The weather may not cooperate, but not even wind and rain should dampen the spirit at 107.7FM/The End's "Summer Camp II," Saturday at Marymoor Park. The six bands on the bill are all high-energy enough to light a fire under their mostly young fans.
Despite the name, there won't be any camping at the all-day festival, as inviting as the woodsy site may be. The concert area isn't permanent — the stage goes up each spring and is taken down in the fall — but it's state-of-the-art. Gently sloping, grass-covered berms surrounding the stage provide good sight lines, and separate the performing space from the big food-vendor area.
Parking is close and easy. Because the show is on a Saturday, the Marymoor Mess — the slow-down that develops on the freeway offramp to the park, when concertgoers meet the last of the evening commute on weekdays — shouldn't be too much of a problem.
The bands on the bill aren't household names, but are well-known to fans of the modern rock station The End.
Flogging Molly takes Irish folk-music traditions to new levels of intensity and energy. The vocals have a bit of Irish accent, and the band's attack is based on acoustic guitars, fiddle and banjo, but the music is delivered with hard-rock energy.
Pennywise, named after the monster in Stephen King's novel "It," is a speed-punk band that's celebrating its 20th anniversary with one of its biggest hits ever, "The Western World." This band will really wind up the crowd, creating mosh pits in the grass.
Nada Surf may bring down the noise and intensity levels a bit with its big, dramatic, pop-oriented sound, which is impressive coming from just three guys. Their love songs may provide the inspiration for some slow dancing in the grass.
MGMT is the newest band on the bill, noted by Rolling Stone and others as one of the standouts at the SXSW festival in Austin in March. The hard-driving New York band's first hit single, "Time to Pretend," has been featured on The End for months now.
Armor for Sleep is a head-banging, guitar-screeching, harmonizing pop/rock band with a tight, commercial sound. Not challenging, but fun.
The Flobots is a minimalist rock/hip hop band from Denver.
Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com
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