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)

Summer Camp Music Festival: Friday

Photos by Eric Heisig

1:40 a.m. – I get back to my car, where I will be sleeping. Since Illinois Hi-Fi was only granted one press pass, I stay in the car, because I have expensive equipment as well as it being rather difficult and a pain to put up a tent without a second hand.

8:30 – I wake up after not sleeping very well. My car is cramped and the sun is shining directly into my face. My back hurts from the hard surface. What a way to wake up.

9:45 – I go to the ticket booth to see if they have any lanyards for my press pass. They don’t, as they had run out the night before and never got any more. I used this as an excuse to go to Wal-Mart and pick that up as well as a little bit of breakfast.

10:45 – I get back and start organizing my car and planning out my day. During this time, a man with a green balloon walks up to me and asks "you want to buy any ganj?" I say no. He asks “do you want to buy any Molly?” Again, I say no.

The man looks at me, annoyed and kind of angry. “You want to pop my balloon, don’t you?” Becoming annoyed myself, I say “no,” and he walks away, obviously disappointed I didn’t partake.

If you're reading this, sorry, but not really. I have no problem with anyone taking anything at this festival (as long as they can control themselves), but I am not since I am working.

11:50 – I get back into the festival and head over to the Camping Stage. A band called The Stretch is playing. I had heard some chatter about them, and they turn out to be some a generic jam-funk band. They didn't do much visually either. Booorrinnnngg.

They group stretches out (get it?) with a little bit of blues, but otherwise there is not much there to distinguish them from the umpteenth amounts of others like them at Summer Camp. I got bored and walked away.

12:15 p.m. – I watch a little bit of The Macpodz play at the Starshine Stage. Unlike The Stretch, these guys are weird. They have a personality to them and a striking resemblance to Parliament and Funkadelic, with weird chants, funny vocals and freaky solos. They weren’t trying to be smooth, but rather sound weird. They succeeded, and it was an early highlight.


1:15- I catch a little bit of Future Rock after walking the festival grounds a bit and seeing what else there were. There are a lot of environmental groups, and as mentioned before, a man building a sculpture out of melted shopping carts, but not much more.

Future Rock is okay. They are missing a really wild, clubby element that is part of the best dance bands. It’s all smooth, no edges (I have met a surprising number of photographers who were hired by them to shoot their shows. They gave out a lot of press/photo passes in their name).

1:30 – I catch moe.’s opening set, which includes the song "America...Fuck Yeah!" from the movie Team America: World Police. It’s a funny way to begin a pretty good set by them, easily matching the set of theirs I saw closing out Saturday night’s festivities (though no lights, so it was missing that).

2:20 – I catch 40 minutes of the set by This Must Be the Band, a Talking Heads cover band based out of Chicago. I saw these guys in February at The Canopy Club, where they recreated the entire performance from Stop Making Sense. This time, it was just the songs, but it was still fun.

The band has really grown to have a good sense of the material, meaning they are able to stretch out and do different things instead of just performing the songs the same way. The song “Slippery People” is a definite highlight, with the groove being stretched out as far as it can be (the bassist is also in a dress. It’s a man, but the original was Tina Weymouth, so…where does that leave him?).

Their set is marred by the sweet, sweet odor of overflowing Port-O-Potties. There’s no pick-me-up quite like that stench. The festival has been having problems with that today, and I have spotted quite a few trucks brought in to take the fun stuff out of the toilets.

This Must Be the Band closes with “Psycho Killer,” which has everyone in the audience pumping their fists to a song that…really doesn’t warrant that. Ah well.

3:00 – I get something to eat and chill out. My my my, it is quite hot out today.

3:30 – I interview This Must Be the Band. Check back here for the audio from that interview.

Edit: Here is the audio: Click the links to hear about the topics:

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

3:45 – I see a little bit of a set by That 1 Guy, who is playing a set of pipes, tubes, and pedals to make a really weird sound. Think Les Claypool without a bass, except he has a contraption that can make the bass sounds.

That 1 Guy is another one of those weirdos, but the music is cool. It’s fun to catch for a few minutes, as he’s a funny guy who produces a lot of “wow” moments, but beyond that I don’t know how much of it I could take.

4:00 – Dark Star Orchestra, a Grateful Dead cover band who specialize in recreating entire setlists from the band, is playing on the Moonshine Stage. I photograph a song or two and then head out into the grass and check it out.

It's eerie how similar the band sounds to the actual Dead. Today, they are out with their acoustic guitars, playing like early-70s Dead. Their jams are meandering and interesting, if not mind-blowing. It’s a great way to spend a hot afternoon, and they know that.

Dark Star Orchestra plays right into the concertgoer’s hands by pulling out a cover of "The Weight" by The Band. Last year, I heard that song being played and sung by everyone, and while it’s not as prevalent this year, it’s a favorite. Very cliché, and not the best way to end the set.

5:15 – I lay down. It’s still quite hot out.

6:15 – Buckethead is on the Moonshine Stage, and he arrives 15 minutes late. I shoot part of the set and then head out to listen.

I came into the festival not knowing what to expect from Buckethead, and I left his set kind of disappointed. Most of it included him playing along to an iPod of prerecorded music. That 1 Guy had his equipment set up to play with him, but I left before he started playing.


7:00 – Girl Talk starts at the Sunshine Stage. He was a big hit last year, with his audience size growing more and more as the set went on.

This year people knew what to expect, and it was more of the same. While his set has changed very little in the past year (a new sample here, a new beat there), he has added a 1ouple of stage hands hired to shoot toilet paper, confetti and water into the audience.

