Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
WAKARUSA 2008 RECAP
Here is a recap of the rating system -
The Big Picture – Overall rating of the festival.
Town Square – Music festivals have a very organic way of creating a village, so whether it is Centeroo or Homebase, the festival land is what makes each experience different.
Performances – Need we say more?
Festival Shoppe – Mmmmm – I LOVED this food or WHOAH! Did you check out those didgeridoos? The marketplace of the music festival is a crucial element in creating the community atmosphere.
Green My Scene – From public water to waste management, how well did the music festival preserve the borrowed terrain?
Security – Watchdogs. Big Brother. Protectors of the people – Takers of the vibe.
Point A – Z – Logistically, from parking to people, how well did the traffic/progression of it all cohesively work together.
2008 Festival Baseball Trading Card
Wakarusa 2008
PERFORMANCES - Artist like Bettye Lavette, Lotus, Donna the Buffalo, BUMP, That One Guy, Tilly and the Wall and headliners Mickey Hart Band, Zappa Plays Zappa and TheRFW.com’s Hometown Gem The Macpodz, were all canceled due to weather. And the morning of the last day, a festival employee loosely made stops at campsites alerting a handful of festival attendees that Emmylou Harris had canceled her performance due to ‘illness’. Not good for the performance tally on our Baseball Card report
On the upside, for the acts that fought to win over the weathered audiences, many thumbs up come our way. From Ivan Neville’s Dumpstafunk to our good boys the Avett Brothers, the musicians that came to show did do a great showing with as much passion as they could throw down in the sweltering heat. Notable collaborations between Buckethead and That One Guy, Cornmeal with Vince Herman and Drew Emmit, with Cornmeal violinist joining Tea Leaf Green and even a solid double showing from Keller Williams (solo and with The Transmitters), the acts that came to town came with purpose and reason. And at the end of the day if you came for the music, overall the performances probably didn’t disappoint too much. 3/5
TOWN SQUARE - This Town Square we felt was nothing special at all. Relatively the same layout and probably likewise with returning vendors, the overall central meeting place for this festival did not live up to the potential the space permits; moreover, we noticed some cut backs. In 2006, when Roving Festival Writer last attended, there were TWO (2) main stages; however, this year we only got to see headlining artist on one main stage. The once similarly sized Sun Up stage in which we saw musicians like Buckethead, Les Claypool, Andrew Bird and Animal Liberation Orchestra on in 2006 had now been downsized to a tented pavilion. WHAT?!? Now what stands in the remaining space is an extended VIP area, but if you ventured or camped in the special area the only perk was maybe an easier entrance to the Town Square. Still, we ask, what is the point if you are still a HIKE from the other half of Wakarusa – an area that also features several more vendors, a rather large disc golfing course, another stage solely for hometown acts (appropriately deemed the Prairie stage) and a lake! Nothing was too VIP in that portion of the festival that would warrant the downsizing of a stage that doesn’t even fit more than 75% of the folk that can squeeze into the Revival tent.
For a festival like Wakarusa, it needs all the help it can get. Maybe that is why Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips, continually protested that everyone in attendance needed “to keep the festival alive.” For some reason, throughout his entire performance, and the … what we will nicely call ‘press conference’, he restated the idea that this was a special, unique gathering unlike other festivals. And we here at Roving Festival Writer agree that it has the potential to be an amazing time; however, when you have the Police Fest that was Wakarusa 2006 that really cut your numbers down for 07 attendance, and a weak lineup in 2008, you need all the good word of mouth you can get.
