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Getting Ready for Hoxeyville Music Festival

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Hoxeyville Music Festival 2012

It’s about that time. September is just around the corner, and the summer festival season is almost at an end. With Summer Camp and All Good behind us, we’ve got one more music festival to see. One more to round out a summer of great festivals and music across the Midwest. Hoxeyville Music Festival (August 17 – 19) is in Northern Michigan, smack dab in the middle of Manistee National Forest. We covered Hoxeyville for the first time back in 2010, and we’re even more excited about this year.

The organizers have pulled together another great lineup. It’s a very Michigan artist focused festival, as you can see from the artist roster, and there are a couple of great national acts playing, too. Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers are headlining, and just for me, they’ve got two amazing post Grateful Dead bands playing – Bill Kreutzmann‘s 7 Walkers and the Mickey Hart Band. So if you’re anywhere near Michigan, you might want to take the time to check it out. Here are some of the bands we’re particularly excited to see.

7 Walkers

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld5hKeZQGFo&w=560&h=315]

7 Walkers – “Sugaree”

This is the band I’m most excited to see at Hoxeyville. Bill Kreutzmann on drums, with Papa Mali on guitar and vocals, and George Porter on bass and vocals. George Porter was a founding member of The Meters. He sings “Sugaree” here, and really belts it out. Papa Mali is a great guitar player from New Orleans. Together, these guys bring New Orleans funk and soul to the Grateful Dead sound.

Mickey Hart Band

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFT2w9YGzcw&w=560&h=315]

Mickey Hart Band – “Brokedown Palace”

Here they are at All Good, doing a slow, soulful “Brokedown Palace”. And the video is great. Hats off to the videographer. As the song starts, he’s walking down the hill towards the stage, and stops by the tapers (in front of the soundboard) to capture the rest of the song. I don’t know what he was using to tape it, but he’s pretty steady all the way down the hill.

Greensky Bluegrass

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCr-pItRqwg&w=560&h=315]

Greensky Bluegrass – “China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider”

We’ve covered Greensky Bluegrass a couple of times here before, and they are always high on our list of bands to see at music festivals (they played at both Summer Camp and All Good this year). This video is from when we saw them at Hoxeyville in 2010. The Rhythm Devils played that year, too, and both Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart joined them on stage for a stellar rendition of “China Cat Sunflower” into”I Know You Rider”. If you listen carefully, you can hear me yell “Mickey!” when Hart gets behind his drum kit. Yes, I almost wet my pants with excitement. That’s just how I roll.

Seth Bernard and May Erlewine

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzipdd8y-ho&w=560&h=315]

Seth Bernard and May Erlewine – “Ain’t No Sunshine”

I was first introduced to Seth Bernard and May Erlewine at Hoxeyville in 2010. They were all over the schedule. As Seth Bernard and May Erlewine, Airborne or Aquatic?, Paul Hoffman vs. Seth Bernard, and probably a few other places, too. This clip is from a show they did at The Ark in Ann Arbor in 2011. Listen to May sing “I know, I know, I know…” and try not to fall in love with her voice. They represent some of the best musical talent in Michigan, and they are an integral part of what makes Hoxeyville what it is.

Paul Hoffman vs. Seth Bernard

Continuing on with the Seth Bernard focus, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Paul Hoffman vs. Seth Bernard. Paul Hoffman is the mandolin player, vocalist, and one of the songwriters in Greensky Bluegrass. When we saw them at Hoxeyville last time, it was just the two of them on stage, greeting the morning crowd with some of their own tunes, and this rendition of Neil Young‘s “Cortez the Killer”. A must listen (sorry, no video!)

Paul Hoffman vs. Seth Bernard – “Cortez the Killer”

Airborne or Aquatic?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCMly1uz1wY&w=560&h=315]

Airborne or Aquatic? – [No idea what this jam is called]

Airborne or Aquatic? is another Seth and May production. It’s sort of “supergroup” of Michigan players, and Hoxeyville is one of the few places they get together. It’s totally spacey, trippy music, as you can see from this video, which starts out with some spoken word stuff from Lee Sprague, Tribal Council Member of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. Should be a trip again this year.

