Megafaun at the Forward Music Festival
It’s easy to come up with witty banter on Megafaun’s stage demeanor; Jed Clampett on Acid, Beards are Us, The Nephews of ZZ Top. But, when it comes time to describe the music, only one word is needed; Phenomenal!
Megafaun headlined Thursday night’s Forward Music Festival show at the High Noon Saloon in Madison and provided a unique experience that was both musically intense and entertaining.
Mixing folk and Appalachian roots, with intricate vocal harmonies and a touch of rock n roll energy, Megafaun invites you into their freakfolk world with open arms. The neat thing about these guys is that they don’t take themselves too seriously, trading barbs and crazy stories with the audience on one hand, while delivering amazing music and vocal performances on the other. At one point in the show, Megafaun jumped off stage for a litle one-on-one with the crowd.
Brothers Brad and Phil Cook with drummer Joe Westerlund live in Durham, North Carolina but still have many links back to their former home state of Wisconsin. By now, everyone has heard the story of Megafaun’s time backing up Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon in the band DeYarmond Edison. After seeing Megafaun, all I can say, is that must have been one hell of a band!
Three Wisconsin bands were also on the bill Thursday. Sheboygan’s Cedarwell opened the night with a spirited performance while All Tiny Creatures from Milwaukee proved that the Animal Collective vibe is alive and well in brew town. Juniper Tar, another Milwaukee band, was impressive with tight vocal harmonies and hook-laden melodies melded into an alt-country mix.