Anyone who has been through it before will probably tell you: Springfest is not a sprint. It is a marathon. It is get-your-breakfast-and-go time. Stay hydrated, stay safe, and make sure you hit every party on your way to J-Lot. This year’s event was no exception: it was a race, from sunrise to when Tep No took the stage, and through to Kid Ink’s final bow. At the finish line of any great race, there is an after-party.
And oh, what an after-party there was! The Beans decided to hoist open the garage door and bring not one, but two bands to the stage for a post-Springfest celebration. Allie and Billy booked some powerful acts to follow up the main event, and the rest of the Java staff summoned the energy to rock the Barn for a few more hours. We knew that if we did not give up, we would be rewarded with a show worth remembering. St. Lawrence, you did not disappoint us.
The strong-willed survivors of the Springfest marathon flooded the Java Barn in time to see LuxDeluxe take the stage. Imagine the goofy stepchild of the Strokes, and you get LuxDeluxe. They had those same crunching rhythms, without all the anxiety about being cool. The keyboard player kicked his feet up the whole way through their timely cover of The Who’s “Substitute,” and the budding romance in the front row threatened to knock the Chuck Taylors right off the front man.
After LuxDeluxe got everyone’s blood pumping again, the High and Mighty Brass Band took the post-workout to a new extreme. This Brooklyn outfit came complete with several horns as well as a sousaphone, and they knew how to throw on the afterburners and keep the party going. The pizza arrived on schedule, and the grooving just kept on going.
The crowd must have carbo-loaded Friday night, I will tell you. They were unstoppable as the Brass Band cruised through their soul staples. The champion number of the evening was the Brass Band’s cover of William Devaughn’s appreciative classic, “Be Thankful for What You’ve Got.” All the diamonds in the back got down to that one.
So ended another Springfest. If you are still sore from all that boogieing, remember: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Treat yourself like the champion you are and cherish those memories. To all those late night survivors, congratulations. Without your athleticism, after-parties at Java would not be the same. That is commitment, that is dedication; when it comes to Java, you are all MVPs.