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Hip Hop
Since I saw Rebelution at All Good in 2010 I had been itching to see them again. Unfortunately last year I was unable to catch their Summer Camp set but last night I finally got the opportunity to scratch and caught their show at Mr. Smalls Theater. As fortune would have it they stopped in Pittsburgh as part of their “Spring Greens Tour.”
Hot Rain kicked off the night. They are joining Rebelution for the tour. Hailing from Hawaii this upbeat reggae band stays true to their heritage and genre singing about love and beautiful women. They constantly interacted with the audience; uniting the souls which filled the venue in song. It was a fun way to start the show, check out their myspace page with free music here.
J Boog took to the stage next and kept the upbeat reggae jams flowing. Many people may not recognize him as the former B2K member that he is. He’s grown a bit since those days and so has his talent. J Boog maintains undertones of the R&B, hip hop background while bringing forth a new kind of sound.
Then Rebelution took to the stage, starting off their performance with one of my favorites: “Bright Side of Life” (check out the video!) Everyone started jumping and the whole place was jammin. The venue was the perfect size and so was the crowd. The vibes at the show were flowing peace and reggae love. It was spectacular. During the second half of the show they also played “Outta Control,” another personal favorite. Apparently a crowd favorite as well because the entire place beamed forth even greater energy for that song.
It is astonishing to think this band is almost 10 years old – haven taken off from Cali roots to become the great band they are today. Part of what makes them so special is their political consciousness and their call to action. If you haven’t yet, listen to “Courage to Grow.” You will find yourself inspired with new feelings of hope and desire for fulfillment. The band consists of Eric Rachmany (vocals/guitar), Rory Carey (keyboard) Wesley Finley (drums), and Marley D Williams (bass). I was actually lucky enough to meet and spend some time with Marley after the show. He was extremely nice and super down to Earth (not to mention very attractive!)
Rebelution has tons of music available to listen to and even download for free on their myspace page. The band will be touring in the US throughout the month of May and is then heading over the Atlantic for a United Kingdom run with one stop in Portugal. They will be back in Cali and Oregon in August. If you can make it to a show – do not miss out! It only took one show to make me a giant fan and I know it will only take one for you as well.
Featuring an eclectic mix of jam-band gurus, hip hop heroes and electronic wizardry marching on the front lines of the inaugural Summer Set Music Festival party line, this weekend’s fest. should be a helluva throw down for Wisco (as my new Scamp friends from Wisconsin told me to enunciate their beloved home state). Aside from headliner’s Pretty Lights, Umphrey’s McGee, Big Gigantic, NAS, Blackstar and YelaWolf– the sure-fire hot commodities certain to raise a ruckus, the up-and-comers on the bill round this fest out nicely. With the added touch of a little reggae roots rock from John Brown’s Body and the electronic prowess of beat masters Bonobo and RJD2, this assorted grab bag of musical savvy is genius on the part of the festival organizers.
More and more, we’re seeing the blending of musical genres at what were once dubbed with inherently jam-band musical talents and it’sa true testament to our generation and the performers spreading their wings to see such a variety of performers share their craft at such a unique event. While electronic music has certainly been a part of the mix for sometime, the last year has truly brought the on-slaught of hip hop into the music festival scene. (and I like it!!) Mos Def & Talib Kweli after a nasty 2 hour UM set– yes please!
And yes, for their kick-off fest. Summer Set was able to snatch up long-time Summer Camp electronic-funk-jam gurus Umphrey’s McGee. The boys have been on fire this year (see my earlier post HERE), throwing down late night performances and into the morning sets at Bonnaroo, Hangout Music Festival and of course the sick nasty three-part performances at Summer Camp Music Festival this year. I can’t wait to hear what they have up their sleeves for Summer Set which will be followed by an East Coast run my way to play at one of our many hometown breweries Pisgah Brewing Company.
For all you Summer Set goers– enjoy the boogie and I’ll catch up with you after the boys throw down at Pisgah after! Onward and upward ~Tiffany
What a way to start the New Years Run…Normally I see 1 band for 3 nights for New Years, but this one was gonna be different. Instead I’d be seeing 4 bands over 3 nights. One of those bands and one of those nights was one of the best New Year’s Eve that has ever taken place anywhere in the world, but more about that in a later post 
What I am here to talk to you about to day is a certain Mr. Troy Andrews, or as you may know him, Trombone Shorty. I am not super familiar with the brass band jam scene, but all I know is Trombone Shorty is the BEST trombone player I have ever seen in my life. On Wednesday and Thursday December 28th and 29th Trombone Shorty and his band, Orleans Avenue absolutely obliterated the Bluebird Theater in Denver.
