Summer Camp Festival 2010 (5.28.2010)

Friday, May 28th

The sun came peeking into our little tent around 8:30 that morning. Waking up on the ground is never fun. Your body lets you know immediately that it doesn’t appreciate it very much. Karrin had grabbed a faulty air mattress but how could she have ever known… the Pond’s have ten of everything. It was a crapshoot. Some of those mattresses could have been 30 years old. Regardless, we were up and at em’ and ready for the day’s events. Morning time is the best at festivals; a time for reflection, relaxation, and maybe a tall Bloody Mary to replenish your juices. Breakfast is always prime, too. After taking the vehicle in for a little check up (long story), we made it back to the festival grounds just as our Michigan friends, the Ragbirds were finishing up their early set. An unfortunate circumstance but lucky for us, moe. was up next.

moe.

Without a cloud in the sky, I knew it was going to be a scorcher. It was about 1:00pm and 120 degrees when we made our way over to the Moonshine stage and the Summer Campers were out en masse. I immediately striped down to my standard festival attire – nothing but a pair of shorts – and started getting loose with moe. on stage orchestrating some serious jams. They opened up with “Rebubula” – one of those tunes that entice immediate recognition even if you are unsure about its title like I was. We took a minute to lather on some sunscreen and were instantly surrounded by a mob of sweaty beggars, holding their hands out with bloodshot eyes and chapped lips, already burnt to a crisp. We squirted a few globs into these crazed scroungers’ hands and I thought to myself “that ought to hold them off, at least for now”. I had only recently been turned on to the magic of moe. Karrin and I had seen them here in Atlanta not too long ago and they had really blown our lids. Rob Derhak began slapping his bass around like a rented mule and the fans were just eating it up. Rob truly lays down a foundation for this band that many progressive acts are lacking these days. Not only that, but often times it appears as if the two lead guitar players, Chuck and Al, are laying down the rhythm while Rob is taking off on some psychedelic lead playing that sounds like it was written for the two guitarists. With a sit-in by Ivan Neville on keys during “Happy Hour Hero”, moe. was really taking flight. It was a phenomenal introduction to both the Moonshine stage and the 10th annual Summer Camp Festival in general. This band has played this festival for 10 years running. They are at home here, and I couldn’t wait to hear more. Lucky for us, they had headliner slots for the next two nights.


Papadosio > Cornmeal > Yonder Mountain String Band

After our first moe.down of the weekend, we meandered over to the Campfire Stage for a date with the jamtronica band, Papadosio. Despite my continued frustration with the Campfire Stage and its limited access both visually and acoustically, I wiggled my way to the front of the stage only to be blown backwards by a sonic blast of jam fusion. These guys had an absolutely ripping lead guitarist and the keyboardist/synthesist had me surfing space waves deep into some unknown universe. The gravitational pull was unrelenting. For the few songs that I heard, I was profoundly impressed. But it was hot as hell and I needed out. I found Karrin and Amy underneath a shade spot so I collapsed and sucked down a liter of Camelbak to get my Bearingsbak.


As the sun got lower and lower in the sky, you could almost feel the entire mood of the festival shifting upwards. But we still had a long ways to go. It was 5:00 and I was psyched to see Cornmeal get started on the Moonshine Stage. They really twisted my wits the night before on the “secret” stage and left me curious as to what they might sound like with little microphones attached to their instruments. My friends, they did not disappoint. Guitarist Kris Nowak sounded even better than the night before. He resembled a mad scientist on stage, mixing and stirring a whole mess of different flasks and test tubes, filled with various musichemicals – bluegrass, americana, jam, psychadelia, all fuming and spraying their toxic liquids in different directions. I couldn’t get enough. Allie was shredding the strings off her fiddle… n’ough said. With a drummer to add to their progressive spirit, this group had the recipe for a truly unique roots band that I will surely be hearing more of in the future. On our way over to the water station, we caught a glimpse of STS9 blowing up the Sunshine Stage. Without even stopping to discuss it, Karrin and I just sort of kept walking… with a handful of albums and live recordings, and a number of chances to win my heart at various summer festivals, STS9 has yet to prove to me that they play anything worth skipping other acts for. I’m no fortune teller, but I suspect an early fall-out from this band on the entire music scene in general. I suppose only the test of time will prove me wrong.




