{"id":2372,"date":"2018-06-27T08:59:42","date_gmt":"2018-06-27T13:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=2372"},"modified":"2019-12-17T20:21:36","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T01:21:36","slug":"review-montebello-rockfest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2018\/06\/27\/review-montebello-rockfest\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Montebello Rockfest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo
Photo by Zoe Salvucci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Danya Trommer<\/em><\/p>\n

Starting June 14, punks from all over North America descended upon the small Canadian town of Montebello for Montebello Rockfest. With a population of less than 1,000, the festival engulfs the entire town. Local vendors set up shop on the town\u2019s one main street, selling plenty of local Quebec cuisine such as poutine and smoked meat. \u00a0Families sat outside their homes selling bags of ice and lemonade, while others offered up their homes as campgrounds. <\/span><\/p>\n

Inside the festival, three stages stood, with stage one and two staggering act times while stage three had an almost constant barrage of smaller acts. This third stage showcased much of the French Canadian talent that the festival had to offer. A highlight was Mononc\u2019 Serge, a comedy rock band donning black turtlenecks famous for their obscene lyrics. The crowd, as well as the backstage viewing area, was packed with fans who barked along to songs such as \u201cMarijuana\u201d and \u201cLe joual.\u201d \u00a0While I may not speak French, I could easily tell there was hilarity in each song just from the singer Serge Robert\u2019s delivery. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another interesting act to grace the third stage was a no-music performance by Henry Rollins, the former singer of Black Flag. Rollins is incredibly participatory in social activism, and gave a 45 minute speech about problems ranging from Trump to sexual assault. Having this act at a festival was odd, as the festival did not make it clear on their promotional materials that Rollins would not be performing music. Many came to his set in anticipation of some Black Flag covers or maybe the Rollins Band, but none of that was to be found. Rollins was not able to sustain the attention of some of the intoxicated crowd as people trickled out to the other stages throughout his set, though he was met with many positive woops and hollers from those who stuck around. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rollins was not the only act that was political. \u00a0Thrash metal band Municipal Waste played in front of a banner depicting Donald Trump shooting himself in the head and opened their set with a speech against the president and then transitioned into their 2003 song, \u201cI Wanna Kill the President.\u201d \u00a0Almost every American band playing the festival apologized for Trump at the beginning of sets, being met with cheers from the crowd each time. Punk being an inherently political genre, this was to be expected from many of the bands. However, even bands such as Weezer and Tenacious D made sure to let the audience know they disapproved of Trump as well. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tenacious
Tenacious D \/ Photo by Zoe Salvucci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rivers
Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) \/ Photo by Zoe Salvucci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prophets of Rage, a thoroughly political band with a motto of \u201cUnfuck the World,\u201d put on an incredible performance as the headliners of day two\u2019s lineup. Prophets of Rage\u2013a supergroup composed of members of Rage Against the Machine, including the ridiculously talented Tom Morello, and rappers Chuck D and DJ Lord from Public Enemy and B-Real of Cyprus Hill\u2013came on stage with raised fists, a gesture commonly associated with the Black Power movement. During the chorus of their song \u201cHail To The Chief,\u201d an anti-Trump anthem, Chuck D marched across the stage in the style of a Nazi. The band obviously did not shy away from making a statement. The band formed in direct response to the election of Trump. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tom
Tom Morello (Prophets of Rage) \/ Photo by Zoe Salvucci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the festival had an overall serious and politically charged atmosphere, there was plenty of fun to be had. Ska bands the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Mustard Plug brought carefree tunes, warm as the sun, that offered nice breathers from other more intense acts like metal bands Lamb of God and Dimmu Borgir. Lamb of God\u2019s set in particular proved incredibly loud and blanketed the town in a sea of metal. Rancid also offered a nice break, as their danceable punk started a fun mosh pit. Unfortunately, I got punched in the face and broke my glasses, but all is well in the name of punk. <\/span><\/p>\n

Montebello Rockfest brought an unforgettable experience that would be rare to find elsewhere. Our tent didn\u2019t have all the pieces, so generous Canadians let us sleep in theirs. \u00a0People were quick to help others out in a pinch. The atmosphere of the festival was so overwhelmingly positive in a way only Canada can provide. It\u2019s no wonder people come back year after year to swarm the tiny town of Montebello\u2013not only hear great music, but make new friends. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toy
Toy Dolls \/ Photo by Zoe Salvucci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Steel
Steel Panther \/ Photo by Zoe Salvucci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dropkick
Dropkick Murphys \/ Photo by Zoe Salvucci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Danya Trommer Starting June 14, punks from all over North America descended upon the small Canadian town of Montebello for Montebello Rockfest. With a population of less than 1,000, the festival engulfs the entire town. Local vendors set up shop on the town\u2019s one main street, selling plenty of local Quebec cuisine such as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13221,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525],"tags":[417,26,427,152,429,432,431,416,418,433,428,48,31,426,434,430,435,242,25],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2372"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2381,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2372\/revisions\/2381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}