It was like the circus… Filled with gypsies… And they all liked to dance… Alot.
photo by: Andrew Bruss, Jambase
It was overcast. I thought to myself, wow, I’m glad the sun is not out. It was a hot, sunny, sweltering few days and I was pleased for the clouds. We needed a break from the sun.
photo by: Andrew Bruss, Jambase
After dealing with “The Incident”, I took my last spigot shower of the festival, ate delicious blueberry pancakes from our new camp family and we all rolled in to hear the Nate Wilson Group from the Port City Music Hall. Um, wow. He shredded his guitar. There were five guys up there, and they just crushed it. It was great energy, great music, tight jams and it just went DOWN in that barn. I will see them again to relive the experience, because, truth be told, I think I needed another cup of coffee. It was Day 3, after all, and I was feeling very fuzzy by this point.
photo by: Phrazz
photo by: Phrazz
Moonalice was next, and had to leave Nate Wilson early to catch their set. (Music Schizophrenia Mode in full force.) By the time I got there, Barry Sless and Pete Sears were SHREDDING the heck out of Cold Rain & Snow. Oh wow, it was on. The main field wasn’t packed so I got myself up to the rail and had a great time. I watched the crowd around me, and everyone had such wide smiles, dancing along, havin’ just as much fun as I was. John Molo on drums was just sick, Barry Sless goes nuts on the pedal steel, and then Roger “Chubby Wombat Moonalice” McNamee tells us that they finished their encore early and we’re treated to more. Oh yeah, that was fun. Always a fun time with Moonalice. Afterwards, I got my free posters, Chubby and I chatted for a bit and he signed them for me. I love this band for their incredible music, the talent on stage and their friendliness.
Then Max Creek comes on the other stage. I haven’t seen these guys in about 100 years, I grew up with them playing all around Connecticut in the 80s. Fabulous time, fabulous music, love them.
photo by: Phrazz
But, as my music schizophrenia continues, I ran out and caught The Alchemystics.
And, holy hell. I have no words. I walked into the Port City Music Hall and it was going wild in there. The place was packed, jamming reggae jam crazy dance party was going on. I caught the last two songs and the encore. It was out of control, great beats, high high energy…. they literally blew my head off. I was dumbfounded. My friend asked me what I thought of them, and I had no words. I could not speak. I was processing the crazy hip-hop reggae rage that just went down and I couldn’t speak. Wow. The Alchemystics. Yeah, these guys are on my radar up near The New Mastersounds, who I saw at Mountain Jam. Phewwwwwww.
photo by: Andrew Bruss, Jambase
Finally, a chance to breathe. Zappa Plays Zappa comes on the stage and by this point I’m in need of a sit-down. I sit on my chair and think, “Ah, I can relax now, and listen to this band play finally.” I’ve never seen Zappa Plays Zappa, but I do know who Dweezil is and had a girl-crush on him years ago. Now here he is, shirtless, on stage, playing great great music. Unfortunately for me, I was pulled away from the music for the rest of the set by my buddy. So, I still haven’t truly heard them play. I will catch them when they come to NYC for sure.
photo by: Andrew Bruss, Jambase
photo by: Phrazz
Crowd: What I forgot to mention was how cool the vibe and the crowd were. We had Aliens, and crazy monsters dancing, fire twirler beauties, and fire lanterns launched into the evening sky. We had lobster rolls (which I never had but heard was amazing), and local beloved vendors like Wormtown Trading. There was a ferris wheel. There were children playing. There were smiling strangers. Click below for more with DTST and Furthur.
I woke up to the most glorious, beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was that perfect not-a-cloud-in-the-sky blue, the lush green off the mountains were vibrating. I was ready to shake on the mountain, and I was able to find iced-coffee to boot. Fabulous! I was in for 8 sets of music today. That ice coffee would help.
Weather: Beautiful. Sunny, warm, a bit sweaty. I kept saying all day, “I can’t believe the weather is so gorgeous.” Last year’s Mountain Jam was cold. I was in flip flops the last night, it was 37 degrees cold. This Saturday it was bikini weather.
