Photos by Shantel Mitchell

I have to admit, this was my first year attending Whartscape.  It’s been one of those events that I’ve always wanted to attend, but ended up never making it out.  This year, I vowed that I would go, even if it ended up being 100+ degrees outside!  Saturday was HOT.  There was no other word to describe the day.  However, I left Whartscape  thinking, “Wow, that was really fun!” even though I don’t handle heat well.  I was able to see Double Dagger, Dan Deacon, and Arab on Radar.

I always enjoy Dan Deacon.  His sets are awesome fun, and I LOVE the crowd interaction.  Double Dagger was in the heat of the afternoon, but it didn’t seem to bother the crowd.  One fan after another literally dove from the stage to enjoy crowd surfing atop a very energetic audience.  After the sun went down and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees, Arab on Radar took the stage.  I was up front for this one, but had NO idea how crazy and insane this would be!  Needless to say, I lasted two songs before taking a safer position to the side of the stage.  Although there was a night show planned, I decided to call it a night since I was returning for the day on Sunday.

The next day, I was most anticipating Wye Oak, as I love to see them any chance I can get.  I got there a bit early in time to catch Little Howlin’ Wolf, an improv jazz-style band.  It was a very interesting performance; I appreciated the energy of this band, as well as photographing them.  Just after their set, when Wye Oak began to set up, a huge gust of wind came along and tore up the tarp they had covering the stage.  Spectators rushed to grab it and hold it down, knowing that the black clouds in the sky meant rain was only seconds away.  As the rain began to come down, the mad dash began to cover and protect the equipment.  Some of the crowd hovered under the tarp coverings while others enjoyed the rain until the lightning came and drove anyone remaining inside.  The event was later rescheduled inside Sonar, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it back downtown to catch Wye Oak.  I had a great time despite the heat and unexpected rain and I’m glad that I went, even though I caught Whartscape on it’s last year!  Enjoy the photos!

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