As the last of the tents were being rolled up and stowed away and the last of the cars were bumping along the dirt roads on the way to the park exit, my crew and I sat around a miniature propane burner boiling hotdogs in a tiny, dirty pot filled with cheap beer. Not much was said. Not much had to be said. As some of the last stragglers in the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park the day after the music ended, we can say this: we Wanee’d. And we Wanee’d well.

It all started with a late-night boom up to Live Oak, Florida on Wednesday. A straight shot that landed us at the Spirit of Suwannee at about 8 or 9 a.m. We were so very proud, arriving early on the first official day of the festival and finding a fully stocked Wal-Mart yet to be bought out of beer by late arrivals looking for a fix. Finding a suitable campsite was going to be a breeze, we thought. But when we pulled in, we found the best sites were taken.

One look at the schedule told us the pre-party the night before was an amazing show that included performances by Melvin Seals’ JGB, The Radiators and Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk. They say Dumpstaphunk even threw down a full set tribute to James Brown.

Needless to say, many festie folks with the time to spare made it the previous day. And those were the ones that landed the prime spots out by the lake and near the concert grounds.

We pitched a couple tents an hung a pair of hammocks among the tall trees towering over the patch of grassy dirt we were to call home for the next three days before heading off in search of the music.

Folks kept trucking in and staking out campsites as the early birds staggered around shirtless swilling beer and laughing raucously. It was immediately evident that Wanee is a unique thing. Probably one of the only places you can find huge, gruff-looking fellows covered in gnarly ink blowing bubbles and laughing like children.

Past the mid-day haze of the primitive campground, Dead Confederate was throwing down at the Peach stage.

Wanee-ing at the Peach Stage

The Peach Stage sat at the far end of acres of open grassy planes. It reached to the sky, a monolithic contraption rigged with all sorts of trusses and dormant lights standing proud in the hot mid-day sun.

Dead Confederate played to a moderate crowd at 1 p.m.; their sound a heavy, melodic brand of hard rock was some strange hybrid between My Morning Jacket and Radiohead.

John Popper and The Duskray Troubadours

While some were content baking in the sun with Dead Confederate, another moderate crowd gathered at Wanee’s secondary “Mushroom” stage to catch Blues Traveler’s harp wizard John Popper with the Dusk Ray Troubadours. He wailed on his harmonica to some dirt blues, his signature pop-harp licks bleeding into the Troubadours sound. Naturally, they played a couple Blues Traveler tunes for the people, though thankfully neither of them was “Run Around.”

Hanging on the Mushroom stage was a pleasant vibe brought on by the afternoon sun filtering through the long, hanging tendrils of the massive willows surrounding the amphitheatre in which the stage sat. Beyond the wood-and-dirt steps leading down to the dance floor, the grass sloped down from the main road cutting between the two stages. Folks swung lazily in hammocks tied to the tall trees dotting the slope as their kids jumped and danced around in the dirt.

It was about 3:30 p.m. when Big Gigantic took the Mushroom stage and blasted their audience with bass-heavy grooves soaked in dubstep womps and hip-hop beats. It was kind of funny seeing such grimy, debaucherous music in the middle of the afternoon, but that’s what happens when you squeeze the incredible number of huge acts into four short days—not everyone gets to play late at night.

After a good dose of Big G, the grassroots blues sounds of North Mississippi All Stars tunes could be heard from the Peach stage across the way.

Luther and Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars

Though only a two of the All Stars made it to Wanee, Luther and Cody Dickinson blew the top off the stage the way the Black Keys did at Wanee 2010—with nothing but guitar and drums and balls. Even as a duo, they nailed that low-down gritty sound the All Stars are famous for. With tunes like Freedom Highway and Bob Dylan’s “Memphis Blues,” they were a pleasure to see, just nowhere near as fun as the full band with Chris Chew can be.

Stephen Marley and Hot Tuna followed, but it was time to head back to camp to recover a little energy before the really big show—Widespread Panic. A full day of music after a full night of driving has a way of sapping energy.

Dirty Dozen Brass Band

On the way back to the campground, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band were blowing their tops at the Mushroom stage. They sounded like their name. Dirty. Dirty, nasty horns blowing funky lines into late afternoon.

A small rest on a Mayan hammock and a couple beers is a great way to rejuvenate the festie mind. Soon the sun was out of sight and it was time to Panic.

By the time we arrived at the Peach stage, it was dark. The band had yet to start. The thousands of people waiting in the field were illuminated by with the light of an unobscured moon and sea of glow-sticks, luminous hula-hoops and a whole galaxy of trippy light toys.

