Hoxeyville Music Festival 2010 (8.21.2010)

Paul Hoffman vs. Seth Bernard

As Saturday morning began to gaze down over Hoxeyville, I peeled back our air mattress to check on our saturation status… dry as could be. I guess all that time I spent sealing our tent seams and rain-proofing the ceiling really paid off. With a bit of coffee, we were up and at em’ and down at the main stage in no time to catch Paul Hoffman (mandolin, Greensky Bluegrass) and Seth Bernard sharing the stage for a little early morning duet. Seth and Paul are good friends and for years now have made it a point to jam together at the annual Hoxeyville festival. But this year, as Paul explains, was the first year they decided to do it on stage. The thing I love about Michigan roots music is that these artists feed off of one another. There is this whole network of musicians and songwriters that fuel this beautiful collection of creative ideas that is much larger than any one individual. So when you experience a performance like this one with Seth and Paul, it’s almost like you are experiencing the sum of so many different Michigan musicians and songwriters… the collective ideas of countless contributors such as Joshua Davis and May Erlewine who have developed the very sounds that I have come to associate with the state of Michigan. Paul brings this notion to life as he and Seth strum a couple of Joshua Davis tunes including “Break of Day”. Just then, the clouds began to separate and rays of sunshine come pouring down on the rain-soaked grounds of Hoxeyville for the first time in about 15 hours. The crowd erupts in cheers, laughter and smiles. It was noon and it was going to be a phenomenal day.

Airborne or Aquatic?

Back at camp, we slowly began to get our bearings back as the eggs and sausage cooked through. Upon completion of this vital Saturday morning meal, it was time for Airborne or Aquatic. I have seen Airborne a number of different times under a number of different conditions and this show, I must say, was above and beyond anything I have yet to experience. With Greensky guitarist Dave Bruzza joining forces with Mike Shimmin on the dueling drum sets, the beautiful and talented miss May Erlewine offering up her services in the violin, vocal, and harmonica departments, and The Macpodz’s own Jesse Clayton manning the keys, I knew we would be in for a treat. Hell, even Jake Robinson himself was there, electric guitar in hand. With Glen Brown manning this crazy synth set up that looked like an air traffic control booth, Airborne broke into a version of “Keep Up the Quest” that you are unlikely to hear anywhere but Hoxeyville. Seth really seems to find his comfort zone when he is jamming with AOA. His style remains tasteful yet powerful, explosive and unquestionably more exploratory than his other projects. With a suitcase full of pedals (quite literally) he pumps his foot up and down, initiating a range of different celestial sounds all while twisting and bending the strings on his beautiful cherry red Gibson guitar. He falls to his knees at one point with his eyes closed and his long hair swaying back and forth. Perfectly timed notes come screaming off his electric guitar before he brings it down and lets the song itself come back into focus. In between classic Airborne jams like “Overhaul” and “Mooseman”, Seth takes the crowd on a subterranean submarine voyage as he speaks with echo-effected words about Michigan’s rivers and lakes. It was a story, and it was hands down one of the weekend’s most honest, heartfelt, and spectacular performances. No offense to fans of That 1 Guy (performing on the main stage during AOA), but I would give up seeing that dude’s act for the rest of my entire life just to hear one Airborne or Aquatic performance like this. This is pure music.

Todd Snider > The Ragbirds > Greensky Bluegrass

Todd Snider got started an hour or so after Airborne and I was definitely excited to hear his tunes. I saw Todd play an incredible show this past April in Atlanta and this would be my second time seeing him at Hoxeyville in the last two years. Full of political satire, humor, and pure honesty, it is in the delivery of his lyrics where Todd finds success. His tunes remain simple at their core but when fused with his lyrical wit and hilarious transitional stories, this man dishes out what is a truly entertaining form of talking blues. With Vince Herman and his mandolin taking the stage early on during Todd’s set, I stuck around long enough to hear the two of them jam a few of my favorites, including the sarcastic “This Land is Our Land” before heading over to the Cadillac Stage to catch the end of The Ragbirds. This world-infused blend of Celtic folk has been a Michigan favorite for a number of years now. There is no doubt that The Ragbirds can jam. Erin Zindle is a fiddling force to be reckoned with and her band of brothers play a percussion driven style of music that is sure to send you into a fiery trance at one point or another. On this evening, however, something was amiss. I wish I could shed more light on this performance but all I remember was feeling a disconnect. I think I have witnessed The Ragbirds playing with so much more vigor in the past that this performance just seemed to be lackluster.

Up next on the Hoxeyville Stage was Greensky Bluegrass whom, because of the magnitude of their Sunday afternoon set, I promise to talk more about in the next edition of my Hoxeyville coverage. They were, however, joined onstage by none other than Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart of The Rhythm Devils… Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart of The Grateful fucking Dead. I believe Anders Beck said something along the lines of “You can chalk this up on the list of introductions I never thought I’d make”. The Greensky boys were absolutely gleaming as they moved into a bone-chilling version of “China Cat Sunflower” and eventually “I Know You Rider”. As a music fanatic, this was one collaboration that I will never, ever forget. With the conclusion of Greensky came what was surely a deliciously funky performance from The Pimps of Joytime that I regretfully missed out on in order to feed myself. The Saturday night headliners awaited.

