BEN & CY FEST [In Pictures]

The first annual Ben & Cy Fest [We say annual because we really hope this becomes a yearly thing] was a total success! Nashville hasn't been treated to a show like that in quite a while: four great touring bands plus 2 awesome locals and for only $5? You're nuts if you missed out. Unless you have a good excuse, like you had swine flu or something. Anyways, here are some photos from ND photog Bekah Cope.

MANTLES

Mantles opened up the night perfectly with their balance of garage-y fuzz and pop gems. Sort of like if The Clean were from California and not New Zealand and they did a little more drugs back in the day. On top of that, they're probably one of the nicest bands we've ever met [same goes for Ty and the boys] They're debut self-titled record just came out a couple weeks ago on Siltbreeze. Go scoop it neow!

TY SEGALL

Without a doubt, Ty Segall [pronounced like sea-gull, no relation to Steven Seagal] was the highlight of the show. For us atleast. We've been blasting Horn the Unicorn and Ty Segall for a while now, so it was great to finally get to see him do his thing in the flesh and blood. Their bass player, Tim, was a real champ and played through his sickness like it was nothing. If Ty's coming to your town, definitely go out and see him. Just about everyone is working their asses off trying to make the kind of music that seems to come so effortlessly to him, and it probably seems that way because he's one of the best at it.

YUSSUF JERUSALEM

You know, not all bands can be the most fun thing to watch. If the pictures aren't evidence enough, let us just tell you that there was minimal movement coming out of these guys when they were playing. That's not to say that they weren't great though. They spilled out a few gems off of their new album, Heart Full of Sorrow, that really showed Nashville how a band can go from heavy black metal to poppy folk-rock in a matter of minutes.

WOVEN BONES

The last out-of-town band to play was Woven Bones from Austin, TX. They churned out a few super chuggy Jesus & Mary Chain-y jams and a great Gun Club cover [Sex Beat] and topped off their set with a Ramones cover [I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend] The singer, Andy, is pretty off-the-wall and knows how to really get at your guts, but the two other babes in the band are pretty rad guys. If you see them out on the street, you should yell things like "Hey! Aren't you WOVEN BONERS!?" They love that joke.

HEAVY CREAM

Man, we will never get tired of these babies. I mean, do we really need to write a review of their show? Fine. It ruled. They rocked. So primal. We love them. Go see them. Blah blah blah blah blah.... Seriously, Heavy Cream, you are the apple of Nashville's eye.

TURBO FRUITS

Turbo Fruits had the hard task of following 5 awesome bands, but they did it seamlessly. We've never seen a guitar player climb up into the rafters and then continue to play hanging upside down. Kudos to you, Jonas. As is usual with these guys, they slung their guitars like guns and left the crowd in their dust as they blasted through some new jams off Echo Kid and some old gems. They closed out their set with a cover of "Teenage Kicks" and all the sweaty babies got a little wetter.

We got word from an inside source that there might maybe be a bootleg cassette in the near future of the show. If their is, you better believe we'll talk about it. And you better believe it'll be worth getting.