Get Whit It

Bands galore at the Block Party

Dick Dägger and the C Monsters
Dick Dägger and the C Monsters

The real G-spot of the block party isn’t just at the G-Spot stage, but rather among all those dwellings lining the Whiteaker streets that host shows featuring everything from screamo country to good ol’ garage rock.

Folks attending these renegade shows can be a bit rough around the edges, including the man with a tattooed head who told me last year that I have “crazy eyes.” But, in between the aerial ballet and the art auction, stop by one of the block party’s nine stages for tunes ranging from a marimba orchestra to EDM.

Dick Dägger and the C Monsters

Take an already cool Eugene garage-rock band and then add the Swedish influence of frontman Dick Dägger — and they get even cooler. The band’s latest EP, 21st Century Bipolar, is a collection of head-bobbing anthems that rival the school-kid energy of The Ramones. Sometimes their sound verges on doo-wop, in the very best way.

Dick Dägger and the C Monsters play 6 pm at the G-Spot stage. 

High Step Society

High Step Society isn’t made up of those high-kicking Irish dancers with auburn wigs and high steps, but neither are they all that conventional. The band cranks out electronic swing music, mixing live old-time jazz, trumpet, clarinet and saxophone with EDM beat drops. Hot off two Oregon Country Fair performances and clad in fedoras and vests, this six-piece electro orchestra is here to create some EDM converts. They even have a song called “Echoes of Whiteaker.”

High Step Society will play 4:15 pm at the Blairally Stage. 

Dr. Rocket

Dr. Rocket’s glam-rock jams will blast your weird day at the Whiteaker Block Party. Nick Noemi and Mason Kline blend ’60s and ’70s influences with absurd lyrics like “I threw up when you saw me/ You ran over and I said, ‘Oh I’m so sorry,’” all while wearing long South Asian tops called kurtas.

Dr. Rocket play 1 pm at Uncle Brad’s Secret Stage.