I’ve had a couple of days to recover from Madison Pop Fest and the Muzzle of Bees showcase we curated on Saturday night. Sadly, my flights were delayed out of New York long enough to prevent me from partaking in the previous days activities, but by all accounts everything seemed to be a resounding good time. In particular I regret missing the screening of the upcoming Daft Punk DVD, Electroma.

Alas, Saturday was filled with heavy anticipation and lots to do. I met the guys from Common Loon around 2:30 as they were walking the Capital Square. There’s a back story with these guys. I went to elementary school with Robert from second to sixth grade in Champaign, and throughout our friendship I had also gotten to know Matthew during that time as well. Robert was hands-down my best friend growing up and responsible for the fond and very full memory bank of childhood adventures. By our best calculations we hadn’t crossed paths for a good thirteen years, but effortlessly fell into place together, easily becoming the highlight of the day for me.

The fearless few who ventured through the Music Hall around 7:45 were rewarded with future bragging rights about seeing Common Loon first when they trade such distinctions at some unknown point in the future. With an affinity for vintage gear and commandeering an ipod as a instrument itself, the duo performed MoB favorite “Dinosaur vs. Early Man” as well as a number of other songs to be included in an upcoming future release. The demand for their debut two-song CD sampler was so high after their set they responded by bringing out their laptop and burning more, giving well over 50 copies away by the end of the night.

The Selfish Gene are certainly becoming Madison’s darlings of live music as their set certainly supported. Beginning with one crazy video (youtube clip please!) that I promised myself to remember, and have now certainly forgotten as my Google searching came back fruitless. With each time I watch these guys their sound and stage presence has matured to higher levels.

The French Canadians that make up Malajube are some of the funniest and best company we’ve come across in some time. It doesn’t hurt they’re an excellent live band with a beautiful record (Trompe L’oeil) they are touring behind. The beauty of not being able to understand one word of their music and watching lots of people literally go crazy in the front row this was one of my favorite moments from the concerts overall. So many people really enjoyed their show, though their hearing probably paid for it (sorry). The artists green room was filled with a vast amount of costume changes of all shapes and varieties. We were told and relayed to the artists that these were strictly off limits, but that didn’t stop the guys from Malajube from seizing a wonderful opportunity by donning sailor outfits. I’m pretty sure they liked them enough to not return them.

Being able to bring Bon Iver to Madison for a show has been something that has been in the works for months, and honestly I’m glad it happened during Madison Pop Fest. An Eau Claire native, Justin Vernon arrived on the heels of his recent singing to Jagjaguwar and riding the wave of success following critical acclaim for the beautiful and still under appreciated For Emma, Forever Ago. Appreciating his recorded work should be obvious, as we’ve championed before, however seeing him live is simply a treasure that doesn’t come across too often. Vocally, his reach is otherworldly and I can’t even begin to count the times were I caught myself shaking my head in awe and appreciation. If ever an artist has held Madison’s fickle concert goers attention in quiet observation it was Saturday night during the Bon Iver set; so thanks very much for your attentive etiquette.

While the live music portion of the showcase came to a close, many stuck around and pulled up space on the stage to stretch out, relax, and cozy up with an advanced screening of Sigur Ros‘ Heima. Brilliantly shot and capturing the band as they trek across their Icelandic homeland in a series of unannounced and free concerts following the success of their most recent release. Fans of the band and the screening are encouraged to pick up a copy for themselves when it becomes available on December 4th.

Thanks again for making it out to Madison Pop Festival, which we consider to be a largely successful undertaking considering the assortment of other options available throughout the city. Do you have any feedback for us? What shows did we miss out on across town? Leave your comments, suggestions, and complaints in the comments section of this post. Don’t be afraid kids, we know you’ve got ‘em.