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Gov’t Mule
The once brazen Kimock seems finer in his approach these days. The former phenom of the late era psychedelic scene of San Francisco has come a long way from his early days with Zero and Kingfish. His performances with Rat Dog, Phil and Friends, and Steve Kimock Band have become legendary, and the reason is that Kimock has finally solidified his place within the band dynamic. Instead of going all out and simply shredding, he has found a subtlety to his playing that allows for other musicians to engage and compliment wonderfully. I have seen this shift in Kimock’s performances coming over many years. At the Aggie, he seemed to come full circle. Balancing lead and jamming back and forth with legendary keyboardist Bernie Worrell.
The inclusion of Worrell in this lineup is simply breathtaking. This man has so much musical history that to see him play in a room the size of the Aggie is an awesome experience. Worrell single-handedly invented funk keyboard and played in two of the most influential bands in American musical history. No doubt he is getting up there in age, but at 68 he is still touring regularly with several projects. The rhythm section consisting of troubadour drummer Wally Ingram and former Gov’t Mule bassist Andy Hess are the solid foundation on which this group is built. Hess brought the funk from time to time, but mostly stayed in the pocket. Ingram too stayed consistent and conservative throughout most of the night.
They opened with an extended jam on Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up.”
SET I: Get Up, Stand Up, You Can’t Do That> Super Stupid, Sun, Sun, Sun, Hey Man, This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)
SET II: 54-46 Was My Number, You’re The One, Come Together, Y-Spy> Five B4 fUNK, Tongue ‘n’ Groove
ENCORE: Burning Down The House
Thanks to Taper Corey and Kind Recordings for the UPLOAD.
Kimock demonstrated his copious skills on the pedal steel for their instrumental take on The Beatles’ “You Can’t Do That.” They blasted off with Funkadelic’s “Super Stupid,” which saw Worrell on the rapid-fire lyrics and Kimock absolutely exploding on the slide guitar. The went into jazzy rendition of Zero’s “Sun, Sun, Sun.” In just the first half of the first set we were witnessing are real musical meld between not only Worrell and Kimock’s playing, but their actual song catalogs. Sticking primarily to instrumental tunes, original track “Hey Man” began much like a traditional jazz-infused jam, but soon broke down into the avant-garde with Worrell hitting pinging notes on his synthesizer and Kimock wailed away over the top. They ended the set with a much-anticipated trip to the Talking Heads catalog with “This Must Be The Place.” The musical side of the song was top notch, but unlike “Super Stupid” Bernie’s vocals were choppy and he seemed fatigued at times. They jammed on this classic well past the ten-mark before calling the first set to a close.
The band returned to the stage with Toots and They Maytals’ “54-46 Was My Number.” It was a nice way to ease in the set and really demonstrated the diversity of both Hess and Ingram in the rhythm section. “You’re The One,” another Kimock original jam, contains some heavy give and take between Kimock and Worrell, before they busted out their second Beatles jam of the night with “Come Together.” “Y-Spy” was a funky journey that finally saw Hess really taking it up a notch. They segued beautifully into “Five B4 fUNK” which is another Kimock original. They finished the set with a delicate Kimock tune “Tongue ‘n’ Groove.” It was beautifully constructed from the ground up with the virtuoso guitarist showing his range. They encored with the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House.” Again Bernie sang and it was a little rough, but the enthusiastic crowd backed him up with a massive sing-along. All in all it was one of the best Kimock shows I’ve seen and best lineup he has put together in years. I hope they continue to tour, write, and grow as a group. There is such an immense amount of talent in the band. It would be interesting to see how they sounded together after a couple years of regular touring.
When the hardest working man in the Jam scene comes to town touting the Jimi Hendrix Experience one tends to tune in and listen. Warren Haynes and Gov’t Mule have been doing “Mule-O-Ween” since 2007 and decided 2012 would be time to bust out a legend that wasn’t Mayan related. The Riviera Theater stage was adorned with Jackass-O-lanterns (pumpkins carved with mule designs) and there was that familiar smell of Halloween throughout the venue.
Gourds weren’t the only one’s dressed to impress with a large contingent of the crowd donning their midweek best which included Hans Solo, John Lennon, and Axel Rose as the notables. Some came straight from work with little fanfare for festive pagan rituals. But one thing they did come ready to devour is hearing sweet sounds from one southern gentlemen and his skillful guitar mastery.
