Although I am no stranger to Grand Rapids, I had never attended a show at the Intersection until the Rothbury Pre-Party.  There is no more appropriately named venue to host such a dynamic collaboration of talent.  EOTO, Ultraviolet Hippopotamus and Herm Productions is quite the trio to kick off the Rothbury Music Festival.  As I was walking into the venue I heard several people express their excitement for the night, I also heard a lot of people eager to be exposed to one or both of the bands. Only time would tell the magic of the night.

With the venue filling up and the beer lines still at a decent length the hometown heros Ultraviolet Hippopotamus took the stage to get the pre-party started.  A strong "Run Rabbit Run" opened the set to start the night off right.  Alex Schneider aka "Herm" of Herm Productions synched the music and lights to a T.

As the Uv Hippo set progressed the energy inside of the Intersection also heightened.  The dance floor became a blanket of dancing bodies as Uv Hippo busted into Ying-Yang Jam, an electronic influenced jam which featured a Robot Rock jam.  Keyboardist Dave Sanders showcased his lightning fast skills throughout his key rig during Ying-Yang.  It appeared as though they were warmed up and ready to showcase their take on the Pink Floyd classic "Welcome to the Machine." Uv Hippo's version of "Machine" proved to match a fan's comment of "Welcome Untz the Machine."

Speculation of a guest appearance with Uv Hippo proved to be true.  During "Cream Soda" Jason Hann and Michael Travis stepped on stage, Jason brought his djembe and Travis joined Casey Jones on percussion. The Cream Soda> Marine> Cream Soda sandwich was the first of two guest appearances that would take place throughout the night.  This particular version of the Uv Hippo fan favorite is one for the record books. It felt as though the building's foundation could have broken loose at the frenzy going on both on stage and on the dance floor.  Not only was there a smile on nearly every face in the crowd but also on each of the eight musicians faces.  One knows a stellar set of music was performed when the band grooves along with the crowd.

After the intermission EOTO wasted no time keeping the party going with a bass heavy house beat once again the dance floor transformed into a sweaty sea of dancing bodies. As the womp began, I noticed Travis look across the stage at Jason with a grin spanning ear to ear.  All that came to mind was the party isn't stopping for awhile. It occurred to me that this was the last EOTO performance before the long awaited String Cheese Incident reunion at Rothbury so the dance party was on.

The duo brought out Chicago/Northwest Indiana rapper BC for the second collaboration of the night.  EOTO did what they do best by transitioning into a more hip-hop influenced beat for BC to flow his rhymes.  As I looked around the crowd BC was accepted very well as the crowd continued to get down to the rappers rhymes.  It appeared as though he brought a crew of his own as "Throw it down BC" rang through the crowd.

Travis made use of each of his instruments throughout the night bouncing from bass, hand percussion, guitar, electronics and vocal loops.  Hann also utilized his whole drum kit and electronic pad to keep the crowd on their toes.  Each time I see EOTO I am blown away at the range of beats, sounds and twists the two can create.  This was the first time Herm had ever done lights for EOTO and he was on fire.  Doing lights for an all improvised group is a heavy task in which the young lighting designer tackled with ease. There was also live painting during the EOTO set by artist Jennae Bennett.  Bennet's artwork was accented very well by EOTO's music and Herm's lights.

The latter part of EOTO's set consisted of a second appearance by BC in which EOTO transitioned into a dub-influenced beat that received cheers and hollers from the crowd.  They also payed homage to Phish with a First Tube tease.  EOTO closed out their set with a slow progressive house influenced beat.

As the show came to a close shouts of "keep it going" and "encore" rang throughout the venue.  The Rothbury Pre-Party was a success and only a precursor to what the weekend would hold.  

Ultraviolet Hippopotamus is: 

Brian Samuels:Bass/Vocals/Guitar/Mandolin 

Sam Guidry:Guitar/Vocals/Bass

Russell James: Guitar/Vocals

Joe Phillion: Drums

Casey Jones: Percussion

Dave Sanders: Keyboards/Vocals    

EOTO is:

Michael Travis: Everything

Jason Hann: Drums   

Ultraviolet Hippopotamus Setlist:  

Run Rabbit Run>

Ying Yang Jam>*

Welcome To The Machine

Bob The Wonder Cat

Medicine

Cream Soda>$

Marine>$

Cream Soda$  

EOTO Setlist: 

Improv   

Show Notes:

* Robot Rock Jam (Daft Punk)

$ Featuring Michael Travis and Jason Hann of EOTO    

The Water Bowl is one of Indiana’s hidden gems, it is a 200 acre music venue conveniently located just outside of Muncie Indiana. It is far enough outside of the city that it is quaint yet close enough for festival-goers to make trips to town for their daily necessities.  The Water Bowl gets its name from the two ponds located inside the venue. One of the ponds near the front of the venue has a beach that was utilized at all hours throughout the weekend.  The festival had three stages: a main stage located at the bottom of a hill, the hill state located at the top of the hill, and the field stage.

With Wuhnurth being in its second year the high expectations were certainly met if not exceeded.  The festival bolstered a lineup of heavy hitters such as Kyle Hollingsworth, Cornmeal and the Pnuma Trio as well as regional and local bands. There were nearly 2,300 in attendance throughout the three days.

Friday 09.11

Bloomington Indiana’s Shaggy Wonda kicked the festival off with a 5:00 p.m. set on the main stage.  Although the crowd was sparse, Shaggy Wonda came out firing with a solid set infused with their signature funky sound.

Sweet Japonic kept the tunes going on the main stage following Shaggy Wonda.  With the evening growing older more festival-goers ventured to the main stage for the Sweet Japonic set.  Their smooth folk-influenced tunes had the growing crowd dancing.  Sweet Japonic was a fitting band to lead up to Friday night’s headliners Cornmeal.

