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Despite its start as a small-scale, homegrown day of music on the Bangor Waterfront, the KahBang Music, Arts and Film Festival proved last month it had grown into a full-fledged summer force to be reckoned with.
With rising hip-hop star B.o.B., viral pop-rockers OK Go and rap veteran Biz Markie announced as headliners earlier in the year, buzz for KahBang grew all summer. The festival had its hiccups — such as disappearing bands and a lackluster set from Biz Markie — but the week of events and weekend concert series did not disappoint, especially when the festival’s exponential growth is taken into account.
The kickoff concert and week of films gave downtown Bangor a cultural facelift. Highlights included a screening of the film “Blood Into Wine,” a documentary on Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan’s foray into wine making. Bangor was even chosen as a site for the national DVD release of the film on Sept. 7, alongside major cities Boston, New York City, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas.
But it was clear the festival was building toward the weekend of music. KahBang reached its peak Saturday night when a crowd of nearly 6,000 spectators descended on the Bangor waterfront for the finale performances by OK Go and B.o.B. Last year’s one day festival had around 2,000 attendees.
Even with its growth, the festival grounds still held a relaxed, local vibe for most of the weekend. The event still felt intimate and homegrown despite the extra security and ever-present Vitamin Water signs, banners and T-shirts.
Dozens of smaller acts came and went during the two-day fest. Some Portland bands made the trip up north, while others traveled from Boston and New York City. Local acts included progressive jam band Restless Groove on Friday, and pop rockers Sam and Yuri and casio folk group Good Kids Sprouting Horns on Saturday.
Line-up and schedule changes marred both days of performances, however. Acts were shuffled around when bands dropped out or finished sets early.
Still, bands and audience members basked in the sun and had a great time. Returning to KahBang for the second year, The Gay Blades performed fierce pop rock that had the crowd dancing for a solid hour leading up to Biz Markie’s set on Friday night.
Prior to the Gay Blades, West Coast hip-hop musician Zeek who had potential to be the highlight of KahBang’s first night of music, hit the stage. What started off as a promising set quickly became disjointed and messy when Zeek’s DJ mixed up tracks and the artist himself abandoned songs partway through, never giving the audience a chance to groove.
And then there was Biz Markie. The famous beat-boxer and hip-hop veteran seemed less than eager to perform, dressed in sweatpants and ragged white T-shirt. In lieu of real songs, he repeatedly rapped “Bangor, Maine” into the mic in his trademark tone. When he finally performed the one song he is best known for, “Just a Friend,” Biz messed up the lyrics and replaced them with what, from the crowd, sounded like a series of “blah, blah, blahs.” The disappointing set barely hit the 30-minute mark — minutes that would have been better spent watching videos from his glory days on YouTube.
Nevertheless, fans still came back on Saturday for another day of smaller acts and big name headliners. Among the favorites on day two were Brooklyn rockers The Aviation Orange. The indie rock quartet had the gathering afternoon crowd swaying along with their track “Radio” and shouting proclamations of love to vocalist-keyboardist-violinist Hana Mogulescu.
Following their set, The Aviation Orange said it was their “first time in the great state of Maine.” Mogulescu added they would definitely play KahBang if invited back next year, saying, “Everyone was super nice and the fans were super enthusiastic.”
As the day wore on Saturday, the crowd grew, as did the notoriety of the musicians. Boston’s Bad Rabbits were the first to get the crowd up and moving with their high-energy electro-funk (and perhaps their lead-vocalist’s resemblance to B.o.B.). Philadelphia-based classic rock revivalists Free Energy lived up to their namesake, keeping the crowd energized until the headliners took the stage.
OK Go smartly weaved their viral internet hits “Here It Goes Again” and “A Million Ways” in with both newer and less recognizable songs.
The band came out eager and full of energy that overflowed into the crowd. When technical difficulties left the band down an amp, lead singer Damian Kulash and bassist Tim Nordwind performed a snippet from the musical “Les Miserables” a capella to a surprised and captivated audience while the problem was fixed. A song performed with hand bells and Kulash’s expedition into the crowd with mic stand and guitar in hand to perform were other memorable, quirky moments of the show.
As exhilarating as OK Go’s set was, nothing could have prepared the crowd for when B.o.B. hit the stage. The international hip-hop sensation was the last act of the festival, and from the moment he walked out in front of the crowd, he bombarded the waterfront with his biggest hits, including “Magic,” “Nothin’ on You” and “Airplanes.”
B.o.B. took the crowd by surprise midway through his set, taking a running leap from the back of the stage, over the security barrier and into the waiting arms of his fans. The commotion from the musician’s stage dive led to a barrier collapsing on the right side of crowd.
KahBang was not a perfect experience, but it blew last year’s festival away. The three-stage line-up schedule was difficult to decipher in the event programs, but if you could find the bands, they rocked it. The amount of talent and culture Bangor experienced during that week is unparalleled. All that’s left now is one question: Who is playing next year?
Kegan Zema contributed to this article.
Bangor Daily News