On Saturday, September 25, the bus stopped in Providence, RI at The Spot Underground. To celebrate, The Spot had a planned mini festival outside. Unfortunately, likely rain showers forced them to move artists and other vendors indoors and the acoustic performers they had planned were nowhere to be found. That didn’t stop the people from coming by for the main event, a triple bill of The Jauntee, and Tauk. The three bands each played a set on the main stage with Cosmal playing a short set in between as the bands switched up equipment.
2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the famed cross-country trip made by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters on the bus that shared its name with their destination – Further, or Furthur, depending on whom you ask. To commemorate the original trip Kesey’s son, Zane, took the bus on 50th Anniversary Tour with stops around the country.
Albany, NY’s Formula 5 took the stage at 8:30 getting folks moving with a 12 minute “Perch Above the Earth.” This was followed up with a buttery segue into a cover of the Talking Heads’ “Uh Oh, Love Comes to Town,” picking up the pace a bit and getting everyone in the room dancing. Keeping with the flow, they took this into a great “Excalibur.” Only at this point, halfway through their hour-long set, did they take a break. “Coming Home,” the highlight of the set, included jams on The Blues Brothers and Phish. The set closed quite fittingly with a cover of The Grateful Dead’s “The Music Never Stopped.” The influence of these various bands is quite obvious in the way Formula 5 plays, but they are making their own mark on the scene. Seek them out now while they’re still playing small clubs.
The Jauntee, hailing from Boston, took the stage next around 10:00. Their opening song, “Puppy in my Pocket,” starts a bit like the Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll,” but quickly changes up. There were many similarities to other bands throughout their set, including a song that sounded like it could have been pulled directly from Primus’ repertoire. In fact, their entire sound mimics that of Phish. It’s not surprising that they were once called the heir to Phish’s throne. They seem to have modeled their entire sound on that of Phish. Even the guitarist, Caton Sollenberger, looked a bit like Trey Anastasio from the ‘90s to the point where he even mimics the “Trey face” that Phish fans have grown to love. The band is quite talented and can definitely go places. However, they need to use Phish more as an influence and less as what they strive to become. They seemed to lack a sound of their own.
Finally, around 11:30, New York City’s TAUK took the stage as the crowd filled in. Their mix of the funk, progressive rock, and intricate melodies kept the room moving as they kept the groove going from start to finish. The band is reminiscent of Umphrey’s McGee in how tight they keep their composed sections intertwined with the improvisation. It’s almost as though the entire show was a long composition. They closed their set strong with “Collateral,” ending about 10 minutes after the 1:00am curfew with the house lights on. TAUK is a band worth checking out. It would not be surprising to see them playing larger venues within the next year.
In the half hour breaks between the sets on the main stage, COSMAL played his one man band fusion of EDM, trance, and house music. Most of the crowd headed outside to take pictures of the Further bus or hung out at the bar during his sets. The music provided a good filler between the main events.
Overall, it was a great night of music, bringing the ‘60s vibe of the Further bus and the new band of Merry Pranksters together with the some of today’s music that looks to the past for inspiration. The Spot continues to impress by attracting some of the best lineups of local and regional acts. It was all smiles as the crowd left the club.
Not quite ready to admit 2014’s music festival season is over yet? It does not have to be. The first annual Resonance Music & Arts Festival takes place from October 2-4 at the Frontier Ranch in Pataskala, Ohio. Located 20 miles east of Columbus, the festival features two nights of Ohio natives Papadosio as well as Greensky Bluesgrass and Nahko and Medicine for the People as headlining bands.
The music starts Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m., and plays continuously for more than 12 hours per day on Friday and Saturday. Resonance boasts an eclectic lineup—from the multi-layered electronic beats of ESKMO to Twiddle‘s uplifting jams and The Mantras‘ heavy shredding to deep funk from The Main Squeeze, most branches of rock are covered.
The Empire state will be well-represented each day. Tauk and Aqueous play Thursday, Aqueous jams again Friday afternoon, and Consider the Source closes the music early Sunday morning after a long set from Dopapod Saturday night. Tauk has been touring furiously in support of their 2014 album, Collisions, while Consider the Source plans to release the first part of their new album, World War Trio, on Halloween. Dopapod has a new album, Never Odd Or Even, scheduled to come out on 11/11/14.
If the music is not enough, there will be visual arts, fire dancing, yoga, and The Amazing Giants will be hard to miss, donning colorful outfits and performing acrobatics on stilts. Each ticket also includes car camping, so you will never be too far from extra blankets or a quick heat source at this early autumn festival.
View the complete schedule and purchase tickets here.
The Disco Biscuits are gearing up for the third installment of City Bisco this weekend in their home town of Philadelphia. This year the Biscuits have expanded City Bisco to include three nights spanning three different venues. The weekend kicks off this Thursday September 25th at The Trocadero. This show is only available with a three-day pass so get your tickets here.
Friday night they move to the Electric Factory where they will play with American Babies. The Biscuits will cap it all off Saturday night at the Mann Center with supporting acts Giorgio Moroder “the godfather of disco,” Orchard Lounge, and Risky Disco. The Biscuits always bring the heat to Philly so this is a weekend surely not to miss! Tickets to these shows can be found here and single day passes for the Mann center can be found here. Thursday and Friday night’s show start at 7pm. Doors are at 5pm for the Mann center, show starting at 6.
The second Annual Lockn’ Music Festival was a huge success, drawing approximately 30,000 fans to the massive Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, VA over September 4-7, 2014. Founders Peter Shapiro and David Frey listened to fan complaints last year to make major changes to the festival grounds, including building new stages, roads, and entrances, as well as hiring better-trained staff to handle parking, security, vending, and logistics. Music started daily around 11 am and continued until 3-4 am each night (except Sunday).
Thursday
The music kicked off promptly at 4 pm with the No BS! Brass Band from Richmond, who treated the first fans to horn-loaded renditions of popular favorites by Michael Jackson and Led Zeppelin, including a fiery version of Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean” with a “Black Dog” riff at the end, ending with a festive “Thriller”.
