MR Fest at Kiva

By Joseph Bonney
Live Blogger

It’s 12:45 p.m. when the first band of the day, Bogan Villa, begins setting up for the show.  They look like they just came out of the ’60s with their wavy attire, but they’re ready to start by 12:50 p.m.  The crowd slowly forms around the group as if an aura grabbed their attention.  During a quick break before they actually start I manage to talk to the bassist Brandon Alvist.  “I’m excited [about the performance].  I’m feeling the love from afar.”  He gets back to tuning his instrument.

At 1:00 p.m. they officially start with a smooth wave of psychedelic music that the audience seems to like.  Subtle head rocking is taking over the crowd, the purple lights on the stage bouncing off of the ceiling onto the instruments as they serenade the crowd.  “One more song!”  the crowd chanted, which the band joyfully obliged.  

Astral Blue came on at 2:00 p.m. and you could tell the crowd was already set.  The group came out banging with some throwback psychedelic music.  Everyone was moving along with the group as the sound resonated in the room. “They’re such a fresh sound,” said one attendee, Rachel, as she bobbed back and forth.

Drummer Chris Nunez puts on a great solo that makes the crowd go nuts and cheer. This amplifies like a wave to push the rest of the band to conquer the hyped crowd. The wave of music around 2:15 p.m. feels like everyone is in unison with each other.  You get to a point where everyone was attuned to sound.  When they finished at 2:30 p.m. the crowd slowly dispersed.  I manage to talk to Oscar Favian after the set. He told me, “I feel shaky, but that happens.” He shakes it off and moves on with the rest of the band after a tremendous performance.

Featured image by Renee Dominguez.