The Communist Musicfesto [part I: Dunegrass]

So you've probably heard the news already: Rothbury '10 is not happening. The one thing that had kept me going when I was dragging my trash can up the driveway through 6 inches of snow: 4 days of friends, fun, and the best live music lineup in America-- damn skippy, Bonnaroo-- definitely not happening.

There are rumors circulating that the "real" reason is that the neighbors were complaining about the noise, and the surrounding communities passes some sort of noise ordinance... Rothbury maintains that they "are not able to move forward with the integrity and high standards that we demand from ourselves and for the festival." Another rumor, which might actually support that one, is that Gorillaz were supposed to headline, and backed out (but DAMN how tight would that have been). I refuse to believe that the citizens aren't allowing it; West Michigan is not that dumb-- to refuse thousands of tourism dollars flowing into your community over a few nights of noise-- but, I guess we'll never know.

The good news is that bands will always tour and stoned college kids will always congregate.

2010 Festival Preview

[Dunegrass]
     Dunegrass is a roots festie which takes place on the lovely Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I've never been, but from what I can glean it seems extreeeeeeeemely laid-back, "user-friendly" (attn first timers) and a whole lot of fun. There's a fantastic lineup this year, including a couple of Kalamazoo bands:

First and foremost, may I discuss:
[ROOTSTAND!!!!!!!!!!]
     That's right, Kalamazoo's own Rootstand is perched conspicuously near the top of the Dunegrass lineup (second only to Steppin' In It, from Lansing). You might remember my review of a Rootstand show at Bell's last October... ("might" being the operative word there).
     Rootstand is exactly what you want to hear when you think of Midwest roots culture: a highly danceable, uptempo style of country/ bluegrass/ folk, a style that the band (very aptly) describes as "swashbuckling." I mentioned in the aforementioned Rocktober post that one of the members of this band was a housemate of mine, and I'm recalling now that I'm listening to their Myspace a certain Rich & Rare-fueled jam sesh I sat in on with a couple guys from this band. And let me tell you, as someone who has seen these guys out of the context of a show: their musicianship; their sheer love for roots and for what they do-- these are the kind of guys that are MADE of music. And you can't fake that.
     Alas, to call them a roots band wouldn't do them justice. You have to hear a whole set to understand them, but Rootstand's set ebbs and flows between sounds that I hesitate to call "genres" for lack of depth; from the heart of the Ozarks to the underground voodoo clubs of New Orleans, to the grimy pubs of Dublin to-- yes-- Bell's beer garden-- Rootstand summons the powers of the grandaddies of folk, blues, and-- let's face it, whatever the fuck they want-- and harnesses it into a thrilling set that, well, just might change everything you thought you loved about music into something newer, deeper, more ornate. Rootstand, thanks for making the Kzoo scene proud.

[Graham Parsons and the Go-Rounds]
     Admittedly, I've never seen Graham Parsons play... however, you might remember he sort of MCed the Boogie Records Revival show at The Strutt (was that last week? perhaps the week before?) with Michael Beauchamp. And while I found what I described in my notes as their "shuckin' and jivin'" to be charming, I have heard good things about Graham Parsons and would have liked to see him play. But no dice.
     However, I'm listening to his Myspace right now and it is... well, ungodly impressive.
     Hearing his music created for me one of those "wait, are you an old black man? Oh, you're a skinny white college kid" moments (a la Johnny Lang). Silky, silky smooth... Almost John Legend-esque: soulful, fluent, rich as a cup of hot cocoa on a cold February day in Michigan.
     Parsons is dangerously talented; nestled snugly in the perfect place between the dichotomy of smooth, effortless vibrato and a soulful rasp, his vocals alone are schoolgirl-crush-inducing; alongside his band (vaguely reminiscent of the Black Keys) the effect is like buttah.
     Like two sticks of buttah.

As far as I've been able to determine, those are the only Kalamazoo bands playing at Dunegrass, but it is a largely Michigan-oriented festival; there will be other regional acts playing. A few of my faves: Steppin' In It (Lansing); Rachael Davis Band (Lake City); and Covert Operations (Flint).

I think tickets to Dunegrass are around $45... Gorgeous Michigan panorama and incredible music, featuring some badass Kalamazoo bands? What more can you ask for?

There's more to come for my Michigan summer festival preview: Hoxeyville, Wheatland, and maybe even more!

To be continued...

UFOs! The Re-Appearance of Angel! Severed toes! MUST BE HALLOWEEN!

I hope you've all slept off your respective Halloween hangovers. I know I have. If by "slept off" I mean MOVED. TODAY. Like moving doesn't suck enough.
But let's just say I had a Halloween blast. Which is rare, and also ironic, because I HATE HALLOWEEN. That's right. I said it. But, suffice it to say, Halloween: 21; Meg: 0. I always say I'm not going to do anything for Halloween because it is just a dangerous, awkward waste of time, an appalling capitalist mechanism, etc, etc, etc-- but I always go.
But, it all started on the actual night of Halloween, when I was meeting my folks for a very low-key, very Mexican, very anti-Halloween dinner. But, as I was getting in my car, it dawned on me that this is the first year that I have not heard "The Monster Mash!" Anywhere! At all! Its hard to admit, but as a lifelong Midwesterner, I felt a secret pang of guilt for my blatant ignoring of our collective favorite nod to the occult. For some reason, this year I went off-the-rails crazy Halloween-Scrooge to a level that even I have not yet reached. So maybe I did hear it and just repressed it. But I don't think so. So anyway, I get to Mi Ranchito, and then there is this bartender (who, I regret to say, knows me and everyone in my family by name) dressed like Charlie Brown who pours me a shot on the house, a "Dirty Girl Scout" (hey-oh), and after that, I was a lot more in the Halloween spirit (and couldn't stop saying "hey-oh!" for some reason). And then, at one point, I realize I'm texting everyone I know asking what they are doing tonight, and although I was recovering from a cold, some Halloween miracle stipulated that the duration of my moonlight as Nastycough McSleepsallday was over (or something to that effect).
I wanted to see some music. So, one perpetually-grouchy doorman and a $7 cover charge later, I found myself at the Covert Operations show at Papa Pete's. After nearly an hour of watery drinks and almost-crunchy jams, I found my faith in Halloween yet unrestored.
Usually, I probably would have just settled for the usual drunken stumble around the student ghetto as a vacuous legionnaire of a pathetic college alcoholiday. But, I was in the jam band spirit. You see, I had gone to:

DISCO BISCUITS AT STATE THEATRE 10/28 (did you like what I did there? Segway into a heading?)