I was lucky enough to know each of the 2 opening bands. The first night, Kinetix. The second night, the Fox Street Allstars. Wednesday night Kinetix was amazing, and to be honest, I was shocked. These guys were working with a new drummer and we all know that if the drums aren’t working, nothing is going to be working…to my surprise though, George, the new guy, not only learned the music perfectly (minus one hitch in the night…but hey, no one is perfect) but he CRUSHED IT!!! They sounded so good, they looked so good, one of the best Kinetix shows I can remember, and I’ve seen these guys about 150 times. Check out this sweet picture compliments of Kit Chalberg and Listen Up Denver, a great local music blog, check them out at www.listenupdenver.com
The second night was the Fox Street All Stars turn. Just another installation of a local band wreaking sonic havoc upon the souls of the unknowing…I know, that was little out there, but basically they played a heck of a show. Things are starting to come together for those guys…they are regular touring partners with the New Mastersounds, they continue to play great supporting slots at local venues, and they are about to get back in the studio to put another album together. Their new songs are awesome. Take it or Leave it is probably my favorite. It’s a super funky upbeat tune and the first lyrics are “I know you like to think your shit ain’t stinky, but it’s smellin’ pretty bad,” so you get the gist of what the tune is about. This show was phenomenal and their sound was a great fit for the Trombone Shorty crowd, so if you like him, check these dudes out. Here’s a couple more pictures, this time from Tim Dwenger at Listen Up…
Moving onto the star of both shows, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue. Man, they were amazing. I would love to see these guys get a set a Summer Camp this year. So much energy so many influences. Sure it’s a brass band but they are influenced by jazz, hip hop, and they even do some light yamming. Even if you aren’t into this genre, you need to see these guys perform. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Thanks again to Tim Dwenger at Listen Up for some great shots!
Cervantes Summer Celebration June 10th (Ape Tit feat. Members of the Big Motif)
For those of you who live in Colorado, you know how fun a place Cervantes can be. And when they decided to have their Summer Celebration party this year featuring a bunch of local bands, I was ready to go…plus I just moved 3 blocks from the venue, both awesome and dangerous. Anyway, The Summer Celebration party featured a bunch of local bands. The first band I saw was Big Wheel Electrosoul. Awesome live hip hop featuring my good friend Mr. Charles Parker Mertens on the bass. Normally I don’t get into the hip hop too much, but whenever there is a live backing band I’ll give it a chance. I was glad I did. Holding down great beats with socially conscious lyrics, Big Wheel Electrosoul is one not to miss.
The last band I saw, yes I’m skipping to the end because my personal highlight came mid-show, was Whiskey Tango. I guess you’d call the grass rock or something as they have a traditional bluegrass lineup with the addition of a synth and drummer with full kit. These guys rock and for sure know how to hold it down. Once again, I don’t normally get into the bluegrass but these guys were really good. I’ve seen them before and I’d see them again. With driving beats supporting a twangy vibe of excellent songwriting, this band will be doing their thing in Denver for years to come.
The highlight of the evening, however, was a band called Ape Tit. Yes, as in the breast of a gorilla. I thought it was a play on words of “appetite” but I was wrong. This band features a local Denver guitar player paired up with the drummer from the Big Motif. If you know the Big Motif or saw them at Summer Camp, you know these kids, and I mean kids, are super young. It’s always a treat to see the entertainment on stage have big black “X”s on their hands, always wondering, where is this kid gonna be in 10 years when he’s had an opportunity to be exposed to all the music scene has to offer? Some people don’t make it, but if this performance was any indication, the kids from the Big Motif have their heads on straight and will be around for a while. Ape Tit was great. Hip Hop and break beats with layers of delayed guitar put over it. All fine in it of itself, the show really took off when Big Motif’s bass player joined in and took the event to another level. If you get the chance to see Ape Tit in Denver, do it, if not, catch the Big Motif and see these young kids before they are a ticket to tough to get.
