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Eric’s Sunday Highlights
1. moe. - 9:30-
11:30 p.m. – Grandstand Stage
Having not seen moe. in many moons, I didn't have many expectations for this set, but moe.
came through in a big way with a casual, good-natured weekend closing set that wasn't
afraid to get slinky and stretch out in between some massive climaxes. The boys clearly
felt right at home at High Sierra, having played the festival plenty of times since their
first appearance in 1997(!) And though the familiar dueling guitars of Chuck and Al always
hit the spot with their shred-tastic peaks, the highlights of the set occurred during the
multiple special guest sit-ins. Trombonist Carly Meyers from the Mike Dillon Band
was the first to appear, bopping and weaving in and out of the music during a transition
from “Skrunk” into “Time Ed,” at which point Mike Dillon joined the party and proceeded to
engage Jim Loughlin in what had to be the greatest vibraphone duel I've ever
witnessed. This was an incomparable musical moment that took the cake as the highlight of
the set for me. More highlights included a Lukas Nelson sit-in on “Opium,” where
some raunchy blues guitar licks got traded around, and Anders Osborne helping peak
out a riff-heavy take on “Happy Hour Hero.” I was running out of steam by this point and
had to head back to the campsite, but not before dancing and hopping my way into the dusty
night to a bouncy take on “Buster.” moe. knew the crowd they were playing for and gave us
just the down-home set we needed at the end of the festival.
2. Steel Pulse –
7:15-8:45 p.m. – Grandstand Stage
In a year sorely lacking in any reggae, Steel Pulse filled the void with a super-tight set
of modern progressive reggae classics. The music's precision made it a kind of post-roots
reggae performed by a well-oiled machine with perfect four-part harmonies led by David
Hinds, whose husky voice is still amazing. Opening with “Rally Round” as their Rasta
anthem of sorts, Hinds and his massive dreads led his band of pros through hit after hit
like infectious “Prodigal Son,” my favorite tune of the set. “No More Weapons” was dubbed
out nicely, while “Life Without Music” got the crowd skanking and singing along as the sun
set behind the band. By this point in the weekend, the festival flow had well set in, so
no one had any trouble settling into an easy skank for this satisfying performance.
3. The California
Honeydrops – 2:05-3:25 p.m. – Vaudeville Tent
The Honeydrops' Vaudeville Tent set wins hands-down for the biggest dance party and most
memorable moment of the weekend. Simply put, the house was brought down. In the midday
heat, the Honeydrops' set of sweet, pure, NOLA-inspired soul music drew a larger and
larger crowd as the set went on, due largely to lead singer Lech Wierzynski's
ability to get the crowd involved and turn a concert into a huge celebration of life. In
a way, the Honeydrops’ set's communal, joyous feel filled in for the absent Nathan
Moore's annual Vaudeville Tent set, which usually has the tendency to bring a crowd
together like nothing else at High Sierra can. Wierzynski projects a similar vibe of
profound gratitude and love onstage, and when he got everyone into the party with “Soul
Tub” things started getting crazy. It's easy to dance to the second-line inspired horn
lines of the Honeydrops, but the crowd climax that occurred during this set was one for
the record books. We're talking a crowd-surfing, breast-exposing, raging, dust-cloud
raising, freakout of a dance party the likes of which I've never seen at High Sierra [take
a peek for yourself here]. At this point, the music was just the background to the party going down in
Vaudeville. Mad props to the Honeydrops for bringing the absolute best out of people, as
this moment defined why HSMF is not only the best fest in the west, it's the best in all
the land. If you've ever been, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Dennis’ Sunday Highlights
1. Guitarmageddon: Stadium Rock! – 4:00-6:00 p.m. – High Sierra Music
Hall
Celebrating 10 years of over the top guitar heroics, the ever-shifting aggregate of
Guitarmageddon gathered for what may be THE archetypal choice of material for this
occasional project. Guitarmageddon founders Sean Leahy and Josh Clark (Tea
Leaf Green) held down their usual spots stage right while current bandleader Simon
Kurth (aka Huckle) drove some of the best guitarists around – Jeff Miller, Dan
Lebowitz, Kiyoshi Foster, Lukas Nelson, Jeremy Korpas, moe.’s Al
Schnier (who seemed to get a special kick out of this NorCal tradition) and Fruition’s
Jay Anderson & Kellen Asebroek - and a crack rhythm team of Phil Ferlino
(keys), Murph Murphy (bass) and Ezra Lipp (drums) to appropriately
ludicrous heights. But where the Guitarmageddon schtick has sometimes been layered on the
source material (the White Stripes and Talking Heads sets come to mind), this assortment
of creamy mainstream, FM certified favorites fit them like a glove, the bonhomie onstage
increasing song by song, pleasure buttons being slammed repeatedly for the audience, whose
faces lit up with an infectious glow at the opening notes of each iconic tune. The
eternally appealing sounds of Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla,” Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion”
and opener Edgar Winter Group’s “Free Ride” (with some great falsetto from Ferlino decked
out in sleeveless t-shirt and head bandana; some of the guys really got into the spirit of
the theme, particularly suede tassel vest clad Lipp) drew people in, and the curious were
rewarded with surprises like Jen Hartswick belting out Journey’s “Any Way You Want It”
better than ol’ Steve Perry can anymore and Johnny Moroko, lead singer of Rolling
Stones tribute Brown Sugar, killing it on “Start Me Up.” If you didn’t have a king size
blast at this set, which got an additional 45 minutes over allotted time to handle all the
widdly-widdly goodness, then I’m fairly sure you’re not wired for a good time. Fun
resides in the heart of Guitarmageddon, and this set amped up all the positives about this
lovingly ludicrous endeavor.
