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field day 2012
Saturdays are always some of the biggest days at Summer Camp. Almost everyone has had time to get to the festival and is out ready to rage in full force. Saturday was HOT! The mercury hit around 95 degrees but the bands were even hotter. I took the heat with chicken hat on and got to see quite a few bands. Here is a little bit of a preview of my day.
Family Groove Company
Kids These Days
Positive Vibr8tions
Ultraviolet Hippopotamus
Umphrey’s x2
Moe
Brain Damaged Eggman
Sun Stereo recreating the Beatles
Like yesterday, I will give you a brief synopsis of what where some of my high points of the day.
The first band that blew me completely away was a band I first heard within the last six months. The band is called Kids These Days and they are out of Chicago. The band is made out of young rockers that are barely out of high school, but don’t let that fool you. They have more talent and soul than people twice their age. Kids these Days has a very original sound I would call a sweet blend of funk, blues, jazz, soul, and hip hop. All 7 members of the band owned the stage the moment they set foot out there bringing an energy level that could boil blood. One of the things that first drew me to the band was the absolutely stunning voice of Macie Stewart who also plays keys, but I also have love for the horn section made up of Nico Segal on trumpet and J.P. Floyd on trombone. The horns provide that jazzy icing on the cake that brings all the parts in sync. They also function as “hype men” pumping up the crown and having a good time on stage. I love rock and roll but my roots are in the blues which is why I love to see Liam Cunningham up there ripping on blues guitar. I hope to see much more of these guys in the future.
The next show will be on the top of many Scampers best of list for 2012. The Brain Damaged Eggmen were formed from Jake, Kris, and Brendan from Umphrey’s, and Marc and Aron from Disco Biscuits. The two groups seamlessly blended their styles to form what 2011 Camp Counselor Nick Stock called Disco McGee. The sound was a dancy blend of Disco Biscuits groove and gut-punching Umphrey’s rock. They played many of my favorite songs including Pink Floyd’s “Fearless.” I was lucky enough to witness Umphrey’s cover this song in Dekalb in 2007 and was excited to see it busted out again.
After the late night in the Red Barn I was wanting to keep the Beatles vibe rolling and also wanted to kick back and relax so I headed towards the Soulshine tent to see Sun Stereo recreating the Beatles. I have never seen these guys before and was glad to see that they are a home grown act hailing from Urbana, IL. They came out in full force complete with British accents that could fool a true Brit.
I also got to take some time between sets to check out the Field Day events and even participate in dodgeball. I regret to inform you that I am not very good at Dodgeball and got out almost immediately, but I had a lot of fun. If you have a competitive spirit the field day events are a great way to meet new people that you will be able to rage with at future festivals. It is also a great way to partake in the childlike fun of Summer Camp.
One more day left Scampers. It is going to be a great one, hold on to it while you can because you are going to miss it Monday. As always Rage Responsibly!
Saturday morning the crowds began to rise, but I’d been up for hours thanks to sunrise kickball (see my other post on that!). I spent the morning writing and posting photos in the Summer Camp offices in the church, and by 1pm I was on my way…
First I headed over to the Starshine stage and stumbled upon a game of capture the flag for Field Day. Being a proud member of team Red and seeing that they were short some players, I jumped in to help. Unfortunately, the Red team was eliminated pretty early on when the Yellow team crept into our home base to get the flag… we’ll get ya next year, Yellow.
A few more steps, and I was at my first show of the day, JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound. Their bio lists them as a “post-punk soul band”, and I think that’s a really accurate description. JC Brooks himself has stage presence like nothing I’ve ever seen… in 90 degree heat and a full-on suit, he kept the crowds entertained and dancing – it was a great way to start the day!
Next up, I met up with some of my buddies at the VIP bar for burgers, margaritas, and playing some bags.
Gov’t Mule had a really solid set at Moonshine, and the dust was really raging with the dancing. I like Mule, but I love Umphrey’s, so I left a little early to get a good spot and be ready to rage. For me, I actually like the second set of Umphrey’s the most, and they’d pretty much stole my heart when I heard Rush’s Tom Sawyer start pelting through the field.
All day I’d been looking forward to Brain Damaged Eggmen late night in the Red Barn, and boy it did not disappoint. It was a non-stop dance party and such a happy crowd.
Walking home through the darkness, I stumbled upon this artist working on a mural outside of the Soulshine Tent, and was reminded once again why Summer Camp is the happiest place on earth…
Hey Scampers!