Coming off of the “official unofficial” Wuhnurth pre-party Thursday night in Bloomington, Indiana Cornmeal didn’t waste any time keeping the party going.  A strong “”Doin’ My Time” opener instantly got the crowd dancing.  Every Cornmeal show I have seen contains two things: positive energy and a mass of foot stomping smiling fans, this show was no exception.  After a solid two songs Cornmeal busted into fan favorite “Hasten Jason” which featured a stellar Allie Kral fiddle segment.  Following a nicely played “Feather” was a dark “Troubled Land” which was lead by Wavy Dave Burlingame.  As the set progressed the band seemingly pulled out all the stops as they dove into the Grateful Dead’s “Cumberland Blues.” What would a festival be without a Grateful Dead song? One thing I noticed while watching the quintet was the smiles on each of their faces, the chemistry was on point Friday night as Cornmeal played a flawless set of down home bluegrass.  With one song left in the set, they did not disappoint as they busted out the bluegrass classic “Rocky Top.”

The main stage hosted a variety of genres on Friday, closing out with New Hampshire’s Roots of Creation.  The jam-reggae hybrid band kept the main stage going as they made their contribution to Wuhnurth.  Roots of Creation laid down their signature upbeat and positive licks to keep the main stage going until nearly 1:00 a.m.

On the Field Stage, Muncie’s own MC Sparkplug composed of Tony Z and Lanie performed a 30-minute set of their unique hip-hop.

Although they faced some pa troubles Fresh Hops was determined to play their scheduled late night set.  After a slight delay Fresh Hops took the stage by storm with “” segueing into a rhythm jam featuring bassist Dave Van Vlymen, drummer Kevin Mardirosian and recently added percussionist Mickey Clark.  The Hops kept it fresh by bringing out frequent collaborator B.C. for a pair of his original hip-hop songs. Bloomington Indiana’s Herm Productions ran lights for the field stage all weekend and definitely lit it up.  Herm’s lights matched the Fresh Hops performance almost as if he was their full time lighting director, accenting each member at the correct time.  Fresh Hops closed out the night right with a fierce guitar driven jam.

Saturday 09.12

As the sun peaked on this blistering Saturday afternoon The Hue took the stage to kick off the festivities for the day with a nice dose of progressive rock.

On the Hill stage Indiana’s “One man jam band” Derrick Howard played a short set between The Hue and The Vessel.

The Vessel put on a stellar performance considering they had a substitute drummer who filled the spot nicely.  The unique folk/roots sound fit the vibes of the afternoon like a glove.

Family Groove Company took the stage around 4:30.  The Chicago quartet opened with a song by the name of “New Tune 22” followed by fan favorite “Falling Off the Fence”, which proved to be a smooth combo.  A spicy version of Carlos Santana’s “Oye Como Va” featured some fancy fretwork by guitarist Adam Lewis.  During “Guns of Ticonderoga”, Lewis said “Janis is gonna play some bass for ya’ll right now” as him and keyboardist Jordan Wilkow left the stage.  The drum and bass segment started out somewhat chaotic but eventually built into a funky rhythm jam before diving back into “Guns”.  FGC ended the set with a smooth trio of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay>West Egg Party>Trying to Live Up”.

Originally scheduled for the 9:00-10:30 p.m. slot, up and coming electronic musicians Papadosio took the stage early due to some travel issues for Pnuma Trio.  Papadosio kicked things off with a synth-heavy jam which eventually mellowed out.  Throughout the set Papadosio weaved in and out of trancy jams that built up but went flat.  They also hit it hard with funk heavy jams that had the crowd in dance frenzy.

Finally the Pnuma Trio arrived after some travel difficulties. They were conveniently flying out of the same airport as President Obama and their flight was delayed.  The delay of their flight turned out to be a blessing in disguise, taking Pnuma back to the days of playing later in the night.  In typical Pnuma fashion, they came out hard and laid down dirty electronic jams infused with smooth melodic beats.  The highlight of the set was the “Tall Tree” bust out, they nailed it to a T.  The Wuhnurth performance was the third consecutive festival performance for Pnuma, following a Thursday set at Trinumeral and a Friday set at Harvest Fest.  The three consecutive shows didn’t phase them as they played one of the strongest Pnuma sets I have seen all of 2009.  The set was so strong; they blew an amp and had to end the set with a computer track.

Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Ultraviolet Hippopotamus performed Saturday’s late night set on the field stage.  Last year Ultraviolet Hippopotamus was scheduled to play a Sunday afternoon set but was forced to move their set to a local bar due to heavy rains.  With that in mind, they came out firing with a solid Dusty’s Trumpet> Matt’s Atlas duo.  Keyboardist Dave Sanders took control of Dusty’s Trumpet making sounds reminiscent of firing lasers throughout the crowd.  Obviously they didn’t mind as the tent busted into a frenzy of dancing bodies.  The “Cream Soda> Georgie> Cream Soda” showcased a fan favorite surrounding a politically driven song about the former president.  Following the sandwich was the debut of a new song, currently titled “Dave’s New Tune” “So new even Z-brah hasn’t even heard it” said bassist Brian Samuels.   The “Imperial Death March” made an appearance at the end of the set during which I noticed a member of the crowd walking like a storm trooper around the stage for added effect.   The dueling guitars of Russell James and Sam Guidry resembled light sabers in the “Imperial Death March” Ultraviolet Hippopotamus.

Sunday 09.13

Opening the final day of Wuhnurth was Euforchestra, Kyle Hollingsworth’s tour mates on the Midwest tour.  Euforchestra’s global rhythm sound was an excellent way to wake up; they’re easy on the ears and tough on the feet as one can’t help but dance.

21-year-old Daphne Willis and her band performed the mid-afternoon set.  The soulful voice and bluesy rock of Daphne Willis & Co. attracted a healthy sized crowd at the main stage in the blistering sun.