The festival resides in a state park that is absolutely beautiful. Of the many returning Festies, especially ones located at the BACK of the festival grounds, they did not mind skipping out on over half of the performances just to relax and see the headliners this year. BUT OH NO! Rain came and canned the day! On both the opening and closing days, the limits of the whimsy and flimsy Wakarusa became evident and many of the original, best and headlining acts were canceled! The people persevered but when three of seven headlining acts do not go down, and the late arrival of the CAKE frontman places their set not on the main stage but in that limited sized capacity Revival tent, you really have shorted the people over half the number of promised performances…whether they were your (the organizers) fault or not. It’s still is about the overall experience which makes it worth $169…we mean, worthwhile. 3/5
FESTIVAL SHOPPE - As previously stated, the shops were so few in numbers there were hardly any memorable products or goodies that stood out in our mind. A big shout out to our Dead Head who sets up his FREE table next to his tent just to be generous and FADELINEINCE.com. Decent food and memorable tacos from TACO HEAVEN. 3/5
GREEN MY SCENE - Nothing special here. Standard green scene. We did not see anything that really promoted helping your environment or other ways of keeping the festival scene clean. Big Ups for the handing out of garbage bags because the people will use them, and kudos to dynamite volunteers who cleaned the main stage field religiously after larger acts. We could use some extra attention towards the cleaning of those potties though. 3/5
SECURITY - Security was much better than 2006 and probably the best it is ever going to get. I think the common Festie needs to face the fact that this is a more family oriented gathering that is taking place on a state park. How much more lenient do you think the cops are going to get? They could remain a little less visible. The message is clear, but you can trust that people can remain good without you sitting posted in your four wheeler at every angle of the stage. 2/5
POINT A - Z - Other than the rain the movement of the festival was seamless. The large space allows everyone to comfortably camp in there own area (but watch out for the shaded recesses. Ticks and chiggers are a bitch at this one), and the consistent No Waka Trolley wass making runs to and from the Main Entrance to almost the back of the camping grounds, which can help immensely for older folk, families and tired bodies. Wakarusa also provided a Waka Taxi which was $3 a ride (we think). It is a convenient means of getting expedited service to any corner of the festival ground. Parking allowed everyone easy entrance and departure with their vehicles. The only downside is the lack of space usage. So much more (if promoted and really planned to it’s maximum design) could take place in the Town Square; moreover, if there was a way, maybe more performances could have taken place even in the aftermath of a storm in lieu of cancellations. 2/5
BIG PICTURE - So with the downgrade of a stage, cancellation of several headlining acts, a relatively simple town square and great performances by the artist that did show, we were left feeling… satisfied. Not overly hyped, but with a feeling of content. As if the festival was … what it was. Which is not a bad thing. Not necessarily the greatest thing – but it makes the grade. Just an average time. 3/5
SUMMER CAMP PART II
Without further ado we share with you - Summer Camp Part II. The festival was a good time and provided again are links to our Summer Camp recap article and part I of this webisode feature on RFWtv.
2008 Summer Camp Music Festival Part I @ RFWtv - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KhRJ53ht_Y
TheRFW.com Presents 2008 Festival Baseball Trading Card SUMMER CAMP 2008 [A Review] - http://therfw.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html
Monday, June 09, 2008
RETURN OF THE JEDI
We safely made it back to our great home state of Michigan, and we're currently uploading our video footage, comparing festival notes and putting together our Festival Baseball Trading Card for Wakarusa 2008.
Tomorrow, a full review and photos will be made available and by the time we leave for Bonnaroo this week, we shall have that Part II of Summer Camp posted with the beginnings of our RFWtv webisode for Wakarusa.
Many thanks to Tasha and other friends we met this weekend who really turned this festival into a successful coverage weekend. We can't wait to share all of this with you so stay tuned.
Until we speak... get some rest - I know we are going to take it easy today :-)
-Rashon A. Massey
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Wakarusa - Update from the Festival
Now able to walk the grounds fully with a critical eye, we noticed many Town Square areas filled with mud that was appropriately sectioned off by flagged ribbons. Unlike 2006, Wakarusa has downsized quite a bit. Not sure if it is because of the steady decline in festival attendance or the need to try and build upon their VIP section, but one full mainstage… is gone.
Friday, June 06, 2008
WAKARUSA UPDATE!
-Rashon A. Massey
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
NEW RFWtv EPISODE! WAKARUSA PRECOVERAGE! BONNAROO PRESS RELEASE!
Speaking of Wakarusa, how about some precoverage, ay?!
Veterans of the Wakarusa Music Festival, Roving Festival Writer shall return to our June oasis in Kansas and see what's happening. Last venture we had the best time although security was an absolute overkill in 2006. Taking a hiatus in 2007, we return with much more access than photographs and a recap article from the festival. We have put together a briefcase of links for you to sift through, catching up on all things Wakarusa, and we will be sharing with you our definitive MUST SEE LINE UP in the coming days prior to the start of the show this week.
