Summer Camp Music Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary with an epic lineup of fantastic bands for 4 days of great music on 5 different stages. With a crowd almost half-again as large as ever before (15,000), the festival was a huge undertaking, with three big stages, as well as two smaller stages outdoors for the massive audience to gather in front of all day, every day.
The event was held at Three Sister's Park in Chillicothe, Illinois. The park was a perfect setting for the music, with lots of open space for two or three bands to play simultaneously without overwhelming each other. At the entrance, campers were put through a search, before being allowed to move their things from the parking lot to the campground. There, another stage was set up where bands could play to keep the line entertained. Although there was already a long line for the tickets, even the Will Call tickets, the line for the campers moving their stuff was much longer, something that could only be avoided if you were sleeping in your car, and had a press pass, but one could only carry what fitted in one's cargo pants then.
The crowd was a great mix of friendly folks from all around the country. License plates from Indiana, Michigan, New York and California demonstrated this coming-together of fun loving music enthusiasts. Every band's set was accompanied by talented jugglers, fire poi-swinging acrobats, and hula-hooping girls, as well as mobs of dancing, drinking party people. Strangers from every walk of life randomly greeted each other, making new friends all the time. But the reason for all this cheerful socializing was the music, which was the very best part of this temporary paradise.
The first great show was Thursday night, when Backyard Tire Fire got the crowd going with their country-laced rock 'n roll. The Bloomington based alt-country trio puts on a fun show with rockin' tunes that warmed up the fans for their first night of fun.
Next came Family Groove Company, who played groovy funk and jazz with a style inspired by Steely Dan as well as The Beatles. The audience really perked up for this set, which took the dancing and good vibes to a higher level.
The last of the act playing on the big stage Thursday night was Cornmeal, one of the greatest bluegrass/folk bands in the country. The fast tempo and intricate harmonies make this band's songs irresistibly dance-able. Everyone gets down and lets loose when Cornmeal takes the stage, and this show was one of the best this reviewer has ever seen. Thursday night was just the beginning but the campground was already alive with energy after the band finished at 11 p.m.
Summer Camp Music Festival has a red barn where the "Late Night Shows" were held each night. Unfortunately most of the nights these "Late Night Shows" cost an extra $25 or so and were sold separately from regular tickets to the festival. The nights were all sold out before the festival began. It doesn't really make sense to have to pay extra to see some of the music, after paying over a hundred dollars to see the vast majority of those bands already. Other music festivals, like Wakarusa, have music late at night, without asking their guests for another penny. But with a big, open room to hold specific shows in, it is easy for the Summer Camp staff to use this venue as a second show to sell. The silver lining to this part of Summer Camp was that Thursday nights' show was free.
The "Late Night Show" at the red barn Thursday night started with The Macpodz who played competent funky jazz, that leaned toward the electronic dance party to come.
Second in the red barn was Dumpstaphunk, getting into some electronic jams. As the second band's set progressed the crowd's energy rose, and the red barn got packed.
To finish the night, Future Rock got crazy with dancy tehcno. This last set was as wild and pulsing as a rave. The impressive electronica was so powerful it blew away the already raging crowd.
The second night of Summer Camp really got exciting when Sound Tribe Sector 9 started their set at the second-largest stage. After a good rendition of Puma, STS9 went on to mess up one of their songs, before playing a fantastic version of Aimlessly. They also did a good job with Beyond Right Now, and Shock Doctrine. The set started the night off right, but they've played better. Odds are STS9 saved their best bass-heavy dance beats for their set in the red barns' "Late Night Show."
After Sound Tribe, Yonder Mountain String Band had just started their set at the biggest stage, over a low hill. The already fantastic bluegrass act was joined by a second banjo player, Danny Barnes, who really rocked out with the band for a couple of songs.
Before Yonder was even finished, another great act was on the stage STS9 had previously been on. Umphrey's McGee jammed loud and hard with funky bass and drums, accompanied by haunting psychedelic guitar riffs. However, this reviewer had to leave this set early to catch the next fantastic show.
Bassnectar finished off the electronic dancing for the night with a great set of hard, rhythmic bass beats. The songs Bassnectar has mixed together range in style from gangster rap, hip-hop to electric tribal techno, from nostalgic references to psychedelic hypnotic harmonics. This was the best show of the night, and possibly the entire festival.
Besides these expert performances there were dozens of other bands playing earlier, later, and at the same time as the above-mentioned sets. All music lovers should keep an eye out for these bands when they come around these parts, and be sure to save up some money to make it to Summer Camp next year!
Next Festival: Wakarusa!!!
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