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Hello SCampers!
This will be my first post as one of your Camp Counselors! I am so excited to be here at the festival and blogging for SCamp. Every year, the week before the fest we find ourselves constantly checking that 10 day report of what kind of weather we will be seeing over the weekend. For some reason it always seems to change every 5 minutes. Before coming to the festival, my +1 sent me this hilarious weather report that I feel is quite accurately how my weekend will go!
I hope you all enjoy it. Here’s JR Johnivan with your weather!
The forecast is looking partially UMmy, with a heady chance of moe. lazers. Possible wailer storms coming in Friday, right around 4:20
which is going to give way to a Level 9 STS watch later on in the evening, eventually ending with some massive dubstep, where on-site reporter Jason Hann will be live in the VIP lounge.
Saturday you’d have to be a conspirator not to love this weather, so make sure to eat your bowl of cornmeal in the afternoon cuz it’s a (karl denson’s) tiny universe out there, or maybe you wanna go with a pizza with THE WERKS on it, before getting an UM, Moe, UM, Moe, and make sure to put them sunglasses on cuz late night Ragbirds will be BRIGHT!!
Then we’ll start off first thing Sunday afternoon with an extended UM watch, before checking out some TAJ MAHAL-like weather – believe me, you’re gonna wanna eat plenty of LETTUCE for this one, oh – did I forget to mention this is Ragbirds season? Hope you have your sunglasses on Sunday too, cuz there will be plenty of Ragbirds crossings out. Thats right about the time we’ll ROCK into the FUTURE , then, we’ll have a 4 hour commercial from our main sponsor, TAB (Cola) before ending the weekend with some moe.
and that is your weather report son!
Enjoy your festy SCampers!
Eric Richards
Alright fellow campers, for those of us who have been here over the years, you’ll notice a lot of new stuff this year. Here’s what I’ve noticed so far:
- RFID chips in your wristbands - this year we’re high-tech, and you’ll need to get scanned in every time you enter or exit the park (for VIP, every time you enter that section as well). Throughout Thursday, there were some congested lines as the staff were figuring them out… turns out, if your arm is too close to the person next to you, it has trouble reading them. So basically just don’t all shove your wrists together to get scanned. That said, I’ll have to assume this helps crack down on folks sneaking in for free – so, this will help keep out ticket prices down for the fair paying customers. Hooray!
- The great Sunshine / Campsite switch – we knew this one was coming when the map was released, but the relocation of the Sunshine stage is a pretty big move. What I do like about it is the better sense of community when you’re walking from stage to stage. Rather than having campsites way out on the perimeter, more people can be in the heart of the action (even if you didn’t get a prized forest spot). Jury’s still out on what it will be like during shows though… I could see some pretty tough traffic moving from Moe @ Moonshine to Umphrey’s at Sunshine without the straight path through.
New camping area!
- Information Boards! - this has already saved me at least 5 times this camp. As you’re walking through, look for the information boards with a big schedule posted, any workshops and activities (like Field Day), weather and other updates. These are also featuring “Missed Connections” boards (a la Craigslist)… did you catch eyes with a gorgeous hooper this weekend? Share a beer with a studly man and didn’t give your number? Summer Camp Missed Connections has you covered.
- Camping Stage – what seemed in years past as a little tricky to find and a real small set up has legit stage quality this year. The camping stage has moved, they’ve gotten a great setup with a proper viewing area, and even some serious decorations. Check it out!
Zeta June @ the Camping Stage
Holla Scampers!
Just want to give my experience as a first timer at Scamp and a recap of Thursday.
I must say that I love the layout of Scamp. I like how there is a large distance between the main stages, making the experience even more amazing when you can focus completely on the band that you’re seeing. I especially love how you can choose you’re camping spot, where at other festivals you are given a specific spot to camp. My friends and I choose to camp in Studio Tan (F area) along the tree line across from the Moonshine stage. It’s a fantastic spot since there plenty of shade and room to spread out. I definitely enjoyed the cheap fare for the Festy Cabs, this was a lifesaver for me when I was carrying my last heavy load of camping gear. And the free tractor shuttles are amazing; I’ve never seen that at a festival before! After setting up camp, I made friends with all of my neighbors who are totally awesome! I’ve never met so many friendly people at a festival before in ONE day. Everyone is amazing and super friendly at Scamp. Also my main man happened to mention my birthday yesterday out loud when we were walking around and the people walking next to us (Jen and Rob) over heard and wished me a happy bday and gave me a free hula hoop. Here’s a pic of Jen and Rob from Chicago who had a booth at Scamp of their hoop business called Hippie Hoops. If you need a hoop, definitely check these guys out, they do an fantastic job, and they’re amazing people!
Things like this would only happen at Summer Camp!
As for Thursday, I hit up some Infantree at the Campfire stage. These guys were really young, but they totally rocked it! Next I went to the Soulshine Tent and did some yoga. The instructor’s name was Tammy and since there were only about 20 of us, she was able to walk around and help us do the yoga moves properly. Later I walked up to the Sunshine stage since I could see a band setting up, but I knew nothing was scheduled for the Sunshine stage, so I checked it out, and low and behold, I see Brendan Bayliss and the rest of Umphrey’s McGee. It was their sound check! And they played a couple songs…so amazing!
