Fertilizer Fest
The Holland Project
140 Vesta St, Reno, NV
Sept. 30, 2023
Saturday’s Fertilizer Fest at the all-ages art space The Holland Project fried my brain so much that when I went to the liquor store after I gave the cashier the wrong age and generally stumbled through the rest of my 30-second conversation with him.
The festival of eight local bands playing quick, 16-minute sets in honor of The Holland Project’s 16th birthday promised to be energetic.
That was before I showed up and learned there would be two stages, one outdoor and one indoor. That was before the crowd started moshing during the first song of the first set of the first band at about 6:29 p.m. That was before a dude climbed onto a metal fence right next to the outdoor stage, planted his left foot on the right shoulder of the unsuspecting concertgoer next to me, and jumped into a thrashing pit below.
Fert Fest was chaotic, violent, loud, crazy, spectacular, wild, gnarly, dark, fierce, and, above all, frenetic. It left me breathless.
The name of the festival comes from its mixed-genre status. The idea was to celebrate The Holland Project as a space for bands to cross-pollinate, bend, and grow. Through bands trading shoutouts, an impromptu freestyle competition, and constant crowd interaction, I felt that community-building and experimentation happening in real time.
The caring yet hodgepodge vibe of The Holland Project set the scene for the night. The snack shack offered free s’mores alongside five-dollar tamales. Vendors set by the front entrance sold punk bolo ties and delicate pottery while a group tabling in the courtyard shared flyers about mutual aid. The outdoor stage, sitting beneath a tarp held up by thin metal poles that would later threaten to collapse with the surging energy of the crowd, featured old-school box TVs sitting atop wooden bureaus.
Complete with bloody makeup and with lead vocalist Elliot Dungan donning the eponymous fabric, punk band Meat Blanket opened the show. Hovering somewhere between shouting, screaming, and rapping at all times, Dungan sarcastically asked attendees to tip their landlord in the second song of the set. It was cutting yet humorous, delivered with a throbbing baseline. On Hangman’s Garden, it was the guitar that took center stage, pushing the song forward and heightening our sense of fear for Dungan’s suicidal character.
Faded Shawties, next band up, struggled to match the same energy with their originals that Meat Blanket unleashed. Unfortunately, part of the issue was that lead vocalist and guitarist Eduardo Alonzo’s voice was not totally present on the night. The best moment of the set was when the band brought up Willow (of local band By Chance) to sing with them. It was easily the best vocal performance of the night. Their halting, lilting voice provided a surprising, refreshing rollercoaster of emotions.
Oh, also, Faded Shawties hosted the freestyle competition. It was great fun and got the crowd involved.
Next, BONERGIRL played the first outdoor set. Their synthy, poppy style stood out on a bill that mostly included variations of punk and rock. The dominant synth alongside Tucker Scozzafava’s oversized sport coat offered a more buttoned up, mature sound. The band’s debut single Beach Party Tonight is a warping, building type of song. It was so rudely interrupted by sound issues. And maybe for the better? It left me wanting more, so I’ve been listening to the song a ton since the show. Johnny Baseball, set for release on October 6, injected a heavy dose of nostalgia and loss through Ruben Aguirre’s pensive keys and Scozzafava’s crooning. I can’t wait to hear that one again in my headphones. BONERGIRL makes pure main-character-in-a-movie music for those of us that love to stare out rainy bus windows.
Back indoors, The Human Condition executed a complete vibe switch. The screamo group produced the most violent sound I’ve ever heard. Frontman Nathaniel Shiffer stalked the stage, literally bounced off the walls, and pushed into the crowd. At one point during the final song of the set, one audience member fully rushed up onto the stage and took a swan dive into the crowd.
Absolute scenes. It was an outstanding performance in anger and semi-controlled chaos.
That chaos continued into hardcore band Pissmixer’s rowdy outdoor set. Off the top, New Norm spawned an immediate breakneck mosh pit matching its rapid drumming. To be honest, I did not take a lot of notes during Pissmixer’s set because I was nearly caught up in the hurtling crowd myself. The youthful, reckless energy took another step forward during Big Clown in which Pissmixer managed to push the pace even harder and higher. That’s when the dude jumped off the metal fence into the crowd. It felt like the whole place was taking this opportunity to blow off highly-pressurized steam.
Elleanor Burke perhaps best understood the assignment. Even prior to her set, she had received a shoutout for being a trailblazer in Reno’s rock scene and helped usher the crowd over to BONERGIRL’s set outside. Her sound was sprinkled in many of the bands we heard. Her ethereality at the start of Gargoyle could be found in the atmospheric sound of BONERGIRL. Her punctuating vocals later on in that song recall those of Dungan’s during Meat Blanket’s opener. The crashing, reverberating sound of Tough Cookie reflected that of Pissmixer just moments before.
Surf rock girl band Worm Shot closed out the outdoor stage with enough fun riffs to put anyone in a silly goofy mood. Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Baylor Lucky sang with physicality and multiple voices that made it seem she was playing characters onstage. The group produced the danciest grooves of the whole night with impeccable chemistry on stage, especially on Dream Girl. It’s windows down, jamming out in your car with friends music.
Funky rock band In The Works?, featuring four dudes wearing the grooviest shirts you’ve ever seen, took last ups inside. On Lost His Mind, lead vocalist Liam Garrison keyed the bouncy tone for the set with his saxophone. He matched that bounce with his own boxer’s strut and stance onstage. And while Lost His Mind had an obvious ska influence, Suicides pushed the punk rock pace for the last song of the night. In The Works? gave the crowd one last opportunity to dance it all out.
During that last set, Garrison thanked the crowd for coming and called The Holland Project the “best fucking place in the entire city.” He’s right. Fert Fest showed why. It’s intensely community-focused and feels like a place where anyone can be themselves. It’s an incubator, community hub, concert venue, and safe space all rolled into one. The diverse, chaotic, frenetic energy of Reno’s young and growing bands matched that mission on Saturday night.
What’s next at The Holland Project: Another all-local bill takes the stage on Wednesday, October 8 at 8 p.m. Meat Blanket opens again, before Sierra punk band Slutzville and Reno rockers Boss’ Daughter come up onstage. It’s a nationwide tour kickoff for Boss’ Daughter.