Sunday’s headliner Kyle Hollingsworth rolled into Muncie on the last stop of his Midwest tour in promotion of the new album “Then There’s Now”.  Having seen Kyle Hollingsworth solo before, I knew the remaining crowd was in for a big surprise.  Although his key rig is downsized from the one he uses with the String Cheese Incident, Kyle still fires bullets when he sits down on his bench.  The theme of most festivals continued as a lot of people cleared out but during Hollingsworth’s set I heard one fan say, “Only the strong stick around for all that is Kyle Hollingsworth.”  The Highlight of the set was the “BAM! > Eyes of the World> BAM!” sandwich in the middle of the set.  Although I am unfamiliar with the titles of the songs from “Then There’s Now” the ones that were played were very impressive.  They have a lighter and catchier sound to them; Hollingsworth’s voice shines nearly as much as his keys do.  Midway through the set, a girl decided to entertain the crowd herself as she got on stage before being removed.  “All Inside” a track from the new album began with a funky hip-hop influenced intro before dropping into a smooth key-driven melody.  Throughout the set Hollingsworth and his band were joined by saxophonists Ryan Jeter, Austin Zaletel who are collectively known as the Stank Horns and percussionist Matt Grundstad of Euforchestra.

The final performers of Wuhnurth were Chicago electronica musicians Future Rock.  Future Rock drew in a nice size crowd for closing out a festival and they gave those who stuck a healthy extended set.  Apparently the crowd was excited enough to light a good portion of sparklers during the opening song.  Future Rock treated Wuhnurth to the first performance of FM2 in nearly a year, shelving songs always makes the bust out that much more fun. Future Rock also came off of a 3 festival weekend like the Pnuma Trio and they too showed no signs of fatigue or exhaustion as they did what they do best, play beat heavy late night shows.  The band’s interaction was on point, as they didn’t miss a beat.  To close out the festival Future Rock did a nice rendition of Daft Punk’s “Robot Rock.”  Bassist Felix Moreno constantly reminded the crowd to “pick something up on your way back, we’re at Wuhnurth, keep it clean!”

Cornmeal returned to the Canopy Club in Urbana, Illinois for their second straight Halloween performance.  This year they brought along special guests The Bridge and Zmick.

Zmick kicked off the festivities at 8:30 p.m. on the lobby stage; the quartet came out dressed as The Village People.  This was my first live experience with Zmick so I was unsure what to expect. The Urbana-based band had the honor of playing three sets in which they opened the first with "The Dock." The caliber of the song was good but not what one would expect to open a holiday show. "The Dock" however did segue nicely into a currently untitled piano song.  The setup of the stage made the incoming flow of the crowd awkward as people proceeded to pile in and basically get stuck wherever the entered due to the size of the lobby. Zmick closed the first set with a funky love song "All I Need"> "Trancelvania Pocket" combo that finally had the jam-packed lobby grooving.  At the end of Zmick's first set, the doors to the main room of the Canopy opened for The Bridge.

The Bridge came out with "Shake 'Em Down" a blues-heavy track that got the crowd dancing.  Although it was still early, The Bridge had a decent crowd for an opening slot. The highlight of the set came early with "Good Rhythm" Guitarist and lead vocalist Chris Jacobs carried the song with his powerful bluesy voice belting the lyrics.  The chemistry of The Bridge was excellent they were on the same page throughout the set.  The band played well together but lacked stage presence; there was no animation by any of the members.  Regardless of how they carried themselves on stage, the music is what was important about the set. The Bridge did what they came to do, play a solid blues-rock set.

As I was walking back into the lobby for Zmick's second set, I heard a familiar fiddle riff, "Rivertrance" by the String Cheese Incident. Urbana-based fiddle player Dan Andree joined Zmick for their set opening song. They picked up the pace from the first set, the rendition of "Rivertrance" had a nice rock twist to it. The sit in really got the crowd ready for the headlining sets from Cornmeal. Zmick kept the energy and trance of the set consistent the rest of the night.  The second set was very dance-influenced.

Finally it was time for what everyone was waiting for, Cornmeal to take the stage.  They came on around 11:15 with “I’m Still Here.” The spotlight shined on Wavy Dave Burlingame as he stepped up for a little banjo segment early in the song. They didn’t wait long for the first sit-in of the night, Patrick Rainey from The Bridge came on stage to join in on “It Ain’t Me.” Raines had a blazing solo midway through the song it is always interesting to hear new instruments incorporated in songs, especially when the guest has the talent of Raines.  Following “It Ain’t Me” the band dropped into fan favorite “Not At Home Anymore” which featured a finger-pickin fury by banjo whiz Wavy Dave.  “Shake a Leg” contained a slow progression that lead into a mellow jam.  The first set was solid but nothing spectacular until the set closer “Shady Grove.”  As soon as the opening chords of the bluegrass classic were plucked, the crowd erupted into a stomping frenzy of bluegrass-fueled dancing fools.  The extended “Shady Grove” contained a heavy jam initiated by Allie and followed by Wavy Dave.  It was apparent the band was feeding off the energy of the crowd.

Zmick took the lobby stage for their final set of the night.  The third set was the shortest the band played.  There was minimal jamming but the songs fit together well.  A cover of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Jessica” was executed well, they added their own twist to the tune.

Cornmeal came back on stage with all pistons firing they didn’t waste any time getting down to business.  They ripped right into Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” which was an interesting and appropriate Halloween cover (this was the debut of the song).  Another surprise of the second set was a fantastic version of The Bee Gees “You Should Be Dancing” which appropriately featured Wavy Dave on vocals.  “Dancing” also featured the second sit in of the night, The Bridge’s Kenny Liner joined the band on stage for a beatbox segment. “On My Own” from Cornmeal’s 2006 release “Feet First” fit nicely in the middle of the set.  Another fan favorite “Cornmeal” featured Allie utilizing every inch of her fiddle.  At this point in the night we couldn’t have asked for anything better but they pulled out all the stops with a stellar “When the World’s Got You Down.”  They came back out for the encore and left it all on the stage with a blistering “Hillbilly Ride.”