Make sure to check out the high tech surveillance used by the LAW for Wakarusa 2006-
Wakarusa 2007 Article :
http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/galleries/2007/jun/08/wakarusa_music_festival_day_1/
Wakarusa 2006 Article :
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/454/high_tech_surveillance_at_kansas_wakarusa_rock_festival
Rashon A. Massey (ME!) dancing with Michael Franti & Speearhead at Wakarusa 2006 :
http://youtube.com/watch?v
=elI4ehcmFFE
Wakarusa Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/wakarusa
Wakarusa Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakarusa_Music_and_Camping_Festival
And we got a hot n fresh press release from Big Hassle, giving us the detailed scoop on the environmental initiatives at this years BONNAROO Music & Arts Festival. We will discuss this more once we begin delving into the coverage next week for this festival.
BONNAROO MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AGGRESSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES FOR 2008
| The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is proud to announce large scale greening initiatives for its 2008 event, set to take place June 12-15 in Manchester, TN. Festival organizers continue to take aggressive steps toward mitigating the event's environmental impact and raising awareness about green issues. By focusing on drastic carbon reduction at the festival and in the lives of its patrons, Bonnaroo continues its long time commitment to providing a first-rate entertainment experience while creating a community that cares for our planet. Clean energy initiatives, responsible product consumption, superior waste management, local sourcing and education programs are all part of the festival's aggressive environmental plan outlined below. "We work tirelessly to reduce the impact this festival has on the environment," says Bonnaroo sustainability coordinator Laura Sohn, "and we inspire the Bonnaroo community to do the same." In partnership with the Clean Air Conservancy, Bonnaroo will buy enough carbon reduction credits to offset all emissions, making the festival a carbon neutral event. Attendees will be encouraged to enhance the effort by purchasing "Clif Cool Tags" wind energy credits to make up for emissions produced by their travel. The festival is also running a carpooling contest offering a chance to win VIP camping upgrades to vehicles with four or more people. To fight global warming throughout the year, Bonnaroo welcomes Carbon Shredders on site to help fans track their personal carbon reduction. Fans will be invited to make a pledge to reduce their energy usage and carbon footprint by 10 percent by 2010, a shift that will keep hundreds of millions of pounds of CO2 out of Earth's atmosphere. As always, Bonnaroo will run an extensive recycling and composting program in partnership with Clean Vibes, an organization that has diverted 50 percent of the festival's waste from landfills over the past two years. This year, the festival will start a compost processing site right on the festival property, which will eventually be used to nurture new life on the grounds. "With no offsite hauling, we can reduce fuel consumption and close the loop on the festival's biodegradable waste cycle," says Clean Vibes owner Anna Borofsky. Bonnaroo 2008 brings back the popular Planet Roo village, an area dedicated to preserving the environment and promoting healthy living. Non-profit organizations, eco-friendly vendors and performers will gather to educate patrons about what they can do to protect their own health as well as the planet's. Fans who stop by Planet Roo will have the chance to learn about alternative fuels and energy sources, eat organic food at a waste-free restaurant and hear festival artists discuss topics related to the theme "Social Change Through Music." Representatives from dozens of organizations such as Rock the Earth, Headcount, Farm Aid, and Oxfam will interact with fans and artists to raise awareness about environmental and political issues. Recognizing that green issues are of paramount importance to the organization, its patrons, and the world at large, Bonnaroo is proud to present an event that is not only a good time, but also an example of an environmentally sound gathering that helps our planet remain hospitable to life. Bonnaroo 2008 Greening Initiatives: PRODUCT CONSUMPTION: - Concession food served with biodegradable wraps, plates, cups and cutlery manufactured from renewable resources - Presenting a full line of organic cotton t-shirts - Using tree-free posters - Using post-consumer recycled toilet paper for portolets - Using 100% recycled paper (30% post-consumer) for all of the program and administrative needs - Use of VOC-free paint will eliminate 1,260 lbs of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions - All wood stakes and lumber used on-site are logged and milled locally - Whenever possible, recycled lumber, FSC lumber, and CF light bulbs are used on site - All horse food (15,000 lbs of hay) is purchased from local farmers - Horse manure is donated