The first set was a throwback to Gov’t Mule’s Summer Camp Moonshine stage set as they played “Fallen Down> The Other One Jam” complemented with the lyrics to the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter”. “Thorazine Shuffle” off Dose (2001) was also a treat to here for long time Mule fans. Warren spoke to the crowd telling them they’d be right back in the holiday spirit. Time to reload the beverages…
One of the only musicians that could pull off the soulful voice of Hendrix and intricacies of his now groundbreaking style the second set was a collection of rare and famous Jimi classics. On “Little Wing” which Haynes pulled out for the last song of the encore he played a white Fender Strat which was strung upside down in the classic Jimi lefty style. Though the mega classics of “Fire” or “Voodoo Child” were absent, highlights from the evening included “Castles Made Of Sand, Stone Free” as well as the opener of “Are You Experienced” into “Freedom” complete with strobe lighting effects that were timed perfectly to the band coming onstage to a raucous frenzied fanfare. As I made my way to the exit I noticed more than a few Mule aficionados had passed out in their costume on tables. Somehow I feel Warren and Jimi would both approve.
Set One: Blind Man In The Dark, Wold Boss, Larger Than Life, Gameface [1], Fallen Down > The Other One Jam [2], Kind Of Bird [3], Captured, Thorazine Shuffle
Set Two: Hendrix Interview, EXP > Are You Experienced?, Freedom, One Rainy Wish, Up From The Skies, Crosstown Traffic, Bleeding Heart (Peoples, Peoples, Peoples), Angel, And The Gods Made Love, Castles Made Of Sand, Stone Free [4], Rainy Day, Dream Day/Still Raining, Still Dreaming [5], 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn To Be) > Machine Gun > 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn To Be), Axis (Bold As Love)
Encore: Happy Birthday Jam, Sco-Mule* [6], Little Wing[5]
[1] Mountain Jam Teases
[2] Gimme Shelter Lyrics
[3] Get Up Stand Up, Wind Cries Mary Teases
[4] Third Stone From The Sun Tease
[5] with Chris Neal
[6] with Chris Neal, Smoke On The Water, Dance To The Music Lyrics
Day Three at Summer Camp also known as Field Day was one for the books. It is perhaps the most classic of SCamp lineups with the moe. and Umphrey’s McGee tag teaming the headline slots of the evening. But first it was time to get dirty. I got up and went through my morning routine, getting ice, and getting ready for the day. I made my way to The Church to charge batteries and post for the festival. I got a chance to really meet up with the CITs and chat a bit with them about their coverage. The CITs this year brought their “A” game, and really stepped up the level of coverage from last year. They had some solid support that allowed them to hit it hard. I have to say the entire program has really come a long way. Last year the CITs and myself as Camp Counselor were largely left to our own devices. This year they had help with interviews and to really fan out across the festival to bring a wide array of perspectives to the blog. It was great to see them along with Maria really take on their role in a big way. It made me miss my crew from last year.
It was off to Field Day, and to represent for the Purple Team. As the Online Purple Team Captain I felt it was my responsibility to get out and participate in this incredible aspect of the festival. Last year was the inaugural year and the Red Team took away the honors. This year the Yellow Team had a strong presence, but time would tell who would take the trophy. The first event of the day was Sunrise Kickball, which due to the fact that I was up late for Ha Ha The Moose was not an option for me. Actually as I was crawling into my tent I heard a couple of my neighbors getting up to go see Stasik and kick a few balls. The Saturday competition began with Capture The Flag. Last year Purple Team won this one and I wanted to make it happen again. We were a man short and I actually grabbed a SCamper who happened to be walking by. That kid was simply amazing. He singlehandedly snagged two flags before he was tagged out. We were down to just two men and managed to retrieve the Yellow Flag for the win. Next up was tug-o-war. We quickly won the first round against Red and it was a final between Purple and Blue. The Purple Team pulled it off giving us a solid lead to start the day.
I ventured off to see Umphrey’s McGee playing a private show in The Church as part of their VIP Picnic offering. I asked Vince if I could slide in the back to witness the fun, he very nicely obliged. It was a small show with maybe a hundred or so hardcore Umphreaks in the building.
SET I: Slacker, Booth Love, Mamu, Wizard Burial Ground, A Go-Go
ENCORE: Much Obliged
Here’s a short video Maria this year’s Camp Counselor snagged from the show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pZuYaR9ei0
The sound was intense as it blasted off the walls of the small enclosure. It quickly became warm as the faithful fans danced away the afternoon. I would say that it might have been the hottest set of the weekend, most certainly in temperature. The highlight of the show was a bust out of Mamu, which UM has not played in four years. All in all I was truly thankful to have witnessed it given the fact that it was a last minute addition to my Summer Camp experience.