They left us in a daze of bluegrass bliss with nothing left to do but recover on Sunday morning.

For the past seven years Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger have given Umphrey's McGee fans an extra holiday treat: a holiday acoustic show. This year's sold out show was held at the Park West in Chicago.  The proceeds of the show are donated to the USTORM (United So Together Our Reach Multiplies) Foundation which was co-founded by Bayliss.  USTORM is a non-profit organization which raises funds to help provide access to music and art educational programs.

As I walked into the venue I could feel the holiday season in the air, Christmas decorations adorned the venue, people dressed in Christmas sweaters and Santa hats and the USTORM raffle girls dressed as elves.

The show began with a choir of children from the People's Music School performing holiday classic "Christmas Time Is Here" and a take on The Beatles "Hello Goodbye."

Bayliss and Cinninger opened with "Gulf Stream" a fitting song for such an intimate event.  Although "Gulf Stream" was a warm up for what was to come the rest of the night.  "The Pequod">"Simple Gifts">"Pequod">"Turn and Run" was a nice segue way to keep the crowd on their toes.  The first of many surprises of the night came when Bayliss put down the guitar to make his mandolin debut during a rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Going to California."

Umphrey's percussionist Andy Farag sat in on drums during "End Of The Road" and "Made to Measure" in which Cinninger played grand piano on the latter song and remained for a take on Journey's "Who's Cryin' Now."  Another pair of Umphrey's songs "Resolution">Hajimemashite" appeared featuring Steve Krojinowski accompanying Farag on percussion.

An interesting and daring pair of mash-ups appeared mid set; "Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)/From The Beginning" (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) was  followed by a short but sweet Umphrey's staple "Nothing Too Fancy."

Since it was a holiday show one could expect a nod to a few holiday songs,  "Carol of the Bells/Greensleeves" did just that.  Longtime Umphrey's collaborator Jen Hartswick emerged to lend vocals to "Bullhead City"

Tis' the season, Bayliss and Cinninger dedicated "Unknown Legend" by Neil Young to former lighting director Adam Budney who sat in on lights for the evening.  Perhaps one of the more interesting moments of the show was Bayliss's solo piano performance of "Human Nature."

Upon returning for the encore, Mike Rackey pulled out a saw and bow for "Mona Lisa's and Madhatters." The night closed with a full stage performance of the Rolling Stone's "Far Away Eyes" and Paul Simon's "Graceland."

"All your friends are here now, they could be our friends too" sums up the night.  As we were leaving the venue, old and new friends were stopping to talk about the night and future plans.  The holiday season truly is upon us.

Setlist: Gulf Stream, Words, The Pequod> Simple Gifts> The Pequod> Turn and Run, Going to California^, End of the Road#, Made to Measure#,>Who's Cryin' Now, Resolution#$> Hajimemashite#$, Dreams/From the Beginning#$, Nothing Too Fancy#$> Carol of the Bells/Greensleeves#$, Bullhead City#$&, Unknown Legend#$&*, Great American#$&=, Human Nature, In My Life#$&

Encore: Mona Lisas and Madhatters+, Nemo, Far Away Eyes#$&*%+, Graceland#$&*

# with Andy Farag on drums/percussion

$ with Steve Krojinowski on drums/percussion

& with Jen Hartswick vocals

% with Jen Hartswick on trumpet

* with Mike Rackey on pedal steel

= with Mike Rackey on saw and bow

+ with Barry Brown on grand piano

The New Deal made their triumphant return to the Hoosier state on the second night of a four date Midwest tour.  The Bluebird Night Club in Bloomington Indiana played host to the Canadian-based electronic trio on a cold Thursday night. They are currently touring in support of their recent release LIVE: TORONTO 7.16.2009.

Nearly three fourths of the 700- capacity venue exploded into a frenzy of bouncing bodies within seconds of The New Deal taking the stage. They hit it hard right out of the gates and never looked back.  The first set ranged from high-energy house music to slowed down trance tones which gave them time to build anticipation to the next driving dance jam.  One thing about a New Deal is the build up keeps you wondering where and when it climaxes into an epic force of energy and bodies once again bouncing. Just when I thought it couldn't get any more intense drummer Darren Shearer called out the 1-2-3 count as they burst into the synth-heavy set closing jam.

After a short set break The New Deal took the stage recharged and ready to keep the dance party going.  The band had a lot more control of the energy and flow of the second set.  After a brief warm-up jam of sorts Shearer said "At this point I'd like to introduce to you Jamie Shields" as Shields fingers glided across his multiple keyboards and effects as he lead the tone-heavy jam.  One of the great things about a New Deal show is the way each member knows when to step up and when to ease back when they find their groove. After a spacey stretched out jam, Shearer called out "You all know this tune VL TONE" and the band launched into the show closer.

After the house lights came on, the sweat-soaked crowd began to file out of the venue with many discussing their excitement for the next nights show in Chicago. The Canadian trio doesn't make it to the United States very often but when they do check them out!

“Get Lost in the Great North Woods” is the perfect way to describe Hoxeyville Music Festival.  The 8^th annual festival was held in the Manistee National Forest in Northern Michigan.  Each year Hoxeyville has grown and improved this year followed suit and featured a bigger and better lineup than ever before, cleaner and more organized festival grounds, and the largest crowd to date at around 4,000 people.  One of the greatest things about Hoxeyville is the family atmosphere, whether it was a grandparent and grandchild watching a mid-day set, long lost friends catching up at the campsite or meeting a new friend and welcoming them into your family.  Throughout the weekend the emcee’s continuously reminded everyone Hoxeyville is not only a festival but a family reunion.  The family vibe was definitely present, I can’t recall any other festival that I’ve been to that contained as many guest appearances and collaborations as Hoxeyville, which made it that much more special of an event.