The day started off with a bit of London Souls. These guys are incredible. They have a shredding, Led Zeppelin sorta, old school rock n’ roll thing going for them. They rocked out, and dancing has commenced. Again, if they’re in your area, be sure to catch them.
photo by: M Berke
Drive By Truckers: They were a nice warm up to Yonder Mtn. String Band. I’ve never seen them before, and that was my first impression, with their rockin’ guitar riffs. They were solid. I was wandering through the vendor area while they were on stage,
Lettuceis probablymy first personal highlight of the day. Because of the schedule change with Dr. Dog, we were blessed with 2 sets of Lettuce on Sat. Lettuce’s core members are Eric Krasno, guitar, Neal Evans, keys; Adam Deitch, drums; Jesus Coomes, bass and The Shady Horns, Sam Kininger and Ryan Zoidis.
photo by: M Berke
Kofi Burbridge comes on and plays pretty much for the full set on his flute. Eric shreds his guitar, Adam Deitch going all Animal on the drums, and Jesus Coomes on the bass, yeah… these guys are really tight. Then there is Neal Evans. I don’t know what to say about this guy except he is amazing, I always become absolutely blown away. I remember thinking, “oh yeah…I know that nasty key playing sound. Oh yeah, silly me, how could I have forgotten.” Then, one by one, in this short 1 hour set, on the small stage on Hunter Mountain… well, it got kinda craaazy. Nigel Hall walks in and starts wailing soulfully into the microphone, like only Nigel does. Oteil Burbridge comes on stage with that beautiful bass of his. Derek Trucks comes on to shred a bit with Eric. Susan Tedeschi comes on stage to sing along with Nigel. By the end of it there were about a dozen people on the stage, raging out, people on the mountain were bouncin their heads to the same beat at the same time, we all got all sorts of funked up, and it got hot and steamy. The heat had nothing to do with the sunshine. The heat was radiating from the stage. Oh my my my.
photo by: Ross McKillop
To slow down the pace a half a beat (or more), Yonder Mountain String Band, joins the main stage for some bouncy bluegrass string ‘ole time plucking. I do love the Yonder, and if you like bluegrass at all, I’m sure you’ll like them too.
Dave Mason: No recollection at all. Unknown.
Photo by: Ross McKillop
Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band: So excited to hear these guys. Between Derek’s shredding of the guitar and Susan’s incredible voice, the Brothers Burbridge and Brothers Trucks on the stage… yeah. No words. The talent in this band is palpable, it kind of oozes off the stage into the crowd. They have so much fun playing together you can feel it and the crowd’s energy bounces off the band. A wonderful cycle.
Highlights: Love Has Something Else to Say (Susan belts it) into Midnight in Harlem (my newest favorite song, getting good rotation in my iPod lately…gosh I love that song) into Susan screamin her way through Love Was All in My Mind. I’ve never heard this song before, but the jist of it was this woman loved this guy, stood by all his crap then she finds him hangin w/ another chick. Susan belts this song like Etta James and Aretha put together. Incredible power. Mike Mattison and Nigel Hall on background vocals turn this into a hard core blues explosion. I laughed, I danced, I stood and just watched her. I need the lyrics to this song. Loved it. Good lord almighty. Check the video below.
Photo by: Ross McKillop
During Nobody’s Free, Derek literally destroys his guitar. 3 strings, gone. He keeps playing though, odd sounds bouncing around, the band keeps up with him… kinda. Finally Derek just goes off and hits those strings in “Trucks’ Time” and phewwww. Susan says, “I don’t know how he did that with 3 strings, or something…. destroy that guitar, honey.” She’s a great front woman for this band. Look Around was another highlight, Derek shredding, Susan wailing, Oteil getting really low with his bass, a great blues song. These guys are a great blues band, but then they go funky with Serve it Up. Insane keyboard playing by Kofi Burbridge, jammin out with the great beats from the drummers and his brother Oteil, then Derek goes off, whooo boy. Hot stuff.
