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Electric
Forest 2012 ~ June 28 - July 1, 2012 ~ Rothbury, MI
When
Bonnaroo took on Kanye West in 2008, the direction of
festival experience that followed would change
significantly. I vowed never to set foot in what we had
dubbed a “Sideshow Rodeo” at the time; but after several
years, I trekked to Rothbury, Michigan for the Electric
Forest Festival and I was very eager to see the scene. The
lineup included some acts that were certainly well worth the
price of admission, but also offered several “sideshow”
attractions. I wondered, “Why does this festival come
equipped with golfing, ferris wheels, waterparks, etc? I
live a short drive from T.P.C. golf course and will stay
home if I want to golf.” I am concerned primarily with the
quality of the lineup, not so much the quantity. With String
Cheese Incident (aka “Cheese”) headlining three nights and
Keller Williams ending his set only an hour before theirs on
Sunday, that sit in alone would be worth taking the
cross-country drive.
When I
refer to these sideshows, I am in no way blasting golf or
waterparks; I love to get wet. What I have noticed is that
these particular festivals have grown to a point where the
budget is displaced with promotive intentions set first and
foremost. With the combination of the technological
advancements, the budget for acts can be spread
thin...really thin. Let’s face it; with all the wonderful
loops and other various layering devices, it kind of makes
you feel bad for the drummer getting replaced by a beatbox
on steriods. It seems as if the typical four piece band has
been shaved into a two piece. I’m not saying it’s better or
worse, just have noticed a change that seems to be, now,
more than just trendy.
Although I
am not too keen on the electronic rock style, I had some
bands outside of Cheese I was excited to see such as: Keller
and the Travelin’ McCourys, Beats Antique, The Infamous
String Dusters, Dumpstaphunk, Theivery Corporation; and
other bands that I wanted to give a chance like Bassnectar,
Sound Tribe Sector 9, and a few others. We started the
first of four nights with no “Cheese”, but the headliner was
one of their amazing side projects, EOTO. I have seen them
a few times and was not as impressed as I thought I would
be. However this time the boys brought the Lotus Flower
light show, which I was seeing for the first time, and now I
understand the hype. I thought I was supposed to wear some
goofy glasses to get that imaging effect. Unfortunately it
took a bit to get situated and we could only hear
Conspirator shredding it from afar, so EOTO was the first
act we had the pleasure of enjoying. If the Lotus Flower
light show wasn’t enough, they appropriately played one of
my old school favorites, Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue”.
Immediately I was more relieved and curious to see how
these other electronic bands are going to beat that cover.
Later that evening we were graced by the stage theatrics of
“Beats Antique”, whom I had never seen before. I didn’t
recognize the titles to many of her songs, but felt very
energetic and intrigued by her show. It was like Carlos
Santana sat in with GWAR. She must have had 5 very
eccentric costume changes and the music made my little feet
move as fast as they could. I would check out a Beats
Antique show again, especially if the band is expecting a
large crowd to perform in front of.
Waking up
the next day, we were thoroughly excited to get Cheesed that
evening, but also ready to explore this elaborate forest.
In between the two main stages lies the Sherwood Forest
where my favorite “sideshows” took place. In the forest,
all the attractions were essentially free (Eagles Nest
Outfitters were promoting free naps by arranging several
hammocks scattered about, awesome). Einstein Moments
accompanied the return of the Human Avatar Project. I had a
chance to speak with Einstein’s spokesman, Tom Laporte, and
he elaborated to me what they were doing. The concept, as I
approached it, was very spontaneous and intriguing, a way to
promote Einstein’s simplistic logic to a demographic of
people escaping reality for a week in their “glow stick
avatars”, if you may. I was immediately greeted by a man in
a lab coat and tossed into a crazy, abstract card game. It
was absolutely fascinating to be around that sideshow and
was very privileged with many intelligent conversations and
bright minds. I must say thank you Tom, it was a pleasure.
We left the
forest and it was now time to charge the musical battery
again, and we were quickly jolted by Gary Clark Jr. He puts
on an electrifying performance and certainly has infiltrated
my ipod since then. The next band on the plate was the
first night of String Cheese and we walked through the
forest to the main stage and propped up front. It was
twenty minutes before showtime, and there was ample space
still left on the rail. I was absolutely shocked.
Throughout the weekend, I asked several people I
encountered a pre-determined question based on a hypothesis
to support my “Sideshow Rodeo” theory. The question was:
In one word or short phrase, what brings you to the
Electric Forest Festival?
Not to my
surprise and further proving the hypothesis, these were the
top three answers: 16 people actually admitted “drugs”
brought them; 27 said this was “the closest festival” to
them; and the number one answer by a landslide with 82 exact
answers was ”the festival experience”. I asked 23 people to
name a String Cheese track title and only 8 were able to
produce. Astonished, I concluded research and understood
why no one was against the rail. String Cheese wasn’t
headlining the festival, but more like “Hosting” the
Electric Forest!!! I quickly decided that I would be
spending the weekend front and center for Cheese, catching
some line up gems here and there, but for the most part
exploring all aspects of this place, unsure what the forest
would throw at me next.