Widespread Panic at the Peach Stage

Panic exploded onto the stage with a shower of light and sound. “Travelin’ Light” was their first tune of the night and it was only up from there. Between Jimmy Herring’s searing guitar runs and the extraordinary lights spilling out of the superstructure of a stage, it wasn’t a wonder folks were wigging out. Rage faces contorted in bewilderment and glee throughout the massive crush. A quick walk-around revealed the spectrum of Spreadheads digging the spectacle. There were the normal looking folks, just there to dig the music and have a good time. Then there were those poor kids who took too much of whatever they’d been getting into staring crazy-eyed with their jaws hanging to the ground.

John Bell of Widespread Panic

Panic was joined by Luther from the All Stars for some slide action on “Stop Breaking Down Blues,” and by Cody on washboards for a drum jam during “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys,” before tying off the night with “Climb to Safety.”

That set alone was enough to call the night a huge success. That massive sound pulled my head in a million different directions. But, as festies go, it wasn’t the end. There was still the late-night set. As Panic called it a night, Lotus was just getting warmed up.

Lotus

Panic flowed flawlessly into the Lotus late night. Throngs sweaty hippies and spun kids bumbled over to the Mushroom stage for more epic peaks and a dance party unlike any other. Lotus’ brand of jamtronica sounded like a bullet train from the future equipped only with an accelerator. There was no rest in the Lotus set. There was only sweat, tons of fog and the feeling that if that train didn’t slow down it’d fly right of the rails. Luckily, Lotus is an experienced professional when it comes to abstract bullet trains from the future. They landed us safely, albeit a bit shaken and quite exhausted, back at the Mushroom stage.

Luke Miller of Lotus

It was about 2 a.m. when the music ended, but the night was far from over. In fact, campgrounds at festies are quite alive after the late-night slot. That’s the time for camp fires, drum circles and pick-up jam sessions. Some people get lost among the myriad of tents. You can pick them out by watching for the odd glow-stick or flashlight floating like a confused apparition off in the dark of the woods. It’s never a worry, though. Getting lost is expected at a festival. It’s also half the fun.

A few Dead tunes around the campfire and some whiskey drinks later, we passed out in the hammocks and tents. The next day was going to be even bigger.

To be continued…

Check back tomorrow for part two of the Wanee Music Festival review! The next day we caught Keller Williams, Toubab Krewe, Robert Plant, The Allman Brothers Band and more! Also expect more festie hijinx in Sprit of Suwannee Music Park!

Being the huge music fan that I am, I have attended the SXSW music festival for the past three years.  Every year the festival impresses me with it’s growth, and ability to provide entertainment to the thousands of people descending on Austin simultaneously.  This is was my experience…

On Tuesday March 15^th I arrived at the Austin Convention Center around noon to pickup my wristband.  A friend had just told me about the iPhone app foursquare so I decided to “check in” at the convention center to test it out.  BAM!!  I immediately received the “super swarm badge” stating that I checked in at a venue that just had 500+ people check in simultaneously…woah!!  I was able to walk right up to one of the many wristband booths and get my wristband instantly.  This was a great improvement over past years of having to wait in line for 30 – 45 minutes. 

I began the next evening’s musical adventure with Del Castillo at Mellow Johnny’s bike shop.  They had erected a tent in the parking lot and had a roll up bar serving 3 different kinds of beer.  I opted for one of the $5 miller lights.  Del Castillo is a local Austin band that is incredible to experience live.  The two Del Castillo brothers are amazingly talented guitarists, and alternate taking mind boggling guitar solos on their Takamine classical guitars.  Occasionally the two will even play their solos in unison, or one will take a solo playing behind his head. 

We then decided to make our way over to Lustre Pearl to catch the band Alpha Rev.  Alpha Rev is another local Austin band that is on their way to becoming nationally known.  Casey McPherson, the lead singer for Alpha Rev used to play in another band called Endochine that was starting to gain national recognition, but he had some family issues the band broke up.  Alpha Rev is a great band to see live if you have the opportunity.  Most of their songs are purely radio cuts, without a whole lot of deep meaning, but are fun to listen to.  They incorporate an electric violin as well as an electric cello which you don’t often see in a rock band.  After Lustre Pearl we decided to call it a night and head home. 

The second day of South By Southwest seemed to be bust after bust.  This Thursday it was very apparent that the festival offered way too many free events and over-sold badges and wristbands.  The fact that it was also St. Patricks day didn’t help crowd control either. 

We started by attempting to go see the Strokes concert at Auditorium Shores.  Luckily a friend lives close to the venue and we go great parking.  We waited in line for about 10 minutes and right as we were about to walk through the front gates one of the security staff started yelling “shut it down, we’re at capacity, shut it down”.  Immediately the security staff and police officers turned the barricades to close off the entrance and told everyone to turn around and that we could go sit on the giant grass hill across the street and listen to the show from there.  After asking if they would be letting one out one in, we were told that they had no idea and to go home.  The crowd around us started chanting “let us in, let us in” simultaneously like a classic civil rights movement protest.  The crowd didn’t like the response and several people started yelling “rush the gates, they can’t stop all of us”.  All of  a sudden people started jumping over tables and barricades.  The security and police stopped those that they could and started calling for additional help as they faced the rising anger of the crowd.  Frustrated, with the growing level of intensity at the front gate, we left. 

