{"id":32790,"date":"2025-06-08T15:33:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T13:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/addtowantlist.com\/?p=32790"},"modified":"2025-06-09T22:51:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T20:51:00","slug":"festival-report-stardumb-25-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/addtowantlist.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/08\/festival-report-stardumb-25-day-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Festival report || Stardumb 25 (Day 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nMissed our report for day 1? Read that one first<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> (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\u2014a recurring theme this festival\u2014aware 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<\/em>, surprising himself most, it seemed). My favorite part was him doing the Riverdales classic I Don’t Wanna Go To The Party Tonight<\/em><\/a>\u2014the response the song got suggested the crowd was actually very much willing to attend the party tonight.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>, 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”<\/a>\u2014not 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<\/em>. 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<\/em> and recent hits<\/a> like Can’t Stop Love<\/em>, 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<\/em>, which appeared to be as much fun for the audience as for the band themselves.<\/p>\n