I could go on and on here, highlighting all the great music you catch at Hoxeyville this year. But there just isn’t enough time. I’ll just say that I’m also excited to see The Macpodz, The Ragbirds, The Josh Davis Band, Naive Melodies (Talking Heads cover band!), and The Red Sea Pedestrians performing Abbey Road (regular GloNo readers are familiar with my unhealthy obsession with covers and cover bands).

Festival tickets are still available. You can grab them here. Hope to see you there!

 

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All Good Music Festival 2012: Highlights

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All Good Music Festival 2012

On our way back from All Good this year, we agreed it was – hands down – the best music festival we’ve been to. This is for a whole host of reasons, but must importantly, the music was outstanding. As I noted in our All Good preview, there were a number of bands we were excited to see. One of the great things about the All Good Music Festival is that they set up two stages right next to each other. While one band plays, they are setting up the next band on the adjacent stage. So there’s basically no gap to the music all day, once it starts, and you get to hang out in the same general area – not so much walking from stage to stage.

Add to that generally good weather, non-cramped camping accommodations, and extremely friendly staff, and you’ve got yourself a music festival to remember. Onto the musical highlights.

Thursday, July 19, 2012: The Music Never Stopped

The music didn’t start until 7 on Thursday, but I could have gone home happy after the first night alone. Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby, and Branford Marsalis, followed by Phil Lesh and Friends. Both sets were outstanding. I had earlier speculated that we might just see Weir, Hornsby, and Marsalis, without accompaniment. Or maybe just the addition of a drummer and bass player. What we got was Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, with special guests Bob Weir and Branford Marsalis, playing a whole lotta Grateful Dead tunes. Plus two Hornsby tracks. The set started a bit rough, but it only got better as they gelled on stage. You can give their set a listen over at the Live Music Archive.

I also speculated a bit about who was going to be playing with Phil Lesh and Friends. I wrote that I hoped he would have Jackie Greene with him, and he was. Plus Joe Russo on drums, two of Phil’s sons, Grahame and Brian, and – a very pleasant surprise – Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams from Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble. The set was like Phil Lesh meets the Midnight Ramble. Some Grateful Dead tunes were in the set and some songs that you might have heard at a Levon Helm show – “Chest Fever”, “Long Black Veil”, and “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning”, for example. It was my first time seeing Phil Lesh and Friends live, and this line up was a treat. You can listen to their set here.

Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby, and Branford Marsalis (with Hornsby’s Noisemakers)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0CcLpbyQNE&w=560&h=315]

Friday, July 20, 2012: The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips were amazing! The first track they played, “Race for the Prize”, ended up being a top 5 rock and roll moment for me. I was standing stage left, in the photo pit, tucked in a corner by a big ass speaker, trying to take decent pictures of the insanity. Confetti and smoke all over the stage… I could have died happily in that moment.
They also played Pink Floyd’s “On The Run” – the psychedelic electronic experimental freakout from Darkside of the Moon – while Coyne climbed into the bubble and walked out over the crowd. He didn’t stay out as long as I’d expected to but it was a thing to behold nonetheless. If you haven’t ever seen the Flaming Lips, you should really try to work them into your live music schedule sometime. They will not disappoint. Q Magazine was spot on when they put the Flaming Lips in their top 50 list of bands you must see before you die. In the meantime, check out the video below of their whole show.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkt_y5F88-g&w=560&h=315]

Sunday, July 22, 2012: Non Stop Rock Block

Sunday was the hottest day of the festival, and I was feeling a bit physically run down by then. The good news was that the day’s lineup was a must see for me, the strongest afternoon of music the entire weekend. I think the organizers did a tremendous job lining up a solid block of great music to keep us going on Sunday afternoon.

Corey Harris and the Rasta Blues Experience

Corey Harris and the Rasta Blues Experience

Corey Harris was the first artist of the day. He and his band, The Rasta Blues Experience, brought a rich mix of reggae, blues, rock, and funk to the stage. Harris plays guitar and lap steel. I really enjoyed his slide playing. Great songs that cut across genres, one to the next. Conscious music that’s only occasionally preachy. I would have liked to see him in an evening time slot, but I’m glad All Good introduced me to his music.