The Revivalists, from New Orleans, started on the Oak stage, hosting one of the first sit-ins of the weekend from Lettuce’s guitarist Eric Krasno. They covered the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” with rocking soul that amped up the sweaty crowd, as lead vocalist David Shaw jumped off the stage to sing in the crowd.
New York’s own Lettuce brought their extreme funk to Lockn’ with fast-paced tunes that set the groove for the night. One of the highlights was Alecia Chakour sitting in on vocals for “Do It Like You Do” from their latest album, Fly, with a swanky melody, smooth bass line, and sensual flair thanks to Chakour. She also dedicated “The Sun” to her friend, Brian Farmer, who was Warren Haynes’ guitar tech and recently passed this year. Lettuce broke out fierce classics like “Lettsanity” and “Last Suppit” along with one of their newer songs, “Phyllis”, and closed the set with “By Any Shmeeans Necessary”, joined by the No BS! Brass band.
Just as the sun began to set and cool off festivalgoers, back-to-back sets by Umphrey’s McGee andThe String Cheese Incidentheated things up. Umphrey’s McGee executed their first set with precision and purpose as the 6 piece band rocked the stage with triumphant sound. String Cheese immediately followed Umphrey’s on the adjacent stage with a set of crowd-pleasing originals like “So Far From Home” and “Can’t Stop Now”. Umphrey’s returned with a solid “Wappy Sprayberry”, and a fresh song off their newest album, Similar Skin, “Cut the Cable”. Flexing their jam-band prowess, Umphrey’s tore into a half-hour version of “Puppet String > Higgins”, and closed with a rousing rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”.
SCI ended the night on the main stage with a tribute set to Kool and The Gang, joined by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and JT Taylor (a founding member of Kool and The Gang). There was no fighting the dancing bug when a trio of backup singers joined in, where everyone on stage showed off their dance moves. The old school disco funk had the crowd singing along to “Ladies Night” and “Get Down on it”, with a wild “Celebration” encore.
A new stage conveniently situated on the walk back to the campsites, the Relix Shakedown Stage, hosted late-night sets all weekend. Following the funk theme, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk packed the grassy amphitheater for an explosive dance party in a field framed by a colorful line of trees. Playing crowd favorites “Everybody Want Sum” and “Put It In the Dumpsta”, Dumpstaphunk was joined on stage by the Steel Town Horns for “I Know You Know” and “I Wish You Would”, closing the night with “Raise the House”.
Friday morning brought blue skies and a hot sun making most festivalgoers crawl out of their tent just in time for Keller Williams‘s Grateful Grass set on the Acoustic Triangle Stage at 11am. His 5-piece all string band included mandolinist Jeff Austin from Yonder Mountain String Band, fiddler Jason Carter from Del McCoury Band, Keith Moseley the bassist from The String Cheese Incident, Ray Starling, and the man himself, Keller Williams, who altogether drew a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. The foot-tapping, southern swing style set was greatly appreciated by the audience and musicians, as Williams continuously thanked everyone for the chance to perform some of his favorite Dead songs. Walking out of the shaded forest area to the top of the hill, guests had an amazing view of the festival grounds and colorful tents, backed by the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains.
NY’s instrumental progressive rock band, Tauk, opened the main stage with an insane breakdown of The Beatles’ “She’s So Heavy”. Tauk kept fans cool with fluid segues and refreshing grooves, which have appeared on Sirius/XM JamOn. When asked about plans for fall tour, bassist Charles Dolan beamed that they have shows booked until January, with a Halloween gig being announced soon.
Friday began steamy, as the 6 piece bluegrass plucking madness of Cabinet took the stage, followed by Del McCoury Band, who dressed in their finest suits to play harmonious and authentic folk tunes. Drive By Truckers brought a classic rock ‘n’ roll sound with the help from four screaming guitars and simple lyrics. Their “Grand Canyon” set closer sent layers of ringing guitar riffs echoing across the field.
The String Cheese Incident returned to the main stage for a second night of two sets, much to the delight of fans. This Colorado band rarely tours the East Coast, making their appearance at Lockn’ even more special. The set was light and breezy with caribbean vibes that drove the crowd wild. The set took a turn towards electrified bluegrass when Sam Bush joined in on fiddle for one of their more popular new songs, “Colorado Bluebird Sky.”
A last-minute addition to this year’s lineup was Bill Kreutzmann’s Locknstep Allstars, stepping up to fill the gap left when Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir cancelled his appearance. The Allstars included keyboardist Aron Magner from Disco Biscuits, guitarist Tom Hamilton from American Babies & Brothers Past, ace guitarist Steve Kimock and the legendary bassist Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band. The musicians shared intense chemistry, gliding through the set of Dead classics, with sit-ins by Keller Williams for “Bird Song” and Taj Mahal for “Further on Down The Road.” Kreutzmann’s set closed with “Franklin’s Tower”, a Dead cover played later by Phil Lesh and Friends (one of many “cover collisions” throughout the weekend).
The last main stage act wasPhil Lesh, Grateful Dead bassist and founder, along with his Friends, drummer Joe Russo (Furthur), keyboardist John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood), legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield, and guitarist Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule, Allman Brothers) for a two hour set of improvisational spacey jams. They kicked off the party with a festive “China Cat Sunflower”. It was refreshing to hear other band’s covers such as Traffic’s “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” and Cream’s “Sunshine of your Love”. Deadheads rejoiced to hear familiar favorites such as “Shakedown Street” and a lengthy “Unbroken Chain”, a dark and mysterious “Mountains of the Moon” and a furious “The Other One”, followed by Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy”. Curiously, Phil Lesh and Friends closed with “Franklin’s Tower”, which was also played earlier by Bill Kreutzmann’s Locknstep Allstars.
