Pitchfork Music Festival: I won't be there, but check these out for me

For the first time since the festival started in 2006 (and 2005, when it was still called the Intonation Music Festival), I have attended the Pitchfork Music Festival. This year, I will be missing it for the first time.

While this hasn't broken my heart, there were still a few bands I wanted to see. Let me know how it goes.

-Tortoise-This is a band I think would be great live...if I paid attention. These guys were at the first Pitchfork festival (then called Intonation), and while I enjoyed what I saw of their set, I stood in line for most of it, waiting for an autograph from Sebastien Grainger of Death from Above 1979.

Regardless, I have enjoyed every release of theirs, including their new one, Beacons of Ancestorship. I wish I could be there, but alas, I'll catch them some other time (Friday at 5).

-Yo La Tengo - I saw these guys at the Pygmalion Music Festival in Champaign-Urbana last fall, and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. That band makes quite a noise for such a trio, and with their set being hand-picked by fans, it should be pretty awesome (Friday at 6:10).

-The Jesus Lizard-I think enough has been said about this band reuniting and how powerful of a live act they are. I don't think I need to go into any more detail (Friday at 7:20).

-Fucked Up-This band should be what Les Savy Fav was to the festival in 2005 and 2008 (Saturday at 2:30).

-Ponytail-This band exudes happiness. Their 2008 album Ice Cream Spiritual, while nearly wordless, is a blast of sunshine and dance-y goodness. Here's to hoping it's just as good live (Saturday at 4:30).

-Black Lips-I've heard horror stories about this band's power onstage. I would expect nothing less (Saturday at 8:30)

-Blitzen Trapper-These folkies have been on my radar since 2007's Wild Mountain Nation. I want to see them live, and see if that intimacy/craziness can translate live. They are hippies, but hopefully they can forget that onstage.

-M83-The first album of theirs I really got into was 2003's Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, and then I kind of forgot about them. I saw them at 2005's Lollapalooza, but ended up falling asleep (it was hot out that day). Again, I wonder how good they really are live, especially if I paid attention. I liked last year's Saturdays = Youth, so if they have a great light show to go along with the ambient music, it should be awesome (Sunday at 6:15).

Sonic Youth: sticking to the new stuff

Note: Photos by Eric Heisig

Sorry it's been so long. Real life is getting in the way more and more these days.

I have to applaud Sonic Youth for almost always playing the most songs from their recent release in concert. That was definitely the case on Sunday at the Vic Theatre.

The band offered almost the entire album The Eternal, which was released earlier this month. The songs sounded good too, with their rougher edges and power shining through (their last album, Rather Ripped, saw the band trying more poppy music. Great stuff, but this new album is their best in a while).

The best song out of the new bunch was, without a doubt, "Anti-Orgasm." With its garage-rock riff and harmony vocals (a rarity for the band), the song was the epitome of what they can do, build tension while create beauty with weird melodies and structures. Other songs such as "Sacred Trickster" sounded just as good, proving that this time around, it's Kim Gordon's band. A lot of the new material is sung by her, and while she was front and center for most of the time, she had the most commanding presence.


When the band tried other material, they seemed less adventurous, but maybe that's because they already know the ins and outs of the songs. They opened the show with "She Is Not Alone" from their very first album, and the encores had them revisiting three songs from Daydream Nation. Sure, they all sounded great, but the best thing about this show was their willingness to try all their new material.

Sonic Youth also seems to be flourishing by playing with former Pavement bassist Mark Ibold. While their first album was released in 1981, Ibold helped create a full sound, which is a big compliment considering how big they can sound with just the guitars of Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo.

Opening band White/Light was a one-note band, but that's how they wanted it. Their live show consisted of a drone, with the changes coming ever-so subtly. They weren't trying to be tuneful, and while it was cool for a little while, some changes would have been nice.


There is a reason Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music didn't become a widespread hit.

Here are a couple more photos from the show:

Starlight Mints: cool lights, cool music, a great spectacle

Photos by Ned Mulka

I was wowed by the Starlight Mints, and it takes a lot for me to get wowed.

Their show at The Highdive in Champaign on Friday was awesome. It all added up: the lighting, the music, the energy (the lack of crowd didn't help, but it didn't bug me, even if it did bug the band). It was a legitimate surprise, one of the best shows I have seen this year.

I should have known something awesome was coming up from when I entered The Highdive. There was a video screen up and a projector ready to go. I knew it would be cool, but not this cool.

