It has to be said – the Ferndale DIY Street Fair might not have the cool factor of Dally in the Alley because of its suburban location while not having the pull of something like Arts Beats & Eats because, you know, it’s a fraction of the size, but the feeling surrounding the festival midway through Saturday afternoon was very, very right.
The sun was shining down but it wasn’t too hot. The layout of the thing is such that you don’t have to walk a long way through masses of people to get from one stage to another. There are horses to pet (yep, really) and girls doing some kind of acrobat act with what appear to be giant curtains hanging from a frame. Local artists are selling some truly astounding work. It all feels warm, exceptionally well-organized and, yes, very cool. Fuck the snobs.
The lineup on Saturday was spectacular too, though it’s almost too cruel that the Hounds Below and Fawn are playing at the same time, headlining their respective stages. Special mention has to go to the Briscoe County Vultures, a bad that plays old punk tunes in a cow-punk style. The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb” and Tenpole Tudor’s “Sons of a Thousand Men” have never been played like this before.
Also very impressive was the Strange a two-piece band who are unashamedly garage rock. The riffs were fuzzy and the tunes were loose, though the sleaze injected into the vocals sets the band apart from many that you’d find under the same Pandora category.
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