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| photo by Chuck Rozewicz |
In the final scene in Cameron Crowe's exceptional 2000 film, Almost Famous, the teen-aged character William Miller asks musician friend Russel Hammond the simple yet complicated question, "So Russel, what do you love about music," to which he replies, "To start with... everything." This sentiment expressed by Russel was echoed by me over the weekend after attending my first multi-day destination music festival, Eaux Claires.
Credit the moonshot thinking of Eau Claire's favorite son, Justin Vernon and his friend Aaron Dessner, of The National. who curated an innovative festival in rural Wisconsin drawing over 22,000 people to enjoy music, art, companionship and camaraderie. The festival served as a mecca for bands and fans of bands in the upper Midwestern indie music scene. This was a unique experience where acts that I've seen normally play for a thousand people or less garnered HUGE crowds, where musicians eagerly collaborated with each other to make one-of-a-kind performances, and where the fans were treated to wonderful artists performing with the utmost passion and energy. To quote fellow festival attendee and friend, Kevin Gonring, "Eaux Claires was about pure reverence... for nature, music and friendship. It felt like something that was distinctly and seemingly mystically all connected, from the design to the guest features, it felt like you were part of something rather than just observing it."
As a rookie festival goer, I realized one thing very quickly... there was no physical way to "see it all." Factor in sweltering heat and humid conditions and the sheer logistics of the festival, and I quickly had come to the conclusion that I needed to live in the moment of what I was seeing and experiencing, and not worry about what I wasn't.
For starters what I was experiencing was some of my favorite current artists performing sets of music in a pristine location, amidst the natural beauty of Chippewa River flowing as a literal backdrop behind the artists, and the ethereal topography of the famous "North Woods" of Wisconsin all around us. This setting served as a primary point that connected the festival goers and artists. Within the confines of this scenic place overlooking a flowing river, we were treated to two days of amazing music, friendship and fun.
Friday's musical experiences: Rocking Out in the Heat
Hiss Golden Messenger: The Durham, North Carolina based Americana outfit provided great southern rock influenced jams and country tinged melodies to kick off the festival.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
Field Report: Christopher Porterfield kicked the intensity of his band's performance up to eleven with a soulfully uplifting set of music anchored by a marquee rendition of "I'm Not Waiting Anymore."
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
Sturgill Simpson: The spirit of Duane Allman traveled across the Chippewa River and into the guitar licks of Laur Joamets, who anchored Simpson's traditional country set with jaw-dropping slide guitar work. Simpson's passion and tales, coupled with his band's tight-knit sound made his set a festival favorite of mine, especially the later part of the set where Simpson flowed songs and jams into one another and incorporated a great deal of bluegrass. Simply put, Stugill brought the country heat on a squelching warm day.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
The Staves: The lush music and perfectly pitched harmonies of this group of British sisters soared in the Staves' late afternoon set.
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| Photo by Amanda Roscoe Mayo from Consequences of Sound |
Doomtree: Minneapolis hip-hop super-group had the audience bouncing from the moment the crew took the stage. Special credit goes to Dessa whose back up vocals on most tracks and stage swagger stole the show.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
Spoon: I can't top Justin Vernon's simple, yet spot on words in the Eaux Claires Field Journal for describing Spoon. "Category: American rock band. Category closed."
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
Tallest Man on Earth: Kristian Matsson backed by a full band, including the No BS! Brass Band, and a great fiddle player had the honor of playing while the sun was going down, creating a stunning back drop for the indie folk musician's tunes. The Tallest Man delivered one of the best sets of the fest, with rich sonic timbres and arrangements of his new and older material.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
The National: This was my festival highlight. Backed with one of the best visual displays I've ever seen at any concert, the National played an hour and forty minute set, with an encore. Their songs were rich and powerful, and backed often by the No BS! Brass Band. Moreover, covering the traditional Americana song, "Peggy O," (often played by the Grateful Dead) and being joined on stage by Sufjan Stevens and Justin Vernon for several numbers, made their headlining performance extra special.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
Saturday's Musical Experiences: All About Surprises
Forever Love: Trees and Longing
Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson featured the Dessner twins from The National and Gyoa and Kristin Anna Valtysdottir, formerly of the Icelandic band mum, dressed in turn of the century county fair attire, performing a series of songs that quoted poets such as Sylvia Plath, Bas Jan Ader and e.e. cummings. A personal highlight was talking later in the day with the extremely humble Kjartansson about the project and how he and the other artists put it together two weeks ago especially for this particular space. It was a song for a summer's day indeed.