Starlight Mints are gearing up for the release of their latest record, Change Remians (out now digitally), and a good portion of their 45-minute set was derived from it.

In fact, the upcoming record yielded the best song of the night in "Zoomba." With a pre-recorded discordant horn section and a powerful drum beat, the band displayed their power.

Their music was joyous and upbeat but it had a weight to it. The rhythms were emphasized and made what could have been very precious music into something monstrous.

In addition, the band seems to have learned quite a bit from fellow Oklahomans and former tourmates The Flaming Lips, as their visuals were almost as good as the music. With a video screen playing various backgrounds and two LED lights in the front, the lights were almost as bright as the band's energy, but put together made for a great spectacle on such a small stage.

The band ended their set early, probably because Evangelicals went on late. Starlight Mints was determined to end on a good note though, after a botched version of "Submarine #3." They did, but it was too short for such a good show.

Opening band Evangelicals really love The Cure. That's just about everything you need to know about them, since every song sounded like The Cure (guys, if you aren't getting the message, listen to another band besides The Cure).

To be fair, the band's material had a lot more power onstage, but the weirdness and odd musical styles displayed on 2008's The Evening Descends were not shown.

When I saw them at the Pygmalion Festival last September, I walked out. Part of that was because they were boring, the other was that I wanted to see other bands. While they have improved as a live act since then, they struggle to make the interesting elements of their records a part of their live set.

That being said, I did enjoy how raw and punky some of their numbers became, especially the song "Bellawood." If only they were able to combine the punky and the intricate. Then Evangelicals would really be creating something great.

Here are some more photos from the show:

Starlight Mints


Evangelicals

Just a reminder: audio interviews from Summer Camp are up

So it came t my attention that it may be best to put up links and a reminder on where to find the audio interviews I did at Summer Camp. I posted them on the days they were done and the days they played. I interviewed This Must Be the Band on the Friday, and Backyard Tire Fire and Easy Star All-Stars on Sunday.

Sorry for the confusion, if there was any. In case you missed it, here are links to the audio:

This Must Be the Band

Why Charles Otto (lead singer/David Byrne) decided to form a Talking Heads cover band

Why the Talking Heads music is a good jumping off point for This Must Be the Band, instead of them being a straight cover band

Backyard Tire Fire

Lead singer Ed Anderson talks about the formation of the band

The band talks about recording their new, upcoming album with Steve Berlin of Los Lobos

Why do they come back to Summer Camp year after year?

Easy Star All-Stars

Goldwasser talks about the creation of Easy Star Records

Goldwasser talks about what would not work as an album to cover/create for Easy Star

Goldwasser talks about picking Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to recreate as a reggae album

Goldwasser talks about hearing back from the artists he has covered

Summer Camp: The people

Photos by Eric Heisig

I didn't just take photos of bands, you know. Here are some of the people that come every year to a three-day celebration of no showers, live music and substances that wouldn't be allowed to be ingested at any job.

Fever Ray: having soul while still sounding soulless

I've been sitting on the self-titled debut album by Fever Ray for some time now. I've listened to it, and then put it away, listened to it, put it away, etc. This is partly due to being busy, and partly because I heard different things every time I listened to it.

This review will have to be based on my feelings from the last time I listened to it (though they very well may change again), but I hear a lot of emotion in this, something a listener may not expect going into a project that has a lot of electronics.

Fever Ray is the new project of Karin Andersson of the Swedish electronic duo The Knife. The group's icy sound was something I always enjoyed, but I didn't really feel any emotions while listening to it. It felt very sterile, as the group is very straightforward, but the emotion-less feel of it has always worked.

Fever Ray has a lot of the same production techniques as The Knife, but this time Andersson lets the emotion bleeds through. Her pain is palpable when listening to her vocals.

It doesn't matter how much her vocals are processed ("If I Had a Heart") or how weird the beats are ("Seven" sounds like something out of an educational video about touring jungles), Fever Ray is a very raw, revealing record.

The lyrics themselves are nothing revelatory, but the way Andersson uses her voice exudes pain. She comes off as a mixture of Bjork and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at her very sweetest. However, this album is better crafted than either of the two singers I just mentioned.

The album is meant to take you on a journey, and not to be too cliche, but it's your decision on how you want it to take you. It's an engaging listen that will, as I said a couple times already, reveal it to be different things at different times.

Don't let The Knife's sterile sound fool you, just give this one time. That's the way to appreciate it the most.

