Sound Advice: Mullets, dreams and PMS-driven punk

So much string: Two five-piece bluegrass bands played back-to-back at Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub last Tuesday night, bringing with them an incredible mullet, lots of plaid, some bare feet and more strings than I care to count.

Whiskey Shivers from Austin, Texas, started things off with serious speed. All five members took turns singing—a proven challenge for the sound engineer—and the washboard player wore a mesmerizing chest tattoo of Texas encased in planetary rings. Plus the opener contained that aforementioned mullet.

My energy sadly plummeted a bit during headliner the Infamous Stringdusters’ set. Clearly these five Virginian men are brilliant musicians. On banjo, fiddle, upright bass, dobro and guitar, they all sounded like virtuosos, loosely playing their songs in favor of long, improvisational interludes.

It was as experimental and crafty as bluegrass gets. There wasn’t any foot stompin’ or drunken dancing. Rather, folks quietly listened, swayed and clapped on queue. But I guess I like my country music less progressive and more rowdy. Dirty, even.

And I wasn’t alone. After about an hour, the Stringdusters broke for intermission, and much of the crowd flew to the back patio, chatting, lighting up bowls and not realizing that the band was already back onstage.

Grrrls: Seattle’s Childbirth and Lisa Prank wound down their West Coast tour in Davis. It was carefully planned around their synchronized ovulation cycles.

“This song is about being more fertile than someone, which is all of us, because we’re ovulating right now,” Childbirth’s Julia Shapiro said.

See?

The trio wore hospital gowns. The band sold cassettes. A gnome hung out with the amps. Heavy distortion, muffled vocals, wild hair. The night in Third Space Art Collective’s sparse warehouse screamed hilarious, feminist punk rock.

Childbirth is kind of a femme, punk supergroup too, with members from other brilliantly named bands Chastity Belt, Pony Time and Tacocat. It sped through a set of one- to two-minute songs that dripped with crass irony and sarcasm. The song “Breast Coast” was inspired by surf-rock band Best Coast, and was “about going to the beach and loving your boyfriend.” Another was in response to the Baha Men hit “Who Let the Dogs Out,” because “if you let the dogs out, you gotta let them back in—we don’t want strays.”

Personal favorites include “How Do Girls Even Do It?” and “I Only Fucked You as a Joke” for obvious reasons. The latter got the crowd of about 30 really moving, probably because it was so relatable.

Lisa Prank, meanwhile, delivered a fun, short, pop-punk set completely solo. Well, besides the gnome and the drum machine, her “perfect bandmate who should just fuck up already.” She ended with an appropriate cover of Blink-182’s “Dammit.”

Calling dreamers: If your summer has been severely lacking in all-night electronic dance parties surrounded by trees, consider the Stilldream Festival. From July 31, through August 4, the 14th annual festival takes over the entire—albeit, tiny—town of Belden, just east of Quincy and two hours north of Sacramento.

And it’s actually a homegrown festival. Paul Plescov, a.k.a. Gamma, a local producer, is one of the founding organizers. Around Sacramento, he throws events featuring both area and touring talent from the underground electronic dance music scene. For those, follow the Stilldream Facebook page (www.facebook.com/stilldream.festival)—recent parties have been held at Midtown BarFly.

Up in the beautiful Sierra Nevada, headliners will include producers Odesza and Joker. Seattle duo Odesza is a major name in the underground electronic world, nabbing slots at other major events like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Sasquatch! Music Festival. Joker is the stage name for the English Liam McLean, who leans toward dubstep and grime. One of Sacramento’s stalwart electronic producers, Tha Fruitbat, will also perform.

Alex and Allyson Grey, national leaders in spiritual and psychedelic art as founders of the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, top the lineup on festival posters, proving Stilldream is more than music. Organizers describe it as a gathering about community, nature and consciousness, too.

Photos from past years depict a weekend full of gorgeous art, neon lights and crazy costumes. Plus a dome with activities such as yoga, hula-hooping, poi, slacklining, meditation and henna. Last-minute tickets will go for $200. Grab ’em at Slice of Broadway (2424 16th Street) or at http://stilldream.org.