Through misty and, at times, rainy weather and a handful of scheduling mishaps, the overall vibe of the 2012 KahBang Festival on the Bangor Waterfront and in downtown was one of laid-back summertime fun, and lots and lots of dancing. Three stages of music kept alive the now four-year-long tradition of an eclectic lineup and a youth-friendly atmosphere.
Headliners Wale, the Deftones and Bassnectar brought about 4,000 people to the Waterfront on Friday, and approximately 7,000 on Saturday, to hear music ranging from the epic electronic music of Bassnectar, Lazerdisk Party Sex and Paper Diamond to heavy rock from the Deftones, hip-hop from Wale, Astronautilus and Maine’s own Spose, to eclectic regional indie rock from the likes of Pearl and the Beard, Bangor band When Particles College, the Other Bones, Black Taxi, My Pet Dragon and four-time KahBang artists the Gay Blades.
Friday’s concert, though slow to start, picked up steam as rapper Wale and beloved hard rockers the Deftones closed the night out, preceded by the high-energy, delightfully funky bands Reptar and Bad Rabbits. Maine favorites including the Mallett Brothers Band and Lady Lamb the Beekeeper were complemented by up and coming regional bands like MiniBoone, Darlingside and Late Cambrian.
Aside from music, there were a wealth of other activities, including a demo bout from Bangor Roller Derby, a skateboard demo from local skaters, a graffiti tag wall, chainsaw art from Pasco Grove, movies in an air-conditioned tent and an art auction from KahBang Arts. The audience was overall very young — concertgoers in the under-21 section of the field vastly outnumbered those in the legal-drinking-age section.
Neon clothes, crazy hats and costumes and seemingly boundless energy to dance were the order of the day on Saturday, while Friday was more about listening and rocking out. After the Waterfront festivities were over, concert-goers headed downtown to check out more festival bands at bars and venues around town — or they went to the KahBang campsite in Hermon to dance the night away to late night DJ sets from Lazerdisk Party Sex and Portland’s Of The Trees.
The festival kicked off on Thursday with a well-attended free concert in West Market Square featuring an array of Maine bands, ranging from Lincoln-via-Portland songwriter Jacob Augustine to electro-pop acts Sunset Hearts and A Severe Joy. There was also a brewer’s festival in Pickering Square with more music and beer and other brewed beverages from Maine makers.
I didn’t think camping in Bangor public parks was allowed.
Bunch of drunk punks allow to drink till they puke. I think the Bangor Police should check in to see if they are serving drunks in the beer tents and if they are shut them down… How about all the drugs being taken by these kids. What no Police checking on that. unbelievable no arrest.
I can see the ads now, NEED BOOZE OR DRUGS, VISIT BANGOR . COM
Uh, the camping was in Hermon on private property. And what evidence do you have of any of the allegations you make, other than the fact that the people were young and wearing brightly colored clothing?
You seem like the kind of person who just waits to be able to yell at kids to get off his lawn.
bright colored clothes goes with pot heads, They believed in the sixties that pot enlightened them and they still do today… it alters the their state of reality and they believe in what al gore spews out of his mouth. A Total fictious life and beliefs created by doing pot and booze.
Also why would kids be on my lawn? of course I would tell them to get off it. Go play in your own yard and mess that up. don’t I have the right to keep things nice?
I was wondering what those guys standing on the side of the road with the bright orange vests leaning on a shovel were. Now I know they are pot heads
Do you realize (most probably not) that you are both a stereotype AND a cliche?
You are correct about the sixties.. However you’re totally wrong about now. The clothing matches a genre of music that primarily is played in nightclubs and under black lights. The neon looks better. You dont have to be “on a trip” to go to a club. You may have lived through the 60’s but I’m sorry to say they have died.. move on and catch up with the times.
Man, you are just awful. What a drab, boring life you must lead.
My guess is pushtheredbutt is 23 years old and gets his kicks making silly comments and laughing at the responses. I know it all makes me chuckle.
Uh, there were people staying in a tent in the Main St. stage area, with a German sheperd dog that was off leash, I wondered why they were’nt at the Hermon area. I am not against the Kbang but things such as this leave a bad impression as does the overflowing trash cans, trash on the ground, peop;e sleeping in cars in the waterfront parking lot.
I’d rather they slept in their cars for a night than drove… one night, not all weekend
That doesn’t mean they were part of the festival just because they were camping near it. You are making assumptions. Also better to sleep in your car when you know you can’t drive then get in your car and possibly hurt someone.
Did I also hear fireworks Saturday night?
Yes the KahBang team put on a firework show for the community on Saturday night! It was really a great show.
4,000-7,000 people?
really?
really?
really?
c’mon man!
more like 400-700 people
As an attendee I can tell you for certain they had thousands there. I have been following your posts and they are very close minded and extremely inaccurate. However that would be expected from someone who was not at the festival and has nothing better to do than put down a group of hard working local young entrepreneurs. Bravo KahBang team. Great job this year. Looking forward to see what you bring to the table next year.
a band called the ‘gay blades’
equality NAOO!EOO!
Great weekend. Proud to have Kahbang call Bangor home. You are growing and will be a serious contender very soon. Only the naysayers post here, but the majority stand behind you. Great year KahBang. Keep ’em coming!
Contender? Please, entertainment is great but I want an economic environment that creates jobs so that my children do not need to move to Portland or Boston to make a living. Gaming and concert concession work may be fine for you but I have a little higher expectation for our community.
You’d have to pay me 3x what they pay in Portland for me to want to live in Bangor. Events like Kahbang are what would change my mind. Jobs are great, quality of life is better. And if you are under 30 what are you going to do in Bangor? The Kahbang people are working on solving that problem.
sure…live in a tent or trailer and attend a few concerts a year. The way life should be. Pathetic!
Contender? Please, entertainment is great but I want an economic environment that creates jobs so that my children do not need to move to Portland or Boston to make a living. Gaming and concert concession work may be fine for you but I have a little higher expectation for our community.
what community service. or minimum wage jobs, which one?
Got THE MILKMAN”S UNION ?