ABOVE: These Walking Giants gets a jam-packed day of music started at the Blackwater Cafe. AT FRONT: Brian Hanover (of Hanover Saints) performs solo acoustic.

Sunday is typically a day of rest and preparing for the new week to come.

It was not a typical Sunday for all of those who went to the Blackwater Café.

A benefit concert was held for the Plea for Peace Center. The concert featured 10 acts including a last minute add-on to the bill, and a solo performance from one band member, for a total of eight hours of music. It was a good day!

Local act These Waking Giants kicked the concert off. The band played a short but powerful set. The drums and bass were heavy, creating the base for the big build- ups and break-downs and the vocals and guitars to be prominent.

The next act was very personal. Danul of Alitak played a few solo songs. The songs seemed to be like stories he was telling from own personal experiences. The guitar was slower but sounded beautiful along side the lyrics. True emotion was put into the very impressively written songs.

Alitak, an indie-rock band from the Stockton/ Sacramento area played next; though, their Sacramento part of the band was not able to make it. Their show was full of big drums and echoing backup lyrics, which were a wonderful effect. The band was tight and never missed a beat. The band actually had a similar sound to that of Bloc Party.

During their set, the lead singer performed a solo acoustic song. Alitak ended their set with a no-named song they called “the epic song.” Honestly, it summed up their sound.

The show took a turn as the psycho/rockabilly band The Buboniks took the stage. The Sacramento band came out fast with heavy hitting drums, and most importantly in a rockabilly band, a stand up bass. The guitar twanged, the bass player slapped as they continued their show. Most memorable was a cover of The Five Du-Tones song “Shake a Tail Feather,” most notably covered by Ray Charles in “The Blues Brothers.”

Los Angeles based band Ready the Jet preformed next, spending barely any time with introductions. With a 1-2-3-4 count the band began to play with pure rock and roll sound, holding nothing back they continued to play loud and fast. There was never a real change from song to song.

Another personal set was played by Brian Hanover of Sacramento. It was not a long set; he only played four songs and spoke of playing the Blackwater Café in his younger days. Notably Hanover played a cover of The Misfits “We Bite.” Hanover’s last song was “Stomping Grounds;” a song about growing up near a river which he plays with his full band, Brian Hanover and the Wounds.

The Stouts, a local Stockton punk band took the stage next. Three words could sum up this band: punk, punk and punk. They have the attitude for it. They played loud and fast with their lead singer bumping into his band mates, getting out onto the ledge, leaning over and singing. It was an excellent performance for this fairly new band.

The next band was not on the original bill but were added on whilst traveling through the valley. Larry and his Flask had previously played a house show in Modesto. The band was making it way back home to Oregon after traveling the Southwest.

This group sports a sound which was loud and generally all acoustic minus bass and cello. The band went wild on stage; they were into the performance, playing modern hillbilly rock with lyrics that are shouted by band members. Sweat ran down their faces and spilled into the crowd as they shook their heads violently along to the songs.

Raw energy was apparent in their set. Going into the crowd, a guitarist from the band was on the shoulders of a fan walking around the crowd playing. It was a great addition to the show.

Hip-hop duo Neglected took the stage after. The local duo had microphone troubles in the beginning of the set, but it all worked out. The band behind consisting of drums, bass and guitar created the beats behind the flow of the two MC’s. It was different than all the other acts before it.

It was getting hotter in the Blackwater Café as the tenth and last act of the night, the Collective performed. They were a full band with drums, bass, guitar, bongos, keyboard, a turntable, and of course the emcee, Icarus Jones. The lights dimmed and the mood in the café changed.

The Collective was funky, and everyone was into it. It was the cherry on top of the sundae. The band last song was an inquiry on “Where Did the Hip-Hop Go?”

The concert as a whole was spectacular, and it was for a worthy cause; all proceeds benefited the Plea for Peace Center. The addition to the bill was excellent, and the whole variety of bands complemented each other well.

It was a fine Sunday; eight hours of music can never be that bad.

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