Here’s a little recap of my Saturday at Summer Camp. I began my day in the Soulshine tent checking out the Food Patriots and the Henhouse Prowlers. The Food Patriots are a movement who are encouraging others to purchase at least 10% of their food from local farmers, or to purchase organic or natural foods. I was able to speak with and interview Jennifer who helped start the Food Patriots movement. She even asked me to walk around while they spoke in the Soulshine tent and ask people if they wanted to sign up for updates and to join the movement. Here’s a glimpse of Jennifer and her partner speaking in Soulshine.
Then I ran over to the field day events and joined up with my fellow Yellow teamers. I watched us get beaten in tug-of-war. Then participated in some dodge ball, Yellow Team won the first round. But in the second round, I was the only Yellow teamer left standing and had to face 5 guys who were looking at me like a piece of meat. It was frightening, but eventually one of the guys caught a ball that I threw, and it was over. Next, we participated in arm wrestling; I was the Yellow Team’s female participant and lost very quickly to the Red team. Here is a great picture of my match and facial expression against the Red Team.
My main squeeze Adam was the Yellow Team’s male participant in arm wrestling, and he was able to give us the only win out of all of the events. Lastly, was the pizza eating contest. At first the purple team was in the lead, but then Blue Team pulled through for the win of the pizza eating contest. After all the events were over, the Purple Team ended up with the final win.
After field day was over, I took a much needed break, rehydrated myself and caught some Rebelution, and Common.
Then I grabbed some food and got ready for a long but amazing night of G. Love (who played songs like My Baby’s Got Sauce and Cold Beverage), Old Shoe, Gov’t Mule, moe., Midwest Hype, Umphrey’s McGee, more moe., and Brain Damaged Eggmen in the Redbarn (who did amazing covers of the Beatles and Pink Floyd). Overall, it was an amazing day with some blues music and LOTS of jam.
Love, hugs, and thugs,
-Mo
Check out Field Day’s third annual round of Sunrise Kickball with Umphrey’s McGee’s Ryan Stasik!
If you’re particularly good at staying up all night (or waking up really early), you can catch sunrise kickball on Saturday. The sun was already up at 6am when the group converged on the grass towards the back of the Sunshine Stage viewing area, and about 200 people were there and ready to play.
The game is ON!
I stayed mostly on the sidelines – the collective outfield, really – where you main job is to catch any ball that comes your way. The mad dash to get on deck to kick was pretty impressive each inning, and I’m not entirely sure how teams went (or really if anyone cared).
The real gem of kick ball is Ryan. Ready to rock in a red kimono and a speedo, he twirled his mustache before throwing out pitches (side note, he’s a really good pitcher). The crowd loves him, and couldn’t wait to show off their skills and earn a high-five or a hug from him for a job well done.
It’s not easy to make it to morning kickball, but if you ever find yourself stumbling from the Red Barn back to your campside and the sun is coming over the horizon, toss down a Red Bull and head over to kickball for an hour. You’ll be happy that you did!
Hey Campers,
We are on site and ready for you all to join us in just 2 days! Since you will be overwhelmed with amazing activities to do once you’re here, here are a few things you don’t want to miss.
1. The workshops, activities, discussions, performances and more in the Soulshine Tent. For a full list of Soulshine activities, check out the schedule!
2. Sunrise kickball with Ryan Stasik of Umphrey’s McGee. This has become a Summer Camp tradition and will be taking place once again at 6am (or sunrise) on Saturday at the Sunshine stage.
3. All of our Field Day activities. Most events will be taking place during the day on Saturday just next to the Vibe Tent, so head over Thursday and Friday to sign up, and get in the action!
4. The Make a Difference Treasure Hunt. This is a fun way to see all of what the Make a Difference Area at Summer Camp has to offer, and earn an amazing prize ONLY offered to people who participate! This year’s prize is entry to an exclusive Everyone Orchestra show in the Red Barn on Sunday! Check out the back of your program for rules and more information.
5. The workshops taking place daily in the Old Church. Here’s the schedule for the weekend:
Friday
3:00-4:00 Keys with:
Joel Cummins – Umphreys McGee
Jordan Wilcow – Family Groove Company
Eric Blumenfeld – Kinetix
Joe Hettinga – Digital Tape Machine/Strange Arrangement
Jesse Clayton – Fareed Haque’s Math Games / Macpodz
4:30-5:30 EDM, Hosted by Anand Harsh of Untz.com, with:
Jesse Miller from Lotus
Spankalicious
Wick-it the Instigator
DJ SOLO
Saturday
4:00-5:00 Guitars, with:
Al Schnier - moe.
