Day 3: Saturday, June 9
Watchin' People Go By
Vince Herman :: Wakarusa 2007 by Foster |
At noon, confusion abounded as ALO was slated to play at the Sundown Stage. We spoke with a taper who confirmed, "Yep, that's ALO onstage now." Well, actually, it wasn't. It was Vince Herman's Great American Taxi. Again, no real explanation was ever really given, though the discussion boards on Wakarusa.com indicate it was a three-way rotation of time slots between bands. It's tough to complain when you get a chance to see the guitarist from Leftover Salmon at lunchtime though, and songs like "Appalachian Soul" seemed to connect pretty well with an audience that had just begun to filter in for the day. Herman greeted them kindly, then, with a smile, asked, "How many of you have been out at the festival all six weeks?!" Electric guitarist Jefferson Hamer was very impressive, giving the band a rollicking, stomping appeal.
The Slip set up shop at the Revival Tent, and the sound was a train wreck. The vocals were nearly impossible to make out, and a general lack of balance made it difficult to enjoy the music being played. The edgy, jazzy sound that defined The Slip for many years seems to have been jettisoned as the band has "evolved" its sound. The songs were relatively short with somewhat predictable chord progressions. The Barr Brothers (Andrew on drums and Brad on guitar and vocals) salvaged a few songs, namely the opener off Eisenhower, "Children of December," but the sound problems combined with relatively beige material caused us to jet midway through the set.
Jeff Austin :: Wakarusa 2007 by Foster |
At 6 p.m., Yonder Mountain String Band assembled on the Sundown Stage, which is named as such because the sun is at your back in the afternoon and evening hours. At this point in the day, the heat was direct and unrelenting. Yonder got out to a slightly slow pace, causing large chunks of the audience to sink into lawn chairs. The band acknowledged the situation, saying "It's mind over matter, folks!" before plucking out the opening notes of "River." Unfortunately, for the first half of the show, the sound was sludgy with the thump of the bass overwhelming the other instruments.
100 yards away was a memorial to Split Lip Rayfield's guitarist, Kirk Rundstrom. A painted guitar rose prominently in the middle of the circle of photographs and paintings propped up against poles. Fans and well-wishers examined the tribute or added their own words to the evolving art piece. Ribbons with notes were affixed to the poles. The notes included "PBR and Split Lip made life make sense" and "You were louder than God." Split Lip Rayfield was an irreplaceable part of Wakarusa, and had closed the festival in each of the first three years (you can still find these shows on YouTube).
Yonder Mountain took note, offering: "I just look around, and can't help but think of the greatest band in the world, Split Lip Rayfield. Kirk is here and he's bigger than ever." The band then went into an excellent version of "At the End of the Day," before rounding out the set with a spirited "On the Run" > "Kentucky Mandolin" > "On the Run."
WSP :: Wakarusa 2007 by Foster |
Widespread Panic had been billed as a two set show that would run from 8:15 till midnight. At 8:40 they gathered on the Sundown Stage and John Bell gently introduced the passive participant lyrics of "Ain't Life Grand" for their fitting opener: "Watchin' people go by, wonderin' where they're goin'." In addition to the choice beginning, the first sign the show had potential was when Jimmy Herring stepped up for a blistering solo in "Disco," alternating microbursts of quick picking with sustained notes with great success before gliding into "Rebirtha."
Herring again jumped out to send "Pilgrims" to a higher level before landing squarely in the fan-favorite "Porch Song." Surely that has to be the end of the set? Incorrect. After being onstage for close to two hours, it became gradually evident that there would be no set break. This unexpected surprise took nearly everyone off-guard (including us, who had planned on catching some of Son Volt during setbreak), but was more than welcome, as the band seemed intent on playing THE single show that everyone would be talking about at the end of the weekend.
Jimmy Herring :: Wakarusa by Foster |
Later in the set, Herring delivered an absolutely jaw-dropping version of "Junior," with a piercing, lightning-fast solo to finish the song. I consider myself a casual Panic fan. I've caught them maybe eight or ten times since the late '90s, and don't really play favorites between Houser, McConnell and Herring. All I know is there were a handful of occasions during the set when I was forced to grin and shake my head with pleasurable disbelief. Great playing.
I'd be remiss not to mention Dave Schools, who was on fire throughout. He was noticeably great on the slicker-than-snot intro to "Blight." Later in the song, they broke things down to a spectacular bass-percussion duet jam before turning Domingo Ortiz loose for a few minutes. The soothing chorus of "Climb to Safety" cooled things off at the end of the marathon set before a rowdy "Papa's Home" closer.
Around 1 a.m., Mother Nature intervened and dished out a couple quick downpours within a half-hour span, making the night soggy for campers that forgot to bring a tarp, and the next morning a little squishy in the shadows and valleys.
Continue reading for Day 4...
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