What's Up! Magazine

THE WINNERS:

Best Silver Platter: Rooftops A Forest of Polarity
Best Up Close and Personal: Dirty Bird Cabaret
Best Heavier Than Heaven: Dog Shredder
Best Booty Shakin’ Music: Yogoman Burning Band
Best Twilight Zone Soundtrack: Pan Pan
Best Highway Americana: The Librarians
Best Moniker: The Ghost and the Grace
Best Axes of Folk: Biagio Biondolillo
Best Spinner: Yogoman
Best Rhyme and Beats: The Productionists
Best Newby: Pan Pan
Best Rock ‘N’ Roll Explosion: Sugar Sugar Sugar
Best Pop Will Rock Itself: The Love Lights
Best Skin in What’s Up!: Femme Uke
What’s Up! Appreciation Award: Bucketz
What’s Up! Lifetime Achievement Award: Robert Sarazin Blake
What’s Up! Lifetime Achievement Award: Gunther Frank (RIP)

Poops was the host and he started the night off proper by singing a country song about drinking at the 3B, and accompanied by Sarah on the guitar. After a few awards were presented, we were introduced to the Dirty Bird Cabaret, who danced in between bands.

The first musical act of the night was Femme Uke. Promoting their new EP In the Key of G-spot, Laine and Ashley took the stage armed with two ukuleles and a ton of hilarious songs, these ladies were a pleasure to watch. In my opinion they saved the best song for last, “Big Fatty.” This was the only song they harmonized on and a clever bridge showed that this was the best structured song of their short performance.

Next up was Pan Pan. A large buzz has been circulating about this group, and I was excited to hear them. Layers of sound with fabulous structure and dynamics showed me that Sarah Jerns is much more than an artist; she’s a genius composer. Even though Sarah writes all the parts, don’t discount her band, they’re incredibly tight and professional.

To this point there had not been a rock band. The crowd was ready for something heavy. Dog Shredder had just won the “Heavier than Heaven” award and got on stage to prove it. Guitar player Josh Holland’s stage presence was like if Iggy Pop strapped on a guitar. The overall sound is mind numbing and hypnotic. They can go from beautiful stripped down melodies to brutal unabashed metal in the drop of a dime. The rest of the band is very talented as well drummer Noah Burns lost a stick in the middle of a song and never missed a beat.

We’ve had funny music, intelligent music, face melting rock, and with Acorn Project, the fourth group to play, we finally had some dance music. These guys have been around the scene for a long time and had a great 2009 promoting their new album We’ll be Fine. The first song they played was an epic new wave song. Showing their versatility they dropped into a straight ahead funk set. These guys are one of Bellingham’s best jam bands a strong tenor on vocals and great guitar tones might even turn out the most devout metal-heads.

With all the awards given out there was only one thing left to do, party hard to the sounds of The All Nighters. Introduced by Brent Cole as “One of Bellingham’s best bands,” they played and we loved it. Halfway through their set Andy Piper joined them onstage and sang a Charlie Feathers cover. Andy killed it and the crowd went nuts. The Wild Buffalo was a time bomb, Poops lit the fuse, excitement grew, and ‘The All Nighters’ provided the explosion.