In a nutshell it was wet...ok everywhere it was wet...
but a wet weekend at HSMF is better than a
dry weekend nearly anyplace
else.
I took Sherry off to Lake Tahoe for a mini getaway beforehand.
We tried
to hit a sushi place on the way out
(hotel restaurant at the
big 7 hotel
in king's beach, supposedly quite good),
but it didn't open
until 5pm and we had told folks
we'd touch down in bear valley much
earlier
so we settled for a nice cafe.
We were treated to an incredible display of thunder and lightning
traveling through the mountains to Bear Valley
and arrived to find a we
Brooksbank family
and an all day rain subsiding.
It rained nearly everyday, but was really only annoying on Sat
(it
nearly rained out SCI, but the music prevailed).
Of course String Cheese Incident and moe.
were both great (on both the
main stage and in the tent)
Aside from the rain the lone disappointment (for me)
was the Hypnotic
Clambake.
One of the highlights for me last year
Maury (the lead
singer/accordian player)
apparently fired his entire band and
replaced
the hot lineup that included banjo and clarinet
with the traditional
bass, guitar and drums.
Gone was the zing.
We also discovered some great new music...
Dr. Didg - Very cool tribal ambient music.
Dr. Didg on the didge and
synch with a loop
so he could sample himself on the fly and add layers.
Also had a guitarist, a drummer and the Slip bassist as backup.
The Slip - Fun fusion type band...kind of what I had hoped
MMW would be
like.
NO Klezmer All-stars - This band was musically what the clambake was
last year. No real vocals (at least not as good as Maury), but still
hot juked up klezmer for sure. Maury actually played with these guys in
the tent jam, but did not sing and was barely distinguishable in the
mix. Henry Butler played some keys with them though and was a fine
addition.
The Big Wu - Awesome jam band...started off there mainstage set with the
wheel...more similar to moe. and phish but not as
abrubt musically as
either.
The Zoo People - Another really good jam band...actually did a cover of
What's the Buzz (from JC superstar)...way cool. One of the guitarists
hung out up front with us during the moe. tent jam.
Jazz Mandolin Project - Although Mike and I agreed that their first song
sounded like neither jazz or the mandolin (but indeed like a project)
the JMP really pulled it together and dished out some fun Jazz Mando.
Almost too much new good music to digest we also really enjoyed the
music of Swamp Mama Johnson (nawlin's style rock from Seatle), but
didn't quite make it to the stage to watch.
Hoping for a drier HSF in July...
peace and good things,
-Mark