Next I saw some Cornmeal, I LOVE bluegrass and have seen them before, so they awesome as usual. Also they covered the Ted Nugent song Strange Hold. I did my best to stay out late Thursday by catching some Team Bayside High (a Chicago DJ duo) before heading to bed. They use a great mix of rock, movie themes, and modern hits. Allover, Thursday was a nice clam day with awesome surprises.
Catch ya later!
Love, hugs, and thugs,
-Mo
Hola fellow SCampers!!!
As we approach the weekend we have all been anxiously waiting for, I wanted to take a minute and give you guys a better idea of who I am and what I am going to bring to Summer Camp this year. First and foremost I want to introduce you to the people I am coming to SC with; two of the main people who you will see in my vblogs are dear, close friends of mine who actually introduced me to Summer Camp six years ago and have been there with me every year since, Derrick Lawless and Steve Bannister. Two super chill, awesome people who I met in college and am proud to say will be a part of my life for the rest of it. Come Summer Camp 2050 we will be there rockin’ it out like ever before. There are other friends of mine who are coming, Matt Weiler, Brian Buss, Christina Fountain, and Jake Kuykendall, (if you meet anyone of them, buy them a drink!) most of them are also friends from college who share the love for good music and good times.
One of the reasons that Summer Camp is the ULTIMATE most AMAZING festival is the line up. Every year I think to myself “man there’s no way this year’s line up is going to be as killer as last year’s” and every time I am proven wrong. I not only get to see the bands I already love and follow throughout the year; but there are always so many new bands that I fall in love with.
Some of this year the sets that I am looking forward to seeing for the first time are Gigantic Underground Conspiracy; an awesome compilation of artists from several bands who are sure to put on some jams you most certainly don’t want to miss. Tedeschi Trucks Band, I have always wanted to check them out and for some reason or another have never gotten the chance, with that kind of talent I know it’ll be an amazing show. Sun Stereo a sweet local Champaign-Urbana band with a distinct and fresh jazzy-rock feel, check them out in advance on facebook.
The bands that I have seen many a time before but cannot wait to check out are Lotus, went to their Halloween weekend show in Pittsburgh, PA this past year and it was out of this world good, if you haven’t checked them out – seriously it’s a show you don’t want to miss. Eoto is probably one of the bands I enjoy seeing live the most – they NEVER disappoint and manage to keep every show super fresh. Lastly can we say Talking Heads cover band? This Must be the Band is definitely one of those I gotta check out, can I put a request in? Let’s hear the Talking Heads song your band is named after =)
Alright so I have limited space and limited time and there are tons of bands I am dying to check out (like two bands not mentioned above who are among my all time favorite bands and who I get to see every year 3 days in a row ONLY at Summer Camp? that’s right…moe. and Umphrey’s), but I can’t talk about them all. So to let you know more about myself, I grew up on the Beatles, it led the way to harder rock and then jazz, such as Zeppelin and Dave Brubeck, and from there evolved further to include jam and electronic rock. I appreciate all artistry and talent, but I have a soft heart for drummers as I like to pretend I know how to jam on my used Evans drum set. I love Summer Camp for various reasons, but one of the main ones is that it was the first music festival of my life. Music has always had such an influential role in the essence of my being and there is no other festival that I feel as in touch with the tunes I love as SC. This is not your impersonal mob fest, you come to Summer Camp once and you feel like part of an extremely, extremely, large family forever.
On that note, for you first timers let me tell you some of the things I make sure to pack. For all you ladies, TP is a MUST. As glorious an experience as port-a-potties are, most of them run out of toilet paper and the best thing to do is be prepared, bring some and put a few squares (can you spare a square?) in your pocket. Next bring some trash bags, it is a privilege to use Three Sisters Park and we need to be responsible, have plenty of trash bags not just for garbage, but you never know what the weather could bring and you’d be surprised how dry one of those can keep you. Glow sticks are essential, not only do they add to the beautiful sea of lights at night on the main stage but they provide a great atmosphere for campsite hangouts. With all the great shows playing all the time, you are destined to catch some day shows and when the sun is strong some sun screen is essential! I have seen way too many people painfully red from neglecting to get their rub down, so SPF 50 it is! Finally, make sure to bring your crazy. This is a once in a lifetime experience to let go of everything that ties you down and let your true inner-self soar, so bring a happy spirit and leave your worries at home!
As your Summer Camp counselor I want you all to seek me out, let me make this your best Summer Camp yet. I want encompass the sweetness that is Summer Camp, and the only way I can do that is with your help. You fans are what keep SC alive and I want to show how we bridge the gap between the fans and the bands. Summer Camp is so much more that just music. It is about you living life; lets celebrate it.
I am going to promote some special Summer Camp spirit; my fellow moe.rons and I will be awarding fellow scampers that show special spirit throughout the festival. For example we will award the sweetest campsite, the person with the wildest outfit, the dude/dudette with the most innovative accessory or the neatest jam shout, and many many more; so let us join together and make this year the best Summer Camp EVER woop woop!!
SCampers for life!
Summer Camp Counselor Maria