Day 4: Sunday, June 10
Letting it All Hang Out
Wakarusa 2007 by Wyatt |
Sunday retained most of the humidity from the night before, so it was a muggy day that clung to the 80s through filtered sunlight. The Sundown Stage offered a pretty stout lineup for the day - Grace Potter > Little Feat > Citizen Cope > Medeski Martin & Wood > Michael Franti > Les Claypool. "Wah-wah-wee-wah!"
"Wake Up, Wakarusa!," Grace Potter smiled breezily as she made her way to the front of the stage. Joining her and the Nocturnals were the standard guests - a stuffed "Animal" doll attached to the drum kit and a couple of miniature owls flanking the band. The assortment of beasts says a bit about the band, as none of the members are afraid to have fun onstage and seem to genuinely enjoy jamming with one another. The band reigned in guitarist Scott Tournet a bit from the year before. Tournet only got to do some bite-size shredding this time around - nothing longer than half a minute or so - but at the same time it kept the songs a little cleaner and tighter. A convincing "Watching You" closed things, which saw Tournet's best solo of the set matched with Potter's sultry invitation, "Why don't ya make a move my way?" This is a band that has the look and feel of a lottery ticket waiting to be cashed in.
Grace Potter :: Wakarusa by Foster |
Little Feat - one of the more criminally underrated bands in rock - were next. The first 30 minutes were nothing but segues before a gritty, percussive jam led into a charging, quick version of "Get Up, Stand Up," which drew to a frenzied convergence and marked one of the finer jams of the set. Bassist Kenny Gradney, sporting a "Make Levees, Not War" t-shirt, next came forward with a nasty slap bass solo before teasing "Scarlet Begonias," as members of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals enjoyed the set from the side of the stage.
Later, they broke things down to a nice bass-drums-percussion jam as the rest of the band walked offstage. They slowly built up the pace before Little Feat co-founder and keyboardist Bill Payne re-emerged for a drawn out, contemplative and gorgeous five-minute solo. He smiled and gave a wave to the crowd as he finished, and the rest of the band came back for a triumphant version of "Tennessee Jed," which featured great guitar work from Paul Barrere. "Feels Like Rain" featured Shaun Murphy lending her rich, soulful voice as she salaciously navigated the full space of the stage. At the end, the band invited Bonnie Payne (playing percussion on a washboard looped around her neck) to join in on an extended Cajun hoedown. Barrere again shone brightly in the jam, nailing an impressive solo and holding a single sustained note for several measures as the rest of the band assembled for a final run through the song. Exceptional show.
Citizen Cope was completely new to me. I must have missed the Pontiac commercial. It was a five-piece band - two keyboardists, guitar, bass and drums. A few of the early songs had a lilting, reggae feel, which was offset by the anguished vocals. "Hurricane Walls" was aided by crisp snare snaps and synthesizer work, but it was Clarence Greenwood (a.k.a. Citizen Cope) that clearly ran the show. He has an ambitious flair in structuring songs, the type of big vision usually reserved for classical music, where the band has sweeping changes that create a powerful wave of sound. "Son's Gonna Rise" was a nice rocker that had many in the crowd (perhaps those that had seen it on One Tree Hill) singing along.
Billy Martin :: Wakarusa by Foster |
Watching Citizen Cope meant that I missed my chance to see Josh Clark from Tea Leaf Green sit in with New Monsoon for "Greenhouse," but I did get there in time to catch Railroad Earth's Tim Carbone jam for a few songs. The band was relentlessly positive with a full, balanced sound that left enough breathing room for each member to comfortably add to the mix. They may be a bit of a one-trick pony in some respects, but they're pretty good at what they do.
At 6:30 on the Sundown Stage, it was time for some Medeski Martin & Wood. Clattering discordance from John Medeski and Billy Martin gave way to Chris Wood's bassline that smoothly brought about "Hanuman" from the Out Louder album to start the show. From the get-go, Medeski was hard at work, squeezing out thoughtful notes, leaving space at times and applying the pressure at others. By the time the band got around to "Coconut Boogaloo," Wood inhabited the deepest of grooves. Martin would drop the beat for a measure or two before picking it right back up, and Medeski led the way with textbook tension-and-release jamming. One of the single best songs played during the four days.
A sizable crowd had developed side stage, with members of The Slip and The Nocturnals watching the performance. MMW briefly dabbled in the experimental before unleashing Martin for a few minutes, shaking and hitting everything within arm's reach. During a few songs, Martin came as close as he will ever get to approximating a straight-ahead rock beat, which was kind of refreshing. For the final song, MMW went with "Tootie Ma is a Big Fine Thing." The musicianship on the song was incredibly precise. Wood looked over at Martin and hung out his tongue, Jordan-style, with a huge smile as Martin nodded back. The trio brought their "A Game" to the festival, and it was a performance that will translate better than most on disc.
