The main outlines of this year’s Gonerfest 16 have been known for some months now, but it wasn’t until Friday that the full lineup was announced. It’s the usual grab bag of stylistically unpredictable delights, with sound emanating from the garage, the squat, the lab, and everywhere in between. And something about this year’s lineup has hit a demogaphic sweet spot, for ticket sales are through the roof. “We’re already 100 tickets over where we finished last year,” Eric Friedl tells me, implying that they might even sell out. Or, as the event website puts it, “We will make individual night tickets available if we have room — but it does not look like we will have room. Those Mummies have driven everyone crazy!”
‘Those Mummies have driven everyone crazy!’ – Goner spokesperson
Indeed, it appears to be a case of Mummies fever, possibly related to the virus behind zombification, but with a better back beat. Not to mention a heaping key-spoonful of Farfisa. Friedl assures me that Goner is doing the extra footwork required to ensure that a genuine Farfisa organ, essential to the band’s sound, will be available for their gig. Since 1988, the band has presented a reliably lo-fi, weird and groovy sound for go-go-ers the world over. Though having technically broken up in 1992, their reunion shows since 2003 have only grown in popularity, and their debut album, which they refused to put on CD, has grown in stature. Considering that they play dressed as mummified corpses, one wonders if they still use the same bandage wrappings that they began with, or are they now high-end, rock-star-grade bandages? Only a visit to Gonerfest can answer that for sure.
Gonerfest 16 is Booked — In Every Sense of the Word
Another highlight will be the pairing of the Oblivians with Mr. Quintron, who have collaborated on both the celebrated 1997 gospel-punk album, The Oblivians Play 9 Songs with Mr. Quintron, and on a standout track from 2013’s Desperation, “Call the Police” (which also features Quintron’s accomplice, Miss Pussycat).
Many other surprises are in store as well, such as a separate appearance by Greg Cartwright’s revival of the band he fronted between the Oblivians and the Reigning Sound, the Tip Tops. As is often the case, a healthy cluster of bands from New Zealand and Australia will also be on hand, including the much-anticipated ‘all-girl’ group from Australia, Parsnip.
Parsnip
GONERFEST 16
THURSDAY Sept 26
Opening Ceremonies at Cooper Young Gazebo- Free
5:30 Limes (Memphis, TN)
Thursday Night
Hi Tone
MC Bob McDonald (SF, CA)
Anthony Bedard (Leather Uppers / Icky Boyfriends / Best Show band)
Mitch Cardwell (MRR, Raw Deluxe Records, Budget Rock Festival)
1AM King Brothers (Osaka, Japan)
Midnight Simply Saucer (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)
11:15PM Trampoline Team (New Orleans, LA)
10:30PM Sweet Knives (Memphis, TN)
9:45PM Hussy (Madison, WI)
9PM Green / Blue (Minneapolis, MN)
FRIDAY September 27
AFTERNOON SHOW
At Memphis Made 1-6PM $10
5:00 Fuck (Memphis / SF)
4:15 Lenguas Largas (Tuscon, AZ)
3:30 Static Static (New Orleans, LA)
2:45 Vincent HL (Auckland, NZ)
2pm Kool 100s (Kansas City, MO)
Memphis Made Solo Stage
Performers to be announced
FRIDAY 6-8PM
Crosstown Arts
Miss Pussycat Art Show Opening
“The History Of Ancient Egypt” Puppetshow Performance
Free
FRIDAY NIGHT
Hi Tone $25
MC Sarah Danger (Baltimore, MD)
Tom Lax (Siltbreeze Records) & Byron Coley (Forced Exposure mag, Feeding Tube Records)
1 AM Oblivians w/Quintron (Memphis, TN / New Orleans, LA)
Midnight NOTS (Memphis, TN)
11:15 Thigh Master (Brisbane, Australia)
10:30 M.O.T.O. (Eastern Seaboard)
9:45 Richard Papiercuts et Les Inspecteurs (NYC, NY)
9PM Mallwalker (Baltimore, MD)
SATURDAY September 28
AFTERNOON BLOWOUT
Murphys $10
OUTSIDE
6pm Greg Cartwright & The Tip Tops (Asheville, NC)
5pm Resonars (Tuscon, AZ)
4pm Total Hell (New Orleans, LA)
3pm Dixie Dicks (Memphis, TN)
2PM Cindy (Auckland, New Zealand)
INSIDE
5:30 Michael Beach & The Artists (Melbourne, Australia)
4:30 Aquarian Blood (Memphis, TN)
3:30 Warm Leather (Auckland, NZ)
2:30 Tire (Memphis, TN)
1:30 Priors (Montreal, Canada)
1PM Opossums (Memphis, TN)
SATURDAY NIGHT
Hi Tone $25
MC Drew Owen (New Orleans, LA)
DJs Bazooka Joe (Slovenly Records) & Russell Quan (Mummies)
1AM Mummies (SF, CA)
Midnight Tommy & The Commies (Sudbury, Ontario, Canada)
11:15 Hash Redactor (Memphis, TN)
10:30 Giorgio Murderer (New Orleans, LA)
9:45 Parsnip ( Melbourne, Australia)
9PM Teardrop City (Oxford, MS)
SUNDAY September 29
Closing Ceremonies at Cooper- Young Gazebo – Free
2:30 PM Sharde Thomas & The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band