The warm summer night was capped off with a beautiful acoustic Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi set on the Triangle Stage, and Chris Robinson Brotherhood on the Relix Shakedown Stage, who performed one Black Crowes cover, “Tornado”, and mostly originals, such as “Shore Power”, from their new album, Phosphorescent Harvest, along with a smokin’ version of “Never Been to Spain” (by Hoyt Axton). Chris Robinson closed the evening with an intense version of Slim Harpo’s “Got Love If You Want It.”
Saturday brought blazing sunshine and high humidity for Lockn’ fans, eager for two more days of incredible music. It was so hot that even the speakers were sweating. The steamy afternoon started on the Oak Stage with the bluegrass expertise of Larry Keel & Sam Bush, joined by Larry’s wife Jenny Keel on upright bass. The music shifted to upbeat rock, as Ween guitarist Aaron Freeman (aka “Gene Ween”) took the Ridge Stage, playing a new song (as of yet untitled), starting off with the crowd scratching their heads. He rocked through “All the Way to China”, and “Covert Discretion”, the latter a song about saving himself from his chemical dependency. He played most of the songs off of his new album, Freeman, which are very philosophical stories of his life and the battles with various influences of fame.
Bluesy guitar virtuoso, Gary Clark, Jr. brought out-of-sight guitar licks and powerful vocals to the Oak Stage in the early afternoon, as the heat took over while fans sought or made any shade possible. Clark opened with “Catfish Blues” (Robert Petway) and “Ain’t Messin’ ‘Round”, and as his guitar playing warmed up, so did the crowd, but the cold local craft beer helped dull the heat. Clark played an hour and a half with mostly originals, including “Don’t Owe You a Thing”, a fuzz-guitar finger-picking blues ballad, B.B.King’s “3 O’Clock Blues” and the sultry “Bright Lights”.
Tedeschi Trucks Band proved to be one of the best acts of the weekend, with adoring affection for each other that speaks through their music. The crowd cheered with all the variety from soul, blues, and southern rock that was full of heart. They played blues classics such as “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” (by Hambone Willie Newbern), “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” (Willie Johnson), a rousing version of Derek and the Domino’s “Keep on Growing”, and a beautiful version of “Bound for Glory”, which was dedicated to the late Brian Farmer. In a 10+ minute long “Misunderstood”, Derek showed off his deft slide guitar, moving to “Bound for Glory”, graced by Susan’s angelic vocals and soulful guitar, along with intense Hammond riffing by Kofi Burbridge.
Wilco opened with their 2001 classic, “War on War”, from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. During Wilco’s set, a passing sun shower provided a brief relief from the summer heat, as well as a bright double rainbow across the horizon. Frontman Jeff Tweedy cracked jokes about the weather, quipping “don’t rainbows suck?” during “I’m the Man Who Loves You”, then teased “Let it Go” from the film Frozen. As they dove into some serious jamming, keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen smashed his keys with a pillow. Guitar duels ensued between Nels Cline and Pat Sansone, with rhythmic backing by bassist John Stirratt and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco played other favorites, “Handshake Drugs”, “California Stars” and “Kingpin”, closing their set with “A Shot in the Arm”.
Phil Lesh and Friends kicked off Saturday night with a slew of segued songs, starting with a killer “Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad” and ending with a beautiful “Bird Song”. Mingled into the line was a somber “Wharf Rat”, along with a picturesque “Eyes of the World” and a psychedelically-tinged “Caution”, augmented with great walking bass lines by Lesh and lovely organ fills by Medeski. “Dark Star” was enhanced by the soulful vocals of Warren Haynes. During the Beatles’ “She Said, She Said”, Phil & Friends’ set was cut short due to a nearby lightning storm, which prompted Lockn’ authorities to order an orderly evacuation of the concert field.
‘You can’t have a Panic show without a little panic’, as a few fans commented while the skies grew dark over the fans rushing to their campsites. The rain delay was lifted after an hour, with Widespread Panic starting on time. Steve Winwood sat in for strong vocals that were as cool as the fresh air after the rain. “Can’t Find My Way Home” went into dark jam territory as Winwood added a touch of the blues. Sax man Randall Bramblett joined alongside Steve and Widespread for “The Ballad of John and Yoko” through nearly the end of the set. Winwood played the best version of “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”, which was also covered by Phil the night before. Winwood’s powerful organ solo brought recognizable delight for the set closer, “Gimme Some Lovin’.”
One of the biggest acts of the weekend was the main stage closer of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. The legendary rock group opened with the iconic “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” (The Byrds), blasting through top hits “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, “Free Fallin’” and “Yer So Bad”, with Petty on acoustic. His set finished with a rocking “Refugee” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream”. Petty encored with “You Wreck Me” and a sizzling “American Girl”. The familiar in-your-face rock had stretched out jams, and was much better live. Tom Petty is like hanging out with old friends, making jokes about music and poor memories of the past.
Late-night Saturday started up the hill on the Triangle Stage, for a rare appearance of Hot Tuna Acoustic, with founders Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady on guitar and bass, and Barry Mitterhoff on mandolin. For his 17th birthday, Jorma’s son Zach joined Hot Tuna on stage to play guitar during their opener, “Been So Long”. Hot Tuna did a number of classic covers by Reverend Gary Davis, such as “I Am the Light of this World”, with Jorma’s incredible fingerpicking and Jack’s virtuoso walking bass thunder, which really took off at the last half of “Hesitation Blues” and the lively “Keep On Truckin’” encore, as well as sprinkled throughout their set, along with Barry’s tasteful mandolin picking and occasional audience support on the choruses.
Late-night closers and the real “break-out” band for Lockn’ was Bustle In Your Hedgerow, who completely burned up the hillside at the Relix Shakedown Stage with passionate instrumental versions of Led Zeppelin songs, bringing a fresh intensity to these classic rock anthems. Led by the multifaceted Marco Benevento (with his army of keyboards and circuit-benders), Dave Dreiwitz of Ween on bass (a modern-day John Paul Jones), Scott Metzger (of Particle & Rana) on guitar (shredding Jimmy Page licks with aplomb), and the ever-limber Joe Russo (Furthur) on drums, pounded out Bonham beats to the responsive crowd. Bustle gained many new fans at Lockn’ with incredible renditions of “For Your Life”, which went into a dark and mysterious “No Quarter”, as Marco unleashed alien sounds from his vast array of keyboards and effects, with stratospheric keyboard solos.