Ok, you're right, it's one of my cardinal Blog Rules of Thumb* that I don't write about shows I see not-sober. So I'm not going to go on and on about this vibe and this mechanical flawlessness and this meticulous execution and whatever else I talk about in this strange forum I've vainly and inexplicably created.
--I digress; the show. Um-- I haven't seen a jam band since Rothbury. And that was Umphrey's McGee, just after the Dead, backlit by an amazing display of 4th of July fireworks (and accompanied by a legit, widely-reported UFO sighting**). So, I wasn't trying to compare it to that.
Regardless, it was incredible-- 2 sets and over three hours of insatiable jams, a combo of electro/trance and straight-up rock.
Although at one point, the cops-- real, live, legit COPS; lots of them-- showed up and it got... not necessarily scary but real awkward.
But anyway. Before any "hippie" accusations are made, let me just say-- I have never purchased a recording of a jam I was at to listen to later; I NEVER LISTEN TO ANY RECORDED JAM. I am live-only with jam, as I am with jazz. I think listening to recorded jam, jazz and a few couple other things is kind of like watching Jurassic Park on mute: not quite worth what's lost in translation. So I just won't do it. But I looooove, love going to a good jam show.
This was the second time I've seen Biscoes; the first time was on the very first night of Rothbury. And, believe it, they wailed. Of course, in that context, they were completely in their element; jam and festies go together like peas 'n' carrots. And though it was certainly no Rothbury-- no half-a-million hippies, no men in skirts, no $9 beers (close, though) and no filthy porta-potties either-- the psychedelic lighting scheme, grotesque statues and general craziness of K-zoo's State Theatre definitely make a great backdrop for a jam band. I had a KILLER time and so did everyone I saw who didn't get dragged out by cops. (special "good luck" shoutouts go to the guy I nicknamed Hunter S. Thompson, hotdog suit guy, and white-jacket-and-no shirt-guy; don't drop the soap.)
WOAH! Speaking of my fellow stage-rushers, GUESS WHO I RAN INTO?

ANGEL!!!!!!!!!!!

You might remember Angel from Rootstand at Bell's sometime last month! HE WAS THERE! Equal parts flamboyant, fabulous, shirtless and sweaty. Angel, if you're reading this-- you are my favorite fixture in the Kalamazoo music scene, officially. (Sorry, Rock and the Hive-- second place will have to do. Even though I lost a chunk of my left "index" toe at your last show. Oh, read on!)

HOUSE SHOW MONDAY 10/26

Ask "who parties on a Monday?" in the student ghetto and the answer will be a resounding "We do! Fuck class tomorrow-- fuck my future! Let's get wasted and watch music!"
Yeah, boi! I love this town. (Or, this part of town.)
Soooo... there I was, in a dark, extremely crowded basement, trying desperately to not think of Great White. I don't remember who the first band was, but I don't think they were good. So, anyway, the Rock and the Hive played-- awesome-- and the requisite crowd-at-a-show chaos commenced; at one point, it vaguely occurred to me that my toe hurt; after TRATH, we were heading upstairs, and I notice my foot feels sticky. I assume someone spilled beer on it-- which they may have-- but as we come into the light, I realize my left foot is completely covered in blood. I'm spare you the (literally) gory details, but a small chunk of the tip of my toe is literally gone as we speak. Sorry, Girls Whose House That Was; I'm hoping you didn't go downstairs to clean up after the show and find a floor covered in blood; that would have been unsettling.
Sorry for the gross toe story. I'm just saying. A good show is sometimes worth losing a piece of one of your appendages. I'm also saying, unless you are ABSOLUTELY SURE you are NOT going to a show later, don't wear sandals, even if it is unseasonably warm.
So... where do we go from here?
Oh!
The best part of that show! KOJI!!!
So, I walk into the house, and my friend introduces me to a soft-spoken Asian kid with glasses; fast-forward three hours later: I'm watching this kid; he is standing on a barstool in the middle of a crowd playing songs, singing his heart out. This was a good "expect the unexpected" moment in my life. I'm not entirely sure why he chose this particular way to exhibit his (amazing) musical talents, or even if it was entirely by choice (word on the street was there was some sort of gear malfunction). Because of this, I'm not really sure what form his music "usually" takes, but I would be fine if it sounded just like it sounded in that crowded living room: literally, completely organic acoustic-and-voice-only emo (hate that word!!! ugh). But, I tried to find some of his music so I could get a link to you guys and I can't find right anything now; I will let you know ASAP when I get a hold of something.
Ah. Those those were the Halloween-week festivities! It's over!!! In related news; they're starting to put up Christmas decorations at Macy's! (just kidding, but seriously, they probably are).

*1.) any recorded album gets no fewer than 5 listens before a review 2.) never review a show when you are drunk; you will take shitty notes 3.) keep it as real as possible and always maintain your swagger. 4.) no excuses, play like a champion
** this is true, documented and literally had nothing to do with psychedelics. (not sarcastic).