This Is My Fest 3 – Friday Night at the Uptown, Oakland, California

Friday night of This Is My Fest 3 proved that opening bands aren’t necessarily weaker bands. United Defiance slew with a blend of old school hardcore and modern pop punk. Friday night also began the practice of moving back and forth between spaces to maximize the number of bands. At the Uptown, bands alternated between the main stage and the outdoor area normally reserved for smokers. Once again, every band on the bill was amazing, with special mentions going out to The Love Songs, whose antics were just a bonus to their tight pop punk, Beast, a gender non-conforming band that play retro post punk sounds, and The Moans from Sacramento, an amazingly blazing pop punk band. Fat Wreck Chords band Get Dead closed the night with another of their killer sets.