Keller Williams > Great American Jam Session

Keller always has the greatest set-up. It’s a musician’s dream world… an instrumental playground of guitars and loop pedals and mixing boards and drum pads and synthesizers. I honestly believe that Keller Williams loves playing music more than anyone I have ever witnessed. The thing about Keller is that even in the absence of a crowd, no matter how big or small, he would still be doing the same sort of shit because it’s what makes him happy. He would be jamming alone in his basement, that same goofy smile plastered on his face, just totally screwing off. KW’s sound, along with his carefree attitude, is infectious. By the time the Grateful Dead classic “Brown Eyed Women” rolled around towards the end of his set, K-Whopper had invited every single member of The Rhythm Devils on stage and the gang continued to completely fry my brain. With the Grateful Dead rhythm section on drums, Tim Bluhm (The Mother Hips) on guitar and vocals, Andy Hess on bass, and the 23-year-old phenom Davy Knowles on guitar, what had slowly become The Rhythm Devils ripped into a “Scarlet Begonias” that left me with shivers. The anticipatory feelings I was having for The Devil’s set later that night were profound.

With very little overlap, it was off to the Cadillac Stage for Great American Taxi. I hadn’t had much exposure to this band prior to the Hoxey fest so I was curious to see what they had in store. Holy smokes. Do these guys ever PLAY! As soon as I was within earshot of that stage, I was grinning from ear to ear, bobbing my head up and down with that scrunched up look on my face that says, “These guys are REALLY JAMMING!” Guitar guru, mandolin madman and Leftover Salmon founder Vince Herman as well as keys player Chad Staehly were clear standouts. In addition to the regulars, Barry Sless of the band Moonalice sat in and started absolutely WAILING on the pedal steel guitar. His fingers were a blur as Taxi released this swampy blend of progressive bluegrass, swing induced honky tonk, and pure rock ‘n’ roll that had everyone in the crowd flailing around and dancing in this unbelievable delight. Barry and Chad had some of the most blistering solos I had heard all weekend and I couldn’t even register how much fun I was having. Then, as if things hadn’t gotten heavy enough… enter Greensky’s own Paul Hoffman on mandolin and Anders Beck on dobro. Did I mention that Anders was dressed head to toe in a full gorilla suit and that Todd Snider would come walking out shortly thereafter. What followed was an absolute auditory assault of the highest degree. Great American Taxi is known for these impromptu jam sessions that keep it’s members on their toes and gives you the feeling that anything might happen. Paul and Vince were going totally nuts on their respective instruments while Barry, Chad, the gorilla, and everyone else involved kept the heat coming for the remainder of the set. Wow. Great American Jam Session, to be sure. Hoxeyville was heating up.

The Rhythm Devils

These are the times where I find it difficult to put things into words. This music, this experience… sometimes it’s beyond description. When The Rhythm Devils came out, I really had no idea what to expect. I knew what Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann were capable of, considering their history. These are two of the finest drummers in the business. As if it needs to be said… these guys spent 30 years with the damn Grateful Dead. 30 years. I knew little of bassist Andy Hess, knew nothing about front man Tim Bluhm or his band, The Mother Hips, and had only heard the name Davy Knowles before. That was it. Seeing these guys jam with Keller earlier that evening was nothing more than a tease for what we are about to witness. At six foot, five inches tall, Bluhm stands in the center of the stage, towering over his bandmates. His voice is confident, harmonic, and rings out in graceful contrast to that of Knowles who stands to his left. Wasting no time getting to Dead songs, The Devil’s moved right from the opening song, “Hey Bo Diddley” into “Cold Rain and Snow” and by the time “Cumberland Blues” and “Uncle John’s Band” came around, I began to realize how phenomenal and extremely Jerry-like Bluhm’s voice really was. I began to have flashbacks of the infamous Furthur show I witnessed at the beginning of this year. This epic performance was part of the reason I felt compelled to start writing about music and documenting these experiences I was having. In my lengthy review of that performance, I speak of John Kadlecik and his vocal range that is eerily similar to that of Jerry Garcia’s. Well, Bluhm’s might be just as scary. The Rhythm Devils, having taken a four-year hiatus since their 2006 tour, are back with a vengeance. Their timing, in large part due to the telepathically communicating rhythm section, was spot on and Hess was as solid as can be. But it was Davy Knowles who really caught me off guard. 23-year-old Knowles looked nothing but comfortable and confident in sharing the stage with such legends. This kid is some sort of prodigy. He took off on some absolutely soaring guitar work full of psychadelia that had me wondering what sort of Grateful Dead train I had been hit by. The baby-faced Knowles seems to be strangely well suited for his role as lead guitarist within The Rhythm Devils, despite having any real history of playing jam-related music. It’s exciting to hear a kid like that play, and know that they have their entire life ahead of them to grow and develop and improve. It sort of scares you to think about how good they could become. With a couple of freewheeling, head-spinning versions of “New Speedway Boogie” and “Fire on the Mountain” as well as an appearance from Keller Williams for the last couple of songs, it had been confirmed… this had been the greatest show I had seen since Furthur. The Rhythm Devils, amidst the intimate grounds of Hoxeyville Music Festival, had blown me away and reminded me what this Live.Music.Life is all about.