Jeff Greenswag
Counselor In Training
By Saturday Morning I was into my routine at Summer Camp 2011. I planned to rendezvous with my P-Town friends at Yoga around 10 AM This meant that I only got about five hours of rough sleep, which was intermittently, interrupted by the DJ at the next campsite. I will say that he played on tiny speakers so it was actually fairly enjoyable despite the fact that I kept waking up to it. I rose around 9 a.m. and let Amy sleep in while I got cleaned up at the Barn. I headed over to the Soulshine Tent around 10 a.m. and started taking some photos. There was actually a decent-sized crowd in attendance. The instructor talked about balance and structure with your body’s dance and movements. I tried to take that to heart for the rest of the weekend. I met up with Joe and Angie and headed to their RV to charge my Flip Camera.
Afterwards I made my way over to Ben and Erin’s Bus to copy off my cards and clear up some space. They graciously let me borrow their macbook so I could get that accomplished. Thanks guys. I hit up the press meeting around 12:30 and took the extra time to upload my content to Holly. It was only Saturday morning and I had already taken over 2000 photos and a ton of video.
I found out later in the day that Amy went and caught Gaelic Storm; she let me know they were a very interesting act. While doing research I learned that this is the same band that is featured in the Titantic steerage party scene. In addition to coving Paul Simon’s Cecilia they combined elements of traditional Irish/Celtic music with elements of rock, pop, and world I will definitely have to catch them next time they come to Colorado.
I ended up hanging out with the CITs for a few minutes before heading over to the Field Day activities going on at the 312 Vibe Tent. Red Team was definitely in attendance. I met up with my Purple brethren that included Chief, Will, and our captain Mike among others. I will say that purple was a small presence and I was not too happy about that. Obviously events were spread out through the day and some logistical issues caused some of the competitons to be rescheduled, but overall I was very impressed with this element of Summer Camp and how it was run. It was a fun distraction from the festival and a good way to get a little exercise. I arrived as they were getting set for Capture The Flag. They were a man short so I jumped in, I was tagged out in the first round but Purple won and moved onto the finals. We faced the Red Team but by trying to out maneuver and patiently wait for our spot we forced a sudden death. Will grabbed the flag and ran it over the line for the win. It was literally a millisecond before the Red player, but it was enough for the victory. I got set for tug-o-war next. I was the anchor but having lost a few pounds I guess I was not the giant stone that I once was. We were simply shredded by the Yellow team. It was a good time and with a record of 1-1 for the Field Day I made my way over to Euforquestra’s set.
Heis, Euforquestra’s manager and long time Summer Camp coordinator and I conspired to have me introduce the boys from Iowa for their 3rd time playing the festival. You can see that video here.
It was definitely cool but not nearly as intimidating as giving the intro for moe. the day prior. As the video points out I have a little biased towards Euforquestra having been in school at U of I while they were there as well. I was just lucky enough that the band decided to make a move to Colorado so I get to see them a ton and it’s always a great show. Within the last couple years they have revamped their rhythm section moving Grasso to drums and putting Ben Soltau on bass. It took them a second but they are playing so tight now it’s disgusting. They are a great foundation on which the rest of the band blends blues, reggae, funk, Afro-Cuban, and world music. They opened with a sick Cause A Reaction as soon as I finished my introduction. A massive version the Zalatel penned Free into their now classic ode to grandma’s cooking; Soup. Throw in a little Talking Heads and we have a pretty great set of music. Thanks Euforquesta.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY3gqOM1qi8&feature=related
I walked by Wiz Khalifa on my way to Slightly Stoopid. The kids seemed be having fun but I was looking for a different brand of hip-hop infused goodness. I have listened to a number of Stoopid recordings and just never really got it, well I have to say that SS is best ingested in a live setting. They have a serious ability to interact with the crowd and as the sun poked out for minute I got a chance to see them shine. It was a bouncy set with elements of punk, hip-hop, and straight rock. You can see a recording I did of Baby I Like It, here.
After Slightly Stoopid we walked towards Girl Talk and noticed a ton of people on stage and what looked like rolls of toilet paper spewing into the photo pit and onto the crowd. I headed to the camp and listened from there. We went back to the Moonshine Stage for Kdubalicious featuring Keller Williams.
