Just a short week after Summer Camp,
Wakarusa gave Music Festival a new meaning, with four days of nonstop music including nationally renowned bands. Epic sets of fantastic songs filled every night, to keep the crowd in constant musical heaven. Masses of devoted fans from all around the country crowded the camping ground in the Arkansas Ozark National Forest.
Lawrence residents should know that Wakarusa originated just outside of town, at Clinton Lake. The festival was moved to Arkansas when the police started making it hard for anyone to have a good time in Lawrence. But, even though the festival is a lot farther from us now, it's still absolutely worth the trip, and when you get there you'll find that there is a veritable army of Lawrencians representing the origin of the festival.
Aside from fantastic music, there was one terrible flaw to Wakarusa this year that could make the experience an ordeal for anyone. The camp was so over-packed, that a "Satellite Parking and Camp ground" was set up 3 whole miles away. Campers screwed out of the convenience of the regular camping area had a long walk, all uphill, if they didn't want to wait in line for a bus for an hour or more. Thankfully there are a lot of good people at music festivals, willing to give a ride to a poor soul hitch-hiking back and forth. But the hardships of camping even 3 miles away are worth the effort to see the fantastic bands playing each day.
Rocket Science, a local act from Lawrence, opened at the Satellite Stage - not to be confused with the Satellite camping area 3 miles away - with heavy, intricate electronic beats. The duo was the first band to play that stage, and had to suffer the sound check issues. But the beats, rhythms warmed up the crowd for their first night of music.
Railroad Earth played hardcore bluegrass, rambling, rumbling, exciting tunes that took the crowd to a higher level of energy. The trick to Wakarusa is that every great act is followed by another band, already starting on another stage.
The end of the
Disco Biscuits set was a wicked progressive rock jam of electronica that gathered a sea of glowstick weilding, glowing hula-hoop swinging festy kids. Then the massive crowd was split between the Pink Floyd Light Show, Lotus, and Dirtfoot.
The first night demonstrated how completely oversold the entire festival was. Pink Floyd was beyond over-crowded with waves of fans sitting and standing well outside the Revival Tent. Lotus' tent was also packed. Both shows were fun, if crowded.
Zoogma started rocking out with electronic jam rock early on Friday. The crowd really got into it when the band whipped out a funky cover of the Ghostbuster song.
JJ Grey and Mofro played traditional blues accented with funky, jazzy jams. The instruments were played by a well-practiced lineup of musicians, that complimented each other well, with a guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, saxophone and keys, but the vocals were a little weak, with lyrics that were too corny and cliche.
Trampled by Turtles uses a time machine to a place of exquisite, traditional folk bluegrass. If only the Backwoods Stage had not been a roiling dust storm with barely a view of the stage for the first few rows of people.
ALO played a competent jam, adequate to keep the crowd happy in the shade of the Revival Tent. But there's only so much music a person can listen to before one must retire to a campsite to hang out with friends, recharge your batteries, and have a few more drinks.
Finally Friday night arrived, with an extreme lineup of great electronic sets sure to make the crowd go crazy.
Sound Tribe Sector 9 was the first big name this reviewer made it to, although Big Gigantic had played before them. STS9's set was tragically quiet, with the volume just turned down way too low. The band messed up parts of the song Shock Doctrine, turning down the best melody of the song. BUT the band made up for it with a good rendition of Aimlessly, followed by 3 of this reviewer's very favorite songs: Arigato, EHM, and Breathe In. All three songs were played fantastically well.
STS9 threw down the bass lines, and got wild with the solos and jams. Breathe In's nostalgic, romantic ending was well used to give the crowd a long, relaxing, beautiful breather after what was, for a long while, the most epic moment in the festival. If only STS9 always used played their best songs so well.
Following STS9 were two more great electronic shows:
Bassnectar and
Eoto. Fans of both could easily catch part of one act and make the short walk to the next stage for the other.
Bassnectar got heavy with the dancing, pumping beats, while
Eoto used wild, extravagant electronic harmonies and melodies layered for a complex sound of techno joy. It might sound daunting to expect to dance all night, but these bands know how to keep a body moving, and the crowd never gave up.
Saturday started with some quirky, interesting bands taking the main stage.
The Black Keys, a blues, alternative rock, jam duo played competently, just the two, one on drums, the other on guitar and singing, but there's only so much a drummer and guitarist can do alone. They really got going when a bassist and keys joined in, with groovy, dancing tunes.
The Black Keys were a welcome addition to the festival, hopefully they will play more often at these kinds of events.
Dweezil Zappa came to the main stage next, playing a great tribute to Frank Zappa's many styles, sounds and he even sounds like his father too. If you can get into Zappa's off-beat, weird, but funky tunes, you will love Dweezil. The lyrics might all be weird and awkward, but the songs are hilarious and fun.
Widespread Panic was the last act on the main stage, and gathered a crowd unlike any other band at the festival. The experienced, undeniably talented rock band jammed with a funky bass that could put the Seinfeld bassist to shame, as well as almost inappropriately long drum solos. The band usually has a lot of country flavor to their rockin, but Saturday night's show was much more of an electronic-fused jam, that the entire Wakarusa mob got down to.
Easily the most obscure, but well-loved bands to perform at Wakarusa came on late Saturday night.
Wookiefoot, the hermits from Minnesota, who hardly ever come out of their home state - but still have a cult-following of devoted fans from all around the country - started their set at 2:30 in the morning, to a thinned, but still strong crowd of loving festy folks. This was definitely the best set Saturday, for this reviewer at least.
Wookiefoot has a huge variety of songs, ranging from rap-influenced rock jams, to Irish punked-out drinking sing-alongs.
On stage with the band were a series of scantly-clad fire-dancing girls, ladies who looked like professional dancers expertly wielding fire poi, and glowing toys, as well as a bunch of bizarre characters dressed in costumes too wild, and exotic for even the best Halloween party.
Wookiefoot plays songs with the style and sound of so many different bands, one might thing they had an ipod set on shuffle and plugged into the speakers. A song might sound too familiar for you to believe it isn't some single from Rage Against the Machine, or Flogging Molly, but every tune is an original by this genius group. The band put out a great vibe of positive energy, while leading the crowd to dance and sing along to some of their best, most brilliant songs: Mushroom Jazz, Original Sin, Falling Down Trying...The band played on and on until 4 a.m.
It was a fantastic show, and makes every listener consider making the trip up to see Wookiefoot in their natural habitat, Minnesota. Hopefully they will come out and play more around the country!
Sunday promised lots more great music, but, like many other festival goers, this reviewer had to leave the momentary heaven set up in the woods, to return to real life Monday morning. Still, in all it was an unforgettable weekend in paradise. There are tons of folks from Lawrence, as well as cool, friendly, beautiful people from all around the country to meet. Everyone who was at Wakarusa will tell you how great it is, and everyone who knows what they've missed needs to save up and come along next year!
