Grits brings local music flavor, not without flaws

by Cam Powell

First and foremost, this installation of the Indie Grits Festival had its issues.

At a show that was supposed to showcase Toro y Moi, The Mermaids and Valley Maker to as many people as possible, fire codes limited capacity at West Columbia's ReSale Reue to 300 patrons. The venue could have held many more paying customers, as the majority of the fans were clustered at the front third of the room nearest the stage for most of the night, but the fire regulations caused many fans who didn't pre-purchase their tickets online to be turned away at the door.

Members of the press, including representatives from the Free Times, Scene SC and The Daily Gamecock, were all denied entrance to the concert because the Indie Grits Festival representatives would not honor their full-festival inclusive press passes at this particular event. The event managers claimed that they were never given a list of press members to be let in to the show, rendering any press pass absolutely useless. This did not bode well for full event coverage, as Mix Editor Chloe Gould and I were only allowed inside during Toro y Moi's set, missing performances by both Valley Maker and The Mermaids. That being said I'll do my best to give you an impression of what those two bands are like.

Valley Maker is a product of USC alum Austin Crane's senior thesis, where the Columbia singer-songwriter wrote a full length album centered around the narratives of the book of Genesis. The group's folk-laden sound hinges on Crane's emotive and pensive vocals, which poke and prod at the minds of listeners during songs such as "The First" and "Names." Tracks off of Valley Maker's self-titled LP are available for play and for purchase at valleymaker.com.

The Mermaids, the night's second act, play rowdy, noodle-dance worthy rock with a beach music vibe. The Atlanta based group has reecived positive press from the New York Times praising their music as "jangly surf and garage-influenced rock with a sharp sense of melody." Band member Noah Adams, a Columbia native, describes the group's sound as "loud, pyschedlic, doo-wop, punk." What's not to like there?

The evening was headlined by Toro y Moi, the brainchild of USC alum Chazwick Bundick that has caught fire over the past year as a leading force in the chillwave genre. The group's set started off a bit rocky, as they were forced to restart their first song twice and ultimately had to pause their set due to technical difficulties with background instrumentation. After the problem was fixed, Toro laid the smack-down on those in attendance, providing song after song of chillwave bliss to a crowd that was all too eager to dance the night away.

Despite the vast number of high-quality live shows I've seen in my life, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a group that grooves as hard as Toro y Moi. Their keyboard lines, bass runs, drum beats and guitar parts meshed to create a wall of sound that was far too hip to be ignored. My friends can vouch for me as being the most rhythmically challenged person on the planet and I still felt like I was able to get down to the music that Toro was serving up. The group's hour long set felt like a non-stop dance party, with Chaz's vocals remaining pristine in the upper register during every song.

Being able to be a part of Toro's musical experience salvaged my night, which had previously been marred by the frustration of not being let in to cover the entire event. I enjoyed the other parts of the Indie Grits Festival that I was able to attend, but the fact that the staff overlooked press passes when planning the festival's marquis concert is inexcusable. I hope that having Toro y Moi and friends play the festival helps put Indie Grits on the map a bit more as an arts festival, but in the future I would like to see more attention to detail from festival management in organizing their events.