Summer Camp Music Festival: Sunday

Photos by Eric Heisig

12:40 a.m. - I get back from my car and watch a little bit of The Wood Brothers, who are playing on the Campfire Stage. They are okay, but not good enough to hold my interest. I press on.

1:00 - I get back from my car, and start walking around in the woods. It is really fun to walk around in a pitch-black area surrounded by campsites and.

With my press pass, I am let into the VIP area (I didn't think this got me into these kind of places!), which has a trail lit-up by arches of different colors. It's kind of cool, but then the arches end, and it's just campsites. Meh.

2:30 - I go to bed. I am exhausted. Shooting, walking with heavy equipment and taking in the sun are taking their toll on me. My car's back seat is mighty enticing right now.

10:15 - I wake up, because I have an interview with the rock band Backyard Tire Fire around 11 a.m. Better get a-moving.

11:00 - I get onto festival grounds, and call the tour manager for Backyard Tire Fire. He tells me Willie Nelson's soundcheck ran late, so they are going to be a little rushed to get their soundcheck in before they play. We agree to do the interview after the show.

11:15 - Now that I have some free time to kill, I check out a band called Seeker playing at the Starshine Stage. They sound like a less-accomplished, more annoying version of Incubus. There is a little big of progressive rock to them, but their music lacks the propulsion necessarily to really captivate an audience. Plus, from a visual standpoint, they don't do that much.

I get bored, and believe it or not, silence and sitting down sounds more interesting right now than this band.

11:45 - It is quite hot outside, so I am just sitting by the Sunshine Stage, waiting for Backyard Tire Fire to start. I still have some time, but by now, I am getting exhausted.

11:55 - There is a man in the front row that I have seen at a bunch of shows. He's a nice guy, who shares a lot of the same musical tastes that I have. We chat for a bit.

12:00 p.m. - Backyard Tire Fire hit the stage. I remember them having less members when I saw them last year ... I think there were two less.

The band plays a good set though, playing a bunch of songs off their to-be-released album produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. It's kind of weird to hear a bunch of new songs, since their latest album, The Places We Lived, came out last August, but the new material is strong. These guys are only getting better.

In all, Backyard Tire Fire only plays one song from that last album ("How in the Hell Did You Get Back Here" was the closer), but their set is solid. The addition of an extra guitarist and keyboardist makes for a fuller sound onstage, and their cover of the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle with Care" is spot-on.

Last year, I had heard of this band but never saw them. I saw their set and was impressed. This year they played just as well. While the crowd is small (it is early in the day), they are dedicated (the band would later tell me Summer Camp shows feel like hometown shows, since they are from Bloomington, Ill.), knowing most of the material they are playing.

It is one of the better shows I have seen this the weekend.

1:20 - I call Backyard Tire Fire's manager again, and I meet him and he takes me backstage. I interview the band (all very nice, funny guys).

Here is the interview. Click on the text to hear the band speak.

Lead singer Ed Anderson talks about the formation of the band

The band talks about recording their new, upcoming album with Steve Berlin of Los Lobos

Why do they come back to Summer Camp year after year?

1:45 - I realized I forgot to call the tour manager for Easy Star All-Stars, which I was supposed to do earlier in the day. I have an interview scheduled with the band, and calling her completely escaped me.

Feeling stupid, I frantically call her, and she is nice enough to go with it. The band goes on at 2:30, and we plan on doing the interview right after the show. Instead of trying to go through the hassle of getting backstage (it can be a hassle, but I have luckily avoided it for most of the weekend), she asks if I want to just hang out backstage and then do the interview right after.

I agree. It is backstage, after all.

2:15 - I get to the gate for the backstage area and call her. She comes to the gate and gets me, and asks someone who works at the festival to take me to get a backstage VIP pass.

I am then taken to an office, where we are told that they are completely out for the weekend. Apparently a lot of bands and managers went overboard and gave out too many (something I really noticed this year ... I know there weren't a lot of press passes given out by the festival organizers, but it seems like press and VIP passes were handed out like crack by the bands and managers playing the festivals. They are everywhere).

We go back to the backstage area, and the lady tells me to just hang out, and if anyone hassles me to drop her name. Nice lady, and really was able to deal with a difficult situation well.

2:30 - Easy Star All-Stars take the stage, and I am watching on the side. I have never really been backstage like this before, and it is pretty cool (Al from moe. is right next to me, watching the set).

My roommate obsessed over Easy Star's latest album, Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (I'll give you one guess on what they are covering), and I have heard some of their Radiohead covers. I was really looking forward to them, and I wasn't let down.