At one point in I’d Rather be Blind, Crippled and Crazy, I believe the mountain went silent. I’ve been at DTB shows where the audience literally goes silent before, and it happened during this song. I love that stuff. Warren joins the stage and sings with Susan on Comin’ Home, the whole stage, the whole mountain… bounces. Into Drums. Yeah, Derek’s little brother Duane can play is an understatement. Tyler Greenwell is a force to be reckoned with as well They end the 90 minute set with Joe Cocker’s Space Captain. And I floated away…
Set Break: I had lost my posse during Derek and Susan, and I was on a mission afterwards to make sure I had a beer for Mule. As I settled into our homebase near the Karma Wash I see one of my buddies from Boston just standing there. Alone. I ended up hanging with him the rest of the set and enjoyed every moment of it. I also found my long lost cousin whom I only happen to see at shows. Fellow music lovers unite!
Mule: Did I gush about Mule in Day 1 enough? No. No, I did not. 3 hours of Mule. Mostly crazy cover set with incredible special guests sitting in. Derek Trucks, Eric Krazno, Matisyahu, Kofi Burbridge, Sam Kininger, Ryan Zoidis, Jackie Greene. Uh huh.
Woodstock, played near Woodstock. Yep, it felt right. Broke down on the Brazos ROCKED. That song gets better and better every time I hear it. Sad & Deep as You with Kofi. This rendition was not quite as drippingly sad as it was at Wanee, and yet was so
photo by: Ross McKillop
beautiful. Kofi’s flute makes it all that more tender, he makes the flute flutter… damn. Flute + Mule = Sweetness. Kind of Bird with Derek. They shredded guitars in pure Allman Brothers style. Fast, loud, yes please. Blind Man in the Dark, I love this song because of its slow rolling nature to crazy riff endings. The Mule was on fire.
photo by: Ross McKillop
The Joker what? really? Yeah, Steve Miller with a reggae beat. Warren began the sway, singing as he told us that we were going back to Jamaica. Matisyahu comes out and taunts the crowd with this one, schooling us for what was to come with his Day 3 set. I laughed my butt off as I shook my hips and tried to bounce on the mountain. 10 something pm on a sloped hill, 2 days into a festival, yes, this takes skill by this point. Zeppelin’s D’yer Maker – no need for words, just amazing. Rockin’ in the Free World, Neil Young cover. If you know anything about me, you know my love of Neil so, you could imagine my happiness. Hendrix’s Machine Gun rocked me away, total instrumental guitar insanity riffs holy hell.
photo by: Ross McKillop
These guys were relaxed, enjoying themselves, and the Mountain once again was bouncing and swaying then we went back to Rockin’. Um, wow, a 15 minute Rockin with Machine Gun thrown in there. Amazing. Warren says “ohhh, it’s about to go down.” And Eric Krasno comes out with the Lettuce Horns for the Stones’ The Spider and the Fly. Sam Kininger and Ryan Zoidis show us how they throw down those saxophones while Krasno decides to shred his guitar up there with Warren. “my, my, my, don’t ya tell lies…” yeahhhh…. beautiful.
photo by: Ross McKillop
Things get fuzzy by this point – Jackie Greene comes up and plays 2 songs and then for encore Mule throws out Pearl Jam’s Black. The posse had come back to the Karma Wash by this point and we all raged to the Pearl Mule Jam that was going down.Aerosmith’s Train Kept A Rollin’ kept us rollin’ on. Yeah. MULE. See ya next year, on the mountain.
Lettuce/DSO (late night set) I have to admit, Mule blew my face off my head so I have no set list. I have nothing except the Lettuce was crisp, and by the end of late night, about 2 hours later, the Lettuce was Shredded. God these guys were so damn hot, the place was packed, I was dancing, laughing, my buddies were all around me, the posse went up right to the front and I stayed back. I needed my space to groove. And then I went into music schizophrenia mode because I really wanted to see a bit of Dark Star Orchestra.
I ran up the mountain to hear Goin Down The Road Feelin Bad. Then I ran back for Lettuce, looked for my friends-couldn’t find them, closed my eyes and shook my ass to the rage that was Lettuce. Gosh, it was going DOWN in the Colonel’s Hall. I must have ran back up the hill to catch DSO again, because the notes say I was there for The Eleven>Shakedown Street>Tangled Up In Blue. I guess I couldn’t leave DSO while they were playing Dylan.