Devil Makes Three

Devil Makes Three

Devil Makes Three was also new to me. They play folk music that bounces with a punk rock sensibility. There’s some rockabilly in their sound, too. They are a three piece – guitar, banjo, and bass. All acoustic. The guitar player seemed to be the “lead” singer, with the other two hopping in on harmony pretty frequently. A particular treat form their set was their cover of Blind Willie McTell’s Statesboro Blues. Definitely want to see these guys again.

Mickey Hart Band

Mickey Hart Band

Well, I am now a big fan of the Mickey Hart Band. They had an hour and fifteen minutes to impress the crowd, and they did. Mickey has been able to move the furthest out from the “standard” Grateful Dead sound with his new band. He and his band have created something part Dead, part world music, and part the collective identity of the band members themselves. The lead guitar player is able to play in a completely non Jerry Garcia style of guitar playing – more Santana-ish to me – but will also weave some Jerry-ness into his playing when appropriate. Their version of “Fire on the Moutain” was a case in point. He broke out the familiar MXR pedal, or at least a reproduction of its sound – what my buddies and I called a “fart pedal” when we were kids. I love that sound almost more than life itself. I was dancing around like an idiot for the whole song.

So there you have it. Lots of great music at All Good this year, and I’ve only covered some of it here. I’m already looking forward to next year’s All Good. Hope to see you there.

 

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All Good Music Festival: 2012 Preview

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This will be our second time covering the All Good Music Festival (the first time was in 2010 – see our coverage here, here, and here). And it’s our second festival of the season (see our recent Summer Camp coverage). The festival is just a few short weeks away now – July 19 – 22. The lineup is really exciting this year, and we’re going to highlight some of the bands here. This year’s lineup is a bit Grateful Dead-centric, at least among the headliners. Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Mickey Hart are all appearing, each with their own band. If only Bill Kreutzmann‘s 7 Walkers was playing, all the remaining members of the Grateful Dead would be making an appearance (the good news is that we’ll be able to see them at Hoxeyville Music Festival this year). Plus, Dark Star Orchestra – one of my favorite bands to see live – will be bringing their brand of Grateful Dead fun to the stage. Here’s a bit about each of the above bands, plus a few more (Hint: The Flaming Lips!!).

Phil Lesh & Friends

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQg2mY7xMLk&w=560&h=315]

Phil Lesh & Friends – “Passenger”

Phil Lesh & Friends get second billing for the festival, after The Allman Brothers Band, and they are the band I’m most excited to see. For me, the big question with Phil and Friends is… Who will the Friends be? Phil Lesh has been putting together bands under this moniker since 1999. Many famous and respected players have with Phil Lesh & Friends – Trey Anastasio, Steve Kimock, Warren Haynes, Ryan Adams, Chris Robinson, and more.

Lesh has played with two different lineups this year. In February, Phil Lesh & Friends played a three night run with a lineup I’d love to see at All Good: Warren Haynes (guitar, vocals), Jackie Greene (guitar, keyboards, vocals), John Scofield (guitar), Joe Russo (drums), and Jeff Chimenti (keyboards). All the shows are available on the Live Music Archive. Lesh also did some shows in April at his new venue Terrapin Crossroads with what he terms as the classic Phil Lesh Quintet: Lesh, Haynes (guitar), Rob Barraco (keyboardist), Jimmy Herring (guitar), and John Molo (drums). Haynes and Barraco will both be at All Good as it is – Haynes with The Allman Brothers Band and Barraco with Dark Star Orchestra. So I think there’s a good chance those two will be among the Friends. Maybe Jackie Greene, too? A man can hope…

Here’s the February 2012 incarnation of Phil and Friends playing “Passenger”, a tune Lesh wrote back in the late 70s when he thought the Grateful Dead needed a few more rockers in their repertoire. They retired the song in 1981, but Lesh has brought it back, and it’s getting a lot of play now. And, indeed, it does rock.

Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby with special guest Branford Marsalis

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KYMiZpIYfI&w=560&h=315]

Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby – “Hell In A Bucket”

Prepare to break out your jazz hands, people. Bob Weir and Bruce Hornsby have done a few shows together already this year (see the video above) This time, they’re bringing another heavy hitter with them: Branford Marsalis, the legendary jazz saxophonist and brother of famed trumpet player Wynton Marsalis. Both Marsalis and Hornsby have played with the Grateful Dead in the past (Marsalis as a featured guest, Hornsby as a temporary member of the band after Brent Mydland died), and both bring significant bodies of their own work to the table as well.

I imagine the show will be something like this video of “Hell In A Bucket”, but with Marsalis adding his voice to the mix. But who knows? It’s unclear from their listing what the band’s make up will be. But there could be a drummer and a bass player, too. Crosby, Stills, and Nash had a drummer and a bass player. They just didn’t get a name check. It could be the same with Weir, Hornsby, and Marsalis (which I believe I just coined, btw). In the meantime, check out the Weir & Hornsby video.

Mickey Hart Band

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoPmx6eXOMQ&w=560&h=315]

The Mickey Hart Band Winter Tour 2011/2012

“So we’re going to go out there… enjoy the ride.” That’s how Mickey Hart starts off this video highlighting his band’s Winter 2011/2012 tour. And it looks like they do a good amount of space exploration, but in a way the kids can keep bouncing to (different, in my opinion, than the Drums/Space sequence Deadheads came to know and love/hate). They are also doing some of their own songs, plus a half dozen or so Grateful Dead tunes every show. Here’s hoping we get a “Fire On The Mountain” (Hart co-wrote it) and a “Not Fade Away” at All Good…

The Flaming Lips

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej9T3KrwYW0&w=560&h=315]

The Flaming Lips – Hangout Music Festival 2012 (Including Dark Side of The Moon)

My personal obsession with all things Grateful Dead aside, The Flaming Lips alone are reason enough to go to All Good this year. What if they play Dark Side of the Moon? Do you want to risk missing it? Then there’s the giant ball Wayne Coyne rolls around in, walking/crawling on top of the audience. Do you want to miss that? Because that’s what they did at Hangout Music Festival, which you can see for yourself above. They did Dark Side, and Coyne rolled across the audience in his giant transparent bubble boy ball (be sure to watch them inflate the ball, too).

The video above captures their entire Hangout Music Festival set. They do a few great Flaming Lips songs before they get to the Pink Floyd record. First was a joyous “Race for the Prize”, the first track off Soft Bulletin. They also did “She Don’t Use Jelly”, “The Yeah Yeah Song”, and “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots”.

Fair warning: There’s a lot of swearing in the banter with the audience. Which I enjoyed, and you probably will, too, but I just wanted you to know in advance.

The Pimps of Joytime

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h91q-xUGdY&w=560&h=315]

The Pimps of Joytime – “Janxta Funk”

While we’re off the Grateful Dead path for a moment, I thought I’d also mention The Pimps of Joytime. The first time I saw them was at All Good in 2010, and I’ve managed to catch them at a few other festivals as well. They are an engaging live funk band, and just plain fun. Truth be told, many Deadheads have an affinity for classic 70s funk, so I’m not really treading too far off the Grateful Dead path here. The Pimps have sprung from that fertile 70s ground. You can hear George Clinton and James Brown in what they do. Above is the video for the title track off their 2011 album, Janxta Funk!.

Dark Star Orchestra

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWtC9_9vXC4&w=560&h=315]

Dark Star Orchestra – “Looks Like Rain”

Dark Star Orchestra is an All Good regular, and are always a crowd favorite at the festival.  The video above is from Gratefulfest 12 (in 2011 – it’s a little bit confusing. All because they started that particular festival in 2000).

So that’s only a small sampling of the artists that will be playing at All Good this year. Michael Franti, Greensky Bluegrass, and Galactic, for example, are also playing. The festival is also at a new site this year – Legend Valley in Thornville, OH – which makes it a bit more of an adventure this, since it will completely new to us. And it’s a much shorter drive for us now. Hopefully we’ll see you there. Tickets are still available. Get one while you still can!