Jack Waters' Treefort Picks

  • March 23, 2023
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I look forward to attending my first Treefort Fest since I'll be able to see a firehose of bands throughout Boise and I intend to be drenched with awe and discovery.

THE PARANOYDS

One band I'm especially excited to watch is The Paranoyds, who hail from a western outpost called LA and come equipped with a garage punk sound veering from chaotic optimism to humorous insight over singalong melodies.

I hope they perform the keys-led horrorscape of “Pet Cemetery” — at last, a correction to the phonetic misspelling by the children depicted by Stephen King in Pet Sematary! The song is an inviting inverse —“Let’s get buried together!” — to the Ramones’ “I don't wanna be buried in a pet sematary.”

David Foster Wallace wrote in Infinite Jest about a poster on a character’s wall of an enthroned large-crowned king with the caption: “YES, I’M PARANOID — BUT AM I PARANOID ENOUGH?” I am not yet Paranoyd enough, so I welcome the forthcoming dizziness.

Thursday, March 23rd
11:20 pm - 12:10 am
Neurolux
111 N 11th St, Boise, ID 83702


GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR

It’s passe to choose a band shown on the big marquee for this type of preview article, but an exception must be made for Godspeed You! Black Emperor, whose slow, labyrinthine instrumentation crescendos toward a cacophonous wall of sound that was the soundscape for all of my college reading, writing, and arithmetic. It may be the case that I have listened to more minutes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor than any other sound in the past twenty years. And i relish the opportunity to finally see them live.

Thursday, March 23rd
10:30 pm - 12:00 am
Egyptian Theatre
700 W Main St, Boise, ID 83702

MOHSIN ABBAS (SUFI ROCKS)

Mohsin Abbas hails all the way from historic Lahore, Pakistan – a city and country I was lucky enough to visit during a trip in which my friend was married. At one celebration for my friend, we were graced with the dulcet tones and music that was a variety of traditional Dewali celebration music. What I encountered there is at the heart of what Mohsin Abbas (SUFI ROCKS) provides to audiences across the globe. His family trained him early, and he also attended the renowned Sham Churasi School Of Music, where he learned a cornucopia of Eastern music stylings, from classical to Sufi Mystic chanting to Western offerings. Unfortunately, it was just announced that Mohsin Abbas (SUFI ROCKS), had his visa denied by the US Embassy in Pakistan. I was very much looking forward to his performance, and was hoping to talk with him about my visit to his beautiful and welcoming country.


STORYFORT

There are a few Storyfort options I am looking forward to attending. Among those is the “This is the Place: A Treefort Reading Showcase” put on by the Boise art collective The Backyardists, on Thursday night, where many great young writers will be reading short 10-minute prose pieces, among them Shy Watson, Sean Thor Conroe, Bud Smith, Allie Rowbottom, Mason Parker, Grant Faulkner, Kevin Maloney, Madeline Cash, Anika Levy, Max Schwartz, Jon Lindsey, Parker Young, and Sam Berman.

Thursday, March 23rd
5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Ochos
515 W Idaho St.

The other, more narrowly focused presentation I want to watch is on a topic that many new writers seek answers for – how to carve out your own space in the always-evolving new age of publishing. The panelists for “The Only Way” will offer suggestions on how to differentiate yourself amid a crowded literary marketplace. The panelists are Shy Watson, Allie Rowbottom, Madeline Cash and Anika Levy.

Friday, March 24th
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Ochos
515 W Idaho St.

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