2006 Lite Brite Indie Pop & Film Fest Review

This post is brought to you by: Camera Obscura - Let’s Get Out of This Country

I just got back from the Sunday session of the Lite Brite Indie Pop & Film Festival that was held at the Southgate House in Newport/Cincinnati this weekend (yes, this is what I ditched the Ray Lamontagne/Guster show for). I intended to see Camera Obscura but it turns out they didn’t go on until 11pm and seeing how’s I needed to be up rather early for that whole “work” thing, that didn’t work out too well.

It wasn’t a total loss however, because I caught two really great sets by bands I wasn’t very familiar with. The first was “Oh No, Oh My!“, hailing from Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee in various respects. I’ve heard these guys in the WOXY.com rotation over the past few weeks, but I didn’t have a chance to give them any serious attention. When they jumped into their set I was instantly enthralled however, and they kept my attention throughout. Frontman Greg Barkley brandished an acoustic guitar the entire time and sang in a very light-hearted and warbley sort of way. It reminded me a lot of “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah” vocals actually. The drumming was enormously energetic and drove a rythym that you couldn’t help but groove to. The band was fantastic, especially considering how many people were on stage. In all I counted 7: The lead singer/acoustic rythym guitarist, bassist, 2 electric guitarists, drummer, keyboardist, and a jack-of-all trades that jumped between a variety of instruments.

Oh No, Oh My! somehow pulled off an amazing trick by having a very relaxed, casual, and fun attitude while at the same time maintaining a very tight and cohesive session. The most interesting thing, however, was how happy they were! The lead singer had this strange boyish smile on the whole time, and seemed like he was just about the nicest guy in the place. I’m definitely glad I got to see them and really hope I have the opportunity again in the future. I ended up picking up their CD and I ‘ve listened to it 3 times since the show - it keeps getting better!

Next up was a group that I’d never heard of before Sunday called Georgie James. This quartet was heavy on the keyboards and hard on the guitar strings, as guitarist John Davis proved by destroying the high E on two of his Telecasters (Camera Obscura was kind enough to loan him a third to finish the set with). I really don’t know what to compare Georgie James to, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Laura Burhenn (Vocals, keyboards) belted out some great vocals over a bed of slightly electro-pop piano, fairly reminiscent of husband-wife duo Mates of State. It was a very rythmic set, and there were times when John and bassist Adam Robinson worked up an intensely fast, danceworthy pace. I think Georgie James has a lot of potential, and although they don’t have a full-length CD release available yet they could be a band to watch over the next year.

Visit the MySpace pages of Oh No, Oh My! and Georgie James to hear 4 of each of their tracks!