Friday 8/20

The first band to take the stage of Hoxeyville 2010 was Red Tail Ring, a Michigan-based folk duo comprised of Michael Beauchamp and Laurel Premo.  The duo’s early afternoon performance on the Mitten Stage was an ideal way to start off the festival, heartfelt lyrics sung to several combinations of acoustic instruments.

Detour was the second band of the weekend to take the stage, prior to Hoxeyville I was faintly familiar with Detour, and needless to say their late afternoon set earned them a spot on my playlist.  The sextet’s style of traditionally infused contemporary bluegrass provided festival goes with quite the bluegrass experience ranging from mellow foot tapping songs to fast paced foot stomping tunes.  One of the most notable songs of the set was “My Life Just Ain’t a Bluegrass Song” which has been ranked in the Bluegrass Unlimited National Survey for the past 5 months.

Cornmeal was the first band of the festival to perform on the main stage which was appropriately called the Hoxeyville Stage. “I’m Still Here” kicked off the set and the band never looked back.  The traveling life inspired “River Gap” saw the band drop into high energy jam that had the crowd on their toes only wondering what the band had up their sleeves for the remainder of the set.  They didn’t disappoint, fan favorite “Hasten Jason” was an excellent display of the band’s unique blend of lightning fast tempos and unforgettable harmonies.  The highlight of the set was a 15-plus minute “Rise Above” in which the band built up to an exploratory trance jam and flowed flawlessly back into the end of “Rise Above.”  They brought the energy back up for the set ending “Girl with the Short Brown Hair” which appropriately left the festival in the dancing mood.

Steve Kimock & Crazy Engine blessed the Hoxeyville stage with an hour and a half set of sheer bliss.  It’s always an honor to see Kimock, especially with legendary Hammond B3 player Melvin Seals of the Jerry Garcia Band. Crazy Engine’s blend of jazz and rhythm & blues wowed the young fans and reminded the older fans why Kimock and Seals have withstood the test of time and are still atop their touring scene.  The eight song jam-heavy set contained everything from Kimock originals like “Tangled Hangers” that display his smooth picking to “That’s What Love Will Make You Do” the classic Little Milton song which featured heavy doses of Seals bringing back the familiar sounds of the Jerry Garcia Band.  Crazy Engine’s set never left the crowd bored, at any given moment you could look to your left or your right and see everyone with an ear-to-ear grin and moving feet.

To keep the groove going I walked to the Cadillac stage to check out The Macpodz, an Ann Arbor based quintet who has been spent the past few years impressing crowds across the country with their self-proclaimed “disco-bebop” gave Hoxeyville a full-on performance, not only musically but visually. Band members danced around the stage as they played, letting everyone know they were having just as much fun as we were.  Unbeknownst to some and surprising to others, myself included the Macpodz briefly jammed the Umphrey’s McGee monster “1348.” Nearly halfway into the set, the rain began to fall, which lead the Macpodz to play harder and keep the fans dancing.  Unfortunately the rain just got worse leading everyone to disperse back to the campsites and automobiles.

The torrential downpour continued for an hour or so, cutting into Friday’s headliner The New Deal’s slot.  As the rain slightly let up, the sounds of Jamie Shield’s keys could be heard throughout the festival, leading people to the main stage. Just as it appeared that they were finally going to get some music in, the downpour continued, canceling the New Deal’s set and ending day 1 of Hoxeyville.

Saturday 8/21

Day two began at 11:00 a.m. with Greensky Bluegrass’s Paul Hoffman vs. Seth Bernard. The duo provided a nice hour-long acoustic set which drew a small crowd to the stage but could be heard throughout the campground as everyone got prepared for the day.

A first time show for me was Chicago’s Van Ghost. Having heard of them before I decided to stay at the main stage for their set which I’m glad I did.  Van Ghost repertoire consists of Americana and folk influenced tunes that pleased the small but enthusiastic crowd content.

There isn’t really a way to classify That 1 Guy’s performance except strangely intriguing.  He took the stage dressed in black with his custom instrument constructed of metal pipes, gears, a bass string, and electronic buttons and cut loose.  His unique style of rhyming seemingly unrelated words over the sounds he creates from his instrument certainly provided for a spectacle.

Todd Snider’s first appearance came during his solo slot on the Hoxeyville stage, his singer/songwriter style is ideal for a late afternoon set, especially at an acoustic heavy festival.  Snider’s set was rather entertaining, he incorporated humorous catchy tunes, serious attention grabbing tunes and a good portion of banter to keep the audience involved throughout the set.

Hailing from Ann Arbor Michigan, the Ragbirds are no strangers to Hoxeyville, every year their set always holds a special spot at the festival.  There’s something about the band’s world influenced sound that brings people together.  Looking through the crowd one can find the gypsies dancing up front, the older crowd toward the back bobbing their heads, and everyone in between in the middle dancing.  “Morribayassa” a West African instrumental with the lyrics of “Fly Away” an old gospel song appeared early in the set to get the dancing started. The Ragbirds’ set was one of the many collaborations throughout the weekend, Macpodz keyboardist Jesse Clayton emerged mid-set for “The Frame”, which was a nice touch.  Overall it was a success, rarely was there a moment where people were standing still.