back to local farmers - Encouraging food vendors to source their produce and meat from local farmers - Reducing the use of Velon, a petroleum-based material used to decorate the tents, from 100% to 30% - Recycle or reuse 100% of Velon - 70% of tent decorations are linens that we reuse each year - 50% of the furniture on site is purchased from hotel liquidators and reused each year - Sourcing as many decoration materials, from carpets to mirrors to furniture, as possible from second hand or used sources as possible - Using earth friendly cleaning products to clean furniture - Festival golf cart pool reducing number of golf carts by 25% EDUCATION AND OUTREACH - Hired year-round greening and sustainability coordinator. - Included a greening handbook as part of the employee manual including festival purchasing policies and greening tips for staff. This is distributed via email to all staff. - Planet Roo eco and social activism village dedicated to promoting socially responsible lifestyles - Created "Green Pod" in the campground as a hub for basic needs and information where we feature social mission entities and green or ecological organizations as an extension of Planet Roo. - Planet Roo Ambassadors share the festival's greening mission with attendees and assist with general information and support. Ambassadors help Bonnarao attendees learn more about what we each can do in our lives and businesses to reduce pollution and become more efficient in our daily practices. - Waste-free café in Planet Roo - Dozens of non-profit organizations on site, many focusing on the environment and natural resources - Social change documentary tent showing features and shorts about sustainable living - Silent Auction with funds going to a number of worthy charitable causes - "The Academy" featuring lectures, art projects, etc. about environmental and sustainability issues - Solar Stage powered entirely by solar panels - Social Change Through Music panels at the Solar Stage - Yoga and dance classes at the Solar Stage and at the Academy in Planet Roo FACTS FROM BONNAROO 2007: - Over 50% of waste diverted from land fills - 60% of festival waste recycled or composted: Total waste recycled: 94,340lbs / 47.17 tons Total food waste and biodegradable products composted: 20,600lbs / 10.3 tons Total waste sent to WastAway: 600,400lbs / 300.2 tons Total waste diverted from the landfill: 574,160 pounds / 287.08 tons - Eliminated 200,000 pieces of paper by reducing the three-page letter to ticket buyers to a half-page letter - Implemented paperless ticket request system - 67% of the festival's diesel consumption was locally sourced bio-diesel. - Offset festival emissions through Bonneville Environmental Foundation - Attendees encouraged to purchase energy credits to offset their emissions for travel to the festival - 90 security horses used on site, replacing 12 security vehicles - Incorporated alternative fuel vehicles into the festival rental transportation fleet |
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
SUMMER CAMP 2008 RECAP
The road to and from Chillicothe, IL was paved in anxious anticipation for Roving Festival Writer. Not only was this going to be the first festival that we captured video footage of to complete an episode for RFWtv (YouTube.com/RFWriter), but this festival was going to be the catalyst of what we hope to be a fantastic season of music, community get-togethers and old-fashion Americana road traveling. Back to our home, we can happily say that Summer Camp 2008 lived to be the success that we desired and expected. As we finish the final touches of our Summer Camp recap episode of RFWtv, we would like to share our official post coverage review of the festival itself.
As promised after Langerado 2008, we have developed a system for rating and critiquing festivals for our readers. Deemed the 2008 Festival Baseball Trading Card, we hope that this ongoing formula can give our community a fair and level playing field, being ranked and judged on the same terms as any other particular festival. For coverage of daily occurrences, I do encourage you to look beyond our post coverage Festival Baseball Trading Card and read our articles written daily from the festival.
To jog your memory and use for reference, here is a summary of each category on our Festival Baseball Trading Card.
The Big Picture – Overall rating of the festival.
Town Square – Music festivals have a very organic way of creating a village, so whether it is Centeroo or Homebase, the festival land is what makes each experience different.
Performances – Need we say more?
Festival Shoppe – Mmmmm – I LOVED this food or WHOAH! Did you check out those didgeridoos? The marketplace of the music festival is a crucial element in creating the community atmosphere.
Green My Scene – From public water to waste management, how well did the music festival preserve the borrowed terrain?
Security – Watchdogs. Big Brother. Protectors of the people – Takers of the vibe.
Point A – Z – Logistically, from parking to people, how well did the traffic/progression of it all cohesively work together.