Setlist (and guitarists/guests on each selection): Free Ride (Leahy, Clark, Miller, Lebo,
Kurth), Sweet Emotion (Leahy, Clark, Miller, Kurth), Whole Lotta Rosie (Leahy, Clark,
Korpas, Kurth), Fat Bottom Girls (Leahy, Clark, Kiyoshi, Anderson, Asebroek – killer
harmonies on this one!), Layla (Leahy, Kurth, Lebo, Lukas Nelson), When The Levee Breaks
(Leahy, Kurth, Anderson, Lukas, Al Schnier), Start Me Up (Leahy, Kurth, Schnier, Clark,
Moroko), Do You Feel Like We Do (Leahy, Kurth, and an especially excellent Miller on point
– Frampton would approve), Any Way You Want It (Leahy, Clark, Kurth, Hartswick), Won’t Get
Fooled Again (Leahy, Clark, Miller, Lebo, Kurth, Schnier, Lukas)
2. Futurebirds
– 8:15-9:30 p.m. – Big Meadow Stage
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Facing off against fest faves The Barr Brothers and reggae legends Steel Pulse meant for
an initially thin crowd for this Athens, GA band’s High Sierra debut but it clearly didn’t
phase them. I’ve rarely seen guys more in love with playing rock ‘n’ roll, where every
song was tackled with closing number flourish, hair flying as their bodies swayed with
their instruments. For Futurebirds, playing music for people is an obvious pleasure and
privilege, and it’s hard not to be smitten with such grinning amour. With pedal steel,
two electrics and an acoustic, guitar flavor abounds on every tune. It’s a voluptuous
sound but rarely messy because they’ve figured out how to bob and weave with each other’s
lines. Only a handful of bands have ever figured out how to handle this much guitar
action but Futurebirds have it licked. Their songs are terrific, too, full of oddly wise
nuggets and choruses built for boozy sing-alongs. They’re not reinventing the wheel but
this motherfucker rolls real nice. By set’s end they’d cemented their place in Athens’
next wave of greats with Dead Confederate, Reptar, and The Whigs. A real treat to get
rocked out so solidly late in the game, and hopefully they’ll be back to do their thing
again. I came into this set really liking Futurebirds and walked away a diehard fan. Viva
live music!
3. Rubblebucket
– 10:00-11:30 p.m. – Big Meadow Stage
Materialized –
12:00-1:15 a.m. – Funk ‘n Jamhouse
With so much modern music a fairly typical formula dominates: (this influence) + (other
influence) + (fresh adjectives and qualifiers) = new band. So, it was a super treat to
conclude my primary listening experiences at HSMF 2013 with the future music of
Rubblebucket and Materialized. Though very different from one another, these bands
possess a progressive edge that’s largely free of ancestral fingerprints. Though
happening right in front of us, their sounds seem snatched from the not too distant days
ahead, a beat or three ahead of the competition in exposing the connective tissue between
different styles and moods, a reverberant sonic curiosity evident in every step. Both
acts have a blast discovering and sharing fresh sounds and new combinations of ideas and
in this way keep the listener on their toes, stimulating good things in our brains even as
they entertain us and lubricate our limbs.
Rubblebucket solidified their candidacy for High Sierra annual regulars in their third
wondrous visit, effectively wooing and moving their largest audience yet here as they
closed out the Big Meadow Stage with serious aplomb. Their natural warmth, unforced
strangeness, and undeniable skills flowed electrically from the stage to the far reaches
back by the soundboard, where I took in the undulating big picture being painted by these
Brooklyn/Vermont musicians. Their songs are multilayered – musically and lyrically – but
nearly always instantly likeable. They’re talking a lot but they’re always saying
something, and they usually say it with a come-hither smile that gives one a tingle. Pop
music – often reviled by jam fans and folkies – is integral to Rubblebucket. For as high
brow as their compositions and playing can get, there’s usually a toe-tapping element
enshrouding the complexities. And sometimes they just let the pop thing hang out for
anyone to see as on the fab cover of The Doobie Brothers’ “What A Fool Believes” that went
off like a charm bomb in the crowd. By the time lead singer-saxophonist Kalmia
Traver was surfed above the sudden horde the band welcomed onstage during “Came Out Of
A Lady” one felt part of an interconnected organism, the bonds between the band and the
audience visible and invisible, strong and tangible. Without putting too fine a point on
it, Rubblebucket hums with a life force that summons one’s own primal joie de vivre.
The frizzled wire, sample savvy, crunching rhythm attack of Materialized proved just the
elixir to summon the final freakin’ left in my body. Materialized’s current is
irrefutably musical and fleshly present but just as knob stroking as LCD Soundsystem,
employing computer crafted bass lines and all manner of synthesizers, sequencers and
whatnot in a pleasing, dark-tinged assault on the senses. Sweating out impurities and
striving to recall some Prince dance moves to unleash, I thought how much what Mighty
Dave Pellicciaro (keys, samples, myriad noisemakers) and Dale Fanning
(electronic percussion) and their varied collaborators are up to is just about everything
most electronic dance music is missing, most notably a prominent human element with the
ability to shift and respond in real time with true musician insight and instinct. No
question that these guys are masters of technology but in a daring, hang-your-ass-over-
the-edge way that recalls the sonic spelunking of early Tangerine Dream and Aphex Twin.
The more aggressive, intense and shadowy Materialized becomes the more I’m captivated by
their evolution.
JamBase | Northern California
Go See Live Music!
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