The first of two Greensky Bluegrass sets took place on the Hoxeyville Stage Saturday evening, which was potentially the most surprising set of the weekend.  Despite the Kalamazoo quintet’s relentless touring schedule they always have a spot or two at Hoxeyville.  This year their first set was packed full of energy, the band honored the seasoned Hoxeyville veterans with a set focused primarily on older tunes like “Old Barns”, “Hoxeyville” and Radio Blues.”  Toward the end of the set Greensky pulled out all of the stops and brought out Billy Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead and Rhythm Devils for a mind blowing “China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider.” This was the most magical 15 minutes of the festival, the energy on stage and in the crowd was unimaginable.  All five members of Greensky had a fixed ear-to-ear smile on their faces, as did Billy and Mickey.  The camaraderie on-stage was on point, all seven musicians were making constant eye contact, lending their ears to one another, and feeding off the energy from everyone else. The only way to describe the set is pure bliss.

Up next was the one-man-band mastermind Keller Williams.  When I hear the word festival, Keller Williams is one of the first people to come to mind.  Keller seems to make more appearances on the summer festival circuit than most, whether it is his solo gig or one of his many other projects. Coming off of a summer touring with the Rhythm Devils, one could only wonder what was going to happen during Keller’s set.  He kicked the set off solo with “Apparation” but quickly invited out current Rhythm Devils guitarist Tim Bluhm for a Mother Hips tune “Gold Plated.”  Bluhm remained on stage for a Keller staple, the Grateful Dead’s “Bird Song.”  Keller then quickly dropped into “Freeker By the Speaker” one of his more experimental songs which contained a Keller signature loop jam that had the crowd in a dancing frenzy.  A quick rendition of Amy Winehouse’s radio hit “Rehab” made an appearance mid set.  The last five songs of Keller’s set were a nice surprise, one by one members of the Rhythm Devils emerged to join him on stage.  First off was Sikiru Adepoju on talking drum for an extended “Boob Job” followed by young gun Davey Knowles and Andy Hess of the Rhythm Devils for “Short Show.”  To end the set Keller brought out Billy and Mickey for “Brown Eyed Women” and “Scarlet Begonias” overall it was an energetic and guest filled Keller Williams set.

Birthday shows are always a fun time to let loose and have fun, that’s exactly what Vince Herman did during the Great American Taxi set.  Throughout the show a few friends decided to take the stage and make Vince’s birthday celebration a little more fun.  Anders Beck of Greensky Bluegrass added dobro and Todd Snider joined for some vocal and guitar duties.  The Taxi ride was short but successful as I had to make my way back to the main stage for the Rhythm Devils.

At last the time had come for the recently reunited Rhythm Devils to take the stage for their headlining slot.  Although they had already made their presence known, everybody was waiting for a full-on set of classic Grateful Dead songs.  I found it a little strange that the cover of “Hey Bo Diddley” opened the set, although it was in heavy rotation in the Grateful Dead repertoire set opening covers always surprise me.  Other than the one minor curve ball, the set was flawless.  The new lineup of the Rhythm Devils is incredible, 23-year-old guitarist Davey Knowles really brings the power, when given the chance to play with legends like Billy and Mickey most people would show signs of tameness, not Knowles, he steps on stage and plays like he’s been part of the band for years.  The sound of the 2010 Rhythm Devils is very blues influenced and fresh.  Billy and Mickey are on point, the interplay between the drummers is a sight to see, it’s great to watch musicians who have been playing together for 45 years still smile and enjoy themselves as they did at the beginning of their career.  The 14-song set contained songs spanning the Grateful Dead’s career ranging from the 1965 “Cold Rain and Snow” to the 1976 Hart composition “Fire on the Mountain.”  It’s hard to pick a single highlight as the band was practically flawless from start to finish. Deep into the night following the Rhythm Devils set, the booming drums and crashing cymbals still held a spot in my mind.  It was a supreme way to close the most epic day of the festival.

Sunday 8/22

Hailing from the Windy city, Strange Arrangement brought their own brand of progressive funk to Hoxeyville. The set kicked off with “Pegasus”, a bass driven song that got the early afternoon crowd dancing.  Up next was “Mo” a catchy tune about accidentally leaving a friend at a gas station on Phish tour, the humor driven song evoked smiles throughout the crowd.  Toward the end of the set, Terrance Massey from the Kalamazoo based funk outfit Funktion stepped on stage to contribute trumpet to the song “Siete.” There wasn’t a down moment in the hour long set, Strange Arrangement made a name for themselves with this performance.

I’m not sure if it was a typo on the schedule or if it was intentional but Four Finger Five was listed at 'Four Finger Give.'  And give they did, the usual trio gave the afternoon crowd quite the treat in bringing out some of their friends for the second half of the set.  First up was Jason Knott on bass for Might Decline, the addition of a second bassist was a nice touch, Knott remained on stage.  The next two additions were Terrance Massey trumpet player for Funktion and Jesse Clayton on keys from the Macpodz.  The Four Finger Five (Give) set was quite the treat for all.

The six-headed beast of the Midwest, Ultraviolet Hippopotamus was possibly the most anticipated band of Sunday.  The Grand Rapids based band has been hitting the road hard over the course of the past couple years but they always have a place in their hearts for Hoxeyville.  Bassist Brain Samuels let everyone know Hoxeyville is their favorite festival of the year to play.  The explosive segue heavy set kicked off with “Square Pegs, Round Holes>Run Rabbit Run>That 1 Jam” which had the crowd in a dancing frenzy.  The Hippo slowed it down a bit with “Giants” but brought the energy right back with the Dave Sanders (keys) lead “Choral>Verlander” the latter being a Hoxeyvile debut.  Perhaps the highlight of the set was the recently revived “I.G.C.S” which segued from “The Scar.” The energy throughout the set was perhaps among the highest energy throughout the weekend.  Hats off to the Hippo boys!

Greensky Bluegrass took the Hoxeyville for the second and final time of the weekend.  Greensky followed Hoxeyville tradition and had a set full of friends and special guests. Karl Denson contributed his flute skills on “Train Junkie” and remained on stage for “Foggy Mountain Special.”  The always wonderful Rachel Davis took over vocal duties on one of her original songs “Sweetwater Sea”.  Frequent Greensky collaborator and guitarist Seth David was the next one to join the boys on the 16 plus minute “King of the Hill.”  Joshua Davis joined the band on guitar for “Walkin’ the Dog” and “Last Winter in Copper County.”  Finally, Macpodz keyboardist Jesse Clayton finished off his busy weekend by joining the band for the fast paced “Broke Mountain Breakdown” which featured a nice funk jam in the middle.