TheRFW.com presents
2008 FESTIVAL BASEBALL TRADING CARD
SUMMER CAMP 2008
Based On An Ascending Five Point Scale
Performances – With highlight performances from Avett Brothers, moe., Umphrey’s McGee, O.A.R. , Blind Melon, The Flaming Lips and STS9, the scheduled artists of the festival brought ‘it’ overall. Smaller stage acts such as Shaggy Wonda, The Macpodz, The Vessel and Chicago Farmer all contributed nicely to not just make this a festival that musically survived on the shoulders of the headlining artists, but one that allowed everyone to discover great-unknown bands that hail from many pockets of the nation. The weaker performances delivered by G. Love and Special Sauce and a fair showing by The New Pornographers hurt this festival in this area of
our critique. With powerhouse, diverse lineups being heralded from music festivals Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Rothbury, the smaller ones need to make sure they continue to pack the punch that they are known for because mediocre performances do add up in the retro-thought of your experience. 3/5
Town Square – What makes this festival experience unlike many that you may come to know on the nationwide festival circuit is the removal of campsite from your vehicle parking spot. Truly allowing the land at Three Sisters Park to sustain a built village, the Town Square is much more intimate with tents lining the dirt roads and bordering concert stages and sites. With food vendors appropriately spaced about, Summer 
Camp definitely has perfected the art of accommodating the more than ample camping space and the Festies that will survive within the confines of the town. Also, BIG thumbs up on the placement of port-o-johns and showers.
Whether you were in the shaded sounds of the Camping stage or the open space of the Sunshine stage, restrooms were always an emergency run away. The downside to the town came ‘after the rain’ – pun intended. With your pathways being the natural ground, once a strong rain hit, you were doomed to be swallowed in mud. They did refill hay in some saturated areas of ground, but only in a seldom used, high traffic area were actual wood chips laid to create a sustainable road.
Here, the land stood the test of weather as no excess earth surfaced when wet and walked upon. 4/5
Festival Shoppe – We were not happy with this festival marketplace in comparison to lets say – Langerado 2008.
From the limited amount of variety in food vendors to the shortage in options for clothing, posters and other accouterments that can be bought and sold at typical music festivals, the Festival Shoppe was average at best. We could have used more $1 Grilled Cheese sandwiches sold by Festies looking to make extra money too… but the ones passing out free delicious cookies were just fine! 2/5
Green My Scene – Can we PLEASE talk about what a great job Summer Camp did on keeping my scene so fresh and so green-green?! Starting with the arrival of Friday attendees who were moving into the festival grounds/town square, garbage bags were being offered to everyone who walked through the festival bracelet check-through entrance. Throughout the day, workers and/or volunteers walked to every tent and either offered garbage bags or tied them onto the poles themselves, sharing with everyone that if you simply bag your trash and leave it on the side of the festival walkways, a garbage truck would come through and pick them up… and they did.
Like clockwork, workers continued to ride through the festival grounds the entire three days, collecting trash every couple hours if not more often. Restrooms were filthy as always, but what aids in the running of a quality festival is the constant cleaning of them. Not counting
meticulously, the restrooms were cleaned about three times a day! The access to public water proved to be incredibly beneficial for many in attendance. Whether you were looking to fill up your Nalgene or possibly step into an actual aluminum basin/tub that the spouts of water ran into, the access to basic water was open for everyone. Even if you felt dirty, $3 showers were on site for the cleansing of your skin. Recycling cans for bottles, glass and plastic were everywhere with more than enough stationed next to every stage, often being overfilled after each set. The designated area for volunteers and workers to sift through all of the recycled goods was extremely well organized. VERY good job! 4/5
Point A – Z – We made it in without having to wait in a single line for more than 10 minutes, with IMMEDIATE assistance from signs and volunteers upon our first turn into the parking area.
The VIP, RV and general parking areas were exceptionally organized in rows with fun painted signs at the beginning of each, allowing everyone in the festival an easy way to remember where their vehicle was located; however, I still saw many instances of lost hippies wandering looking for their car, holding out their automatic door openers, clicking the alarm hoping for a sound in direction. 
Throughout the festival grounds, areas for assistance were widely available; moreover, they were not smack in your face.
Instead, neatly tucked away in the corner for showers, some restrooms and recycling. Just so convenient. And exiting the festival was a BREEZE! Another bonus that Summer Camp has over many festivals is the Trolley.
A tractor pulled trailer reminiscent of hay rides circled the campgrounds from entrance to the rear camping areas of the park which allowed everyone motorized assistance in traveling from your car to your campsite.
Whether you were setting up shop or just tired from walking, the Trolley that circled an average of every 10/15 minutes was the icing on the cake for this festival.
Through rain pour, heat and even final day people traffic, the Trolley was your trusted vehicle in the town. 4/5
Security – What can we really say… really? They were there, did some searches but not noticed at all! Did their jobs without being seen! And we did not hear one complaint. 4/5
The Big Picture – So when we take the performances and the parking, the highs and lows and the security and mix them all together, Summer Camp 2008 gets an RFW official rating of 3.5/5
-written by Rashon A. Massey (photos) & Benjamin J. Landsman
DAILY ARTICLES WRITTEN AT SUMMER CAMP 2008 by Rashon A. Massey.
