Summer Strummer @ Bergamot Station, 9/02/07

by Paulina Abascal

Photos by Mary L. Hines

In the parking lot of Bergamot Station, an area I (a Santa Monica native) didn’t know existed before attending this show, booths and four stages were set up for the second annual Summer Strummer Festival. This was the last festival-style concert of summer break, but the first of several Los Angeles-based, non-tour events, with Neighborhood and Detour Festivals looming on the horizon. 

Summer Strummer hosted a modest sized crowd, in part because it was held on the hottest day of the year so far and partially because the lineup is sub par.

Santa Monica locals, mostly thirty-somethings, coated themselves in sunscreen and browsed vendor tents while snacking on guacamole and sipping Monster Energy drinks (one of the festival's main sponsors). The other half of the crowd consisted of rockabilly men and women, presumably at the festival to see Rezurex, a Nekromantix-esque psychobilly band featuring a standup bass.

A decent-sized group of teenagers ignored the excruciating heat to watch Orange, the teenage quartet on Hellcat Records, perform a 40-minute set. The majority of the songs were taken from the new album Escape from L.A., although a few songs from the debut album Welcome to the World of Orange appeared during the performance. During Orange's set, a small redheaded boy was boosted onto the shoulders of two teenagers and carried around the crowd as the boys screamed every word to each of Orange’s songs and attempted to pump up the sweating audience.

Another teenage band, Billy Boy on Poison, drew a significantly smaller audience than Orange, but had equal enthusiasm. The band's singer looked to be about 17 and dressed in bright orange hot pants reminiscent of the Hooters uniform. He yelped and kicked his legs ferociously in some sort of angry hipster dance.

Following the two younger bands, a threesome that calls itself Over It took the stage with acoustic guitars in hand. The whiney, wannabe Dashboard Confessional sound caused nearly the entire crowd to get over it and move elsewhere.

Astra Heights, a seemingly young five-piece originally from Texas, grabbed most of Over It's audience, along with others meandering through the street fair setting. Each of the members dressed as though modeling for an Urban Outfitters catalog and charmed the easily entertained crowd with a few songs.

Due to the heat and lack of continuous entertainment, the crowd died down earlier than expected. Santa Monica’s Summer Strummer Festival was a perfect opportunity for local rising bands to be showcased, but September 2 proved to be an inopportune day for an all-day outdoor music festival. Thankfully, the festival is annual. Maybe next year the weather will be better.