Finally the time came for the final performance of the festival, none other than Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe.  The Southern California funk outfit closed out the festival in style, bringin’ the jazzy- funk to Northern Michigan.  KDTU gave Hoxeyville an hour and a half of non-stop dancing.  The set ranged everywhere from jazzy tunes like “We Got to Understand” to self-exclamatory “Funky Song” and everywhere in between. The second half of the set was more jam heavy than the first, all it took was a little warming up. Sometimes it’s hard to have any fuel left in the tank come Sunday night of a festival, not in this case.  The Sunday night stayed to party and so did KDTU.  “Soul Drifting” closed out the set with a bang. The 15-plus minute funk jam was the right way to close out Hoxeyville 2010.

Hoxeyville 2010 was a success, a weekend full of surprises, one can only imagine what it has in store for 2011…

Nestled away in the Manistee National Forest in the northern part of the mitten lie the beautiful grounds that Hoxeyville Music Festival calls home. The ninth installment of the festival proved to be one of the most exciting and eclectic lineups to date. Hoxeyville has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2002 when it was a small family gathering. Over the years the crowd has gradually increased, nearly reaching it’s 5,000 person capacity in 2010 and 2011. This year’s lineup boasted acts such as Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Umphrey’s McGee, and the Mickey Hart Band (the only Midwest appearance on the tour). Another first for Hoxeyville was expanding to four days. Greensky Bluegrass played a special “Sound Check” set on Thursday night. The festival also brought back the High Five Program, which is green organization that aims to educate crowds on how to keep the festival clean and in return, they are awarded with a “high five.” The program seemed to work exceptionally well as it was one of the cleaner festivals I attended this summer.

Thursday

Greensky Bluegrass kicked the festivities off around 7:30 pm with the appropriately titled instrumental “Hoxeyville.” The “Sound Check” set proved to be a great way to kick the festival off as Greensky ran through nearly 20 songs.  The show consisted of a written setlist and an improvised set, both sets were composed of original songs and a healthy dose of covers.

Friday

Kalamazoo’s 7-piece funk outfit Funktion officially started the festival Friday with an early afternoon set that got the crowd dancing. Several members of the band took lead vocals at some point during the set each showcasing some sort of stage-sliding dance move.  Next up on the second stage was Steppin’ In It. The Lansing-based Americana band has been a Hoxeyville staple for years and always brings a good afternoon vibe to the festival. Strange Arrangement, Chicago’s up-and-coming progressive rock/funk band took the main stage by storm. This was their second appearance at Hoxeyville and they let the crowd know they intend to keep the Michigan love alive. Strange’s set was a nice blend of older material and songs off of their new album Polygraph along with a few newer songs that were more on the dance-oriented side of their catalog. Ekoostik Hookah, one of the Midwest’s staple jambands. Hookah has underwent several lineup changes over the course of their 20 year career, but the current lineup (active since 2010) sounds as fresh as ever. Ella Riot (formerly known as My Dear Disco) brought their blend of electro-pop and dance music to the festival. They got the crowd moving with a set full of synth-oriented dance tunes like “It Could Be” and a cover of Alice DeeJay’s “It Could Be.” The main event of the night came when headliners Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk took the stage. Dumpstaphunk took the main stage by storm throwing down a heavy dose of funk. The band takes a unique approach to their music by utilizing two bass guitars played by Tony Hall and Nick Daniels. Partway through the set, keyboardist Ivan Neville invited some ladies from the crowd to come up on stage and have a dance party while Dumpstaphunk threw it down. Needless to say, the dance party was a success.

Saturday

Saturday’s festivities kicked off with a set of world rhythm influenced music performed by the Ragbirds on the main stage. Multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist Erin Zindle serenaded the early afternoon crowd with her soothing voice and rippin’ fiddle for the majority of the set. Everyone knows what time it is when they hear the familiar and powerful voice of Vince Herman belt out “festival!” Great American Taxi took the stage by storm opening with “Runaway Train” and running through a mixture of Taxi originals with a few covers thrown in the mix.  The Colorado based road warriors have become a Hoxeyville mainstay, always making time to drive up to Northern Michigan for this family celebration. Taxi appropriately  ended their mid-afternoon set with the John Hartford classic “Up on the Hill Where They Do the Boogie” The Macpodz followed Great American Taxi on the main stage. While they drew a decent crowd since they’ve been a Hoxeyville mainstay, the set was fairly standard and lackluster aside from the announcement of their new EP The Truth and the debut of their new 3-D music video of the same name. Greensky Bluegrass returned to the main stage for their actual festival set, they came out with a firing rendition of The Talking Heads tune Road to Nowhere which lead into Don’t Lie, a tune off their upcoming album Handguns. These guys always bring their A-game, but especially at Hoxeyville as they always play a major role at the festival. As the sun went down, the dance came out, starting with Chicago’s newest electronic/video game soundtrack Digital Tape Machine. The super group is made up of  members of Strange Arrangement, Land of Atlantis, Liquid Soul, The Hue, and Kris Myers and Joel Cummins of Umphrey’s Mcgee. DTM’s blend of electronic, house, drum’n bass, dance house, and a plethora of other dance oriented genres had the crowd on their feet for the duration of the hour and a half set. After a half an hour break following DTM’s non-stop dance party it was time for the main event of the night, Umphrey’s Mcgee. This year has seen Umphrey’s Mcgee opening set with slow building Jazz Odysseys which segue into the first song of the set, this time it was the repeated UM Bowl II intro>The Floor. Up next was the increasingly rare but appropriate Smell the Mitten which the band decided to open up a bit. Continuing with the extended jammed songs, Umphrey’s dove into Red Tape which has unofficially bed dubbed the “jam vehicle of 2011.” They followed Red Tape with a ripping rendition of End of the Road which featured a heavy, yet playful “Jimmy Stewart.” “Puppet String”, a song the band debuted earlier in the year was up next. The set moved to the more dance-oriented side of Umphrey’s catalog with The Triple Wide>Girlfriend is Better segment. To end the set they dropped a Ringo->Hajimemashite->Ringo sandwich. With the crowd’s energy still high, the band came back for am In the Flesh>Another Brick In the Wall>1348 encore to end the night.