Few people were sleeping, even at the campsites, but everyone said how much they loved listening to Bustle. A Native American tribal dance circle evolved around the sole campfire, and fans slowly soaked in the Bustle set as the three days of music, camping and walking started to sink in.
Sunday
Sunday started out cool and mellow, with a welcome cloud cover to thwart the blazing late summer sun. Keller Williams played his Grateful Gospel set on the Early Triangle Stage at 11 am, with classics like “Ripple” done with a bluegrass feel, assisted by a skilled gospel vocal troupe. Keller then went into a light and airy version of the Dead’s “Eyes of the World”, where fans didn’t mind another ‘cover collision’, as it was fresh and tastily enhanced by soothing vocals and guitar work. Hailing from Charlottesville, Erin and the Wildfire opened the main stage at noon to a few early risers, but more fans arose from their camps to flood the concert grounds for SOJA, who brought a large local following and fired up the crowd.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals kicked the afternoon into overdrive, with straight-ahead power rock anthems like “Ah Mary”, “Low Road”, and “Sweet Hands”. “Nothing but the Water” went into part of Sly’s “I Want to Take You Higher” and ended with an eerie”White Rabbit”. Potter dedicated their encore to the memory of Brian Farmer with a sorrowful “I Shall Be Released”, with Grace taking the helm of the B3 and belting out vocals that echoed off the hills. GP&N ended their set and completed the tribute with The Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends”, propelled by Grace’s blasting organ & vocals.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Willie Nelson treated long-time fans to straight-ahead versions of many classics like “Crazy”, “You Were Always On My Mind” and “Georgia”, playing almost 30 songs in an hour and a half. He joked throughout, making fun of the hard road life and introducing songs like “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” with related stories to provide context. Wilco had another memorable set, with “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”, “Hesitating Beauty” and “Hoodoo Voodoo”, finishing with “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”. Widespread Panic also played a great closing set on Sunday, treating fans to Neil Young’s “Vampire Blues”, where Randall Bramblett again joined the band, this time on harmonica. They closed with a funky version of the Bill Withers classic,”Use Me”, with Susan Tedeschi joining on guitar and vocals, and Bramblett on sax.
The Allman Brothers Band performed Live at the Fillmore East, kicking off with “Statesboro Blues” (Blind Willie McTell) and “Done Somebody Wrong” (Elmore James), and a sweet & smooth version of “Stormy Monday” (T-Bone Walker) with soulful vocals by Gregg Allman, sweet slide work by Derek Trucks, and rhythm guitar by Warren Haynes, who took a soaring solo at the end. A few of the standouts were a nearly 15-minute “Whipping Post”, with ridiculous slide and guitar solo trades between Derek and Warren, and a lengthy “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”. The Allmans closed out the set with “Blue Sky” > “Mountain Jam”, ending with “Little Martha” and an encore of “Mountain Jam Reprise” to close the main stage, while group and album cover photos of the Allman Brothers of yore graced the audience, who cheered to thank the Allman Brothers for a lifetime of music, reflecting on the band who will soon retire.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps0K3SFMS-Y]
See You Next Year
Entry into the festival was far smoother this year due to skillful planning, as well as better layout due to the purchase of adjacent land so all the campsites could be closer. The concert fairgrounds and camping areas were completely redesigned, with new stage locations and new roads built to handle more fans. VIP and Super VIP had larger camping and concert field space, more bathrooms and showers than last year.
Moving the late-night Triangle Stage to the nearby ridge made it less than a 20 minute walk from the main stage field (versus a long 45-minute walk last year). VIP facilities were larger and cleaner this year, under constant maintenance until after midnight. Patrons enjoyed more food choices, more fresh water taps, colder beer, and better use of space, as compared to 2013.
There was a temporary shortage of porta-johns, but more were promptly delivered the next day. There were complaints of minor thefts of tapestries, coolers, and other personal items, but in general the fans were well-behaved and all the major areas were kept safe and sound. The crowd was well-behaved, withstanding the blistering sun with umbrellas, wide hats, shade tents, and water mist guns. In spite of a cancellation by one of the major headliners (Bob Weir and Ratdog, which also cancelled a Furthur reunion), other musicians stepped up to the plate to fill the open main stage slots (namely Bill Kreutzman and Phil Lesh with their respective super-groups).
One of the newest additions to this year’s activities was the on-site biking program. Fans were encouraged to bring their bikes, or could rent one, courtesy of Snowshoe Mountain Bike Park. Oak Ridge Farm has over 30 miles of trails to explore with guided tours from the Charlottesville Area Mountain Bike Club. Because of the beautiful weather, bikers could be seen pedaling at all hours of the weekend. Disc golf, yoga, and swimming hole trips, cultural awareness and crafts were also some of many activities that Lockn’ provided to patrons.
In spite of threats by the ABC to shut down Lockn’s liquor license, county and state police reported only minor incidents, and Lockn’ ran very smoothly, especially considering the amount of fans and crew this year. Thanks to careful planning, and expenditures on key infrastructure like new staging, camping, electricity, and roads, Lockn’ organizers seek to improve the area further, and bring more business into Nelson County next year. Although The Allman Brothers are retiring, we can hope to see many of the headliners return next year.
Boston Calling ended the summer on a high note at City Hall Plaza. Each day of the festival had its own vibe and the crowds seemed to love every second of it. Friday was the day for rock stars to be rock stars, Saturday saw front men and women possessed by endless amounts of energy, and Sunday was for the bands as a whole ensemble to shine. Although a storm knocked out some performers, Boston Calling did a bang up job once again at City Hall Plaza.
