6 Thursday, May 23, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com ARTS When I first moved to South- east Michigan, I was not expect- ing to find a music scene as active and diverse as the one that exists today. I grew up in an area where our local music scene consisted of a few Sublime cover bands, so when I moved to Ann Arbor and experienced my first basement show, it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. People here really do care about music, and no event better represents this fact than the infamous BLED FEST. Starting out as a small basement show and pool party, BLED FEST has blossomed into a distinct and special experience. Taking place at the Hartland Performing Arts Center (H-PAC), BLED FEST invites some of the biggest names in punk, rock, indie, metal and other genres to perform in an old high school gymnasium-turned- performance-venue. And after 15 years, the festival is finally com- ing to a close. The festival stands out for a variety of reasons, but what is most notable is how it still incor- porates a do-it-yourself attitude. Although the festival has grown quite a bit over the past few years, moving from a basement to a per- forming arts center, the same sort of independence and passion found in basement shows is still very much present today. In an interview with The Mich- igan Daily, Nate Dorough, presi- dent of Fusion Shows and one of the chief organizers of the festi- val, said BLED FEST is “sort of like a big family reunion that just keeps getting bigger and bigger every year.” Dorough attributes this atmosphere to the expanding diversity of genres present at the festival, stating that “back when it started, there was a lot of drama between punk fans and metal fans … but it seems to be a little more acceptable now to like rap, metal, indie rock and whatever else. As we’ve developed the things over the past twelve years I’ve been on board, there’s been a natural evo- lution for us to continue to diver- sify the festival and turn it into this esoteric mix of all different type(s) of music and walks of life.” Along with having such a diverse lineup, the physical space of the festival looks drastically dif- ferent from that of any other sum- mer festival. Forget your shades, hats and sunscreen, because when BLED FEST arrives, school is not quite out for the summer yet. “It is in an old high school. There are no barricades; it’s not your tradition- al venue where everything is far away, everything’s off limits and the bands are backstage. Every- thing’s just sort of mixed in, no matter if you’re on- or off-stage,” Dorough described. The festival stays true to its roots though, and despite hav- ing headliners like The Wonder Years and Camp Cope, the festi- val still showcases younger local bands on some of their smaller stages (one of which used to be an actual classroom). Bands from Southeast Michigan including Dogleg, Ness Lake, The Doozers, Complainer. and Mover Shaker, each of which already has a dedi- cated local following, are given the opportunity to share the stage with over 60 different bands. In addition to diversify- ing genres present at the festi- val, there’s one other aspect the organizers have been trying to improve. “A few years ago, we counted up the bands we had that year … and the show was awe- some, but we noticed that there were only like four bands that had women in them, and like one band that has anyone that wasn’t white in it,” Dorough explained. “And we kind of had a ‘holy shit’ moment where we were like, we’ve got to change this.” And just by glanc- ing through the lineup this year, the festival already appears to fea- ture groups of all different gender identities, races and backgrounds. BLED FEST takes a bow RYAN COX Daily Arts Writer COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW AXS Read more at michigandaily.com The Final BLED FEST May 25, 2019 Hartland Performing Arts Center $35/General admission Fiction — science fiction in par- ticular — is obsessed with the post- apocalyptic world. From space odysseys to duels with zombies, readers and authors alike have a strange fascination with the world after the end of the world. But, for how different each iteration of these stories may seem, they all tend to follow a clear formula. Reed King’s “FKA USA” is no different. The key to any good post-apoc- alyptic story is the apocalypse itself, the more popular ones being envi- ronmental destruc- tion, a public health crisis or some ver- sion of a space race. Sometimes, a writ- er merges all three (though, granted, usually a problem in space is closely tied to an environ- mental disaster). In “FKA USA,” King creates a world wrecked by human- induced environmental disaster and the government’s poor man- agement of the country. And yet, King is still able to draw in readers with the detailed history he builds around an oversaturated theme in science fiction. Once readers know why the world as they know it is over, stories need to introduce the who. In “The Hun- ger Games” there’s Katniss, “Ender’s Game” has Ender and “FKA USA” introduces Truckee Wallace to the growing number of teenagers and children contending with a world left in ruins by previous genera- tions. Again, there are specific types of heroes in every post-apocalyptic world. Truckee is the kind of hero who was never meant to be a hero, something King highlights by insist- ing Truckee has no redeeming qual- ities, despite successfully surviving the death trap that is the western part of the former United States. Occasionally, betrayal makes an appearance in these types of sto- ries. And, when the main character is betrayed by their close friends, it can sting. However, Truckee and his friends only share surface-level relationships. King doesn’t establish a strong connection between them, so it wasn’t heart-wrenching when Truckee’s friends sold him out to the government. What could have been an agonizing moment was, instead, simply a surprising revelation. But what is a science-fiction story, or a story in general, without a love story? At first, it seems like Truckee is going to be just another teen- age boy, pining away for one of his friends, but, as the story progresses, the love story isn’t really a love story at all. Instead, “FKA USA” explores Truckee’s sexuality as he grapples with his attraction to his android friend and loses his virginity to an android prosti- tute. Each instance of Truckee’s failed intimacy invites further exploration of his downfalls, especially as he gets farther from his hometown and dis- covers the truths about his country. Truckee’s story is one laden with sex — if he wasn’t a 15-year-old boy try- ing to understand his relationship with women, I would call it misogy- nistic. That said, I really hope Reed King has a better relationship with women than his writing would sug- gest. Finally, no science-fiction story is complete without social com- mentary. In addition to criticism of how we treat the environment, King creates a complex world governed by corporations. The role of the president is played by a CEO, the HR department resembles our Congress and even the CIA makes an appear- ance as the research and develop- ment team of the company. It’s not a subtle comparison by any means, and it’s obvious that King dislikes the power corporations and capital- ism have in our country. But it’s an effective way of forcing his readers to confront their understanding of our current system, maybe the only ‘FKA USA’ relies on tropes of sci-fi EMMA CHANG Senior Arts Editor FKA USA Reed King Flatiron Books June 18, 2019 BOOK REVIEW Read more at michigandaily.com