Keller is a Summer Camp veteran if there ever was one. Having performed at 9 out of the 11 total, for me he will always be indelibly linked to this Midwest festival. This year was special in the sense that he was playing with his newly formed band Kdubalicions with Keller on bass, Jay Starling on keyboards, and Mark D on drums. I thought it was interesting to have Keller on bass which added an almost lounge-y feel so some of his classic songs. From the Feel Like a Stranger Kdubalicion played with Al to the Tell Me Something Good with Chuck Garvey, they began to feel more like a house band with rotating guitarists than their own entity. You can see the video I caught of Freeker into Golden Road into Freeker here.
I found the funky reggae-infused stylings of Kdubalicious to be exactly what my Saturday evening needed. I ended at the top of the hill between Keller and Umphrey’s watching for them to take the stage.
On the docket was a double-decker moe. and Umprhey’s sandwich that I was ready to take a big bite out of. Umphrey’s came out with Jazz Odyssey and given the fact that they kept going back into it throughout the entire weekend it almost felt like their theme song at Summer Camp 2011. That Jazz Odyssey really tied the room together did it not? … I digress. Here is the setlist from Phantasy Tour.
SET I: Jazz Odyssey> 40’s Theme, Conduit> Jimmy Stewart> Conduit, Divisions, Go To Hell, Puppet String*, JaJunk
SET II: Jazz Odyssey> Bridgeless> No Comment> Bridgeless, Forks*, Plunger> Glory> Hajimemashite> Plunger, Hurt Bird
ENCORE: Booth Love**, Live and Let Die***
*First Time Played (Original)
**with Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret Horns
***First Time Played (Paul McCartney & Wings)
You can hear the audience recording from Archive.
Thanks to tonedeaf for the post.
The two sets Umprhey’s McGee played on Saturday night were high water marks for the weekend. The musicianship of these guys never ceases to amaze me. They are perhaps the most technically proficient jamband touring today. They can stop on a dime and pick it up and put it in the meter. Jake got gritty on 40’s Theme and a busted Conduit with Jimmy Stewart in the middle was my highlight of the first set. Divisions was just too big, clocking in at over twenty minutes and Bayliss’s prog was showing. It’s songs like Go To Hell when I feel that the Death Metal moniker for UM is appropriate. I mean sure it’s laced with delicate playing as well but that song gets scary. You can see what Kris Myers had to say about that question here.
I was just getting used to the Flip so it’s a little shaky but the questions are still good. Moving on.
So as not to confuse subjects I will stick to my UM review then get to moe. Second set on from UM on Saturday was just exceptional. Once again Jazz Odyssey reared its head to open but went for an extended journey through Bridgeless to Not Comment and back into Bridgeless again. Showing their musical dexterity in that run the No Comment was just plain sick. Forks was a new song and it was okay, I feel like this song needs some more road testing before it really will blow the crowd away. The Plunger bookended Glory into Hajimemashite was the peak of the show as far as I’m concerned. Hurt Bird closed the second set nicely.
They encored with an unbelievable Booth Love featuring Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret Horns and the brass meshed with this song incredibly well. They rounded out their show with a cover of Paul McCartney & Wings’ Live And Let Die. This just was a giant punctuation mark to the night. I was totally happy with how UM handled their second night at Summer Camp. Well played gentlemen.
Rewinding to moe. The first set of on Saturday was my second of three onstage sets. So I got to watch from the side of the stage with the rest of the moe.ron elite. The boys came out and gently eased everyone in by opening with Wind It Up. I thought that was an appropriate opener, here is the rest of the setlist from PT.
SET I: Wind It Up, Tubing The River Styx> The Pit, Understand, Smoke*, Sensory Deprivation Bank, Waiting For The Punchline> Haze
SET II: Crab Eyes**, Buster, Skrunk> Lazarus> McBain> Recreation Chemistry
You can download the audience recording on Archive.
Thanks to Bean again, for posting.
The Pit was huge with a solid extended jam to begin with, and Understand was pretty straight. You can watch it from the stage and synced up the audience recording here.
Smoke was a new song debuted at Summer Camp and I have to say I liked it quite a bit. It has a carnival-inspired springiness, but the juxtaposition of the referentially serious lyrics with the music is pretty powerful. Nice work Al. Sensory Deprivation was my highlight of set one mainly because of Rob’s funky bass. They finished up with Punchline into Haze, which pumped up the crowd before they exited.