Michael Franti :: Wakarusa by Foster |
30 minutes later, Michael Franti and Spearhead assumed the Sundown Stage, which was now shrouded in camouflaged netting. The curtain behind the band was blanketed with artwork that implied a "war on peace": A hand displaying the peace sign was in front of a bulls-eye with bullet holes surrounding it. As usual, Franti was active from the start with ample "How y'all Fee-lin?!" utterances. A cover of "Get Up Stand Up" came in early and then broke down to a quick drum solo before giving way to "Tell Me Lies."
It was about then that madness ensued. I saw her about five feet directly to my right, in front of the V.I.P. section, in the photo pit, scaling a large speaker. I thought, "This looks odd." Then she was onstage. Carrying a sign that said "Free Hugs" and what appeared to be a sensing stick for the blind (while also wearing sunglasses), she clung to Franti's side in an attempt to tell him something. Security was taken completely off-guard, but were brushed aside by Franti. The song ended and she eventually left the stage. Next song, Franti walks over to guitarist Dave Shul to enjoy a musical moment, when Free Hug Girl jumps between them and clings onto Franti's torso again. The other band members and stagehands took turns trying to pry her away, but she brushed them off verbally and physically. Unbelievable. The band kept playing throughout, but Free Hug Girl was unrelenting. Finally, security guards physically lifted her off her feet and carried her off the stage. She was seen shortly later squeezing onto the railing and accusing them of breaking her nails as they attempted to pull her down. I've seen people rush the stage before, but never anything quite like this.
Franti finished another song, commenting, "God is too big for one religion," to the delight of the crowd. He then led the band through a lighthearted medley that began with a cover of a band Franti described as one of his "favorites" - "What I Got" > "Sesame Street Theme Song" > "'C' Is For Cookie" > "What I Got." Toward the end, thoughts turned toward the political with the protest song "Light Up Ya Lighter," during which Franti asked us to hold up our lighters in unity. For the encore, Franti brought out about a dozen college-aged girls that had taken advantage of the body-painting booth during the weekend. All were technically topless, though painted artfully. It was an unexpected ending to a show that was full of surprises.
Wakarusa 2007 by Wyatt |
Les Claypool took the stage about 20 minutes later than scheduled, and was also the bearer of bad news, saying, "There has been a miscalculation." Evidently, the band wouldn't be able to play until midnight as scheduled but would "make the most of it." A couple of law enforcement officers watched from the right side of the stage as a not-so-subtle reminder that the party would end soon. Even though Claypool's set was a good 30-40 minutes shorter than anticipated, it was a fine one. It was, of course, a parade of oddities and a celebration of the abnormal, but there was a little more "rock" and a little less "weird" at the show. "David Makalaster" featured a fiery xylophone jam from Mike Dillon. Claypool then jumped in for an absurdly tasty xylophone-bass duet jam that morphed into the Primus classic "Southbound Pachyderm."
After standout versions of "Vernon the Company Man," and "Of Whales And Woe," Gabby La La busted out the Theremin for a bit on "D's Diner." They abandoned the song midway through, as Claypool confidently said, "I am through fucking around," and closed with an absolute rager, "Whamola." He may have only been able to play for 50 minutes but it was an action-packed set.
Ain't Life Grand
WSP :: Wakarusa 2007 by Wyatt |
The fourth year of Waka was a resounding success. Problems with security were a thing of the past, and with the exception of stage time "performance issues" it was tough to gripe. There were some positive changes and others that were a bit more questionable. Wakarusa was "Green" this year yet still invited Jeep to park half a dozen Cherokees on the festival grounds. You win some, you lose some.
New Belgium - a company that uses renewable energy to brew - once again provided beer for the festival, which was served in reusable plastic cups. However, according to one band, the alcohol was 3.2 percent though this was not posted. Representatives from Wakarusa were unable to confirm this, and said they were looking into the matter at the time of publication.
Jim Pollock, the artist commissioned to do much of Phish's artwork, provided limited edition prints for the festival, which was a nice added treat for 700 fans.
For every story told, there are countless others that are omitted. I'm pretty confident that someone could do a damn good review of Wakarusa and cover completely different bands. I'm also pretty confident that we'd both end up at the same conclusion - Wakarusa 2007 was a blast. Great music, no hassles, few lines and great weather. Ain't life grand?
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