The band started with an instrumental two-step, and slowly the full band appears onstage. There is skanking, dancing and anything else you can do to reggae.

Easy Star All-Stars play a mix of originals, Beatles songs and Radiohead songs (they have a weird but cool version of "Paranoid Android," and they keep their energy up for the entire show. The audience wasn't huge (at least from what I see on the side), but they knew just about every word to "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "With a Little Help from My Friends" (no wonder).

The band goes a little bit overtime, but no one seems to care.

4:10 - After waiting and pacing a bit backstage (there is no good way to not look suspicious when doing this, especially when bands are sitting with friends and families right by where you are), I get a hold of Easy Star's manager, and she brings me into their dressing room, where I interview producer and co-creator Michael Goldwasser. Very generous man, especially since he had just played a show not 15 minutes prior.

Note: Here is my interview with Goldwasser. Click on the links below to hear him.

Goldwasser talks about the creation of Easy Star Records

Goldwasser talks about what would not work as an album to cover/create for Easy Star

Goldwasser talks about picking Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to recreate as a reggae album

Goldwasser talks about hearing back from the artists he has covered

4:30 - Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood are so sweet. I love me some jazz, and they are doing free jazz the way it was intended.

John Scofield is probably the most interesting to listen to, only because he doesn't overplay. He plays few notes, and has the ability to milk every note for all of its energy. Medeski, Martin & Wood (who don't do too badly on their own) surround his playing with frenetic beats, organ stabs and fast bass lines. They are clearly inspired, and consistently trying to find the best way to make Scofield fit in.

For the most part, they succeed. Their cover of The Beatles' "Julia" is a highlight, keeping in mind how much Scofield underplays. He isn't interested in flashiness, just the melody and making its simplicity and beauty shine through.

I leave a bit early because I want to catch the beginning of Los Lobos.

5:45 - Los Lobos begins. The first album of theirs I really got into was 2004's The Ride (even though they have been around for much longer than that), and I was really looking forward to seeing them.

They blew me away. Los Lobos are one of the most versatile bands I have ever seen on stage, effortlessly blending rock, blues, jazz, Latin, folk and other styles into one big mish mash of music. They jammed, but not to excess. They were very good at their instruments, but they weren't showing off. Everything was only to improve the structure of the song, and it showed.

In addition, Willie Nelson harmonica player Mickey Raphael played with Los Lobos for nearly their entire set, finding an interesting way to incorporate himself and add color to their music.

During the festival, I have usually stayed in the photo pit for a band for about 10 minutes. I left earlier for them, so I could take it all in.

It's a wonder how criminally underrated this band is, but by the end of the set they were working the crowds like the pros they are (even if a singalong to Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" didn't work, the audience was still trying to remember the words).


By the end of their performance, I am convinced they put on the best show of the festival. Hands down.

7:30 - This festival needs to end. Great music, but I am so tired.

8:00 - Willie Nelson starts. I have seen him before, so I know what to expect.

And this time, it's just about the same as last time. At age 76, Nelson is the epitome of country gone Vegas. It's all about the choruses, and the quickest way to get to them so the audience (who mostly bought one-day passes to watch Willie) can recognize what the song is.

Nelson frequently ends songs prematurely, so he can move right on to the next song. I don't know if it's his boredom, or if he fears the audience will get bored, but the show can go through 30 songs in about 70 minutes. It reminded me of the time I saw rapper Nas perform, and how it was a miracle if he did an entire song.

I suppose he can rest on his laurels at this point, but I know Nelson is still capable of doing relevant work (witness 2006's Songbird). It's a shame he sticks to truncated classics to hold him over, and doesn't perform very much new material (save for a couple of dopey songs about drugs and being a superher0).

I will say though, that his incorporating of old gospel tunes. These days, Nelson ends his show with the hymn "I'll Fly Away." Even though it sounds like it was recorded in Vegas, there is a certain poignancy to it, that even though he is going through the motions, it's better to see a legend now before he's not here anymore.

Personally, I don't buy it. Willie, put some effort into your damn shows.

Oh, one more thing I noticed: women over 50 love Willie Nelson.

9:30 - I had decided that if moe.'s set was good, I'd stay. If not, I'm leaving.

moe. takes the stage, and it's only okay. I decide to stay for a little while, to give it one more chance. Even though I am running on fumes, these guys have played five sets, plus countless other side shows. One more on my end can't hurt.

10:15 - I leave the festival. moe.'s last is not particularly inspiring, and my want for a shower and a real bed wins out.