DAY I – 05/22 – 05/23
I sit in the wake of the Flaming Lips performance at 11:30 p.m., sheltered by the shadows and silhouettes of the passing Summer Camp patrons on my tent. The first day has been quite the experience with many stories to tell. The village that is Summer Camp has proven to have a will and testament that is going to solider on through any rain or storm.
We entered the camp ground around six in the evening on Thursday and the first mental note I ingested came from the organization of parking. Because this festival is so much smaller in attendees in comparison to larger festivals like Bonnaroo in Manchester, TN or 10k Lakes in Detroit Lakes, MN, the cohesive manner in which everything is ran is quite outstanding. The years of experience from past Summer Camps have helped more considerably than I give credit, but thus far, the crew seem to be handling everything well.
Unlike Langerado 2008 and Wakarusa, you do not park next to your vehicle. For that reason, the immediate organization of cars has helped immensely, with more than enough decorative signs to aid the new festival attendee. I must share, if you want the first inside scoop it would be for me to say ARRIVE ON THE FIRST DAY! Due to our Thursday arrival, we found a (thus far) great camping spot, although Mr. Landsman’s tent is filling with water. Oh yes…
The community awoke to an ongoing steady stream of rain; however, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, always giving proof to what a gentleman and showman he is, promptly preformed his sound check at about 11 this morning. Amidst the showers, the band persevered in playing a Zeppelin cover to a crowd of about 100 dedicated fans, baron festival market and tents hidden in the recess shade of trees.
We emerged from our tent to an enthusiastic romp on the Camping stage, The Vessel tearing through the air that was now free of rain. I made sure to pay steady attention to the Summer Camp Festies that were making the first entry into the campground. During the morning, the Trolley circled on continual 10-minute clockwork and with the rain clear the service ran faster.
Walking through the land, after a 12 hour-long rain, I began taking note of the Greeness Factor! The port-o-johns by 2 had already been through a much needed cleaning, and the dirty bodies fresh of morning rain or previous night mud wrestling, were taking good advantage of the available $3 showers and nicely spaced rest areas.
moe., although on Friday afternoon, is considered the official festival opener and at 1:30 p.m., the House Band did not disappoint, playing to the hardcore fan base that has supported their growth not just here, but at moe.Down and through their nationwide tour consistency.
The Lee Boys, hitting the Sunshine stage at 3, did not fail in reviving the Holy Ghost. With Roosevelt…Rosie… slappin that damn slide guitar with a wrist sass like Robert Randolph or any gospel trained heavy slider for the matter, the band delivered their usual sing along lyrics based over standard blues and funk riffs. The energy and charisma the Lee Boys posses is what makes them an enduring festival favorite.
Only drifting to Tea Leaf Green for a moment to catch the well energized and nicely attended space after the moe. crowd left their garbage, I returned to see the Avett Brothers do what I consider one of the most outstanding festival performances ever. The Avett Brothers quartet is made up of an upright bass, cello, banjo and guitar (occasional drum when Seth Avett switches instruments). The vocal harmonies delivered by both Seth and Scott were nothing short of beautiful and rich with grit, grime and soul. A throwback, reminiscent of coal miners or old railroad, American songbook tunes from a period gramophone, the Avett Brothers revive a spirit and authenticity that many festival goers were not prepared for, but were sure happy they found. Passion, family pride and a profound understanding of musical composition can be the only foundation for the experience taken during an Avett performance. The modern vocals with wailing shout that places you in an Irish pub without the fighting, makes this band a solid force to be reckoned.
We marched our way over to STS9 at the Moonshine stage and as usual the boys were bumping. I was not at all worried but interested to dance and flow with a STS9 set that was only an hour and a half, but that makes no difference especially when profound moments happen. At exactly 6:46 p.m., during the conclusion of a song and uproar of scream and shouting, the gloomy, overcast clouds of the day broke to reveal the warmth and countenance of the sun above a perfect moment.