Afterwards I headed back for Field Day and watched the Purple Team go undefeated in Flip Cup. It was looking like this rag tag group of fans might just pull it off. Next up was Dodge Ball and it was a tight race. It came down to one Purple Teamer against one from Yellow who happed to be a member of a certain family known for frequenting the rail as a unit. Obviously people were rooting for the kid, but in the end he was hit out and the Purple Team was victorious. As long as Red didn’t win Arm Wrestling the Purple Team would get the title of 2012 Field Day Champions. Luckily it was Yellow who won their only event of the weekend and Team Purple took the trophy. I was pretty stoked, but it was time to head out and catch some live music.
I headed over to the Soulshine Tent to see Marc Ross of Rock The Earth hosting a performance and discussion with Chuck Garvey. I entered to see The Ragbirds finishing up their set and was happy to see them. I caught them last year and they have such an amazing energy and vibrancy to their performances. Lead by Erin Zindle whom I had a chance to chat with at The Floodwood show at the VIP bar the previous evening. She is simply stunning playing a djembe to a bubbly crowd. She has a sugary voice that fits tightly into their organic, World sound. I saw the last three songs of their set and was happier for it.
Marc hosted an interesting conversation with Mr. Garvey that included not only their views on the environment but also a detailed discussion on Chuck’s musical roots.
SET: Where Does The Time Go, Suck A Lemon, Hi and Low*, Bell Bottom Blues**
*w/ Vinnie Amico
** w/ Vinnie Amico and Brendon
You can watch the entire set and discussion at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09emXkCHnwY. Thanks to foosman1 for posting.
Non-profits have always had a prominent place at Summer Camp. When thousands of people gather in one locale it’s an opportunity for us all to learn together. That’s exactly what this was, and I want to personally thank Marc for hosting such an awesome event.
I met up with Amy at the Rock The Earth show and we headed over to The Campfire Stage to see Denver locals The Lumineers. We have both been infatuated with this band as of late and it just so happened that we had to travel a thousand miles across the country to see this local phenomenon. They are an acoustic stick of dynamite pulsating with energy and charisma. It’s only a matter of time before they absolutely explode on the level of Mumford & Sons or The Avett Brothers. Bully to Summer Camp for having the foresight to include them on the lineup. Highlights from the set included “Flowers In Your Hair” and their single “Ho Hey.” I reluctantly left a few minutes early to go and see Gov’t Mule on the big stage.
Warren Haynes is the hardest workingman in jam. He is a member of Gov’t Mule, The Allman Brothers, Phil & Friends, various other Dead-related Projects, and he has a solo band. I have always been impressed with his playing as well as his work ethic, and Mule was a solid addition to the Summer Camp lineup.
SET I: Kind of Bird, Temporary Saint, Gameface, Beautifully Broken, Trampled Under Foot, The Other One Jam, Hunger Strike> Dear Mr. Fantasy> Hunger Strike, When The Music’s Over
The set is available for purchase on Mule Tracks.
The “Beautifully Broken” was soul melting and showed us the tender side of Mr. Haynes. Matt Abts on the kit was an absolute machine bringing his complete prowess to the performance. Teasing “The Other One” before a “Hunger Strike” sandwich that contained Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” was stunning. His southern style was an excellent touch to the fest, and I’m always happy to see The Mule.
It was time for the main event, a bare-knuckle boxing match between moe. and Umphrey’s McGee. I raced over to the pit so I could shoot the McGgee.
SET I: Tango Mike> The Floor> Through The Cracks, Bridgeless> Utopian Fir, August, 1348> Bridgeless
SET II: Depth Charge*, Hurt Bird Bath, Comma Later> Nothing Too Fancy, Tom Sawyer, The Triple Wide> Hangover> 1348
ENCORE: All In Time
*First Time Played
You can listen or download the show on Archive at http://archive.org/details/um2012-05-26.mk4_16bit. Thanks again to tonedeaf for posting.
Again it was back and forth shows with sets splayed out like a fine double-decker sandwich but I will start with UM. The master shredders pulled out all the stops for their Saturday night at Summer Camp. Kris just kills the kit every time blasting on the double petal like a man running for his life. The “Tango Mike” into “The Floor” opener was almost scary as I hopped around the pit taking photos. Their first set seemed to fly by but the newly debuted “Through The Cracks” with it’s funky swagger stayed with me. They utilized “Bridgeless” as the crux of the rest of the set, but I left before they made it back to it for moe.
