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The old adage that the third time's a charm certainly does not apply to this weekend's Less Than Three Fest. The electronic music concert at Mankato's What's Up Lounge has expanded and strengthened its lineup to make version 2.0 of the show an unforgettable series of live performances.
"Every band in this show brings something that you've never seen unless you've seen these bands perform before," said Charlie Wheeler, co-vocalist of the Style Biters and the coordinator of the Less Than Three Fest. "I've never seen a punk band like Forever Dumb, never seen an electro-experimental band like Taffee Machine, never seen a one-man band like The Show Is The Rainbow, a nerd-core band like Super 8-bit Brothers and never seen a band like [The Style Biters]. Everything is absolutely different than everything else but all the bands are connected through our love of electronic music, hence the less than three symbol being a way to electronically send love."
The concert, which Wheeler has been planning since last December, will take place at 6 p.m. Friday.
Last year's version featured electronic bands with less than three members, hence the concert's name.
"The difference between this year and last year is that this year every band is super put together and have really worked on their live show," Wheeler said. "Last year had only about 50 or more people come solely to see the Super 8-bit Brothers since none of the rest of us had a big following yet."
Jordan Carr, under his infamous alias, gives a strong reason why people should head further downtown than the bars to see this concert.
"#1 bad boy believes that the kiddies should come to the Less Than Three Fest because not only is every band on the bill mega dope, but Forever Dumb is the leading cause of kick ass in this town," Carr said. "There will be such an electric charge in the What's Up Lounge Friday that you will walk away like Ernest in 'Ernest Goes to Jail.'"
Whilst Forever Dumb may be the "leading cause of kick ass" in Mankato, Wheeler believes the most unique aspect of the show will be The Show Is the Rainbow.
"The Show Is The Rainbow is a multimedia extravaganza," Wheeler said. "He has all sort of instruments in his music, all made by him, and has a projector that plays videos he made to accompany every song while he performs. He's all over the stage, never standing in one spot, getting the audience involved and just being a wild fat man."
As sole coordinator and promoter of the show, Wheeler acts as such, calmly talking up the bands performing strengths and highlights. But as a musician involved in the show, he's a bit more forward with his excitement.
"The big thing for Alex (Wheeler's co-vocalist in the Style Biters) and I is that the Super 8-bit Brothers and The Show Is The Rainbow are two bands that when we saw them, we decided that we could make a band," Wheeler said. "We saw from them that we could make great music without having to worry about finding a lot of people who play instruments that are connected."
The all-ages show will last until around 10:30 p.m. The cover is $5. Along with the performances by local acts the Style Biters, Taffee Machine and Forever Dumb, Chicago act Super 8-bit Brothers and Nebraskan act the Show Is The Rainbow, the Euphoric Fayreez Dance troupe will perform in between sets.
The What's Up Lounge is located in Old Town Mankato atop the Oleander Saloon, which will be serving alcohol for those wishing to drink during the concert.
Wheeler left those undecided on whether to attend the show with a last bit of information.
"It will be like seeing Lady Gaga, Nine Inch Nails, NOFX and Lil' Wayne all in the same night."
Nate Brennan is the Reporter variety editor
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