I bet moe. does too. They have been here just as long as me, if not longer.

Sorry, Summer Camp, it's been great, but I think we should see other people. Let's give it a time, say, one year, and see where we are then.

Here are some more photos from the day:

Backyard Tire Fire


Easy Star All-Stars


Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood


Los Lobos

Summer Camp Music Festival: Saturday

Photos by Eric Heisig

12:15 a.m.– I am looking for my car in the lot, and a guy approaches me and asks "dude do you have any ganj?" I did not, but that pretty much summarizes why I am sometimes weirded out by this festival. It's the people that just expect everyone to share everything.

I had never met this kid before, and he just expects me to give him some weed if I had any? Maybe I just like having stuff to call my own, but I am not one to just give away things I paid for any earned. Yeah, a stick of gum or a drink of water is one thing, but something expensive? I don't think so (and if he thought I was a dealer, my mistake. My gripes are then worth nothing).

12:45 – I am in bed (well, the trunk of my car, with the seats pushed down for a semi-flat surface. How comfortable, but hey, the parking lot is quieter). I am exhausted, and hopefully I can stay up later tomorrow to check out late-night doings.

9:30 - I wake up, after sleeping much better. It wasn't the comfort (still just as bad) or the impending bad BO (which is starting to peak its ugly, smelly head), but I was just exhausted. The night before I got wise and covered my windows to the east with T-shirts so the sun wasn't shining directly on me, causing me to become a human loaf of bread and bake.

11:00 - I am still at my car, after uploading photos and writing a little bit about the night before. I am really dragging my feet in getting back to the campgrounds, but the first act I want to see isn't until noon. I am okay on time, so why not relax until I have to brave the oppressive sun and humidity? (again, this isn't a "woe is me" situation, but carrying a lot of camera equipment for a long time can take its toll)

12:20 p.m. - At the Moonshine Stage, a band named Secret Chiefs 3 are playing. I get there, and am pleasantly surprised. The band are all dressed in cloaks as they play music that I can only describe as soundtrack music (with maybe a bit of krautrock thrown in for good measure). It's pretty cool, and would work well in a car chase scene.

The music is sweeping and cinematic, and I love it. It was nothing like I expected (maybe I am narrow-minded, but just about every unknown band I see has been a jam band. These guys are far from that.

Note: No pictures for this band, sorry. I ended up just sitting down and enjoying the music too much.

1:00 - It rains a bit. This is a good thing, because it has been dusty and humid all weekend, and this helps a lot. It didn't storm or last for very long, but it did the trick. The dirt is padded down and there is some cool air moving through the area.

1:20 - I check out some of Family Groove Company's set. I had heard some good things about this band, including how they were more based in jazz and (hence the name) riding grooves instead of just jamming. In other words, there was some structure to this, and the music should benefit from it.

And yeah...they kind of did benefit from it, but not that much. Family Groove Company is a lot more focused than most, but it isn't great. Maybe I caught them during a weaker set, but they weren't anything great.

That being said, guitarist Adam Lewis has a great sound and somehow found a great way to fit into everything the rest of the band played. He displayed character when the music displayed none with a style of his own, mixing jazz, rock and soul effectively.

2:00 - Hill Country Revue come onto the Moonshine Stage. The band is a side project of North Mississippi Allstars member Cody Dickinson, and their side project-y status kind of showed. The band had some originals, but they weren't great, and no member of the band really seemed like they wanted to do anything more than just jam. That is fine though, it just makes for a less interesting concert than the North Mississippi Allstars.

Their bluesy music only really took off when they injected covers into their set, including Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love," or when they just let the guitars do the work. Dickinson even brought out a washboard at one point, that was a strangely interesting instrument.

Also, big black men should be the only ones allowed to play bass. Witness bassist Chris Chew. He is the man.

3:20 - I just lie down on the grass. Nice and relaxing, and it's cool to forget about things. I decide to just hang out at the Moonshine Stage, because for a while it has all the acts I am interested in watching.

Also, less moving is involved.

4:00 - Gomez starts. Congratulations boys, you succeed in fully waking me up.

I had looked forward to seeing these guys, since I really liked their latest record, A New Tide, and I had played their song, "Girlshapedlovedrug," quite a bit when I was a DJ at WZND. It was a good song.

Gomez's set doesn't disappoint either. The band's songs wouldn't sound out of place in Britain in the early 90s, but there is something almost progressive about them. This isn't a jam band, but they are jamming. Their songs are layered, but there is still a kind of simplicity to them. I like it.