After moe.’s first set I returned to The Sunshine stage to get a bit more of the Umph. The first time played “Depth Charge” was a sinister kick to the shins that featured some stellar guitar work from Jake. The “Nothing Too Fancy” stretched to well over fifteen minutes and saw the band really building towards something. It nice to see the “ADD Band” let a jam grow naturally. However the obvious highlight was the Bayliss sung version of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer.” I ended up heading back for moe. during “Hangover.” As much as I love me some Umphrey’s, moe. keeps pulling me back.
moe. began their Saturday night with the Chuck sung “Wind It Up” and they most definitely sounded like they were ready to play.
SET I: Wind It Up, Big World> Ricky Marten> Californ IA> Moth, Happy Hour Hero*, White Lighting**> George
SET II: The Road, Paper Dragon> Haze, Shoot First> Meat> Billy Goat
ENCORE: Plane Crash
*w/ Warren Haynes
**First Time Played
You can download the recording on Archive http://archive.org/details/moe2012-05-26 – Thanks to Travis Souza for posting.
Al got snappy on “Big World” before the whole band blasted off with “Ricky Marten.” “Moth” would have been the highlight of the set had Warren Haynes himself not stepped out for “Happy Hour Hero.” His southern slide guitar really altered the jam on this song. It was a great juxtaposition to see a bunch of Yankees jamming with the south’s incomparable son. Next up was a new song with Rob on vocals entitled “White Lighting.” I think it’s great that both moe. and Umphrey’s are comfortable enough to debut songs at Summer Camp. It’s a great Petri dish for fans to get a taste of new tunes, and it seems like every year one of them is introducing something fresh. They ended with an extended “George.”
For the second set we headed up to watch moe. from the side stage. It’s a vantage point I will never tire of seeing them from. The hour and half set was full of massive jams including a twenty-five minute “Meat.” Few jam bands these days can even stay on a song for that long, so it’s great to see moe. really going deep on this track. They kept it up with a big “Billy Goat” to close out their second set. They encored with a predictable but always welcome “Plane Crash.”
It would have been easy to call it a night right then and there but the draw of seeing Umphrey’s Biscuit performing songs by Pink Floyd and The Beatles was too much to pass up. Billed as The Brain Damaged Eggmen, Magner and Brownie from tDB joined Kris, Bayliss, and Jake from UM for this exceptionally rare performance. Joel came out as a front man for a version of “In The Flesh” as well.
SET I: Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band> In The Flesh> Another Brick In The Wall> Jam> Fearless> Tomorrow Never Knows, Have A Cigar> Jam> Breathe, Jam> Comfortably Numb, I Am The Walrus> Jam, Brain Damage/Eclipse
Additional highlights of the show included a powerful “Fearless” and a sick “I Am The Walrus.” They ran through a wide array of songs from each band’s catalog adding the twist that only an Umphrey’s/Bisco side project could inject. It was definitely a fun way to end the night. We headed back to our campsite ready for one more day as Summer Camp 2012.
Video Links
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
Hey Scampers, one week till Scamp time! Yesss!
I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to attend Summer Camp 2012 as your Counselor in Training. It truly is an honor and a dream come true. I’m going to tell ya a little bit about myself so you can get to know your CIT a little better, and then I’m going to tell you what I’m most excited for at SC.
Since 2005 I’ve been attending 1-2 music festivals each year, and they have more or less turned into my home away from home each summer. I always choose which festival I attend each summer based on who has the best lineup for my tastes. And this year it was a no brainer, Summer Camp 2012 all the way! (I must admit though that I do have a soft spot in my heart for Wakarusa and the Harvest festival with their spectacular scenery up on Mulberry Mountain. Just check out this breath taking aerial shot!) In St. Louis, I’m always attending shows. Especially the shows of Aaron Kamm and the One Drops (check them out!). One thing that’s great about my city is that there’s always free shows going on year round, which is a great way to get into and support local bands. I usually attend shows at small venues such as the Firebird, Broadway Oyster Bar, the Old Rock House, Lemmon’s, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, the Schlafly Tap Room, and the Schllafly Bottleworks. As for the larger shows, I usually go to the Pageant or Pop’s.