For their second set all five members of moe. came back onstage to small music stands and stood at the front . I was baffled as to what was happening but when the first notes of Crab Eyes floated out over the crowd it was obvious that moe. was making a statement. I like to think it’s a little nod to the other electronic acts almost as if to say, “See we can play on computers too.” The most eye-opening aspect of this is that on the recording other than a few slower transitions the Crab Eyes is spot on. They went into a fantastic Buster that lasted almost 15 minutes. I love this song and every time I hear “Pig Can Fly” I smile. The Skrunk> Lazarus> McBain> Recreation Chemistry section is the reason I see moe. It was jaw-dropping; I caught the beginning of that run on video from the crowd, which you can watch here.
That Lazarus was sublime but the Rec Chem was absolutely enormous. moe. came back to encore with a crowd-rumbling Captain America. Great choice and I remember the two brahs behind me arguing whether the encore would be Plane Crash or Captain America. Brah number one was correct.
After catching moe. late night in the barn on Friday I was pretty sleepy so I handed off my pass to CIT Jeff Greenswag, who went in to see Big Gigantic and Lotus at the Red Barn. Keep on eye on his posts for some detailed electronic coverage. I watched a bit of Cornmeal on the Campfire Stage before heading back down the trail to my tent. I had one more day as the first ever Summer Camp Counselor and Sunday would prove to be a non-stop adventure. Stay tuned.
You can see all of my photos from Saturday at Summer Camp here.
Nick Stock
Camp Counselor
Friday ended up being a very late night – I mean any night that has bluegrass ‘til 3 am is probably gonna be a late night for me. Anyway, it took some work to get off the mattress and into the world that is Summer Camp. So after eating something a few friends and I headed out to see my hometown heroes, Rebirth Brass Band. And like always, I enjoyed the hell out of it. They are truly marching band virtuosos who have created and improvised blend of funk, jazz, and marching tunes that’ll make your ass move. I’ve seen Rebirth quite a few times and they never cease to impress me, if you make it down to New Orleans you should swing on by the Maple Leaf Bar, they play there once a week. So basically, I love Rebirth. And even with that deep love of rebirth I really wanted to catch the end of Family Groove Company and get over to field day.
One of the most ridiculously funny and disgusting moments of my life happened soon after I arrived. I checked in as a pie eating competitor. In high school I had won a few eating competitions and I thought that this was something that I could definitely help the red team, “RED TEAM RAGE!” win. I was desperately wrong. The pies were not really cooked and so the mix of cold pie filling with uncooked dough was barely palatable. It was so gross. And while my friend Matt screamed encouraging words, such as “Dive your whole face into it, you fat-ass,” it was not a competition I could win. It was awful. But I would do it again for the Red!
Now that afternoon passed by with a fun set by Wiz Khalifa, not my favorite thing, but it was fun. And then we went to Girl Talk. Now I’m not a huge fan of electronic music, but I have a confession. I have a terrible guilty pleasure – pop music. I love it. And I think a lot of us do – we hear the beats from “My Pony” by Ginuwine, and you just can’t help it. And then Kelly Clarkson blows up the scene. Yes, it’s a guilty pleasure, but Girl Talk is surely a member of the boogey patrol, and throws one hell of a fine party.
That evening we caught both sets of moe. which were just amazing. They played Recreational Chemistry and just set the place on fire. One of the really fun moments we had was during setbreak. We were restless but didn’t really want to have to move our chairs and bags, so we stayed. And we began to play four square. My friend Allie made the borders out of trash on the ground and we began an epic game of four square. Strangers became friends as people pummeled the ball into corners hoping for their chance of glory. While it was unorganized, confusing, and I’m sure at times annoying – God, I love four square. During the second set of moe., I kissed everyone I knew, and a lot of people I didn’t.
And that kissing continued right on through Big Gigantic and Cornmeal. I love the campfire stage. It’s just a magical place at night. I’m so happy it’s at the bottom of the hill and that the fire’s off to the side now. It’s just the best place to end the night. Dance in the barn ‘til you can’t move anymore and then come boogey to some homey bluegrass til the wee hours of the morn. It was awesome.
