I was surprised when I walked into the California Ballroom for Doll Fest II. I had never heard of this space, and here was this beautiful stage in a sweet old-school venue. Oakland has so many hidden gems that no matter how long I live here there’s something to uncover. That turned out to be the first of many surprises I would have.
Doll Fest, now in its second year, is in itself a surprising endeavor. It’s organized by one person, Maria Chaos, who is supported by a handful of volunteers. Despite this small staff I managed to see six impressive acts, two of which were from across the globe. This was only a portion of the entire festival, which made me wonder, how do they do it? Clearly this is a lot of hard work and love.
The first act I saw was 18 Fevers, a four-piece punk band from South Korea. You read that right. Korea isn’t all about K-Pop. They describe themselves as “Seoul Death Punk Disco” and I’d say that’s an accurate description, although the made-up term that came to my mind was “sparkley hardcore”.
The vocalist who goes by Christmas was clearly having a blast as she laid into the harsher end of her voice. As the set progressed she became increasingly animated, somehow adding hand gestures while playing guitar. On the last song she abandoned her guitar so she could move freely and ended the set by laying down on the stage. The drummer, Gavin, had great transitions from one song to another and explored some creative beats. The lead guitarist was Jennifer, who is also in Lucy Valentine. The bassist, Matt, had a variety of fun showboating techniques including vertically balancing his bass on one hand. The crowd applauded loudly after each song and especially when Christmas would shout the band’s strong political opinions. Their songs, with titles like “Just a Nipple”, clearly expressed their views.
The next band was The Dreaded Laramie, a trio from Nashville. The vibe switched even before they started playing. They wore decidedly non-punk attire, and MC Cunningham showed off her soprano vibrato during sound check. Their sound was danceable power pop with a gritty edge. The tunes were catchy with great harmonies, and all three members contributed vocals. There was a smooth mesh between the vocals and the instruments. Shaun on drums played some dazzling fills, and the bassist, Ben, kept the bass line solid. Swisher made funny banter between the songs, including telling the crowd to move in any direction that they wanted instead of the usual “move up” directive of which there was plenty that evening. Towards the end of the set, she had the male band members “pay” for their being part of the patriarchy by having a race of sorts, which seemed to be a complete surprise to the guys, and was very amusing to all. Something in their sound reminded me of Led Zeppelin, although I couldn’t quite figure out why. Just the awesomeness, I guess.
Cry-Baby Pop? What is it? It’s how LA-based foursome Suzie True describe themselves, which is to say: pop, but with some sad or angsty lyrics. It’s more punk than that, but with a clear pop lean.
Lexi McCoy, lead vocalist/bass player, had a small butterfly-shaped bass which I had never seen before but turns out to be a no-longer-manufactured item of Daisy Rock, which makes femme-styled instruments. It seemed the perfect match to the band’s lovely harmonies with guitarist G Leonardo. There were also some clever call-and-response lyrics between band members, and a great reverb on the guitar.The drummer Sarah Pineapple also contributed vocals while keeping the beat. Their last song “So Blame Me” brought out more of their punk side, and was a great way to end their high-energy set.
We’re half way through this review. At this point, may I mention at this point the plethora of Gibson SG guitars at this festival? As that is my guitar of choice, its prevalence thrilled me.
Damag3! Here’s an act that totally took me by surprise. No old school instruments, just a mix and a trans woman rhyming so fast and tight I felt my jaw hanging open. Make no mistake, Damag3 is a force. With her lyrics, beats, impressive stage presence and high energy, it was impossible not to fall under her spell. It’s hard to resist songs about class struggle and capitalism like “Put A Landlord in A LandFill”, or ones with gender commentary: “Tim3 of Da Month”. There’s nothing to dislike about this artist, see her the next chance you get.
The rise of art punk in the last couple of years makes me giddy, so seeing Descartes a Kant was incredibly fun. Starting out with a Devo-esque robotic dance in matching uniforms, they went on to explore many wild tunings coordinated with videos for their latest album After Destruction. Self-described as “Art rock-prog punk of the retro future”, they came all the way from Guadalajara to take us on a wild ride. In the center of the stage was a computer prop labeled DAK in ‘80s style font with a display and a larger screen with the same images. While they’d prepare an unusual tuning for their next song, the videos would display old school monochrome computer message readouts and related entertaining visuals. There was a baroque sound to their music, and occasional ‘70s synth accents. Padua Morales had a very creative and varied approach to the drums which drove all the tunes forward, including some syncopation. Sandra Rodríguez Michel was the lead vocalist, and she and Ana Cristina Moreno Zermeño both played guitar so cleanly I often couldn’t tell which guitar I was hearing. They also sprinkled in some nice vocal harmonies. Guillermo Ibarra Quintana switched from playing the bass with a pick or not depending on the song, and he and Zermeño also did keyboards. Overall, a very well coordinated theatric performance art about capitalism and depression with an edge that everyone enjoyed.
Closing out the set was Vial, a punk trio hailing from the besieged and heroic city of Minneapolis. Heavy bass was the centerpoint in their sound, deftly provided by Taylor Kraemer. KT Branscom did most of the lead vocals, although everyone had a turn at that including drummer Katie Fischer. They were mostly playing songs from their latest album, Hellhound, and also included songs from their whole catalog such as their anti-misogynist vengeance song “Road Kill”. One song had a relatable lyric about random dudes wanting to carry guitarist’s amps and I can definitely relate to that. “Just Fine”, off of their album Burnout, was a great take on existential dread. Sometimes their music reminded me of another Minneapolis punk band, the now defunct Kitten Forever. Other times I could hear a grunge influence, which came out full force when they covered Nirvana’s “Territorial Pissing”, which drove the mosh pit wild.
Now, one thing that was weird for me at the show was how often the performers would tell the audience to do something – shout, sing, move, whatever. I normally obstinately decline these directives, but sometimes even I join in the fun. When Vial told everyone to split the crowd down the middle and then charge towards each other well, that was my cue to give it up and go in the pit. I’m always telling myself not to go in the pit to avoid potential harm, but that was definitely the metaphorical shove that happily broke down my resistance. I had a blast shoving all the smiling people around and bonus! I was not harmed in any way.
Doll Fest is more than just femme-fronted bands, although that in itself is plenty. The crowd itself is a photo op for gender diversity, inclusion, and people having fun in a judgement-free environment. This is our moment, all us queers of all stripes, and femmes, young and old. There were so many bands from so many places and every one of them was thrilling. This was my second year attending and I can’t wait for the third. And next year you’re coming too, aren’t you?
Review and photography by Artemis Jones