As for SC, I’m most excited to see some Gogol Bordello. I’ve seen these accordion playin-fiddlin’ strummin’-wine splashin’-gypsy punks several times, and their energy is enough to blow your face off! If you need a quick energy boost to get ya through the rest of Friday night, make sure you check out this band. (Just don’t forget to find me during their set and dance with me in the front!) I also can’t wait to see some Umphrey’s, I’ve been seeing these guys 2-3 times a year since 2005, and like everyone knows, every show is always different and better than the last! Now let’s just hope that we can all make it to every one of their 5 of their sets in 3 days at SC. And I can’t wait for some Primus, especially since I haven’t seen them since they put out their new album Green Naugahyde. It’ll be quite a set with some new tunes in rotation. Plus, you can never go wrong with the lovely bass playin’ of Les Claypool, side project or not, he always puts on a spectacular show. I also can’t wait to get on my dancin’ shoes and hit up some Rubblebucket! This will be a first for me, but just the sound of Kalmia Traver‘s sultry voice puts me in a romantic daze. I’m also excited for some Keller Williams, Galactic, The New Orleans Suspects, The Infamous Stringdusters, Gov’t Mule, Michael Franti, G. Love, Common, Jane’s Addiction, Wooten, Zoogma and many more!
Once I first found out that I made it to the top 6, the planning and packing began. Well, mostly because I had a horrible nightmare that I showed up to SC with only my tent and the clothes on my back. That was frightening. But anyway, my festival essentials include my eno hammock, lots clean under drawers, costumes, sunscreen, baby powder, apples, and my blow up mattress. I’m always lookin’ out for the Scamper, so I purchased some goodies to give away to my fellow Scampers such as hundreds of glowsticks (for glowstick wars), glow paint, and fuzzy pink moustaches. I am also apart of the Umphrey’s street team, so you can expect some sweet Umphrey’s goodies from me as well! As your CIT, of course I will give you a personal perspective of my SC experience through technology, but I’m all about you, the Scamper. I can’t wait to get to know you and make lifetime friends in the process. I’m going to be running around in costumes half of the weekend, so if you’re dressed in a costume too, I wanna meet ya and award you with a fuzzy pink moustache! And as promised, I will be bringin’ those apples! So if you’re a fan of the apple, be ready to catch one headed in your direction. Also, I’m coming to SC with my main squeeze Adam. If you watched my contest video, he was the dude that was trying to “rob” me. One of our favorite things to do together is swing dance, so you’ll probably see us bustin’ some swing moves during sets and especially at Gogol Bordello. I’ll also be hangin’ with my friend Joe (who I met some years ago through my best girl E-Flat) and his friends who are SC veterans.
I am excited and proud to say that this is going to be my first Summer Camp! And I can’t wait to spend it with you. So if you see me out and about, don’t be shy, come say “hi”! I’d love to chat it up with you or dance our booties off together to some tasty tunes. So let’s make it the best one yet! (Not only because my birthday is on Thursday of SC, but especially since I heard some crazy rumor that the world is supposed to end sometime late this year…it’s probably a buncha psssh, but let’s do it up anyway!)
Love, hugs, and thugs,
Mo
Hey Campers,
We’re so excited that the following artists will be joining our hosts moe. & Umphrey’s McGee this year at the 2012 Summer Camp Music Festival!!
Pretty Lights
Gov’t Mule
Tedeschi Trucks Band
G. Love & Special Sauce
Gigantic Underground Conspiracy featuring members of
Big Gigantic, the Disco Biscuits and Conspirator
Keller Williams
Zeds Dead
Shpongle presents The Masquerade
EOTO
Leftover Salmon
12th Planet
FIGURE
Minnesota
araabMUZIK
Fareed Haque & MathGames
16bit
Flinch
Chester Brown
The Car Thief
Don’t forget, Primus, Weir, Robinson, Greene Acoustic Trio, Gogol Bordello, Ozomatli, Cornmeal, Victor Wooten, Greensky Bluegrass, Infamous Stringdusters, Hot Buttered Rum, Family Groove Company, DJ SOLO, Positive Vibr8ions, Chicago Farmer, Spankalicious, The Giving Tree Band, and Brainchild will also be performing this year!
And we’re just getting started. We will be announcing so many more artists in the near future! So make sure to get your Not-So-Early Bird Tickets now before they sell out. Our Not-So-Early Bird Layaway Tickets are also now available.
Have an amazing weekend!
Your Summer Camp Director



























































