I drove down to Three Sisters Park on Friday morning arriving shortly before midday. The parking lot was more full than I'd ever seen it before. I would guess the crowd was between 15,000-20,000. It was perhaps slightly bigger than the year before but it was difficult to gauge with them having moved the Sunshine Stage further west this year. For the second year in a row I chose to commute each day. It takes about an hour and 15 minutes to get to Chillicothe from Geneseo. I enjoy the rural scenary on my two lane highway journey that begins on Rt. 6 then on 40 south to 17 which finally runs into Rt. 29 along the Illinois River. I saw law enforcement pulling people over in Chillicothe all weekend long.
moe. was the first music I saw and their set was predictably tame. It was broad daylight and was apparent from the get go that dust was going to be an issue especially at the main stage. They played a decent segue between Wormwood > Downward Facing Dog. Leftover Salmon played in the hottest part of the day. I found some shade alongside the wheatfield. That was my first time seeing them. Mercifully, some clouds rolled in for the Weir, Robinson, Green acoustic trio. This set was primarily Grateful Dead material played at an awkward, slow pace. We went back to Camp Decatur and enjoy burgers on the grill. Thanks to Doc for the burgers and Red Bull.
Umphrey's McGee stepped up to the plate on Friday and hit the ball out of the park. Their set was filled with heavy hitters and plentiful amounts of improvisation. It really was a mature showing for the band coupled with the professional lighting provided by Jefferson Waful. I caught my first live versions of Miami Virtue and Loose Ends. MV had an N2F feel in the intro. Glory was special with the sun setting off to side of the stage. Ringo had two successful jams and was clearly the highlight of the first set. This second set was serious business. The entire OB sandwich was oozing with energy. Bright Lights provided the highlight of the show for me. I liked the Tool cover. However, Day Nurse > Snucka pt. III was misplaced. They should have ended the set with 46 & 2 and then done an encore. The end of this show felt a little odd and that was my only complaint.
Primus proved to be too strange for me. I was impressed with their video stage setup. Lotus used the Umphrey's McGee lights and they provided a nice late night set. I wasn't thrilled with their setlist which didn't feature many of the songs I wanted. Toward the end of their set I hit the road for home. Umphrey's McGee had clearly been the winner of day one.
Umphrey's McGee 5/26/12 AUD
The first day had been marred by extremely hot weather. Fortunately, on Saturday I was able to recover most of the day before leaving at 5 pm which got me there in time for Gov't Mule. I was impressed with how tight they sounded. They were straight out of the studio and it showed. Kind of Bird approached 20 minutes followed by Temporary Saint. Their cover of Led Zeppelin's Trampled Under Foot was great. After Fallen Down I made my way over to Umphrey's McGee which was my priority all weekend whenever there was an overlap. My friend from Ames, Curt, was taping at both stages all weekend. I usually hung with him for the Umphrey's sets.
I really enjoy the new instrumental opening tracks they used for their sets on Friday and Saturday. Through the Cracks is a decent new song. I like the vocal harmonies. Utopian Fir was the obvious highlight of the set. This was followed by a strong version of August. The Bridgeless earlier in this set was also noteworthy. During the setbreak I caught most of the moe. first set. I was impressed with the segue between CalifornIA > Moth.
The second set was magical with the debuting Depth Charge which led into their old jam horse Hurt Bird Bath. I was thrilled to hear the second ever version of Comma Later. I love the dance party Steely Dan vibe. N2F had the place rocking. Tom Sawyer was a little corny with Brendan doing a Bono style arm wave. They did a pretty decent job with the song itself. The Triple Wide was another highlight. Hangover is a little played out for me. The lyrics seem a little juvenile. I loved the return to 1348 which completed the version started in the first set. I moved to the back of the field and enjoyed the All in Time encored. This capped off my favorite performance of the festival and my 140th Umphrey's McGee show.
The final set of the night for me was moe. on the mainstage. The lasers were the same as last year. I questioned the choice of Shoot First in that placement, however, it led to a fruitful segue that reminded me of Psycho Killer before morphing into meat. This was a strong version was 20+ minutes that veered off its normal path. meat. was my favorite moe.ment of Summer Camp this year. I was disappointed for the most part with their setlists and general lack of effort over the weekend. Plane Crash in the encore was predictable and I was on my way home.
Umphrey's McGee 5/27/12 AUD
It was a quick turnaround as the Umphrey's McGee afternoon set started at 1 pm. It was extremely hot, the hottest day so far in 2012. Temperatures were in the mid 90s. I missed the first few songs and arrived as Great American was starting. By Sunday the band was showing signs of being a bit tired. However, they played very well considering the conditions. In the daylight it was more apparent how annoying the sticks the kids are holding up these days. This trend needs to stop. Phil's Farm was sandwiched during the set. Deeper and Booth Love were two tracks from their latest album that were played. The untitled new song has potential. The obvious highlight to this afternoon sweltering set of music was Resolution. This was a repeated "Jimmy Stewart" from earlier in the year. Jajunk was a nice way to wrap up the Umphrey's McGee Summer Camp 2012 sets.
I decided I was going to leave after moe.'s acoustic set due to the extreme heat. We were able to hear the music from Camp Decatur which provided some much needed shade. moe. played a fairly tame acoustic set. That was my first time hearing Backwoods. 32 Things was when I went up near the front of the stage and said my goodbyes to moe. This will likely be my final Summer Camp. After nine years in a row it just feels like I'm over the event. The extreme weather, dust, and crowded conditions are the contributing factors to my decision. It's been a good run. I watched the end of the festival at home on iclips.