The crowd is into it too, which proves my prediction kind of wrong. Their attracted audience isn't very big, but it is bigger than I thought it would be. I leave the set early, which I know I will later regret, but it puts me in a better mood.

And yeah, they did play "Girlshapedlovedrug." It was pretty sweet.

5:00 - I knew I would regret leaving Gomez early, but I had never seen Keller Williams before. I wish I had stayed at Gomez, even though he was pretty cool.

Keller Williams is an artist whose live shows are built on him looping different instruments to create songs onstage. It makes for a unique experience, so maybe the one I am watching is not one of his best.

Williams is a great guitar player, no doubt, but his songs are wispy and dry. He has a character, but doesn't let his freak flag fly enough. He is content with just letting a breezy song go by without any distractions, and I get kind of bored. Aside from a few humorous lyrics and a lot more proficiency on guitar, it's nothing to distinguish it from any other hippie with a guitar.

I had my hopes up for Keller Williams, after I heard a lot of good things, and while it was pleasant and occasionally made me laugh, I am ultimately let down.

6:00 - Les Claypool does not let me down though. He is just as weird as I thought he would be and more.

For starters, his entire band (consisting of a cellist, percussionist/xylophonist and drummer) are all wearing tuxedos and masks, and the music is all built around is skronk-y bass playing technique. It's quirky yet funny at the same time.

I have always been picky about Claypool. I don't follow all of the work he does, but what I have heard, I like. For example, Primus is good, as is Oysterhead and Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains. However, I have never listened to his solo albums or anything else.

That may change though, since his performance is really good. He prances around the stage as if he is in a Jewish wedding, and brings out a variety of basses, including an electric, standup and acoustic slide bass. They all simply add color to the mix.

Claypool's band is tight as well. The cellist more or less takes the role a guitarist would, and the percussionist and drummer are perfectly in-sync with each other.

Even if I can't name song titles, it was still one of the best sets I saw at the festival.

8:00 - After the Les Claypool show, I ended up following a group of fans as they waited to meet him and get his autograph. I recorded the entire thing, so look for some sort of audio story to come out of this in the coming week. I will post it here, and it was a pretty entertaining time.

The Les fans are dedicated, following him through every project he does, so these fans weren't giving up easily. Just wait and listen.

8:30 - moe. performs their best set yet. I miss the first part of it due to hanging out with the Les fans, but what I see is awesome. In this set, the band is knee-deep in psychedelia, and towards the end, the band brings on a member of Gomez to take them even deeper.

I am thrilled. This is the set I have been waiting to see them perform, and moe. finally comes through.

Their set ends with a colorful version of The Doors' "Soul Kitchen," which gives way to a drone that lasts for a good 10 minutes. I leave their set to walk over to the other stage, hoping Umphrey's can match it.

9:20 - Umphrey's McGee doesn't match moe., but it is a pretty good set as it is.

The band is in progressive-rock mode, and they wouldn't be out of place sharing a stage with Rush. This is the kind of Umphrey's that I wish I saw last year, and this is shaping up to be the best stretch of music (Les, moe., Umphrey's) I have seen at the festival yet. Everyone is on tip of their game.

The best part of the set is a cover mash-up they do, combining Metallica's "Sad But True" and Gorillaz's "Clint Eastwood." It's weird, but they make it their own.

Umphrey's McGee's set closes with a monster song (of which I do not know the name of, whoops), and fireworks are shot into the air. This is a celebration, and damn if those fireworks don't add something great to the mix.

And as with all great things, I leave early to catch moe.'s last set of the night. I am hoping it's not my second mistake of the day, as it was with Gomez.

10:15 - moe.'s last set doesn't even come close to the one earlier, and it is a mistake. This this time they are in funk mode. I get bored because there's nothing worse than unfunky white boys trying to do funk.

In addition, I'll take a moment to pose a question: why do moe. and Umphrey's McGee have extra percussionists? They are of no use and don't do anything that adds significantly to the music. It would be one less salary to pay. Just...get rid of them and it would be a better live show. For both bands.

11:20 - I leave moe.'s set early, partially because I am getting sick of the music and partially because I wanted to get back to my car to drop off some equipment before I went exploring into the ssccccarrrryyy woods (nah, just the woods, but I still didn't need all my camera equipment).

Here are some more photos from throughout the day:

Family Groove Company

Gomez


Keller Williams


Les Claypool


moe. (set 2 of 5)


Umphrey's McGee (set 3 of 4)


moe. (Set 3 of 5)