Photo by Bryan Lasky
Although hot and humid, Friday’s portion of Boston Calling was a great success. With people streaming into City Hall Plaza to check out the food and liquor vendors, giant connect four games, merchandise, and a free make your own pennants station; the three bands who graced the Jet Blue Stage tore through their sets ferociously. Starting the weekend off, and happy to do it, was Future Islands. The four piece band played a non-stop 45 minute set full of easy to dance to bass lines and a tinge of pop-rock via their synth player. Neutral Milk Hotel took to the stage next and put on a show to remember. Filling the stage with horns, accordions, electric bagpipes, violins, guitars, drums, saws, and banjos; Jeff Mangum and his crew tore into a non-stop hour-long set that went from a wild rock show to an intimate acoustic, depending on the song. The crowd was Mangum’s from the moment he stepped out and dove right into “I Will Bury You in Time”. The band came out and “Holland, 1945” was next and everyone, but especially multi-instrumentalist Julian Koster, was bouncing around stage all night. As per their request, very few cameras were in the air throughout the show making their set a must see event, as you won’t be able to go back and look at bad footage off of your screen. During “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” the crowds’ voices could be heard right in time with Mangum’s, as he had asked them to be right before the song began. After a beautiful solo acoustic “Two-Headed Boy Pt. Two” from Mangum, he said thanks and good night and strode off the stage to a rapturous applause.
The National closed down night one of the festival with a fantastic show from beginning to end that included both mellow and hard-hitting songs as well as a fantastic light show. Matt Berninger’s deep voice echoed throughout the plaza as fans swayed to the tunes. Aaron and Bryce Dessner’s back and forth guitar playing continuously pushed the band forward during the set. Of note, Aaron helps curate Boston Calling and made sure to thank everyone for coming out for this great weekend of music. “Ada” got the first big reaction from the crowd, with “Sea of Love” coming soon after it to keep the crowd going. The band seems in top form when Berninger shows as much emotion as he can while singing or screaming the lyrics at times. The stream of rockers at the end of the set was tremendous, starting with “Graceless” and ending with “Terrible Love” with Berninger singing while walking through the crowd. The band then closed the day down with a quiet acoustic “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.”
Day two saw the crowd slowly stroll in as the afternoon continued on. S. Carey‘s mellow rock was a good festival starter for the day. Mostly known for being the drummer from Bon Iver, he played a set of music that was perfect for a hot sunny Saturday. Sky Ferreira was up next and had some problems with equipment and restarted a few songs throughout her set. Even with this trouble, she and the band soldiered onward playing songs “24 Hours”, “Ain’t Your Right” and “Boys” to an ecstatic crowd. Bleachers stepped up to the stage next and took over the entire crowd on the plaza. Jack Antonoff was jumping all over the stage and giving the crowd everything he had from the moment the music started. His endless energy seeped throughout the set and to the rest of the band. “Reckless Love”, “Shadow” and set closer “I Wanna Get Better” were absolute barn burners and set the level that every other band playing needed to match for the rest of the day.
Photo by Bryan Lasky
The Hold Steady were next and kept the energy up for their entire set. Frontman Craig Finn egged the crowd on for everything they could give back to the band as soon as his feet stepped on the stage. The dueling guitar work of Tad Kubler and Steve Selvidge was jaw dropping, as was the connectivity of drummer Bobby Drake and bassist Galen Polivka. Opening with a great “Constructive Summer” right into “Hot Soft Light” and “I Hope This Whole Thing Didn’t Frighten You” was one of the best opening three songs of the weekend. After their set ended and people started heading over to what was to be Volcano Choir’s set at 6:05PM, an announcement was made that a storm was passing through Boston and the festival was being put on hold until it passed. Some fans left City Hall Plaza, while others went up to the VIP area. The staff did a great job of giving everyone enough time to head for safety before the storm actually hit – they should all be commended since once the storm came through lightning, thunder, hard rain, and dangerous winds swept across the concert grounds. Once the storm passed the damage to the concert site was assessed, including broken banners and live electrical wires, and the entire plaza was evacuated. Twitter was the news source that finally let us know at 8:30PM that it was ok to come back in and we wouldn’t be seeing Volcano Choir or Girl Talk, but Lorde and Childish Gambino would both be playing.
Photo by Bryan Lasky
Once the crowds were in, Lorde came out to a rabid audience and played her album Pure Heroine in full, but not in the album’s order. Her set time was cut to 50 minutes due to the delay, but she used every second of the set to wow the crowd. With a stunning light show, she tore through “Tennis Court” as the crowd screamed every lyric back at her. Lorde was very taken aback by the crowd’s out pour of love during the set and told them as much during a short speech in the middle of the set. The back to back of “Royals” and “Team” sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy all over the plaza. Ending with a beautiful take on “A World Alone,” she left the stage have conquered Boston’s City Hall Plaza. Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, came on stage within 30 seconds of Lorde ending her set since he only had an hour to play and he had the crowd jumping and dancing in front of him for the full portion of his set. Focusing on songs from Because the Internet, Gambino was a non-stop ball of energy and his band stayed right there with him during the whole set. Nothing but smiling faces could be seen as people left the plaza despite the weather trying to ruin a great Saturday in Boston.
As fans entered City Hall Plaza on day three, tired faces could be seen, but the music would pick everyone right back up. Local act Gentlemen Hall started the day off with a mix of rap, rock, and pop. The band played with all of their heart for 40 minutes to win every member of the crowd over, and by the end of the set, anyone who was standing in front of the stage was rocking along with the band. Eight piece band San Fermin came on like wild-fire next and sent the ever-growing crowd into a frenzy. Allen Tate’s baritone voice mixed beautifully with Charlene Kaye’s soaring vocals. John Brandon’s trumpet playing saw him jump around the stage as well as into the audience. The whole band gelled together wonderfully to create a non-stop force for their short time on stage together. New song “Parasite” was a big hit with the crowd and could be a breakout song for the group throughout the country soon.