When we finally got back over to 6^th street, we decided to have a beer and an Irish Car Bomb at Friend’s bar as it was, afterall, St. Patty’s day.  We then made our way over to Habana Bar Backyard to see Gary Clark Jr.  As we walked into the venue the SXSW staff person informed us that they were running about 45 minutes behind and Gary Clark wouldn’t be on for another hour.  Dissapointed again we decided to go across the street to see John Popper and the Duskray Troubadours at Dirty Dog Bar.  The band was good, but sounded surprisingly similar to Blues Travelor with John Popper on vocals and playing harmonica in typical John Popper fashion. 

We then made our way to the Austin Music Hall to try and catch Wu Tang Clan.  After a $30 pedi-cab ride across town we made our way to the back of the line that wrapped around the building.  The security guard informed us that there was no way we would get into the show with “just wristbands”.  When I asked him what the hell I paid $160 for, he just shrugged and said “hey man, I just work here”. 

The only cool thing that happened that night was at the end of the night we made our way into the Four Seasons bar to have a cocktail before calling it a night and got to have a drink with Billy Bob Thornton and Billy Gibbons from ZZ top. 

Day three, Friday, of SXSW was much more productive than the previous days calamity.  The first show we saw  was Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears at ACL Live.  This was my first time visiting ACL Live and honestly, I was blown away.  They did such a fantastic job building this facility. 

Black Joe Lewis put on a great show, with his classic blues style.  Half way through the show he brought out an old quintet of soul singers that played the rest of the show with him.  The combination of blues and soul was incredible. 

We then made our way over to Momo’s to catch The Bright Light Social Hour.  This band is quickly becoming one of my favorite local bands in Austin.  Their mix of seventies style with modern rock is a very refreshing change to the local music scene in Austin.  They put on an incredibly up beat show and you can tell when they play that they really enjoy what they do. 

Fast forward to Austin Music Hall where we spent the rest of the night.  Filter was up first.  They played a good show but they seemed to have gotten a little wasted by the end of it.  The lead singer decided to start trashing the stage before the end of the show and managed to mis place his microphone.  He then proceeded to grab one of the drum mics and sing into that.  It took a few minutes for the sound guy to figure out which mic he was using and actually get his vocal volume back up.  The attitude from the rest of the band towards the lead singer seemed more than mildly annoyed.  After they played their song “Hey Man Nice Shot” the singer grabbed half the drum kit and pulled it off the raised platform, watching it crash to the floor.  If that was my drum kit…..wooo, we would have some problems. 

Puddle of Mud was up next.  They put on a great show, although they brought out some small tables about the size of a coffee table and set them in front of the bass player and guitar player.  The guitar player seemed as though he was relaxed and more going through the motions rather than really rocking out.  He would randomly get on top of the coffee table and play and then step down, with no real enthusiasm.  They ran through all of their radio hits, finishing the show with “She Fucking Hates Me”.

Day four, Saturday, I could really feel my body starting to drag.  I forced myself to power through it though, as this festival is only once a year. 

I started off the night back at Austin Music Hall to watch Bright Light Social Hour play after the Austin Music Awards.  They had just one the awards for Album of the Year, Song of the Year (Detroit), Best Bass, Best Keyboards, and Best Producer.  They rocked it out and put on an even better show than they had the previous night at Momo’s, as you could tell they were pumped up on the energy from winning all of their awards. 

We then made our way over to Mellow Johnny’s to watch the band El Tule.  El Tule is a great local latin inspired band with a great horns section, multiple percussionists, and great latin guitar. 

The last stop of the night was at Phoenix.  Phoenix was a badges only venue but luckily a friend of mine is dating one of the bar tenders and was able to get us in.  After we arrived we found out that Mark Cubin, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, decided to buy out the bar and let everyone drink for free that evening.  High Five for us!! 

Bowling for Soup was the first band on stage.  Bowling for Soup is half comedy, and half music.  They would start a song, then stop half way through, get into a funny banter, then finish the rest of it, or start another song, depending on what they felt like doing.  It was a lot of fun though. 

Los Lonely Boys was the next band on stage and brings with them a great latin inspired rock music that is unparalleled.  The band calls their style Texican Rock N Roll.  They combine a mix of rock, blues, soul, country, and tejano.  The band ran through all of their well known songs and finished their set with their hit song Heaven. 

All in all, SXSW was a great experience this year.  It was, however noticeably over-crowded.  The crowds were out of control, and those that spent $160 on a wristband only had a 50/50 chance to get into any of the shows they wanted to see, and almost no chance to get into the larger shows.  Officials have stated they will cut down on the amount of free events in years to come, and increase security staff. 

If you ever have an opportunity to attend the festival it is an experience like none other.

Thanks for reading