Festival report || Stardumb 25 (Day 2)

Missed our report for day 1? Read that one first.

Day 2 started with a 7:00 AM alarm clock and a rainy 3-2 away game football loss for my eleven-year-old. I missed most of the free shows in Rotown that afternoon (Local Drags, Heavy Kevi, Kepi), but heard they were well-attended and well-received. Late in the afternoon I walked into a crowd of old and new friends socializing, arriving just in time to see Dan Vapid (Screeching Weasel, Riverdales, The Mopes, Dan Vapid and the Cheats, etc.) delivering a 50/50 acoustic/electric solo set. A very welcoming crowd gathered in front of the stage—a recurring theme this festival—aware of Dan Vapid’s reputation as one of pop punk’s influential heroes. In what appeared to be a setlist-less set, Vapid played from memory and whatever the vibe was, embracing tiny screwups and forgotten lines as part of the battle. The crowd often chimed in with his solo renditions of Methadones songs that didn’t make the setlist of the full band performance later in the evening, plus a Billy Bragg cover (“This is the first time I’ve played this song,” Vapid explained his version of A New England, surprising himself most, it seemed). My favorite part was him doing the Riverdales classic I Don’t Wanna Go To The Party Tonight—the response the song got suggested the crowd was actually very much willing to attend the party tonight.

A two-hour pause in the timetable allowed for food and plenty of socializing opportunities. Went out for pizza with Jan, arriving nerdy on time for the evening program in Rotown starting with local heroes The Windowsill, who took their time first to send their gratitude to Stefan, with Marien explaining he finally understood Kevin Aper’s line “Don’t Let Friday Kill Saturday Fun”—not the first and definitely not the last time this line was murmured on Day 2 of the festival. Fortunately, their set could hardly be described as The Hangover Part Whatever. The Windowsill delivered a solid set of tunes where the hooks were plenty and smooth, with steady beats from the no-less energized and entertaining stick-beating of Ivo Backbreaker, who didn’t show muscle ache from his Day 1 sets. The Windowsill are neither the fastest nor hardest of the bands at the festival, but they’re one of the catchiest, and their set included old favorites like She Wasn’t Lying and recent hits like Can’t Stop Love, gently warming the audience for a truly packed lineup for Day 2. Frontman Marien announced they’ll be recording new music and teased a new song that definitely built up attention. They closed the set with David Bowie’s Suffragette City, which appeared to be as much fun for the audience as for the band themselves.

And then for something completely different, I walked into the set of Beyond Lickin’ at Bar3, who I don’t recall having seen perform back in the day, but who Kevin Aper and Stefan Stardumb were major fans of. This show marked the masked men’s return to the stage. They played a surfy garage/’60s punk fest with dad jokes in between. Mayhem!

Back to Rotown, and while it’s only 8 PM, with Geoff Palmer up next, you know the party’s getting turned all the way up. Was I in the mood for 30 minutes of his hits (and not that other shit)? Yes! Well, given the short set time, Palmer and his band appeared to have decided to deliver their tunes at an extra couple BPMs faster, their amps louder. Rotown used to have a dB meter that would go red if it got to risky heights—I’m pretty sure this was an all-red show. Loved how the band played most (if not all?) of the songs of their brand new 12″ for Stardumb Records. Geoff Palmer may have wished he’d passed on a couple of shots on Friday, but this short set was still Saturday fun!

Dirtshakes time! Fronted by the likeable and energetic Jens Stuhldreier (who did double duty this festival as one of the announcers at the festival), this German quartet came to throw a garage punk rock’n’roll party. Based on the temperature in Bar3, they succeeded—it was getting hotter by the minute in front of the stage. This was a raucous, frantic, and rockin’ set by a charismatic band who know the best way to rock’n’roll is by giving everything you’ve got. An unexpected surprise for me! (sample song here)

Next up: Zatopeks! Another band I’d never seen perform, and honestly, whose appeal eluded me until their excellent 2024 record—musical tastes are a weird thing sometimes. And shame on me, because this show quickly became one of my favorites of the festival! Zatopeks are the kind of band where the first 30 seconds your head can’t wrap around itself. Like, what am I looking at here?! But after that, everything about them makes you fall in love with them. This band has so much fun on stage and it’s contagious. They’re playing their hearts out, and while doing so, the band members smile giddily, like they can’t believe they’re actually doing this shit and have people like it! This was the kind of show where there were zero barriers between the band and the audience (figuratively as well as literally), a show that reminded me why I fell in love with the genre.

