When I first saw this lineup in the Poptopia schedule, I thought it was a lumping together of the novelty bands, with a few others thrown in for good measure. The crowd who showed up at Fais Do-Do for the afternoon Poptopia show were treated to bands that seemed like they were transported straight out of the 20's (The California Navels), the 60's (Trinket), and the 70's (The Mello Cads). In a way, it was the Poptopia Time Machine Show.

Fais Do-Do isn't really well suited to a daytime gig, as it has a glass front door and no foyer, so the audience spent most of the day huddling in the shaded part of the room so that they could see better. Also, all the bands piled all their equipment up right in front of the stage, thus pushing the audience farther and farther away from the artists. These little details are the only criticisms I have for the show, though, as the music, sound, and lighting was all excellent. I like the venue, but maybe next year an extra black curtain and a storage room?

• The Larks
• Charmed
• The California Navels
• The Sparkle*Jets U.K.
• Trinket
• Steve Barton
• Phil Rosenthal
• The Mello Cads