2007 Festival Recap

A success? Sure thing, Micky Rooney. Stumble home to Richard Gere's warm bosom and weapily recount the multiple ways you've been violated.

Yes, yes. This year's fest was officially dedicated to the memory of the Silver Spoon Cafe, home to many an afterparty hangover over the past 7 years. We hope to have served you well, dear Spoon. This year was also the first year of semi-intense documentation, as ICTV's finest were on hand to grapple with the concept of reality television. As the great James W. Harris (Flesh Orgy of the Zombie Totem, Season's Greetings) once said, it was "more real than reality itself."

Yes, yes. There was also uncertainty and mystery to be had. "It's an experimental event, and I don't even know what will happen. Not until the future, anyway," remarked BC program director, D.Anderson, on KAXE's morning show hours before the festival.

Indeed. Headlining Friday's events, neither Cell Phone nor The Monsters of Pot had officially committed to the event or spoken to festival organizers. After multiple failed attempts at communication, it was assumed at least one grand entrance would be made, and indeed, 1/3 of Cell Phone was up for the task, arriving right on schedule & dazzling the masses for five straight minutes. Another key listing in the program, performance artist Douglas Hawkinson, arrived at the festival with absolutely no recollection he had been commissioned for the event. A bewildered Hawkinson disheveledly dipped out of sight, reappearing just minutes before stage-time equipped with a lifetime supply of wooden spoons. The performance was a success.

Other highlights of the night included the return of famed Bearded Child alumnus, Jesse Holcomb, making his first trek back to Grand Rapids since its initiation in 2001. The super 8mm silent films of Frank Biesendorfer concluded the night at the Reif with a personal collection of work cut specifically for the festival.

After party, you ask? Indeed! Nelson's Roofing hosted a barrage of various local musicians, outlandish cinema, and all-round debauchery late into the night. Officially deemed "The Underground Hit of the Summer," the event will remain permanently ingraining in the livers of all participants.

Saturday's cinema was top-notch, and one of the finest evenings of film in Bearded Child history. Numerous Minnesota filmmakers were on hand early in the night to speak to the audience about their work, and were very well-received. Jason Helprin made the jaunt up from Chicago to screen a gorgeous collection of super 8mm films, along with live sound by Joe Downing (Cpt.Clawthroat) and Kai Stenlund (Ctp.Hovercraft). This was live audio/visual entertainment at its most primal core, and it it sure to resonate in viewers for some time to come.

The final three films of the night raged the night away, as we were privileged to screen a rare 16mm print of The Blood of an Earthworm, the highly controversial and indescribable Gary's Touch, and Mathew Silver's latest, Irritable Bowl Syndrome. IBS created a riotous environment in the theater, inciting roars of laughter, groans, and general uproar. A perfect cap to end the fest!

PLUS! As an added ultra-bonus, hold-over attendees were treated to a night of karaoke at the VFW on Sunday night. Grand Rapids VFW karaoke is quickly becoming a legendary event, and may very well define the Northern Counterculture Movement of the mid '00s. (But we'll let history be the judge of that!)

And there it be: YOU SHOULDA BEEN THERE!!!!!!