Lobster Fest 2010: Photos

The mystery of Lobster Fest begins to unravel. I get it. Simply put, it's a whole lobster meal for $18. A bargain, really (that's $18 on top of the $7-9 admission price). You could split everyone into to disparate groups: lobster lovers from the surrounding Long Beach/San Pedro area and the music lovers. There wasn't really that much overlap; you came for the food or the music fest attached to the event. Maybe overlap in the lobster hats. At $5 a pop, many people were sporting these.

My day began in Long Beach actually. We had Cambodian food for lunch followed by some LBC explorations. That's right! I gave Cambo food another try--remember my first attempt earlier this year? Maybe as this place wasn't as hole-in-the-wall, I found it easier to get into. Food photos are in my Lobster Fest photoset. In fact they're all in there, but here are a few faves...

The Growlers. 

I felt like the oldest person in the Growlers' audience. I'm sure I wasn't but I felt it. All these cute hipster children knew all the words to the songs. This was my first taste of the band which I have heard described as "beach goth." Which is a pretty good description actually.  They'll be joining The Black Keys during their L.A. dates this month. A coworker and I are most disappointed the dates at the Palladium are SOLD OUT.
This band took the stage just as the sun was going down. I chose to photograph them primarily by film camera (TMAX 400, of course). We'll have to be patient for the photos.

Another adorable person in The Growlers' audience. I think she drifted in from the Pirate Camp.

Gram Rabbit

Fitz & The Tantrums

We were eating during most of this set. No lobster fans among us; I was eating fish and chips in the dark. Too bad though, because these guys were a lot of fun. Like a ride in a time machine. They are not from this era for sure. We caught the second half and it was great. The chickadee had a great energy and they were overall a fun band, looked great and sounded fantastic. I wish I knew more about them, really. Maybe catch a show though their calendar shows a lot of dates back east. Keep an eye on them.

Dengue Fever

Are you familiar? We went to see them on New Years Eve so you may recognize from my photos in Flickr. 

They are a local band with a Cambodian singer (who sings mostly in Khmer language) and they play these crazy, psychedelic rock songs. Their story and mission is pretty amazing-- I recommend their documentary Sleepwalking Through the Mekong.

This guy at Dengue Fever was really feelin' it. After they played their second song, he said in complete awe, "I'm going Cambodia." And later when singer Chhom Nimol was showing us how to dance "just follow me" he responded again quite loudly, "I'll follow you anywhere."

What a great band. Also in the audience were these really overly-enthusiastic Cambodian kids that were really digging it. They were singing along and had a little dance circle going like a gentle version of a mosh. They insisted on having people join them; grabbing complete strangers by the arm and forcing them to dance. It was this extra element of fun down front.

Whoever did the booking for Lobster Fest (he was thanked repeatedly during the DF set, but I can't remember his name) did a really great job picking unique acts that complement each other.

Here's that link to my photos again: LOBSTER FEST 2010