I couldn’t get myself to leave early from the Zatopeks show, which meant I got to Bar3 for the Deecracks show a couple of minutes late. The band from Austria has been going for two decades and clearly had an enthusiastic following at the festival. I missed the first half of the show while standing in the lower portion of the bar. The band sounded good though, with pretty funny between-song talks with the audience (“None of the songs we played so far have been released on Stardumb. Stefan, we could have made you so rich!”). In due time, I secured a spot that allowed for actually watching the band, which enriched the experience. Probably the set that came closest to the Ramones’ blueprint, and not just because of the band’s cover of Pet Sematary.

What’s next? The legend that is Dan Vapid on stage with Mike Soucy, B-Face, and Simon Lamb? That is pop punk royalty right there. There were plenty of singalongs at this show, and it’s the intensity with which these singalongs occurred that showed how much some of these tunes mean to people. There were just so many plain good songs here, including the two new tunes from the band’s recent 7″ single on Stardumb, making this an unofficial release party. Did I get goosebumps and a lump in my throat when they closed the set with one of my all-time favorite pop punk tunes, Riverdales’ Make Way? Maybe! Note to self: listen to The Methadones more often.

Two more bands to go! First, a reunion show of another local band: The Accelerators! I was forced to spend most of the show on the wrong side of the split-level bar, mainly watching the back of Zatopeks guitarist Seppy’s polka dot shirt-he was into it. But with a little patience, I managed to get to the upper level and saw what was probably the best show this band has ever put on stage. Backed up by Poesman (The Shivvies, The Real Danger) on drums, this may have been the most aggressive and edgiest of the shows at the fest, igniting a pogo party.

Closing time! Is there a better band to finish Stardumb 25 with than The Peawees? Like true professionals, these Italians wrapped things up super professional and confidently. Kepi joined the band for a song on stage, and—no stranger to hyperbole—called it the best rock’n’roll show he ever witnessed. He may not be wrong though. So much to like here. Total rockstars, great voice, tight playing, and plenty of covers (Don’t Look Back, Runaround Sue—”This is the last time we will play this song, promise!”). Really, how can a band of 30 years still look and sound this good?

What an end to a killer festival! When an overactive Rotown employee signaled last song, there was a sigh of relief when he caved and allowed for one more.

Final Observations:

Can anyone check if Stefan Stardumb still has both feet on the ground? The dude received a wealth of compliments and accolades from every artist involved. My favorite came from Zatopeks, who stated: “We wouldn’t be a band without Stefan.” Let me join the chorus: thanks for 25 years of worthwile releases and good times, Stefan, and thank you for an amazing weekend.

If I had to sum up the festival with one word, it’s gratitude. As stated previously, there was a lot of gratitude toward Stefan, and it felt like all people involved are aware of how special it is for the label to have thrived so long in today’s musical landscape. But I also experienced a lot of gratitude in the audience, like everyone was aware how special it was to experience these shows with such a large group of likeminded souls. And finally, that gratitude was palpable from the artists as well. Sold-out shows are not the norm, and these artists cherished every moment on stage.

Fans and artists merge. This was one of those festivals where the artists were standing next to you in the crowd, singing along to the words as passionately as you. I know that shouldn’t be surprising if you grew up in this scene, but let’s pause: how cool is that?

Short sets? No problem! I admit I was kinda bummed to see the timetable and notice that most sets would be 30 minutes only. After two days I have to say it totally worked! It kept things fresh and helped avoid those moments where your mind slipped.

The atmosphere was super relaxed. This is another one of those “we shouldn’t be surprised,” but I don’t think the Rotown crew needed any security for this festival. There were a lot of smiles and hugs though, and okay, I did see an increase in yawns on Day 2. Speaking of which, is it bedtime yet?

Let’s do this again in 2030.