Last Sunday my friend Craig and I drove down for Summercamp. To put this into perspective this was the 12th year in a row I've attended. This is the third year in a row that I've scaled back to only the Sunday festivities with Craig. Once upon a time I used to camp all out. Then for a few years I commuted each day. Now I'm content with the Sunday afternoon/evening. I decided against going for Umphrey's McGee. Getting down there that early makes for a long day in the sun. The weather in Illinois over Memorial Day weekend is like playing Russian Roulette. We got lucky this year with clear skies and weather in the 80s. Summercamp has grown over the years because of the loyalty that Jay Goldberg has shown to moe. and handful of other bands. While its encouraging to see bands like Lotus step their game up and it was even more satisfying to see old friends moe. show me why I became a fan of their live music in the first place. Once again moe. stepped up on a property that I've now seen them 30 times. It wouldn't be Summercamp with a walk over to Camp Decatur with some hot dogs on the grill and a Red Bull. Thanks again to Doc for the food while the sound of Twiddle could be heard in the distance.
We started our day with Yonder Mountain String Band. I frankly think they're better without Jeff Austin and with the addition of Allie Kral. I went for a walk through the woods and it brought back a lot of memories of past years. It conjured up thoughts of friends no longer with us figuratively and literally. George Clinton was a bit of a disappointment. There were a million people onstage. The real music started with Lotus. This group is on the rise. Their newer material Cold Facts and Eats the Light carried the set. Another obvious highlight was a guest spot by the keyboard player from The Motet during Greet the Mind and a Sunrain sandwich which ended the set. Solid work in a fairly compact timeslot.
Tom Petty is a legend. I recently watched his documentary on Netflix. This made me appreciate what Mudcrutch meant in the overall story of his career. They played most of their two albums. Hearing his voice reminded me of Lucky from King of the Hill. Mike Campbell really played well on guitar as well. During Crystal River we made our way back to the mainstage for moe. Appropriately they were playing "Damn the Torpedoes" on the PA system.
Rob really played well on this occasion and it made for one of the best moe. shows I've seen in a long time. Chuck struggled with the Baba O'Riley vocals but that was overshadowed by Allie Kral's amazing work which made this a memorable cover. Spine > Buster is obviously classic moe. Buster was an above average version. Jazz Wank is an instrumental I could hear at every moe. show. This was perhaps the best version of Rebubula I've ever seen. With this weekend being Rob's anniversary this anthem to his wife is expected but the patient breakdown in the middle with the loops made this a rendition for the ages.
The setbreak included a thank you from Ian Goldberg and the Summercamp organization. This was the largest attendance ever for the festival. When Rec Chem started up the stage area was fairly empty but that didn't stop them from throwing down a 30 minute monster version. Rob teased Bring It Back Home before starting up Kids. There was a slick segue into Down Boy. Silver Sun reminds me of seeing moe. late night in Las Vegas after Phish in 2014. Timmy Tucker was another great song selection though this version stayed in the box for the most part. The encore choice of Cream's White Room wrapped up an enjoyable evening of music in Chillicothe, IL.
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