| 3:35 | Dean Kuipers (author of “Burning Rainbow Farm” | Solar |
| 3:45 | Larry Marotta | Jazz |
| 3:55 | Is Said & Advance Party | Live Arts |
| 4:00 | Katie Reider Band | Gazebo |
| Terry Davidson with Ray Fuller | Blues Garage | |
| 4:25 | HooDoo Soul Band | Bozo |
| You’re So Bossy | Offramp | |
| 4:30 | Connie Harris | Solar |
| 4:40 | Kalida Tribe | Live Arts |
| 4:45 | Dick Mackey | Jazz |
| 5:00 | Donna Mogavero | Gazebo |
| Poetry Slam | Live Arts | |
| Mike Lenz | Blues Garage | |
| Harvey Wasserman (The Stolen Election) | Solar | |
| 5:20 | Tiara | Offramp |
| 5:30 | Dave Workman & Willie Pooch | Bozo |
| 5:35 | Katrina Youth Handbell Piece | Solar |
| 5:45 | LDB3 | Jazz |
| 6:00 | Decals | Gazebo |
| Soul Satyr | Blues Garage | |
| drum circle | offstage, near Live Arts | |
| 6:05 | Harvey Wasserman (Peak Oil and Renewable Energy) | Solar |
| 6:15 | Red Dahlia | Offramp |
| 6:30 | Roscoe | Solar |
| 6:40 | John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars | Bozo |
| 6:45 | Tenors Head On | Jazz |
| 7:00 | Dejavu | Gazebo |
| 7:10 | Grafton | Offramp |
| Leo Clarke & David Murphy | Solar | |
| 7:45 | Postal | Jazz |
| 7:50 | Gaye Adegbolola & Roddy Barnes | Bozo |
| 8:00 | Megan Palmer and the Hopefuls | Gazebo |
| 8:05 | Two Cow Garage | Offramp |
| 8:45 | Chris Howes | Jazz |
| 9:00 | Teeny Tucker w/ Sean Carney Band | Bozo |
| Apocalypso | Gazebo | |
| Miranda Sound | Offramp | |
| 9:45 | Tony Monaco | Jazz |
From 10am to noon today, near the Live Arts stage, there’s another Tai Chi and Chi Kung class.
Here’s a video the official Columbus Alive Youtube channel posted, a quick montage of some highlights. A few quick interviews with various random people forms the backbone of this piece, and some of the comments are kind of funny:
As you can see, the beer mugs this year are light blue with black writing, and an exhortation to RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE on the backside. A little too close in color to the ones from just two years ago for my tastes, but hey, who am I to complain. They always look cool lining one’s kitchen cabinet regardless. Video footage of this year’s event seems to fall into that early 2000s grey zone where people were no longer starry eyed over “The Internet” and iPhones hadn’t been invented yet – therefore, much less documentation than even a year like 2001, which is surprising. Even the written reviews appear to be lacking, as it’s a big fat zilch, as far as I can tell, from the likes of the Dispatch, while I can’t seem to get my hands on any old copies of The Other Paper or Alive! to investigate their potential takes.
One small article I did find was published by OSU’s Lantern, where Andy Clark of the Reynoldsburg band Verner Caliper is raving about what a great time they had, playing here. And that’s seriously about all I’ve been able to turn up thus far. For that matter, I was there myself, on at least one of the days, and must admit to not recalling much. So it may have been a ho-hum year overall. I like the mystery here, however, that there are plenty of gaps remaining for a late-to-the-crime sleuth like me to fill in.
For now, to look forward/backward at a couple other nearby years, click these images below:
