ComFest Wrap Up: The Lindsay, Tin Armor, This is My Suitcase, and The Sun

With no juice left (Camera, Computer and Phone all dead by Sunday at 8PM), I was pretty much forced to pack it in near the end of The Sun's set and meet Emily at the Giant Eagle for some much needed time in a seated position and some well-earned Taco Bell. All told I logged about 6 hours at the Offramp stage, not too shabby coming off 11+ hours of driving on Friday and Saturday (but hey, we have a house in Normal, IL and it. is. awesome). So compiled here are my thoughts on the four other bands I saw at ComFest.

The Lindsay- This group was really not my cup of tea. They were too noisy, too dissonant, too droney. I walked away after the second song, strolled around a very soggy Goodale park, and joined back in time to see one last song. While they may have finished with some energy, on the whole I was unimpressed.

Tin Armor- These guys, however, were great. I knew nothing about them, aside from the extreme concentration of hipsters in cutoffs (zomg, I'm so unique, check out my thrift store slacks that I turned into shorts!). All of the hipsters milling about turned out to be the Tin Armor fanclub, apparently, and they were rabid (they even moshed during the last song. I guess I'm getting old, but come on, moshing at ComFest? wtf?). The band on stage were a ton of fun, great energy and great songs, kind of a mix of "Pinkerton-era" Weezer (it's sad that we have to make that distinction in light of their recent output) and the off-key sincerity of Piebald. At first I wasn't sure how much of their, "Gee, golly" good boy charm was for real, but when they blushingly shared the story of their encounter at a convenience store while buying Vitamin Water, I knew they were the real deal (plus, they had free tote bags!). I was very impressed with the group of kids and I'm especially glad I had my earplugs on hand, because they were LOUD!

This is My Suitcase- It's been over a year since I last saw Joe Camerlengo and Co., and boy I have been missing them. After recording some tunes in LA, touring with The Format and I'm sure tons of other shit, I was able to see the incredible band they've become. With more mature song structure and buckets of energy, they assaulted the large crowd with their perfect power-pop. I found out today that the merch booth sold out of their debut LP, "Missent to Thailand" shortly after the crazy set. They played a ton of new songs, including the excellent, "Fish and Dishes" which Joe was kind enough to ask me to record. He lost his shoes early in the set, Andi broke another tamborine, Nick continued to be a beast, and they were all around awesome. I can really tell that Joe, mild-mannered as he may be off-stage, is growing into a great front man, casually bantering with the audience, performing on stage acrobatics, even jumping into the crowd to blast off a batshit version of "L-O-V-E" amidst his fans.

This was the highlight of my ComFest, seeing a band that I've become friends with grow into the amazing band I knew they were. From that foggy winter afternoon in the back of Joe's SUV to hear him play some songs, to this culmination as a part of the Columbus Music Scene, it's only a matter of time before you'll be hearing them all across the country. This is My Suitcase deserves nothing less.


The Sun- I've been a fan of the Sun for years. Ever since I paid seven dollars for their EP (I thought it was a REALLY cheap full-length, and was immediately pissed when I discovered it was only 6 or so tracks long). But with "Blame it on the Youth" residing in my CD Player, and later, my iPod, I became a huge fan. I was totally bummed when I heard they broke up, and then elated when I found out that they had reformed and were putting out new material. This incarnation of the band (Chris Burney, Vocals, Brad Caulkins, Guitar etc, and Sam Brown on Drums) was incredibly tight, deftly trading instruments and vocals. They had a great energy, albeit one entirely different than TIMS. I was sad to leave before they finished, but like I said, my juice was gone and my ride was waiting.

Overall, it was a great ComFest. I wish I'd had more time to peruse the wares and hang out with friends, but when you've only got one afternoon, you've gotta make the most of it. I think next year Emily and I will make a point to come back to Columbus from B-N for the whole weekend. I mean, come on, how could I miss ComFest?!