Joe Albin
Counselor In Training
Ok so the thing that sucks about being up all night is the waking up late part. Man did that suck, but I am glad I had a meeting at 1:45 every day so I had a reason to wake up( besides the music of course). Not going to lie either, at this point in the weekend I was absolutely sick and tired of all the mud. You see I came prepared to Summer Camp with sundresses and one pair of shoes, very stupid on my part. I was hoping the weather would have been similar to last years with the scorching sun and a nice tan. NOPE, silly me brought nothing and I was pretty jealous of all those who had pants and rain boots. I would have given and arm and maybe my boyfriend for a pair of those rain boots (kidding about the boyfriend part). I had this day to make me happy though. You see today we all woke up to sunlight and man was it beautiful. We had almost a full day of sun and it was much needed, I mean I needed to get some color on this face for my interview with Stasik today . I will get into that more later. For now lets talk about the absolutely amazing line up that day. I think I should start another paragraph for this one.
Ok so I will just start in order, Family Groove Company missed it but I’m sure it was awesome, Two Fresh and Euforquestra were pretty sweet. I have never seen either of them or really listened to much of their music but I enjoyed both shows. I didn’t necessarily go to Gaelic Storm but when walking the grounds I caught a bit of the show and it made me giggle because they were talking about how awesome WI is for their drinking and partying and it felt good to represent. Now I was pretty impressed with Wiz Khalifa. You see I’m not a big rap fan but these guys knew how to throw down and put on a show. I wouldn’t have even gone to the show but I had to be at that stage when the show was over so I could get my interview I was and am super pumped about, but I was really glad I caught a good chunk of the show. I was pretty bummed that I missed out on Slightly Stoopid but I was interviewing Stasik at the time . Girl Talk rocked my world, I know I’m not a big rap fan but hey at one point in my life I was and Girl Talk really took me back with some oldies but goodies. I got down with my girlies which was a lot of fun. Oh so many shows, one of my favorites of the day was Keller’s Kdubalicious set. Al and Chuck from moe. Joined him on stage which made for a pretty sweet show considering those are all pretty sweet people. Umphrey’s, moe., Umphrey’s, moe., oh my oh my so much awesomeness, just oh so much. Umphrey’s added an amazing horn section to the second set and did an awesome rendition of Live and Let Die, while moe. made me really happy with a Captain America encore that was saweet. So much goodness. At this point I am exhausted from all the walking and getting down then remember I have a late night ticket. We all made a point in our group to get Saturday late night tickets, all except one….my boyfriend. He was real bummed he wasn’t going to make the late night at all and I felt super bad. You see I actually had Saturday and Sunday late night tickets and I only needed to go to one to satisfy my soul so I gave him my Saturday night so he could at least go to one. I know I am awesome.
So I am going to back track here to finally tell you about my interview I was SOOOOOOO PUMPED FOR. One of my top 5 favorite bands is Umphrey’s McGee. Oh do I love them and their music and their energy and their spunk (spunk is a big deal in my book). Anywho, the amazing Holly Brinkman hooked me up with an interview with the bass guitarist Ryan Stasik. I was looking forward to this all weekend long and the time was finally there. Yeah I didn’t realize how nervous I was until I watched the video hahaha. It was really sweet though. I got the down low on the new album coming soon and about his fabulous rat tail. I can not thank Holly enough for that amazing opportunity, it really made the festival that much better for me. The first of many more interviews to come I hope.
All in all Saturday was probably my personal favorite music day. It EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Natalie Fletcher
Counselor In Training
I woke up on Friday totally ready for the actual festival to begin. Thursday was awesome but it was time for the heavy hitters. I headed to the barn to get cleaned up. One of the perks of total access was getting a shower every morning and believe me, this is a luxury I’m not used to in a festival setting. After getting ready I made my way backstage. It was time to give my intro for moe., and I was actually pretty nervous. I took a little time to compose myself and think about what I wanted to say. How do you introduce your heroes? Wandering around before the set I got the chance to chat with Jim for about 10 minutes. I had met him previously at the now defunct Green Room when he played a show with Willie Waldman. Amazingly he remembered our meeting and congratulated me on winning the camp counselor position. Around 12:30 moe. gathered at the stairs and followed me onto the stage.
In the second of my many surreal moments of Summer Camp 2011, I stood in front of a crowd of 15,000 or so people and let them know moe. was about to play a show. As soon as I said, “…would you please welcome moe.,” they tore into a massive Akimbo. Here is the rest of the setlist from Phantasy Tour .
