Treefort Day 2 Round-Up

Melissa Loveridge brings you the scoop from Downtown Boise.

*Frankie @ The Record Exchange (pic by Madison Olsen)*

When day 2 of Treefort starts out sunny and warm, you know it’s going to be a good day. The KBGA crew got a chance to check out Dolphin Midwives, Naked Giants, Cherry Glazerr among a host of other artists, and chow down on some gyros after spending more money than we should have at Boise’s famous Record Exchange. We spent a majority of the night at the El Korah (the best all-ages venue at Treefort, btw).

*Cherry Glazerr @ The El Korah Shrine (pic by Madison Olsen)*

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Dolphin Midwives’ dreamy looping music at the Boise Contemporary Theater was a great break from thrashing, and the theater seats provided a much needed rest for some tired feet. Naked Giants shredded, as always, with onstage antics including a rendition of American Idiot with some improvised lyrics and the expected fuck-yeah, fuck-you attitude we’ve come to know and love from these boys.

While the El Kor is a great spot for shows, that venue and Treefort in general has a long way to go with it’s treatment of trans festival goers, often treating them as deceitful and “pretending” they didn’t hear the answer to the classic fake-ID name quiz with a grin on their face, making a paying customer shout their deadname to the line. C’mon, really, it’s so easy to not do that. The addition of drag events at Boise’s gay bar, the Balcony, has helped bolster the festival’s queer-friendliness, but LGBTQ+ attendees who aren’t 21 can’t attend any of the events there.

The highlight of night 2 was unarguably Cherry Glazerr, which turned out to be one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Lead singer and guitarist Clementine Creevy has a stage energy that makes me feel like she’s a mix between a demon and a cheerleader. The band killed it onstage and fans ate it up but to no ones suprise, some big white guys throwing elbows in the pit made it hard to enjoy (especially after watching a girl excitedly dive in and emerge 30 seconds later with a bloody face). We get it, you’re hardcore. Let other people mosh, too.