In its second year, Plan-B Block Party brought music lovers together for a night filled with local bands and good vibes in Ybor City. On Oct. 4, more than 50 bands performed at clubs throughout Ybor including the Crowbar, New World Brewery, Market on Seventh, The Social, the Dirty Shame and Tequila’s; posing a difficult choice for local music fans in which acts to support. However, each venue’s lineup consisted of an earful of local talent to appease a variety of musical tastes.
The Plan-B Block Party was spawned from the dissolving of the popular St. Pete Antiwarpt Festival. In spite of this, Antiwarpt co-founders Phil Benito and Sean O’Brien of Brokenmold Entertainment coordinated the event for another go-round this year with support from local promoters Aestheticized Presents, THX MGMT, Soulshine Music and the blog NineBullets.net.
The multi-stage festival lineup ranged from indie rock to punk rock to hip-hop this year. Local acts included Nervous Turkey, Wolf-Face, Radarmen!, Feral Babies, Zillionaire and Empire Cinema. Major headliners including Kishi Bashi, So So Glo and Saskatchewan took center stage as well. The violin virtuoso, Kishi Bashi closed out the night at the Crowbar with his vibrant, psychedelic sound layered into catchy hooks bringing about a joyous atmosphere.
Festival goers were taken on a trip down memory lane at the Market on Seventh, after getting an earful of Thee Wilt Chamberlain. The Orlando-based surf-rock band is reminiscent of The Ventures with a modern day edge. Tracks like “TF B” and “For Joe Meek” are ideal for a day at the beach and even persuaded members of the audience to start dancing.
For Tampa native Christina Sanchez Thee Wilt Chamberlain proved to be the best act of the night. “They were awesome,” Sanchez said. “It’s not the current sound that you’re used to. It was something else, which I love.”
Sanchez, along with her friend Erica Leggatt, attended The Plan B Block Party in hopes of catching a jam session from local bands such as Florida Night Heat, Luxury Mane and Saskatchewan. Although Thee Wilt Chamberlain’s set was comprised solely of instrumentation, Sanchez found their sound to be rather unique. “I like the instrumental stuff,” Sanchez said. “I mean half the time you can’t hear the lyrics. My favorite part is definitely just the instruments.”
Leggatt, a St. Pete College student, is a newcomer to the local indie scene. This past weekend was her first time attending the annual Plan-B Block Party. She was invited to serve as a volunteer for the event through St. Petersburg College. As a volunteer, Leggatt experienced first-hand the chaos that often occurs during a large scale event. She cited the need for more organization in regards to programming for next year. However, Leggatt feels music festivals such as the Plan-B Block Party are instrumental in bringing together the Tampa community and showcasing the arts.
“Everybody listens to music,” Leggatt said. “So if music’s involved, people are going to want to come out. And it’s a great way to get to know people too.”
Kai Miller can be reached at Kai.miller@theminaretonline.com.