SET I: Akimbo, Puebla, St. Augustine, Mexico, Blue Jeans Pizza, All Roads Lead To Home, Kyle’s Song> Kids
Encore: The Harder They Come*
*with Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey’s McGee
You can download it on Archive. Thanks to Bean for the recording.
I wandered out onto the lawn triumphantly looking for Amy and my friends, but they were knee deep in the crowd. So I took the opportunity to take some wide shots before heading back to the pit for some closer photos. This set was literally a collection of some of my favorite songs. St. Augustine was tight and Mexico was huge and featured a playfulness that really set the mood for Summer Camp. The closer of Kyle’s Song into Kids was face melting and as the sun blasted through the clouds for moe.’s only day set, I knew I was home. Bayliss came out for a cover of Harder They Come to encore and signaled a passing of the torch for UM to take the reigns Friday Night.
From moe. I went to my CIT meeting and discussed the previous days coverage and touched base on what was left on the schedule for Friday. I took a few minutes afterward to interview Tom Mcelroy of the Sun Foundation and Primitive Arts Collective who told me about some of the primitive living skills and native art forms that they teach. They led workshops all weekend that varied from fire making to hide tanning. It was a very enlightening interview.
I made my way to the Sunshine stage for the Punch Brothers’ set. Now I have wanted to catch this band for quite some time, I have been a huge Noam Pikelny fan since his days with Leftover Salmon and Chris Thile is always a bucket of energy. However, it seems like every time I plan to see them in Denver I miss the boat. Well Summer Camp 2011 cured me of this longstanding issue. I headed down to the pits for some photos and caught a little video which you can see here.
The Punch Brothers have a level of authenticity rarely seen in bluegrass these days. They dress the part and as a string band they are a sight to behold. I was thoroughly impressed with their set and after I finished taking photos, I simply stood back and enjoyed it for a minute.
I went back to camp to gather my friends for Cornmeal. Cornmeal as I stated in my previous post has really grown with Summer Camp Music Festival. They definitely took their evening set seriously by just nailing down good tight bluegrassy goodness. I shot some photos and again went over by the bleachers with my friends and just enjoyed the show. The nice thing about the scheduling at Summer Camp is that they allow different fans to enjoy what they like without having to make too many tough decisions. For me Friday was a bluegrass day bookended by moe. and Umphrey’s with just a sprinkle of Dead provided by 7 Walkers. But many, many other fans opted for the raw electro-funk of Big Gigantic and the hip-hop of De La Soul. That’s what I appreciate about Summer Camp. Cornmeal kept fans very happy on Friday afternoon and afterwards I took a minute to grab some food and watch De La Soul for about 15 minutes. They absolutely energized the crowd and it was refreshing to hear them at Summer Camp.
We headed back to Sunshine for Yonder Mountain String Band, we walked up to the bleachers just as they started Out Of The Blue here is the setlist from PT.
SET I: Out Of The Blue> Looking Back Over My Shoulder, Another Day, Little Lover, Just Like Old Times, Complicated, All The Time, Strophe For An Unsung Albatross (Peanut Butter Cup), No Expectations> Casualty> Whipping Post> Casualty
Encore: Crazy, Troubled Mind
Living in Colorado I usually get the pleasure of seeing these YMSB a couple times a year, I would say they played a pretty standard set except for the No Expectations>
Casualty> Whipping Post> Casualty which was fairly earth-shattering. I caught the beginning of that amazing run here.
At the beginning you can hear Jeff Austin pointing out what everyone in attendance already knew, and that the Sunshine Stage had been the bluegrass stage all day and then dedicated the next song to the greatest bluegrass band ever Umphey’s McGee, “…they play the old way.” My apologies for the Don’t Tread on Me flag that makes its way into the frame around minute two, that happens from time to time when you are shooting wide. I did my best to shoot around it but it is what it is. The Whipping Post was just stellar. They came back to encore the set with Split Lip Rayfield’s Crazy and a nice Troubled Mind.
I hit Tea Leaf Green but only for a song or two before heading backstage for my first onstage set with Umprhey’s McGee. It took us a minute to find someone in the UM management to let us go up, and as we were standing there I heard the Jaws theme played before they opened with Prowler. Here is the rest of the setlist from PT.