Sunday

Ultraviolet Hippopotamus started Sunday afternoon with a huge bang. The Hippo appropriately opened the set with “North Coast” a tune about all things Michigan. From “North Coast” they segued into Yin Yang Jam which had the early afternoon crowd in a dancing frenzy. They kept the funk going with “Hey Tommy” followed by a “Background Music” a poppy little ditty from their first album of the same name. Segueing out of “Background Music” was Giants, another song on the lighter side of their catalog. To keep the dance party going the Hippo brought out Denny Richards to take over on bass while Brian Samuels switched to his mandolin so the band could play “Move Your Ass,” and that the crowd did. To end on a high note, the band played “Tugboat,” a furiously funky tune that left the crowd chanting for more. Van Ghost, a five-piece Americana/Rock/Pop band from Chicago took the stage to share their positive vibes and soulful tunes for the second year in a row. Two of the last acts of the weekend were also the most traveled and highly regarded bands at the festival, Jamaica’s The Itals and The Mickey Hart Band.

Up first was The Itals, a reggae group formed in the mid-1970s in Jamaica. They fit perfectly in the late-afternoon, early-evening slot as that seems to be one of the best times to listen to reggae. The Itals set mainly covered the earlier material of the bands career. The time finally came for Mickey Hart’s return to the woods of Northern Michigan. This was the band’s only Midwest appearance of their tour which mainly hit the East and West coasts. This was Mickey Hart’s first tour with his new band which Hart told Rolling Stone he did not intend to make a Grateful Dead centered project.  The Mickey Hart Band explored world rhythms as well as ran through Grateful Dead classics like Scarlet Begonias, The Other One, Fire on the Mountain, Casey Jones, Bertha, Brokedown Palace, and Aiko Aiko. This was an exploratory sound, focusing heavily on the world rhythms Hart has spent his life studying. The set had a very spacey/psychedelic feel to it, taking the crowd to outer space and back. Be on the lookout for the new Mickey Hart Band, as I hope they continue to tour with their fresh sound.

Another Hoxeyville is in the books, and what a weekend it was. The lineup boasted quite the variety of music spanning several genres including: acoustic folk, bluegrass, electronic, funk, progressive, and of course the classic psychedelic sounds. Hoxeyville continues to step its game up adding new aspects and expanding its musical spectrum. If you haven’t yet experienced it, make a plan to explore the woods of Northern Michigan and enjoy this festival in 2012.

Austin, Texas was the final stop on Umphrey’s McGee’s nine-date southern run. What a great city to end the tour in as well. Stubb’s BBQ is an outdoor backyard style venue in the middle of downtown.

The band had been hyping the 420 show via their social media networks for weeks and they didn’t disappoint. This was the first time Umphrey’s sold out the 1,800 person capacity venue.

Shortly after the sun had set, the smell of barbecue was thick in the air, the house lights went down and Umphrey’s took the stage. They opened the set with a short intro to “Utopian Fir” but  quickly dropped into “In the Kitchen” which contained a nice, patient jam that has been a growing trend for this song in 2013. Brendan Bayliss wished monitor engineer Bob Ston a happy birthday then Joel Cummins chimed in saying “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time, Ston Fest everybody.” After a short but sweet “Hurt Bird Bath” they began a segment of “Loose Ends>Deeper>Utopian Fir>Jessica (the band recently revived the Allman Brothers Band cover). The first set ended with a loose and funky “Puppet String” that saw some nice interplay between guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger.

Umphrey’s came out firing to open the second set with “JaJunk” which contained possibly the first live performance of the new Daft Punk single “Get Lucky” which was released at 12:01 am the day before. Partway through the jam in JaJunk, Bayliss and Cinninger began playing with the intro to the song, then drummer Kris Myers took on Pharrel’s vocal duties. While this was quite a surprise, nothing should be unexpected from Umphrey’s McGee. The highlights continued when they played “Liberty Echo” a new song that was crafted from a “Jazz Odyssey” intro from 2007. Umphrey’s revisited one of their Halloween Mash-ups “Life During Exodus” which intertwines three classic songs “Life During Wartime” by the Talking Heads, “Exodux” by Bob Marley and “City of Tiny Lights” by Frank Zappa. “Booth Love” was up next which brought some smooth funky jamming into the mix. Partway through the song, they teased “Stayin Alive” by the Bee Gees. The band bookended the set with a run from the “Linear>JaJunk.”

Umphrey’s emerged for the encore in time to fit 20 more minutes in before the midnight curfew. The band kept the encore decidedly old school with a run from “FF>Divisions” which had everyone in the venue belting the lyrics to each song. It’s always nice to see the band play songs from their early years when they were building the dedicated fanbase that follows them from coast-to-coast.

Judging by the conversations after the show and the looks on most everyone’s face, I’d venture to guess it was a winning night in the books of the fans both new and old. Lighting Designer Jefferson Waful painted the canopy above the band as if it was his personal canvas while the band melted the faces of each attendee. Hopefully Umphrey’s keeps the 420 Stubb’s tradition alive; as this is the third year in a row they have played the venue on this “holiday.”