Photo by Bryan Lasky
White Denim raised the bar for how bands needed to perform the rest of the day with their set. A clear influence of theirs that could be heard during the entire set was The Grateful Dead. From jamming a few songs past their normal structures to the bluegrass-rock hybrid that some songs had, the band clearly was borrowing some lessons from one of the best American bands of the last 50 years. The band played a near flawless set for the people of Boston, and they responded with nothing but cheers and applause. The War on Drugs soon followed and played a mellow laid back set of rock that could have been plucked from the mid to late 70’s. Adam Granduciel’s vocal style is very similar to Paul Simon’s and if you close your eyes you could almost imagine the legend being on stage singing. His guitar work though was anything but as he furiously played the instrument at times, but it never seemed to continue for very long. Boston’s own Lake Street Dive mixed country and rock together with wonderful harmonies from all four members and had the crowd in the palm of their hand during their time on stage. Rachel Price’s voice alone would have been good enough to listen to, but when mixed with Mike Calabrese, Bridget Kearney, and Mike Olson’s, it just turns into magic. 21 Pilots then leaped and ran all over the main stage. Their show is a spectacle to be seen. From crowd surfing drums, to smoke machines, to both members jumping and doing flips all over the stage, 21 Pilots won the weekend for being the most entertaining band at the festival. The music is a mix of rap, rock, and pop definitely wasn’t the most technical music of the weekend, but the show was exciting at least.
Photo by Bryan Lasky
The 1975 and Spoon were the next two acts to play the festival and both played good sets, but neither was overly exciting. Both bands played fairly straight forward rock and were both good to listen to in anticipation for the headliners. The Replacements set could be described only as being punk music from the heart. The band which is on a reunion tour with two original members, Paul Westerberg andTommy Stinson, played to an audience that sang along to every song they played whether Westerberg remembered all the lyrics or not. All was forgiven though as the band was having a blast on stage and all the positive energy seeped through the crowd. In a little over an hour the band played 22 songs and declared victory at City Hall Plaza. The crowd wanted more, but it was not meant to be. Closing with “White and Lazy” and getting a quick encore of “Alex Chilton” all the faces leaving from the show had nothing to show for it but smiles. Nas and The Roots had the honor of closing the festival, but it was really two separate sets. Nas came out first with his dj and did some songs off of Illmatic as well as some other hits before The Roots joined him about 40 minutes in for One Mic. The two bands played together for about 10 minutes and then Nas left the stage and The Roots played for another hour on their own. Both sets were tremendous, but I think most people thought it was going to be a full set of the two legends playing together, which really would have capped off the amazing weekend in Boston. There are already plans for Boston Calling in 2015 so stay tuned and make sure that you make your way down to City Hall Plaza if you’re looking for a weekend of great music in the middle of Boston.
Rain couldn’t keep the crowd away at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. The lawn was a sea of umbrellas belonging to dedicated Sheryl Crow fans. The nine-time Grammy winner proved to the Littleton crowd that she was worth every drop. Opening with “Maybe Angels” Crow came ready to rock. A country girl at heart Crow said, “I’ve seen every nook and cranny of Colorado and I love it. I have a soft spot for y’all.” She went on to play a collection of favorites from over the years including the breakthrough hit from her debut album “All I Wanna Do” and still popular, “If It Makes You Happy” and “The First Cut is the Deepest”.
Crow got serious with the crowd for a minute when she acknowledged the recent suicide of beloved actor Robin Williams. “I’ve gotten very sentimental in these last few days,” she said. “I feel like we’ve lost one of our good ones. One of our sensitive ones and good-hearted ones.” After a somber moment Crow played “Redemption Day”, a song about hope, she said. Crow still has what it takes. Songs from her newest album, Feels Like Home are proof that her twenty-year career has been well earned and she’s not done yet.
Setlist: Maybe Angels, A Change Would Do You Good, All I Wanna Do, My Favorite Mistake, Easy, Leaving Las Vegas, Strong Enough, Redemption Day, Best of Times, Nobody’s Business, The First Cut Is the Deepest (Cat Stevens cover), Shotgun, Picture/If It Makes You Happy, Soak up the Sun, Everyday is a Winding Road
Encore: Steve McQueen, Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin Cover)
On Friday, August 15th in Upper Darby, PA, Dopapod, or more lovingly known as Derp-uh-perd, flipped the Tower Theater on its head before Umphrey’s McGee got the chance to touch an instrument.
Dopapod opens the Tower Theater.
Thinking to myself, “they’re really playing down their weirdness for this huge slot tonight,” I overheard a woman behind me: “I think I like them; they’re just really weird. Did he just sing about Trapper Keepers?” Weird is synonymous for Dopapod and vice versa, so pardon the repetitiveness.
Dopapod bassist Chuck Jones.
“This is their attempt at toning it down,” I had to interject. “They just turned knobs, slapped basses, and jammed out for 15 minutes about a Trapper Keeper, or something like that. But, they’re actually playing a relatively straightforward set tonight.” As fans packed in for Umphrey’s McGee’s debut at the Tower Theater, Dopapod cranked the rock out, setting the mood for a long night of hard jamming ahead.
For my friend Chris and I, this was our third night of getting Umphed in a row. This night was special, though: we were back on our home turf, back with our UMPHamily. The previous two nights in Burlington, VT, and Hampton Beach, NH, respectively, were great, but Burlington’s Maritime Festival show drew a relatively subdued crowd and Chris had to drive us home in the middle of the night after the Hampton show— five hours away.
Philadelphia was basically our backyard. As I met up with some of my best friends from all over the Northeast (and a new one from Atlanta), a warm sense of serenity washed over me: this was exactly where I belonged in the universe. Umphrey’s took the stage and showered a foreboding “Bathing Digits” onto us, and my hands involuntarily reached to the heavens, pointer fingers fully extended, crossed, and displayed Umph-horns for the world to see.
Bassist Ryan Stasik: Rage, rest, repeat.
The Tower Theater, a classic movie house built in 1927, had an historic feel to it with trellised boxes upstairs and pillars climbing the height of the stage on both sides. Downstairs was a wide open symmetric room, where the approximately 3,000 fans were confined in a tightly packed sea of people that would sway gently and heave aggressively throughout the show, depending on the band’s climate.