The sun was dipping below the tree level now, and Yonder Mountain String Band was just getting started. With sinking temperatures, I was already feeling a breathe of fresh air. I had been introduced to Yonder at the 2008 Rothbury Festival and have only grown more and more appreciative of their music since that day. Mandolin maestro Jeff Austin has a voice that’s grown on me like the vines on the MSU Auditorium. It’s harmonious, raw, and only augmented by the support of each of his three band mates – Adam Aijala on guitar, Dave Johnston on banjo, and Ben Kaufmann on the stand-up bass. Adam and Dave seem to be as equally shreddy as Jeff and certainly know how to throw down on a good old-fashioned pick-fest when the time is right. But it’s not even the capacity for jam that I love about this band so much. Once in awhile, Yonder will bust into these slower paced, reggae-esque type strumming patterns that offer a truly unique approach to the jamgrass structure. These segments are playful and engaging and tend to offer a timely interruption to the intenseness of the songs that usually surround it. Never out of the question at this point in the show is a little scat singing from Jeff, which really sends the crowd into a frenzy. With the exception of Bill Monroe’s classic “Kentucky Mandolin”, the boys didn’t play a single song that I recognized which was a bit of a disappointment to me. I have 5 volumes worth of “Mountain Tracks” and I think they might have played one song off of these 5 recordings. Regardless, Yonder put on a damn good show that only served as a continuation of the bluegrass buzz I had been feeling ever since Cornmeal… Summer Camp was getting good.


Umphrey’s McGee

We made it over to the Sunshine Stage just as Umphrey’s McGee was getting started. The sun was nearly out of sight now and I could tell that the entire festival was feeling reinvigorated. Umphrey’s, much like moe., are regulars at this festival and it was evident that they were excited to be present. During the first portion of the set, UM went into exploration mode, creating and semi-resolving tension at every available opportunity. The pressure just kept building. Percussionist Andy Farag really knows how to supplement these musical shifts, always seeming to slide his hands across those chimes at the perfect moments. Towards the end of “The Linear”, I could feel the guitars slowly gaining presence… a subtle shift in tone to a more raw and powerful sound; Brendan and Jake applying more and more force with their picking hands. As soon as the “Hajimemashite” hammer hit, I knew we were experiencing the first true climax of the set. It was the release of nearly 40 minutes worth of pressure and the crowd was going ape shit. Jake Cinninger was attacking the neck of his guitar, barely giving it (and me) enough time to breathe. Now, don’t get me wrong, Jake is undoubtedly one of my favorite musicians on the jam circuit. The guy has talent oozing out of every pore in his body. But good lord man, relax. When Jake is shredding, he has this extremely fast, extremely succinct style of play that can sometimes lose a certain element of fluidity. Sometimes I find myself wishing he would draw some of his notes out longer or take a quick breather. Sometimes… less is more. Without stopping, UM ventured into “Plunger” and then slowed things down for a hand-holding version of “Gulf Stream” where Brendan let his amazing voice ring out. To close out the set, they gave us the first cover song of the weekend, “Lisztomania”. I’m not entirely sure if this song has anything to do with the 1975 film featuring Roger Daltry of The Who or if it’s a cover song of the pop band Phoenix, but whatever the case, this was an unbelievably catchy tune that I haven’t been able to stop humming for almost two weeks now. Umphrey’s can cover almost anything and cover it well. I always look forward to these little surprises and this particular one set the stage for what would become an amazing choice of cover songs over the course of the weekend.

Set two got going with a bang. Jake started ripping out the opening lines of “40’s Theme” and I knew it was going to be a good set. After a bit of raucous fun, the song broke down into a super heavy, dubbed out dance party complete with a steady, bone-rattling kick drum, electronic clap snare, and a bassline that was irresistible. I love these segments at UM shows. For a brief minute you have the opportunity to regain your senses, pull your sagging face back into position and move your body around to loosen things up a bit. But just when I thought we were safe, Jake came crashing down on the Sunshine Stage like lightening and began surgically removing everyone’s face before they could even realize what happened. This song was definitely a highlight for me. When the boys transitioned into a cover of the Talking Heads’ “Girlfriend is Better” I nearly lost it. Brendan was spot on with his David Byrne-like vocals and the band absolutely nailed it. Later on in the set, the guys went into “Glory”, an astounding climax equivalent to the first set’s “Hajimemashite” shredder. To the outside observer, it must have sounded like BP had just busted a pipe attempting to drill into the earth's crust – a thunderous explosion indeed. With bright white lights blasting us in the face and the crowd in a glorious uproar, it had been confirmed: Umphrey's had just played the two best sets of music at Summer Camp so far.


Where the Wild Things Are

Deciding to call it a day, we headed back to camp to settle in and rest up for another fun filled day of music. Little did we know we would be walking straight into a trap. As we approached our camp, we spotted them… a whole pack of juvenile delinquents lurking eerily around our tent. Where had they come from? Every time we had returned to camp to refuel that afternoon, we had noticed this group slowly increasing in size, but never posing an immediate threat to our personal space. Additionally, we had never seen them set foot outside of the woods. What could they have been doing all this time? With the onset of nighttime, things had really gotten out of hand. There were hoards of them now with tents half-erected on all sides of us… as if they had gotten halfway through the set-up process when the drugs kicked in. I caught a glimpse of one of them with my headlamp… eyes as big as bowling balls, a deer caught in the headlights, braces on his teeth… wait a second… braces? "How old are you?" I thought to myself. He looked around in panic. "Does your mother know you’re here? Does she know you’ve been infected with LSD!?!?"

To be continued...