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| Photo by Amanda Roscoe Mayo originally appeared on Consequences of Sound.net |
Elliot Moss: This was the surprise show of the fest for me. Mixing together elements of electronic music and rock, and segueing in and out of trippy, hypnotic jams, Moss engaged the crowd with music that is best described by my friend and fellow festival attendee, Brad Dunning, as "tight, intense, passionate and mature." I was blown away by this band!
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
S.Carey featuring the UW-Eau Claire Jazz Band: Having seen S.Carey perform within the intimate confines of the Cedarburg Cultural Center this winter, I was curious to see how he would do in a festival setting. Backed with the UW- Eau Claire Jazz Band, his arrangements soared into one of the best surprises of the festival.
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| photo by Luke Rivard |
Charles Bradley: The festival's oldest performer, 66 year old Charles Bradley delivered sultry seductive grooves (again to quote my friend, Brad Dunning) as the "Screaming Eagle of Soul" kicked off his late afternoon performance.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
Phox: The Dells Stage tent was packed for the Baraboo indie-folk outfit with singer Monica Martin seeming genuinely overwhelmed by the support of the fans in attendance and the large crowd. Hearing the intricate inter-working
of Martin's voice amid the acoustic guitars and banjo overlooking the forests around the stage was a show highlight.
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| photo courtesy of Gishots by Stephen Bloch |
Sylvan Esso: This is a concert experience I will never forget... a sweaty tent packed shoulder to shoulder with people of all ages bumping, bouncing and swaying during the electronic indie pop duo of Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn's set. The band played their debut record along with new tunes in what was a festival show-stealing performance
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
Sufjan Stevens: With the sun setting, Stevens delivered a rare festival performance, focusing on interweaving tunes from his critically acclaimed Carrie and Lowell record along with other tracks from his rich catalog. Highlights included the reflective "Casmir Pulaski Day," "Fourth of July" which featured Bryce Dessner of The National, and "Chicago," which featured The No BS! Brass Band adding an extra layer of bright timbres to make the song really take off.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch |
Bon Iver: Before Bon Iver took the stage for their headlining set Saturday night, author and festival emcee, Michael Perry addressed the 22,000+ festival attendees gathered around the main stage for the event's final act-- organizer Justin Vernon's most well-known project, "Bon Iver." Perry's words pretty much encapsulate the spirit an sentiment of the two-day event.
To quote Mr. Perry, "We’re pretty much an unbeautiful bunch, man. We are flat-footed clodhoppers who feel inside like maybe we could dance, and we don’t really know any other way than to just get at it and have at it. And we know it wouldn’t happen without our neighbors, without those who raised us, without this Chippewa Valley, and without you. If you hold yourself still and silent now, you can feel that river behind you. Runnin’ through the night. Runnin’ through all time.It’s good to have music near a river. There’s this idea of baptism. Of absolution. No matter what you believe. Better yet, it’s good to have music near a place where two rivers come together. A confluence. For what are we but a confluence—a confluence that lives and breathes, a confluence of dream and song, a confluence of 22,000 beating hearts.And so here we are, cradled by a river in a sanctuary of sound.
This was Justin Vernon's fest and naturally his most well-known band reunited and were joined on stage with special guests throughout the set which opened with a chilling version of "Heavenly Father." "Towers's" lush soundscapes played well into the scenic beauty of Foster Farms. Two new tunes were debuted along with a goose-bump generating version of "Perth," which featured the Staves on vocals along with the No BS! Brass Band, whom Vernon called, "the festival's MVPs" during his Bon Iver set.
The musical performances, and sense of community that took place at Eaux Claires was second-to-none and only made the attendees start anticipating next year's festival.
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