Just Two Dudes and a Harmonica, Early Sunday Afternoon.
After hoofing at least 10 miles throughout the day on Saturday we wisely decided to catch the bus most of the way Sunday afternoon. Sunday’s schedule featured the least well known acts of the weekend, and oddly enough I ended up catching portions of 16 acts that day (17 if you count the two gents shown above). The day started off with singer/songwriter Tyrone Wells. If the O.C. was still on television (is it?) I’m sure Tyrone would have made an appearance, and if it wasn’t for a decent story he told of an encounter with James Taylor I would have dismissed him as a fluff artist, but I decided to stick around and his songs weren’t so bad.
Tyrone Wells
A relaxed early crowd for Tyrone Wells.
After Tyrone’s soothing voice, I needed a little more excitement, which was readily provided by Shim at the indoors Sky Church Stage, located within the Experience Music Project. If they could clone Andrew W.K., this is the band he would form. I only caught a couple songs, but if you like your rock with long hair, fancy lights, and three Red Bulls, look these guys up.
Shim
Shim: Long Hair, Bright Lights
Never one to stop the party, we accidentally decided it was a good idea to see some of Keisha Cole’s set. After arriving at the stage almost 30 minutes late, she was an utter disappointment, like a terrible Destiny’s Child reject. Nothing to see here folks, keep moving. The Shackletons weren’t much better, a Fallout Boy rip off in Decemberist-esque military costumes, they didn’t grab my attention.
The Tripwires
A stop back at the Sky Church stage to see The Tripwires proved fruitful, however, and the band managed to keep our attention before heading to see a quick bit of Kathleen Edwards at the Starbucks Stage. She was good, too, but in the spirit of catching more music in one day than most people see in a year, we once again left and caught Forro in the Dark. These guys were a little more my style. All five members were standing along side each other like a street band you’d find in Central Park, and their blend of world music, drumming, and a dash of flute were pretty fun and danceable.
Forro in the Dark
Approaching the stage as Howlin Rain begins
Easily my favorite act of the day followed as we headed back to the Starbucks stage to see Howlin Rain. These guys were right up my alley, and their combination of 70’s rock, screeching guitar, flying organ licks, and general wall-of-sound mayhem was exactly what I’ve been needing from a new musical obsession. Falling somewhere between Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Black Mountain on the hard-hitting rock spectrum, these guys are definitely worth your time, money, and digital camera memory card space. While I can’t implore you enough to get into these guys, I can show you some pictures:
Howlin Rain
Ethan Miller of Howlin Rain
Joel Robinow of Howlin Rain
Like I said: Rockin. Organs.
Drummer Garett Goddard, who looks a lot like Freddie Mercury
Howlin Rain
Ethan Miller of Howlin Rain
Ethan Miller of Howlin Rain
After Howlin Rain regretfully ended, Dale Watson put on a few enjoyable songs, including an upbeat “Ring of Fire” cover, after which we hit the road to grab some tacos outside the festival.
Dale Watson
After getting back from dinner and realizing what a mess it was to even try to see Jakob Dylan’s stage, much less the man himself, we headed over to the Rock Star stage for an early spot at Sons and Daughters. Running a close #2 to Howlin Rain on my Sunday highlights, Sons and Daughters put on an amazing set, quickly progressing through song after song, all of which were upbeat, fast-tempo UK rock at its finest. I managed to snap some decent pictures before we headed out to catch The Black Keys’ last song.
Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters
The rest of the night was relatively unexciting. Ingrid Michaelson had a few decent tunes (and pictures below), but Tapes n’ Tapes was outright boring, even from backstage, Final Fantasy was too slow to close the night out, and as much as I thought I would like to see Lee “Scratch” Perry, he doesn’t have a whole lot of rockin’ live show left in his 72-year old self. Tired and happy with what we had seen, our better judgement prevailed and we grabbed a cab home. That is, until we noticed the Eastlake Zoo Tavern and decided it was worth it to grab a couple Pabsts. THEN, we headed home and grabbed some shut-eye.
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson
More on Monday’s highlights soon! Until then, here’s the full photoset at Flickr.