The historic Tower Theater.
From night to night, you never known what you’re going to get at an Umphrey’s show. UM is that friend who is the life of the party, yet inherently a loose cannon. It is only an educated guess whether you’re going to get a melodic old friend in “The Fussy Dutchman,” or a brashly combative “Wizard Burial Ground;” a persistently rebellious “Mulche’s Odyssey,” or a rambunctious yet contemplative “Der Bluten Kat.” At the Tower Theater, we saw all these faces of Umphrey’s.
Jake Cinninger’s game face.
Whenever you get “Glory” and “Hajimashite” in the same night, the universe is aligned in your favor. Throw in an emergency 11-minute dance party known as “The Triple Wide,” and the start of “In The Kitchen” early in the first set and the end late in the second, and an Umphrey’s show is materializing. With an emotional cover of The Police’s “Driven To Tears,” a “Puppet String” sandwich encore, and a few other originals and teases, Joel Cummins and the Cookie Bandits brought their “A” game to rock UMPHilly late into the night.
Umphrey’s at the Tower Theater.
Setlist Umphrey’s McGee Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA Set One: Bathing Digits > The Fussy Dutchman, In The Kitchen > Mulche’s Odyssey, The Linear > 2X2, Der Bluten Kat > Amble On > Der Bluten Kat (1) Set Two: The Triple Wide > Cut The Cable, Driven To Tears > Hangover (2), Educated Guess, Hajimemashite (3) > In The Kitchen, Synchopated Strangers, Wizard Burial Ground Encore: Puppet String (4) > Glory > Puppet String
[1] with It’s About That Time (Miles Davis) tease
[2] with Proverbial teases
[3] with White Man’s Moccasins tease and Den jam
[4] with Simple Gifts (trad.) tease
Joined by opening act, The Bell Brigade, folk rocker Ray LaMontagne settled into a comfortable and soothing show at Red Rocks Amphitheater on August 7th. The house was packed but from the mellow tone you wouldn’t know it. Subdued but satisfied, the sold out crowd sat attentively allowing LaMontagne’s voice to lull them.
With nearly half of the set coming from his most recent album, Supernova, the concert was balanced with old and new. LaMontagne’s unmistakable raspy voice washed over the crowd like water combing over sand. The chill vibe was briefly broken when LaMontagne brought in some energy with “Repo Man”. He mixed in some fan favorites such as, “Jolene”. and “Trouble”, during which he broke into the tune, “Stand By Me”, to the crowds delight.
LaMontagne spoke to the Colorado crowd briefly saying, “Twelve years ago people thought I’d be a flash in the pan. That’s bullshit!”. He continued, “Love me or hate me, I ain’t going anywhere.”
Setlist: Lavender, She’s the One, For the Summer, Pick Up a Gun, Supernova, Airwaves, Ojai, Repo Man, Smashing, Burn, Trouble (with Stand By Me), Jolene, Like Rock & Roll and Radio, Meg White, Julia, God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise
Waking up early on Friday, August 8th, the plan was to book it the three hours from Burlington, VT, to Hampton Beach, NH, check in to the hotel, then relax and regroup in the afternoon. My friend Chris and I started the day with high hopes and spirits. We had seen our favorite band, Umphrey’s McGee, last night, and we were going to see them again that night—and the following two nights. Our friend Sam, whom we had serendipitously met at the Catskill Chill Music Festival last year, had housed us in Burlington. With plenty of room to sprawl out the previous night and hot showers in the morning, all was well.
Then, we got to Hampton Beach.
The damnedest thing about checking into the hotel is, if one does not have a hotel, one cannot do that. As I drove in circles around the main Hampton Beach strip, Chris called every hotel, motel, and campground within a twenty-mile radius. With each “sorry, we’re fully booked,” our spirits sunk. Who would have thought that New Hampshire’s most popular beach town would be sold out of rooms on a midsummer Friday night?
After we regrouped over a couple IPAs, I decided it was time to take to the streets and visit some motels in person. For three hours, I walked up and down the strip, pulling out every trick I knew to lock down a room—and I’ve got tricks. Nothing. Not even a spot to pitch a tent.
Time to regroup again. I met Chris napping in the car. He had resigned to the fact that we were homeless in Hampton, and he would have to drive the five hours back home after the show. I was not giving up yet. I headed back to the strip again.
Instead of a room for the night, I came back with an earring. The decision was part deliriousness, part booze-induced, and part my friend Putty’svoice in my head: “if you get your nipples pierced, you can never lose your tits. It’s key for our type of music.” At least this we could laugh about today. (Un)fortunately, the piercer gave me a look of horror when I asked about nipples; I had to settle for knowing my left ear would not be blown off by the Umph-machine. This time back at the car, Chris woke with a chuckle. I still would not give up on the hope of getting us a room, and headed out again.
Next, I came back with Kris Myers. I noticed my favorite drummer hanging out in the parking lot and had to say hello. Not only is he the hardest working man in music, he may be the most genuine and friendliest. For fifteen minutes, Chris, Kris, and I talked about the previous night’s concert, the hapless hotel situation in Hampton, All In Time Productions, and our appreciation of music. Before going to prepare for the show, he asked, “Hey, how’d you guys like to hear ‘All In Time’ tonight?” Yes, please.
Kris Myers (r) and my blingin’ self.
Making it into the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom was a major relief. The venue—a very long, open room with the stage up front and bars in the back—had wooden floors that acted as shoe magnets when beer was spilled and feet were shuffling. When Umphrey’s started with a “Miss Tinkle’s Overture > Higgins > Miss Tinkle’s Overture” sandwich, all worries washed away. From the first note to the last, UM brought their hard rocking hats and fed off the excitement of the exceptionally raucous crowd.