Set I: Prowler> 1348> Jimmy Stewart> Red Tape> Jimmy Stewart> Red Tap, Pay the Snucka> Bulls On Parade> Pay The Snucka, 2nd Self, Senor Mouse, Mulche’s Odyssey
Set II: Jazz Odyssey, Preamble> Miss Tinkle’s Overture> Higgins > Miss Tinkle’s Overture> Higgins, Rocker Part II, Day Nurse, Hourglass*, The Floor, National Anthem**
Encore: The Triple Wide> 1348
*First Time Played
**with Dominic Lalli (Big Gigantic) on Saxophone
You can download the audience recording on Archive.
Thanks to tonedeaf for the post.
A moment or so later someone found us and took us onto the stage. Now I know Umphrey’s is intense but being 8 feet away from Jake as he is shredding a solo is a little mind bending. Amy and I didn’t stop dancing for their 80+ minute first set. The Red Tape was just massive clocking in at over 20 minutes; this song features both sides of the Umph coin. It allows for Bayliss’s prog-rock run, some cheesy 80’sesque jams, as well as lots or room to shred. The sheer number of notes Jake hits in between verses would make any metal guitarist envious. The real highlight of the first set has to be the Pay the Snucka into Bulls On Parade into Pay the Snucka. I caught this in Aspen in February but to see it on stage ten feet away from the band was life affirming. They ended the set with a tight Mulche’s and we were whisked off of stage and just like that my first of three was over.
Of course we immediately crossed the road to see 7 Walkers at the Starshine Stage. George Porter Jr. couldn’t make the show so they enlisted the help of Tea Leaf Green’s Reed Mathis on bass. I was pretty impressed with the band Billy put together. Papa Mali is a solid guitarist with an incredibly unique voice; he has the rasp to belt out Dead tunes properly. Highlights from the set included a sweet Bird Song and a rendition of 7 Walkers which they took their name from. You can see my recording of it here.
The audio is a little over modulated as I was in the pit and couldn’t find an audience recording with which to sync. I would say that overall they were a lot of fun and a nice breather between UM sets.
Umphrey’s came back on for their second set ready to rage. They opened with a quick unassuming Jazz Odysssey almost like they were trying to lull the crowd into a false sense of calm. Then they played the eerie Preamble before snapping the audience awake with Tinkle’s. The Miss Tinkle’s Overture> Higgins > Miss Tinkle’s Overture> Higgins was just disgusting and the reason why I go to Umphrey’s McGee shows. The rest of their second set was all bonus as far as I was concerned. Additional highlights included a Day Nurse dance party, and Hourglass, which was debuted at Summer Camp. They invited Dominic Lalli from Big Gigantic to play saxophone on the set ending National Anthem. They encored with a nice Triple Wide into 1348. I thought the UM sets from night one were very strong and they definitely took their headlining night at Summer Camp to a new level.
There was about a thirty minute break between the end of UM and the beginning of moe. in the Red Barn. We took the opportunity to sit at our camp and talk about the events of the day. Amy and I headed to the Barn past Greensky Bluegrass who was just getting started on the Campfire Stage.
moe. came out to play for 400 lucky souls with a sweet Dr. Graffenberg, here is the rest of the setlist from PT.
Set I: Dr. Graffenberg, Bullet, Letter Home*, Timmy Tucker, Downward Facing Dog, Big World> Ricky Marten> Time Ed> George
ENCORE: Spaz Medicine
You can download this set on Archive. Thanks to jessedscott for posting this recording.
I thought the barn was a blast. I always feel a little conflicted inside knowing there are about 15,000 other people who would like to be in as well. I can honestly say I have listened from outside a number of times over the years But moe. made magic in that little sweat box and despite my misgivings I would never miss them in the Red Barn. The reggae-ified Letter Home was awesome and you can see it here.
Timmy Tucker was big and they didn’t stop for the second half of the set. I had a great time and really enjoyed the fact that I got to start and end my day with moe. We stayed until the beginning of Spaz, which was close to 4 a.m. before heading back to our tent. We slept hard and good. It was already an amazing experience and the next two days would continue to impress, humble, and excite me. Stay tuned for my Saturday and Sunday recaps coming soon.
You can see all of my Thurday Photos here.
As well as my Friday Photos here.
Nick Stock
Camp Counselor