Ifdakamp. Ifdakamp would also host my long-time favorites Particle in an intimate small festival setting… i couldn’t wait!
This festival was hosted by WIJAM and Wisconsin jamtronica favorites IFDAKAR, who many may remember from their set at Summer Camp 2015 – they won their spot on the SCamp lineup at the Madison Summer Camp: On The Road Tour Stop and haven’t slowed down any since.
I arrived to the festival after a short two hour drive… it was raining, but luckily IFDAKAR surprised everyone with a massive tent over the main stage to keep us dry all weekend.
After setting up and attempting to rain proof my base camp, I was ready for some music. I headed down to the main stage just in time to see the emcee for the weekend
Flowpoetry welcome everyone to the festival by reading one of his poems. Then it was Milwaukee natives Recalcitrant who took the stage with their set of reggae blended with rock elements. Even as a resident of Milwaukee, it had been quite a while since my last
Recalcitrant set, as they are usually tied up with running sound and lighting at events. Luckily, they played a set before returning to running the sound and lights for the rest of the weekend.
Next up it was another Milwaukee band,
Evergreen, with their extremely tight psychedelic fusion style of playing. I have known these guys for quite some time, and wow do they have potential for a band that a majority of the members became legal drinking age within the last year or two. Evergreen put on a fantastic set with singer and guitarist Isaac Young bringing the instrumental jams together with his powerful soulful voice. Be on the lookout for Evergreen, these guys are onto something special!
By this point, I was hungry. $3 beers on tap at Angler’s Bar where this event was being held has that effect on me. Cheap good beer is one of the reasons I am so happy to call Wisconsin my home, but after so many nothing hits the spot like grilling up some burgers and corn. After demolishing a case of burgers, it was time for the kings of Ifdakamp,
Ifdakar, to take the stage for their first of two sets of the weekend.
Being originally from the Fox River Valley area, Ifdakar has built a name for themselves in Wisconsin as being one of the most electrifying jam bands with their blend of heavy hitting rock, tight improv, and experimental electronic elements. Ifdakar’s first set was extremely diverse filled with original music and an impressive range of covers including: Whiskey by Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, Mad World by Gary Jules, No Diablo by Umphrey’s Mcgee, and an encore of Stinkfist by Tool.
After Ifdakar, the main stage shut down and it was off to the latenight bar stage to see one of my favorite Milwaukee progressive rock inspired bands,
Conundrum, close out the night. Having known Conundrum members for years, and being there for the first time they jammed together years ago, this was one of my major reasons for heading to Ifdakamp. Conundrum put on a heavy set with a blistering version of their monster of a song Configured Sabotage which is coming out on their first studio album sometime next year. Also new for Conundrum was their debut of their cover of Pink Floyd’s song Shine On You Crazy Diamonds in which guitarist Alex Klosterman mixed his own style with that of David Gilmore. By this time, working my camera was getting difficult, but I was able to get away with dancing with my beer instead. Near the end of the Conundrum set they announced
their Halloween plans with an afterparty for Umphrey’s Mcgee only a few blocks from the Riverside Theater on 10/31!
After Conundrum, I had realized that another Wisconsin band 2nd Strings had also been playing. I could have gone for a bluegrass nightcap, but unfortunately had missed my chance.
The first morning at a festival is always rough, but luckily as I rolled out of my tent I noticed it had stopped raining. I began fighting off my hangover from the night before by making some gigantic breakfast burritos on the grill before music started with a late addition to the lineup Stargoyle who was playing their first performance ever at Ifdakamp. Then shortly after
Double Dubbs came on playing some great Americana. Unfortunately I rode those sets out at my campsite resting, but they sounded fantastic from my lawn chair.
I finally got up and moving and went to see
Stereo Frontier, another Milwaukee band, take the stage. Stereo Frontier is a five piece band who put on a very action packed sets. Their set at Ifdakamp was no different featuring a beautiful rendition of Riders on the Storm by The Doors along with many other of their own originals.
Now it was time for the second Ifdakar set of the weekend! Going into the set, I figured that Ifdakar was going to ring all the bells and whistles to get the crowd going for Particle. I have seen Ifdakar quite a few times, but this might have been one of the best sets I have ever seen out of them. They invited saxophonist Matt Oslund and Guitarist Chris Rich to the stage for a few songs including a great rendition of The Talking Heads song “Girlfriend is Better.” It was easy to see why Ifdakar had become a Wisconsin favorite and won their spot playing Summer Camp 2015 in the Vibe Tent, not only were they able to throw their own festival, but they managed melt the faces of everyone there. I could not have pictured a better band to prep the crowd for Particle directly after.
Particle is one of those bands that I take every chance I get to go see, and I jumped at the chance to see them in my home state of Wisconsin for their only stop there for the summer. I have always been a huge fan of keyboards and synths, making Particle a must see with their keyboardist Steve Molitz being one of my favorite keys players out there. For those of you who have not seen Particle before, they are a four piece act that uses heavy synths to create a very danceable electro-funk feel. The energy on stage was matched only by the crowd grooving to Particle.
As the Particle set ended, everyone was stoked to keep funking going with
Undercover Organism closing out the entire festival in the bar. Some of you may remember the name Undercover Organism as they had also won a spot through the Summer Camp: On The Road Tour in 2014 and played on the Camping Stage. Their set was a perfect way to end a fantastic weekend of music! Ifdakamp 2015 was a perfect way for me to end my festival season.
https://youtu.be/I2G-2UYXl-k
Thank you for putting together Ifdakamp for us WIJAM, IFDAKAR, and everyone else in attendance! For my full album of pictures go check out my page Instrumental Motion.
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