Although the music at ComFest was not quite up to par with most record collections, and the conversation consisted of little more than, "Can you believe how long the beer line is?" don't fret, there is still a chance to fill the summer weekend festival niche.
The More Than Music Festival will begin at 2 p.m. Friday and run through Sunday at the Rhodes Center, 717 E. 17th Ave. The annual festival is celebrating its 10th year, and organizers have booked some big names to celebrate More Than Music's double digits.
Melt-Banana, Shellac, Bratmobile and DJ Spooky will all be performing this year, among others. These internationally prevalent bands will be accompanied by local favorite the Lack, which is fresh off a five-week national tour.
Organizer Scott Nemit said he is excited about this year's line-up.
"We're trying to make a connection between hip-hop, hard-core, electronic and other genres because they really have more in common than they do in differences," Nemit said.
Music is not the only thing at the festival. In past years the festival has offered a variety of workshops and open forums ranging from general topics such as automobile maintenance to more serious issues such as rape.
"At one Fest someone yelled 'rapist' at one of the members of the Promise Ring during their set. It turned into an hour-long discussion between the audience and the band," said Alli Schwartz, an Ohio State graduate and festival attendant.
This year's non-musical features will include a Lost Film Festival and discussions on the Isreali-Palistinian conflict and independent media. More workshops are to come but have not been announced.
Annually, the festival attracts hundreds of people from the Midwest and other regions of the country.
"I've known people who have moved to Columbus because of the festival and the music scene here," Nemit said.
Organizer Mahssa Taghinia, a junior at OSU, said although the festival is popular with out-of-towners, local people take it for granted.
"People here just don't appreciate it," Taghinia said.
Nemit agreed the attendance of locals is often low.
"Ever year we try to figure out how to fix it," Nemit said. "We just don't really know what the problem is."
The More Than Music Festival is also an annual fund-raiser for local charities. This year's beneficiary is the Central Ohio Community Sharers, an umbrella agency that helps supply funds to assortment of local non-profit organizations.
The admission to the festival this year is $15 per day or $35 for the entire weekend. Tickets to the More Than Music Festival are available at the door or on the Internet at
www.morethanmusic.org.
2008 Woodie Awards