Adam Lewis – Family Groove Company
Marcus Rezak – Digital Tape Machine
+ special guest
5:30-6:30 Pickin’ with:
Cornmeal
Hot Buttered Rum
Sunday
3:00-4:00 Drums, with:
Andy Farag – Umphreys McGee
Greg Fundis – Math Games
Nigel Felony – Floodwood
4:30-5:30 Bass, with:
Janis Wallin – Family Groove Company
+ more
6. The Technaflora Booth! Technaflora will be hosting a costume contest at their booth at 6pm every day for a chance to win a pair of late night tickets! They are looking for the most creative and innovative costumes. The themes are as follows:
Day 1 – May 25 – What’s in Your Garden? / Dress up as your favorite Fruit or Vegetable
Day 2 – May 26 – Red Barn / Dress up as your favorite Farm Animal
Day 3 – May 27 – Enchanted Forest / Dress up as a Fairy
7. The Grassroots California Dome. The GRC boys are bringing their dome back to Summer Camp Music Festival, and this year they will be lighting up the forest in style with the GRC x Jumbie Color Changing Dome Experience. Make sure you check it out (and get the official Summer Camp Music Festival hat!!)
8. The Merch Areas! We have some amazing new merch designs for you this year. You can purchase merchandise at both the General Stores.
9. Our Information Boards. This year, we will have Information Boards at both General Stores and at the VIP tent. On these boards you will find a map of the grounds, the daily weather report, the schedule, information on workshops and other activities, AND any changes or updates throughout the weekend! Also, on the back we will have a Missed Connections board you can use to meet up with friends, make some new ones, and stay connected!
ALSO, don’t forget to download the iPhone or Android app before you leave, make your schedule online, and create a GroupMe Group!!
Last but not least….don’t forget your tickets!! If you haven’t grabbed yours yet, get one now! If you are planning on upgrading to VIP, make sure you get yours before they sell out!
See you all soon!
Your Summer Camp Director
Hey Campers,
Last year, the Red team came up with some pretty amazing tshirt designs on their own. So this year, to make sure EVERYONE can support their team, we’re excited to announce that we are currently accepting submissions for each team’s Summer Camp Field Day shirt. There will be 1 winning design for each team (red, yellow, blue and purple). All 4 winning designs will be printed in their respective Field Day colors, so they must be a single color design. Designs can have no gradient or shading, and must all be original artwork. All submissions MUST include Field Day, 2012 and the name of your team somewhere on the piece. Other than that, creativity is encouraged, so have fun!
To enter, sign up for a CrowdTogether account and upload your design. All designs must be submitted by midnight on April 20th. Then, fans will have an additional week to vote for their favorites. The designs with the most votes for each of the four teams at midnight on April 27th will all be named winners and each receive a pair of 3-day passes and VIP upgrades to the 2012 Summer Camp Music Festival.
Entries that do not follow the rules will not be considered, and may be eliminated from the entries by the Contest Director at their discretion.
For questions about the contest, please email contests@summercampfestival.com.
So get designing!
Yours truly,
The Summer Camp Director
Hey Campers,
Umphrey’s McGee will be playing at The Canopy Club in Urbana, IL on February 19th….the weekend after Valentine’s Day! So we thought, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, to bring a Booth Love Photo Booth to the event for charity.
At the Summer Camp Field Day table you will be able to buy raffle tickets to win passes to Summer Camp, merchandise and more. Each raffle ticket will give you 1 photo in the Booth Love photo booth. The $5 from each raffle ticket will go to benefit the Champaign County Humane Society in Urbana. Fans will have from 8pm-12am to enter and snap their Booth Love photos. Winners will be notified by text message by the end of the show and can come collect their prize at the Field Day table after the concert.
For another chance to win, after the concert, the Summer Camp Facebook page will post an album of the photos taken throughout the night. Tag yourself for a chance to win one of 3 Thursday Pre-Party Passes!
This is a Summer Camp Field Day event so every raffle ticket purchased will count for points for the Red, Yellow, Blue and Purple Team. The team that raises the most money for the Champaign County Humane Society will win the Booth Love event!
The Champaign County Humane Society is funded entirely by donations from generous animals lovers. They need our help to continue the high standard of care they offer to homeless animals. Your donations will make a difference in the life of a dog or cat, puppy or kitten, rabbit or guinea pig.
Hope to see you at the Canopy Club and remember to buy a raffle ticket to support the Champaign County Humane Society at the show!
Yours Truly,
The Summer Camp Director
p.s. Have you seen the Booth Love video yet? It’s pretty badass….