A proper festival has to establish its degree.

In the wake of Pop Fest comes Pop-as-F*** Fest tonight at the 40 Watt Club.

Or, to be precise, Party Party Partners present a Jammy Jamm V Production of Pop-as-F*** Fest 2.

The concert is one in a number of free Tuesday-night events hosted by the venue in recognition of the new school year, said Velena Vego, the club’s booking agent.

“There are a lot of new kids who come in [town] like ‘Who, what, where do I go?’” said Vego.

She said the free shows also serve as an incentive for students with early morning classes to come out to the venue.

“With scholarships, we know [students] can’t go out every night, so we have to figure out what to do to entice people to come out to earlier nights that are finished by midnight,” Vego said. “People can do what they have to do, be it school or their day job.”

The fest will feature five local bands performing both on the club’s main stage and at audience-level in front of the stage.

Mouser, named best experimental band by the 2006 Flagpole Music Awards, will headline.

“It’s to make it not so long with the breaking down [of equipment] and the coming and going [of bands],” Vego said. “It’ll be consistent short sets and quick turnovers.”

Vego said the two-stage system will create the festival atmosphere its name implies.

Mercer West, the multitasking organizer and promoter of the event, said he agreed.

“It’s to make every week a festival. Or maybe a fiesta,” West said.

The venue has increased its surcharge for underage patrons to $2.

“The Georgia Theater started the $2 run, so we thought because of the new school year we could start, too,” Vego said.

A perk for those in attendance is a free CD sampler of the five bands, West said.

“We’re doing a show and we’re commemorating it with a limited edition CD with tracks from each band with all new material,” West said. “The outside cover was done by Dadfight.”

“Dadfight is a local screenprinting collective,” said Nash Hogan, a Dadfight member.

Aside from West’s behind-the-scenes roles, he also plays in three of the five bands, including Mouser, Quiet Hooves and Lickety Splits.

“There is a lot of different kinds of music that would appeal to lots of different kinds of people,” West said.

“Folklore sounds like exuberant indie rock, with lots of different instruments and things like that. Summer Hymns sounds like Neil Young.”

“Everybody’s got kind of a different sound,” West said.

However, the unifying theme goes back again to the show’s lengthy name.

“It’s all shades of pop music,” West said.

When asked if taking on so many roles for one event was exhausting, West said, “No.”