The three
Cheese shows did not disappoint this fan. The first night
they played one of my favorites with “Texas” and a couple
more old favorites with “Smile”, “Look At Where We Are” and
a tasty little segue from “Rhythm of the Road>Colliding”
which provided a “Sesame Street” teaser sandwich (LTP- NYE
1999) around “Rhythm”, leading right into a trending segue
with a new, but great song, “Colliding”. They wound up
playing a single encore, “Desert Dawn” with members of
Thievery Corporation sitting in on horns. So the first
night was a good warm up, chock full of originals except the
silly “Sesame Street” tease. The second night they turned
it up a notch and played some more original favorites,
opening with “Rosie”. They played other crowd favorites
like “Rivertrance” collaborating with several members of the
“Hoop Troupe”, accompanying them on and off stage with
stilt-walking figures that looked like George Clinton on a
good day. The “Hoop Troupe” was one of the sideshows that I
found advantageous to the atmosphere. They worked together,
collaborating with some puppeteers and other groups, such as
“All Systems Glow” and provided a supplemental visual aspect
that went perfect with the show. I spoke with Tyler Pierce
of “All Systems Glow” and he has developed a paint that when
hit with a laser, will continue to hold the glow, so when
you point it on this particular paint, you can “trace” your
name or whatever. Pointing lasers at the band is absolutely
disrespectful and “All Systems Glow” has designed this paint
so puppeteers can keep the lasers away from the band. When
a 40 foot octopus held up by 12 people was floating through
the crowd wearing that paint, it seemed as if lasers came
from everywhere pointed at the puppet. After the seemingly
choreographed “Rivertrance”, they continued to turn up the
heat with another newer song, “BollyMunster”, which was
absolutely delightful. I was really excited to hear them
bust some old favorites like “Sirens”, “On the Road” and
even dusted off the shelf and brought back “Wake Up” for the
first time since 2007 and “Drive” for the first time since
2006 (LTP-110 shows). After EOTO’s Eddy Grant cover I was
still waiting for someone to beat it and String Cheese did
not fail. They encored with a suprising “Ring of Fire”,
immediately followed by original, “Johnny Cash”; but the
highlight cover of the night was “This must be the Place,
Naive Melody”, an old Talking Heads cover and a personal
favorite.
Festivals
hold dear in my heart for the simple fact that so many
talented musicians are together in the same place and time,
so it is almost inevitable to hear them please the crowd
with cover songs and potentially play together. I have seen
some priceless “sit-ins” over the years that will never be
heard again. At every festival you can usually catch some
out of the blue covers and some of the best talents in the
industry sharing the stage. At the Electric Forest there
were many of these all weekend. Friday night Cheese had
guest horns (Theivery Corporation) and Beats Antique had an
all-female rap trilogy that was very interesting; but it
seemed as the weekend went on, the better they got!
Saturday I stepped over to the main stage to see The
Infamous String Dusters play their second show, pulling out
all the stops. They covered The Police’s “Walking on the
Moon”, played a few songs with the Theivery’s horn section,
and Billy Nershi stepped out and played a couple as well
like “Black Clouds”. Sound Tribe Sector 9 did their second
set on Saturday playing an excellent cover of Nine Inch
Nails “Closer” seguing into STS9 original “Circus”. They
covered a wicked “Shakedown Street” the night before, but
held no comparison to their finale. It was apparent, as
with all the bands, they were saving the best for last.
The final
day I was exhausted beyond all means; but the lineup and
potential, due to the progression of said musical
arrangements, filled me with what now seemed like a fourth
wind. I was thoroughly excited for the possible moments to
come, and they sure did! The last day I was put in the
exact situation I dreaded. I tend to stay away from these
“Sideshow rodeos” because I don’t want to have to choose
between four performers that I hold in high regard. The
line-up that day billed Keller Williams and the Travelin’
McCourys, Dumpstaphunk, Big Gigantic, Bassnectar, Elephant
Revival, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and another full 4 hour
Cheese show; amongst all the other attraction distractions.
Despite the busy schedule, I was able to catch almost all
of it. I had to do a little running back and forth for
Elephant Revival and Karl Denson as both were good and hard
to choose between. I knew the Keller set would clash with
Dumpstaphunk, so I was also making sure I had everything
ready for these two shows. With exception to the extended
Cheese shows, I have to say, these were the next best two.
I had seen Keller before several times, but this would be
the first with the McCourys. When asked about Keller, I
tend to recommend his solo act. Keller just has this
terrific stage presence and charisma that is almost humorous
as he bounces around and sets up his loops. The festival
model makes it difficult for a solo musician such as Keller
to have the time to loop his instruments in the allotted
time slots. I started out a tad weary as they were having
difficulty getting the sound right and started fairly late.
I was all ears when they opened with a cover of Donna
Summer’s “Hot Stuff”. Keller is notorious for playful
covers, and later they also covered Foster the People’s
“Pumped up Kicks”. That performance was the best I have
ever seen him do with a full band, and I was overall very
pleased. I went straight home and bought their new album
“Pick”, featuring new material contributed by the whole
band.