During the first set, one of Kris Myers’ cymbals stood slightly out of reach. After a stagehand replaced it, Myers went out of his way to visibly thank him without missing a beat. After the band concluded a fiery version of “Little Gift” in the second set, there was an extra long delay. The crowd stomped, clapped, and yelled, and Myers sought me out, made eye contact, nodded, and shot into “All In Time”. The tune started off upbeat and, as always, the final stanzas were powerfully emotional and uplifting and had me nodding along in pure joy. With Bayliss wailing out the resonating words, “My blood, it boils with passions, they overflow from time to time, and I can see that when your eyes look down,” a perceptible oneness could be felt throughout the ecstatic crowd.
Although the oddly long shape of the room was not ideal for the lighting wizard Jefferson Waful, the indoor Ballroom allowed for a more spectacular light show than the previous night outdoors in Burlington. During “1348”, however, the boys on stage gave an atypically subdued shout-out to Waful—“let’s see light.” The tune turned into a fuzzy sandwich, with Umphrey’s showing off their vocal and musical ranges during “The Fuzz” and proving rock ‘n’ roll is still thriving with “1348” again.
Rock ‘n Roll
The energy of the room was palpable all night; before Cinninger—“The Man Who Shits Arpeggios”— went to town in “Making Flippy Floppy”, Bayliss pointed out “You guys are fucking rowdy tonight!” Umphrey’s stretched “Bright Lights, Big City” into an uber-long dance jam in the first set, which closed with crowd favorite “The Song Remains The Same”. While everyone danced hard, there was not a drop of ill will in the Ballroom; like most UM shows, if someone pushed you, it was to get you closer to the stage.
Apart from the aforementioned Zeppelin cover and a few other teases, the band played a delicious assortment of originals that spanned their illustrious sixteen-year career. From “KaBump”, which they’ve played live since their South Bend days in 1998, to “Proverbial”, which debuted at the “Nothing Too Fancy Music” label release party in May, the Umph-love was aplenty. The highlight may have come when they concluded the second set with “Mantis”. Joel Cummins—who “plays with the passion of an unbridled horse running down the beach”—hammered his keys emotionally and Andy Xanadu Farag—the “chode and the balls of the band”— transitioned between sections with the most beautiful chimes in music.
Unfortunately, there comes a moment in every UM show when you realize the end is nigh. The encore fittingly wrapped up with “Bad Friday”, and it was time to head home. Chris valiantly drove us the 260 miles back to New Paltz and our own beds.
On the bright side, of course, the run was only halfway over.
Setlist:
Set One: Miss Tinkle’s Overture > Higgins(1) > Miss Tinkle’s Overture, Made to Measure > Bright Lights, Big City, Mad Love, Kabump > A Go Go >Proverbial, The Song Remains the Same
Set Two: 1348 > The Fuzz > 1348, Making Flippy Floppy(2) > Little Gift, All In Time > Kula > All In Time, Preamble > Mantis
Encore: Mullet (Over), Bad Friday
On a global scale, few mere mortals will ever know the exquisite blissful nature inherent in a music festival. Those mortals include friends you encouraged to come – they show feigned interest but never show up. Grumpy old men ranting about “those hippies need to get a job”. Business people who can’t possibly leave their desk for three days. Those people have missed the boat – no weekend ritual truly embodies and personifies the definition of vacation better. True freedom exists there: freedom from ringing cells, fashion faux pas, nagging bosses, judgement, and often shoes. To truly live off the earth and feed our natural senses – the sights – the smells – and of course, the sounds. The 34th annual Gathering at Chaffee’s epitomized this hedonistic alternate reality perfectly.
This year would provide some upgrades to the Chaffee experience. For longer than some of the attendees lives, there has been a popular saying here – “It ain’t Chaffee’s if it doesn’t rain”. To answer the weather critics, the festival added a giant circus-esque tent to the front of the stage allowing for not only plenty of dry space to dance, but also quite possibly one of the best light shows a medium-sized festival has ever seen. Images and lights danced over the white tents interior all weekend while smoke effects added another layer of visuals. Morning yoga was added – for those who got up early, or had not yet slept. The yearly beer tasting expanded with the delicious concoctions of Erie’s Lavery Brewing Company. Oh, and the rain? Well, I guess all they needed was a tent because outside of a couple ten-minute sprinkles, the weather was close to perfection from start to finish.
34 years is a hell of a long time for any festival to exist nowadays. When such longevity is achieved, it’s rarely a fluke. Rather, everything has to be just right. The right amount of security to be safe without feeling under surveillance. The right amount of amenities to stay comfortable without abridging the “back to nature” aspect. Enough port-a-potties to insure no long lines engaged in the “pee-pee” dance (Also worth noting – some of the cleanest port-a-potties EVER). And of course, music. Lots of it.
Musical highlights over the weekend were aplenty. Eric Brewer & Phriends performed a near flawless set of Phish covers. Groove rock juggernaut Aqueous busted out some old tunes, some extra long jam sessions and a set with multiple guest appearances – Funktapuss‘s Latez Antonio singing vocals on TLC’s Waterfalls and a full band switch over with Ohio’s Broccoli Samurai (and Eric Brewer to boot) during original tune “The Median”. A crew of uber talented Erie bands performed including a side stage rager by Potwhole and a blistering set by the soon-to-be-big Falling Hollywood. Jimkata’s soaring peaks that lead the way for festival closer Spiritual Rez – a set that can only be described as an unstoppable party. All bands brought their A game, no filler acts to be found here.
Of course, like any weekend of fun, eventually its time to go home. As people packed up, the overwhelming sentiment was that: “This was the best Chaffee’s yet”. This rang a bell for me, I had heard this before – last year at Chaffee’s 33. And have no doubts, Chaffee’s 35 will be even better. It’s already on my calendar, do yourself a favor and put it on yours.
Friday night they move to the Electric Factory where they will play with American Babies. The Biscuits will cap it all off Saturday night at the Mann Center with supporting acts Giorgio Moroder “the godfather of disco,” Orchard Lounge, and Risky Disco. The Biscuits always bring the heat to Philly so this is a weekend surely not to miss! Tickets to these shows can be found here and single day passes for the Mann center can be found here. Thursday and Friday night’s show start at 7pm. Doors are at 5pm for the Mann center, show starting at 6.