It’s a good performance, even if it wasn't his best. There are way too many people onstage (to the point where it spilled over onto the speakers in the pit), and Gregg Gillis gets lost in the mix. Maybe that was the point, but he wasn't at his peak.

The set ends with the now-standard "Faithfully" and "International Player's Anthem" combination that had people waving their arms in the air. It was a highlight of the day.

9:45 – Method Man and Redman finally hit the stage. They are 45 minutes late, with little to no explanation as to why.

Every time I have seen anything related to Wu Tang Clan, I have left disappointed. This time though, they deliver. This is what I wanted to see when I saw Wu Tang Clan in December. Method and Red are all over the stage, bouncing back and forth from each other, getting int the crowd’s faces.

The duo pay the obligatory tribute to ODB with "Shimmy Shimmy Ya," pull out a bit of Wu Tang with "Shame on a Nigga" and do a few songs from their latest album. It was awesome.

10:15 – I order a beef sandwich and fries from a vendor. As the lady is handing them over to me, a guy comes up beside me and says "look at fucking Sling Blade right here. 'Mmmm those are some good taters.'" He laughs at how funny he thinks he is.

I look at him and say “Is that who I am?” He just stands there, grinning at how proud of himself he is. The lady behind the counter smiles at me. I walk away.

10:30 – I had wanted to catch Umphrey’s last set of the night, so I head over to the Moonshine Stage. When I got there they had already started (thanks Method Man and Redman), but I walk in to the opening notes of a Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love."

Last time I saw Umphrey's, I was disappointed. I had heard so many things about how adventurous they were, that they were more prog-rock than jam band. However, when I saw them at Summer Camp last year, I saw a mediocre blues jam that went on for about an hour too long.

This time though, the prog was in full force. Yeah, there was still a lot of fat that could be trimmed, but I was surprised to see how many of their parts and arrangements are composed and orchestrated, instead of doing them on the fly. Their lighting was also awesome, and it was a pretty good way to chill out on the lawn and take it in.

I leave early, because I am ready to pass out. A sun and a lot of camera equipment take the energy out of me, and I need to retire to my quarters.

Here are more photos from the day:

Future Rock


moe. (Set 1 of 5)


This Must Be the Band


Girl Talk


Method Man and Redman



Umphrey's McGee

Summer Camp Music Festival: What I am expecting

Last year was the first time I had been to the Summer Camp Festival in Chillicothe, Ill. I covered it for another publication, but this year it's all me. I will be there (if all stays the same) alone, doing photos, interviews, recording audio and everything else imaginable.

This isn't a "woe is me" kind of post, but rather an "I'm excited" one. It will be a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it.

The schedule for the festival can be found here. Plan accordingly.

In the meantime, here are just a few bands I think will be good, okay or bad

Worth seeing

-Girl Talk - last year was the first time seeing Gregg Gillis, and I loved it. He was able to transform a somewhat skeptical crowd into a sweaty mess. An early highlight for me

-Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood - The first album I heard by Medeski Martin & Wood was "Friday Night in the Universe." It was strange, but I loved it. This time though, they will be playing with John Scofield (he played with Miles Davis). This will be my first time seeing them, and I'm pumped.

-Les Claypool - He's a weird guy, but his bass-playing style is uncopied and his vocals are weird to a fault. Should be awesome, and make for much more interesting jamming than half the bands at the festival.

-moe. - My regret last year was that I didn't stay for the full final set. I liked what I saw (and was able to shoot in the photo pit), so this year I think I'll be sure to see more of them.

-Willie Nelson - I saw him at Assembly Hall in Champaign last December, and his saving grace at age 76 is his guitar-playing skills. That man shreds on a classical guitar, and it's pretty sweet. It lifts his tunes above the standard three-chord country ditties.

-The Easy Star All-Stars - Reggae covers of famous albums and bands. Enough said.

-Backyard Tire Fire - Great country-rock from a band based in Bloomington, Ill. They had a great set in an early slot last year.

Interested in

-Hill Country Revue - It has some members of the North Mississippi Allstars. I'm in, but I'm not terribly familiar.

-Dark Star Orchestra - I never saw the Grateful Dead live (though my dad took my mom to one of their concerts when she was pregnant with me. Probably explains a lot), so I'm interested to see how their setlist-recreating shows turn out.

The Wood Brothers - I have heard good things about this bluegrass-infused duo, so I am looking forward to seeing at least one of their sets.

I'm on the fence

-Umphrey's McGee - I was not impressed by one of their sets at least year's festival. Yeah, I know, they are a mainstay and that's why they play umpteenth amount of times, but I still wasn't buying it. I am ready to give them another chance though. Boys, impress me.

-Buckethead - Pro: He was in Guns 'n' Roses. Con:...He was in Guns 'n' Roses. I'm interested to see how his guitar wankery will go over, but it will be interesting if nothing else.

Bands I think will be poorly attended

Note: Last year, one of the worst-attended shows was the set by The New Pornographers. A misbooking possibly, since I don't think the Summer Camp-goers were that interested. It's great to be eclectic, I agree, yet it was a shame to see a great band go unnoticed at such a big place. Here's who I think will suffer a similar fate:

-Los Lobos - These guys are so much more than "La Bamba," but I bet few others else knows that. They are consistently innovative, funny and rocking, but I bet few others know that. My cards are on this for one of the smaller crowds.

-Gomez - They will have less of a turnout than Los Lobos, because they really haven't made that big of a mark in America. I hope I'm wrong, but I think it will be quite intimate.

Note: Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eheisig. I don't know how the Internet will be there (free? too expensive? spotty?), but I can guarantee I will be updating on Twitter. All you need is a phone and a way to say something in a short way.