With the overwhelming variety of new music that is generally considered roots when categorized, the 7:00 p.m. set of Girl Talk on the Sunshine stage proved to be the break everyone didn’t know they needed. Bending samples from artists ranging from M.I.A. and Kia over loops from songs like Snoop Dogg’s 07 anthem “Sensual Seduction [Eruption],” Girl Talk (real name Gregg Gillis) made a smashing nationwide debut has the hottest DJ to see. The audience was strong wall to wall with dance, smiles and excitement for overall Top 40. I am sure older residents of the festival scene might not have been happy with hearing Jay-Z at a festival that celebrates almost the counterculture of mainstream music; nonetheless, it does have a place with many reasons supporting why we consider that echelons of music Pop-ular.
Day II -05/24
As the sun made the ascension above the horizon, the electric blue sky warmly embraced the festival with not a visible cloud in sight. The energy of the people, renewed with a better night sleep undisturbed by weather and the dried festival roads that held feet hostage in a muddy bind, allowed the take off of Day II to be effortless.
Honoring the beautiful sun crisp air first were the bass thumping progressions from Janis of the Family Groove Company. With the sun riding high over our heads at 1:00 p.m., FGC was the first indicator that ‘every-ting was gunna be alright!’ Reviving the funk initiated by the Lee Boys almost 22 hours prior, FGC melded the shoe sliding goodness of James Brown with a nasty keyboard and guitar continuum that was fed by band members Adam Lewis and Jordan Wilkow. I would love to see this band jam with RFW’s Hometown Gem band The Macpodz. With the addition of our hometown trumpeter and xylophonist, some sweet retro dance possibilities could occur.
I ran into an old friend by the name of Busy Bill/Dolla Billa/However You Will/Da Real Deal, an old Festie that has toured alongside the greats of the jam scene like Trey Anastasio, Umphrey’s McGee and many more. Finding out he would be raging near the Sunshine stage, I decided to meander over to see what Lotus would be talking about post FGC set. As usual – Lotus delivered a powerful line up of tunes although I do prefer them under the shade of night. It is then that I think the lights and ambiance can really place you in the frame of mind to indulge upon the live experience of this band.
We gathered footage of the fantastic, vocally charged Blind Melon set and didn’t get the G. Love & Special Sauce performance we were hoping for. We have seen Mr. Love and band more than a combined 10 times; however, this performance was overall weak in charge and lacked the spontaneity and freshness of some of his others. It could have been much worse, but overall – solid.
Outside of the two sets of moe., the Must See sets of Saturday lived up to hype. The anticipated performance by The Roots definitely changed my mind about the band, reassuring me that they are capable of crowd pleasing, confident and enduring performances in contrast to the … that was Langerado 2008. O.A.R. held up to being the fan favorite talk has built them to become. Like 311, this group simply knows how to run a show, beginning to end, alternating between the appropriate amount of audience chat and instrumental jamming.
Day III – 05/25
And so we face… the final curtain. The festival has been memorable and as we wrap our extensive coverage of this year Summer Camp 2008, the gloomy clouds of mischievous weather loom over our heads, making sure we walk with tact and care. I like to think of it as an omen to come that somehow is reinforcing that we enjoy each moment of pleasant nature around us.
Backyard Tire Fire was our first performance in attendance and the band pulled the hidden residents of the festival from their tents. Beginning with upbeat, older tunes, the band didn’t initially showcase Ed Andersons songwriting or vocals, but their musical ability to not wane so much as country, roots music, but a modern blues based ensemble that has added personal inflections of southern rock and folk with their melodies.
The Macpodz were the next set to see, making us proud to be representing our great state of Michigan. Pulling many songs from their smash album Genius Food For Superheroes, they brought down the house with their signature flute and vocals on “You Got Me.” A rather mild jam session occurred when they brought on horns from Lynch to accompany a tune, but something didn’t seem to right about our MI trumpeter in the Podz. We feel he did not rise to the challenge everyone else seemed to charismatically live up too.
Catching the tale end of Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, we eagerly sat on our tired bones and awaited the entry of our final hyped performance of the day (other than moe. of course) – George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. Having witnessed the power of George and family, I can assure you that the funk was indeed brought. With all the off-record quality I cannot share with you ;-)
As Clinton’s performance continued, the sun broke through the morning overcast and illuminated the grass and Festies with the sunshine we were craving on our final day together. The temperatures steadily were on the rise and many took advantage of the time to buy band paraphernalia or indulge in the ice cream available for purchase from several vendors. By the final set of moe., the entire congregation came together under the star speckled sky of night and held each other for the last commune of Summer Camp 2008.