Evening into Morning: As I said, it gets very fuzzy around this time. I do know I ended back down at the Hall because I ended up with the posse, walking back to the campsite, and then hanging out in one of the VIP tents on the mountain until the sun came up. It was nice in that VIP tent, they had couches to relax on. And we were hanging with the Karma Wash Crew. It is nice to make sure your Karma is clean, and it is nice to have people to clean it for you. As the Tiny Rager and I walked back to the house it started to rain. Which was fine. We had beds, which were waiting for us all warm and dry. I slept like a baby for about 5 hours.
Ed note: I am grateful that Ross McKillop let me use his pictures, instead of my grainy whacked out photos. He reminded me to shout out to two great photographers who have incredible photos and prints, and capture the most amazing musical moments: Dino Perrucci and Allison Murphy. Check ‘em out, check their work, and pay respects. Thanks Ross!
Ed note: If you haven’t read Day 1 or Day 2 before Day 3, you should start there.
Lost Vortex #3: You knew it was coming, right? Things happen in threes. Sunglasses. Gone. Sheesh.
Back to camp, hangin’ with the camp family with coffee in hand, we hear flute sounds coming from the Peach Stage. 10:30 am, it was time to boogie. I went down to see the goings on with my girl. Her brother was playing with the Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio this morning, and we wanted to get up there and see the music. The Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio was lovely morning music, nice and jazzy with shredding rock, a flute here and there, keys, killer. Yep, just beautiful. After the show, we were told that Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings were stranded in Iceland because of the volcanic ash, so they were gonna re-jigger the schedule around and there would be a jam session before Johnny Winter. I laughed out loud, I love Wanee impromptu jams, they are so sweet… heh, we are in for a treat later today.
Spirit of the Suwanee Magical Moment: I asked my friend to call my phone, one last time, maybe someone will pick up? She looked at me crazy but appeased me. The next thing I know she’s saying “Hello? Hello?” The person on the other side says, “Wow, I just turned the phone on this second and it rang.” Yes, that is what I’m saying…magical. He found it in another campsite, in the dirt, two days ago. Wow.
Went back to the campsite, chilled with my camp family and waited for Dr. John. The Peach Stage and the Mushroom Stage’s schedules had slipped because Sharon Jones couldn’t make it, and my timing was getting off. The dilemma: Dr. John vs. Robert Randolph vs. Dumpstaphunk. I decided to go see a bit of Dr. John, then go see Dumpsta, then go see Robert Randolph and the Word. I was feeling a bit schizophrenic, to be honest. I had total “I’m gonna miss a really great set” anxiety going on. I had camera, notebook and earplugs. I left the camp and started on my journey.
A Family Affair with Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk is on stage. Wow. Good lord they threw down. A Sly set, holy schmoley. It was a breezy hot afternoon, people were raging out, the sax and the trumpet were loud and strong. Ivan’s keys were screaming, bass low and groovy. Whooo, out of control funky, and now I can hear The Word with John Medeski, Robert Randolph and the North Mississippi Allstars from the other stage. So, I decide to run over to the Peach Stage after Everyday People to see Robert and the Word, but still can hear Dumpsta and want to get back there to that crazy rage. See, schizophrenic.
I did run back to the Dumpsta craziness. Danced hard, my legs now were beginning to ache, serious ache in my calves, but it didn’t matter, I can’t stand still. Legs and hips had a mind of their own, cuz this was going DOWN. One of my personal highlights of the festival. Phewwwwww.
I went back to my camp for hydration purposes, and could still hear The Word featuring John Medeski, Robert Randolph and North Mississippi Allstars playing from the other stage. They sounded so sweet, Funk + Southern Rock… Rage. Yes, it was raging.
So now, the next dilemma I had was The Black Keys vs. The Funky Meters. Yes, it was getting insane. So, I decide to get to the hammock and listen to the Funky Groove of the Funky Meters before the Wanee Family Funk Jam that was going on. And, wow, did it go on.
Wanee Family Funk Jam: If I thought Dumpsta and the Funky Meters brought it in….I was wrong. I mean, Dumpsta was way insane, way amazing, way fun, but this Funk Jam stuff. Hot. Way hot. Way deep. Damnnnn. Let’s see – Dumpstaphunk and The Funky Meters, Cody and Luther Dickinson, Oteil and Kofi Burbridge, JoJo Herman, Bobby Lee Rodgers, Matt Grondin. Yep, that’s what I’m talking about.
