Beebs and Her Money Makers
We left off part one with DJ RoboRob and friends at The Social. Back over at the Beacham, Beebs and Her Money Makers were the next to take the stage. They made for a nice change of pace musically (actually, the music was nicely mixed up the whole weekend, but Beebs was noticeably different from pretty much any other band). Combining elements of ska, swing, rock, and hip-hop, BaHMM really got the audience dancing. Actually, after BaHMM, I needed a break so I popped back to the hotel for a bit before YTCracker. I also managed to catch a bit of Danimal Cannon and Brentalfloss and the Cartridge Family online on the live stream, enough to realize that, while they are good, their music isn’t quite my thing.
I made it back in time for most of YTCracker’s set, but I missed the first song. Not such a big deal because the rest of the set with Hairetsu was so good, plus he played again on Monday at The Day After. I admit I’m not familiar enough with YTC’s music to know tune names, but he did play a few that I knew. After YTCracker came No More Kings, a rock band that I’d been looking forward to seeing. They didn’t disappoint. In addition to “Sweep the Leg” (which there was no doubt they’d play), they also performed “Michael (Jump In)” (about Knight Rider) and “Zombie Me.” Oh, and they also covered Toto’s “Africa.” Awesome set!
Back to the nerdcore for Random (aka Mega Ran). As expected, his set was great, with a representative sample from his many sides — Mega Man, Final Fantasy, and teacher. Plus he performed his signature free style, taking items from the audience and weaving rhymes about them. So good!
I had to skip NESKimos for dinner, which was a bit disappointing, but I was really curious about Koo Koo Kanga Roo. I knew they were headlining, but after listening to a couple of tracks online, I couldn’t quite figure out the appeal. Now I get it. You have to see them live for it to make sense. Their music is simple, catchy kids’ music that makes everyone want to boogie down. But somehow their music transcends kid-dom and makes itself enjoyable for adults, too. Just check out the video and it will all become clear.
Closing out once again on Sunday was The Protomen, this time with their set of Queen covers. What can I say, they were fantastic! They pulled out deep cuts along with several hits. Quite probably the best, and most moving, song had to be “Bohemian Rhapsody,” during which the audience spontaneously held up their hands to represent the Triforce (see the end of the video) as a tribute to Triforce Mike. Even the band was touched at this display, throwing the sign back to the audience. It made for quite a powerful scene. Although I never knew Triforce Mike, I’m sure he would have approved.
If you’d like to see more of my pictures from both days, you can check them out on my Google+ page. You can also see more of my videos on my YouTube channel. I don’t claim to be the best photographer or videographer, but there’s some good stuff there.
So, there you go. Nerdapalooza’s over, but guess what? There’s going to be a Nerdapalooza NYC in February! No details yet, but you can be sure I’ll mention something here once I find out (sadly, I doubt I’ll be able to attend, but we’ll see).
Still, I have one more post from this year to come: The Day After!
