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Mind-melting good time
By Cassie Hood
hoodc@mscd.edu

Photo by Sarah Cass, courtesy of hotiqs.com The Hot IQs are playing the “South Park Prom Party” at South Park High School on Friday, Sept. 8. The prom starts at 6 p.m. This event is free and all ages.

Every year at about this time, people head down to South Park, Colo. for a four-day music binge. The fifth annual South Park Music Festival features over 120 bands, many of which are from Colorado, but all of which are independent.

Boasting the likes of The Queers, Love Me Destroyer, Vaux, The Motet and Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s, the event also showcases smaller acts moving up the music industry ladder. One such is Denver’s The Hot IQs.

For years The Hot IQs have entertained Colorado crowds with their playful antics. Eli Mishkin’s voice sends ghostly chills up and down one’s spine, while beside him Bryan Feuctinger plays his bass without a care in the world and provides back-up falsettos full of loving tenderness. Keeping tempo for the trio is Elaine Acosta, who enjoys popping gum while she plays. Her drums clink, clang and tremble, at times clamorous, at others peaceful.

The band plunges into each performance as if it is their last. When onstage they demand attention, and with their fizzy high-energy indie-pop, they get it.

The South Park Music Festival is the perfect place for the trio to cut loose and show Colorado a good time. Most of the festival is free to the public, but there are a few conferences and parties exclusive to VIP badge holders. The badges run close to $149 for a single pass. Each day has free events for both the 21-and-up crowd and younger audiences.

The festival runs from Sept. 7 through Sept. 10, with parties from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. each day. For a full list of performances and venues check out http://www.southparkmusic.com.