Kind of an ironic story how I came to meet the many members of Gainesville’s Oh Fortuna, as I was approached by them the night before their set at Flicker while at the 40-Watt Club. Apparently, I was an easy person to recognize as they had noticed me throughout the entirety of Popfest and were curious as to who I was. We exchanged greetings and had no idea who they were until I asked, which prompted me to keep note of their performance the next day. They were nice people, so I wanted to show my support, even though I didn’t know anything about them.
As I arrived the next day for the final Flicker show, I noticed the band setting up on stage for what would be one of the more memorable performances of the entire festival. Filling out the small stage were what looked like a small army of seven to eight members in matching white jumpsuits and a whimsickle, energetic, sometimes even uplifting synth-pop sound that could make anyone stand up and cheer. And damn did everyone stand up to cheer and dance, as this seemingly unknown band managed to completely pack the small venue to full capacity.
I was amazed to find out after speaking with the band’s keyboardist Nick (at least I think he was a keyboardist, it’s been so long that my memory is a bit fuzzy) that this young group have only been together for about a year. This small detail had never even crossed my mind during their performance as they performed like seasoned veterans as they delighted the packed crowd.
For the time being, all that was available from their merch table were free copies of their three-track demo called Whales, which I highly recommend you check out for yourselves, as you can download songs on their myspace page. As always, Lance over at The Flat Response has their entire Popfest performance available for download as well. Hopefully, we’ll be able to hear more from these guys/gals real soon.
MP3: Oh Fortuna :: unknown title (first song) [live from Athens Popfest]
MP3: Oh Fortuna :: “Wood Paint Rainbow”
MP3: Oh Fortuna :: “Bodies Broken”
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