End Fest Makes Kitsap County's Fairgrounds The Hot Spot To Rock

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End Fest: No Doubt, Everclear, Prodigy, Beck, Filter, Ice T, the Posies, Three Fish, 7 Mary 3, Super Deluxe, Goldfinger, the Verve Pipe, Primitive Radio Gods, MXPX, Tracy Bonham, the deftones, Dishwalla and Gus, at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds, Saturday.

Of the major festivals experienced over the past week - the Furthur Festival, Lollapalooza and End Fest - the latter, mounted by KNDD-FM, was without question the best. For diversity and overall quality it far exceeded the others, and that combined with smooth presentation and kind weather (cool but no rain) made it as entertaining an all-day event as one could hope for.

Alternating the acts on two stages at opposite ends of the fairgrounds allowed for few quiet moments, although some shows overlapped and at times it was a difficult choice deciding which band to see. But it also made for some interesting contrasts.

While Filter was perpetrating a bombastically brutal three-guitar assault on the crowd from the Mainstage, Seattle popsters Super Deluxe on the B Stage had an audience of almost equal size bouncing as one to the young group's sweet, effervescent tunes. The band even enjoyed the squeals of teen adulation afterward.

Gus, the Posies and Tracy Bonham kicked off the day, with the tiny but energetic Bonham proving there was more to her than the single "Mother Mother." Goldfinger, having played this area so much they feel like locals (they'll be at Bumbershoot with the Sex Pistols), kept the adrenaline going with their melodic ska. Verve Pipe and Dishwalla turned in serviceable pop sets, although 7 Mary 3 started sounding samey after a couple of numbers.

Ice T was one of the day's most anticipated and best received sets, mixing rap with Sly Stone-style funk. However, it really wasn't necessary for him to explain once again that OG stood for Original Gangsta and his calling the audience, about 99 percent white, "multiracial" seemed either literally shortsighted or painfully routine.

The midday performance by the usually enigmatic Beck was one of the most entertaining sets of the concert. Unusually gregarious, he delivered his material with the tenacity of a seasoned lounge singer - often dramatically dropping to one knee - and he and his live band deftly meshed with his prerecorded samples.

After a somewhat lackluster start, Everclear absolutely fireballed. Now-familiar songs such as "Santa Monica" were fresh and powerful and the set-closing "Heroin Girl" couldn't have been more searing. Probably the best rocking set of the day.

But for unadulterated audience appreciation, it had be the polished pop/ska/funk of No Doubt. The band's highly visual choreography worked extremely well, even in the farthest back reaches of the grounds and singer Gwen Stefani was truly dynamic.

Pearl Jam-er Jeff Ament's Three Fish were the last band up on the B Stage and played a heady rolling mix of ethereal and near anthemic music.

The techno/industrial Brit band Prodigy finished the Mainstage lineup with a mixture of highly amplified and explosive flash and thrash. Beck returned to the stage during their set looking like an anorexic Captain Stubing of the Love Boat (white commodore hat, starched shirt with epaulets and tie) and danced with audience members on stage.

It was a fittingly festive finish to a long but laudable day.