Houston Whatever Fest came to town for the first time Aug. 9 and 10 at ‘EaDo Party Park’. This area comprised of Warehouse Live and the parking lot right behind Lucky’s Pub and diagonal from the BBVA Compass Stadium.
This festival stands to be the Houston pioneer for its kind of event, where music and comedy are put together on a platform that’s more affordable to the average Houston concert-goer. Two-day weekend passes were reasonably priced at $55. The people behind the event also run the long-running Houston venue, Warehouse Live. This includes the talent-buyer, booking team, and UH alumnus and Marketing Director of Warehouse Live Josh Wilson.
The event started off a little rocky as thunderstorms rolled over Houston this weekend, but it started to look up as the weather cleared. As the night drew closer the event started to see more and more people coming through the multiple entrances. These fans seemed eager for the lineup, which included Mutemath, Andrew W.K., Blonde Redhead, Kreayshawn, Filter and comedian T.J. Miller from HBO’s hit series “Silicon Valley.” Some of Houston’s top acts, including rock trio Catch Fever, rapper Guilla, Fox and Cats, Otenki, Another Run, Fat Tony and We Were Wolves were featured. Many local comedians also took the stage this past weekend.
A highlight of day one was Andrew W.K.’s set. Despite some people’s distaste for him a majority of the crowd loved his set, and he urged people to dance and “mosh” while being soaked in sweat. Another highlight came when Mutemath’s lead vocalist and keyboardist, Paul Meany, jumped onto an air mattress from the stage in the ballroom of Warehouse Live.
On day two of the fest attendees got a special 90’s flashback treat from Filter when they played “Hey Man, Nice Shot” and “Take a Picture.” Time seemed to have come to a standstill when Houston’s own burlesque dancers, Dem Damn Dames, took the stage, providing a bit of comedy. The night moved along and so did the crowd into ‘The Studio’ room at Warehouse Live, where things were starting to turn into a dance party. Neon Indian’s DJ set by Alan Palomo got things started. Then, Houston’s up and coming rapper, Guilla, most definitely earned dozens of new fans after hitting the stage.
As the night reached its climax the anticipation to see California rapper Kreayshawn heightened. You could feel the intensity in the room filled with a younger crowd as Kreayshawn came on stage and performed hits like “Gucci Gucci” and “Go Hard.” The crowd went wild for this small girl dwarfed by a huge black jersey with the words “ON IT” on the back.
The festival went well and seemed to have genuine intentions about growing the live-music fan base in Houston.