I was sure
I missed half of Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, but ironically
lucked out, because they were having sound difficulties as
well and I arrived before they started playing. They
pleased the chanting crowd with their original “Put it in
the Dumpsta” along with a few covers like David Bowie’s
“Fame”, Betty Davis’ “If I’m in Luck”, and George Clinton’s
“One Nation under a Groove”, not uncommon for Dumpstaphunk.
I have seen them play a full set covering Clinton and they
have worked with him directly in attempts to raise awareness
for the fading genre. I had the opportunity to sit down
with Ian Neville and Nikki Glaspie after the show and shared
a very interesting conversation pertaining to this
issue.
They were
both eager to speak about their new album Dirty Word,
which will be released later this fall. The new album
contains original content and cover songs, such as “If I’m
in Luck”. I mentioned how much I liked that song and
expressed my excitement to get my copy of Dirty Word.
Ian looked at me and said “You can find it [categorically]
under funk with a capitol F!” I laughed, as I was unsure
what he meant, and both interjected to fill me in. Ian
explained to me how one very credible internet music source
(without throwing anyone under the bus) does not recognize
“Funk” as a genre. He then stated “If you search for George
Clinton and the P-Funk, under the funk genre, you go from
[alphabetically] E-Electronic, through F, and right on to
G-Gospel...So you’re Sh@t out of luck”. When asked how she
felt about it, Nikki replied “It’s a travesty, a f@cking
travesty!!!!!” They are excited that their album will be
the first album under the Funk genre being sold on the above
mentioned site (it has been added now, but Dumpstaphunk will
be the first artist to appear in the genre). As a Funk fan
myself, I appreciate what they are doing and I know that
other artists past and present are grateful as well. As we
were wrapping up I returned to the main stage as Cheese was
tuning up for their second set.
I was in
attendance for the majority of the first set, before meeting
with Ian and Nikki. It was a tense situation as they opened
the first set with a bang, bringing back “Minor Swing”
(LTP-259 shows, 2004) with Jason Carter and Ronnie McCoury
along their side. I had a short time before I was going to
meet Ian and Nikki; I could foresee my initial prediction
and was afraid I would miss a Keller sit-in. They continued
playing with guests, progressively adding more members until
Keller finally came out and played “Porta Potty” and his own
tune, “Best Feeling”. He stepped off stage between the two
songs while everyone else still played “Long Gone” (LTP-306
shows, 2003). This was the time I had scheduled with Ian
and Nikki and hurried over to the meeting area. I could
hear them from afar, sitting with Ian and Nikki, as they
played “Let’s go outside” (FTP) and finished the set with
crowd favorite, “Colorado Bluebird Sky”. As they were
tuning for the second set, we heard the unmistakable bass
jam sounds of “Jellyfish”. This is another one of my
favorites and they added another glorious surprise,
introducing Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic on saxophone. He
left the stage and they continued keeping us mind blown and
face melted, playing “Joyful Sound” for the first time in
101 shows.  It
was very apparent they wanted to finish strong when they
brought Dominic back on stage together performing “Freedom
Jazz Dance” and closing with a popular Bob Marley jam,
“Could You Be Loved”. At that point I felt like if that
show was the only concert on the bill, it would still be
worth the cost and wait. It was an amazing two sets closing
them out for the weekend.
If I were
invited back to the Electric Forest Festival, I would return
in a heartbeat. The musical performances overall trumped
the whole “sideshow” aspect in the end. When all was said
and done, I learned a good bit about these “sideshow
rodeos”. Some of the acts were a tad much on the womp-step
side, but I was also introduced to some bands that caught me
by surprise like Santigold and Big Gigantic. I heard some
of their music, but the live show they each put on is
nothing short of intense. I also was forced to give some
bands a second chance, because of scheduling conflicts, and
in most cases proved to be rewarding. Sound Tribe Sector 9
blew me away with both of their sets, though I was skeptical
before seeing them. I had the same experience with
Bassnectar a few years back and he had me absolutely floored
with his cover of a popular Pennywise song, “Brohymn”, which
hit very dear to me reminding me of my high school Oi-rockin
punk days. So, for those of you thinking about going next
year, here are some things to take into
consideration.
Traveling
from across the country, south to north, I assumed it was
going to be cold at night and cool
 during
the day. This was not the case. The weather was scorching
hot and should be noted when preparing for this trip. Be
sure to pack plenty of items such as sunscreen, camel-back,
poolside-appropriate clothing, etc. Also, if you are used
to returning to a nice campfire after the shows, forget it.
The camping there was nothing short of a refugee camp in
“District 9”. The general consensus is to just stay in the
festival grounds as much as possible. They have sets
starting in the wee hours of the morning, almost providing
round the clock musical entertainment.
Be sure to
explore these “sideshows”, because if the quality of music
(line-up) is worth the ticket cost for you, then anything
else is a bonus and I did find some nice sideshow gems that
may not have the typical band>audience model. As long as
you are capable of seeing through the trees, it is easy to
get lost in the forest...unless you’re just there for the
“experience”.
Review and
Photos by: J. Pye
Editing by:
Rosemary A.W. Roberts
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