Rothbury Music Festival - The Double JJ Ranch, Rothbury MI - 07.02.09 to 07.05.09
Posted by Jeff Modzelewski on 07.10.2009
After a mind-blowing inaugural festival, Rothbury had a lot to live up to in their second year. Could artists like The Dead, String Cheese Incident, The Black Crowes, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson allow Rothbury 2009 to raise the bar?
After the great time that I had last year at the inaugural Rothbury Music Festival, I knew that I had to go back. The music, the art, the forest, and the people last year all made for a great time, and it was something that I wanted to experience again. I had decided even before the lineup was announced that I was going to return for Rothbury this year.
Of course, last year also included the Dave Matthews Band and Primus, a couple of my favorite acts. This year’s lineup, while very solid, didn’t include those personal favorites of mine. After the lineup was released, I decided that I was going to use this year to decide if the specific lineup was more important to my enjoyment of the festival last year, or if the environment and all of the extras were the main reason I had such a good time last year. Basically, I was on a mission to find out whether or not attending a festival like Rothbury would be worth it, even though the lineup didn’t fit my personal tastes quite as much as last year’s did. After four days, one shower, and very little sleep, I found my answer.
At Rothbury, oversized Sesame Street characters are always welcome.
Music
Thursday
Toubab Krewe
This was a really fun way to open the festival for me. Toubab Krewe is an instrumental band primarily focused on African music, with some other influences mixed in. They combined African and Jamaican percussion with electric guitars and a drum kit, making for a very danceable set. Plus, they provided the first Michael Jackson cover of the festival, performing Billie Jean less than 2 hours after the gates opened for the venue. A very good set.
Keller Williams
The “one man jam band” provided a solid set. It’s pretty amazing watching Keller at work, creating loops and beats with just his guitar, some pedals, and a computer. It’s really something special to watch him work. Unfortunately, the first half of his set was rather subdued, and sounded more like background music than a performance. The people on the lawn were dancing and moving for Toubab Krewe, but not as much for Keller. However, near the end of his set he brought out a few members of Friday night’s headliner, the String Cheese Incident. This added some real energy to the set and got the crowd going. Of course, a little “Kidney in a Cooler” is enough to get anyone going.
Disco Biscuits
The Disco Biscuits were Thursday’s “headliners,” and they definitely delivered with their late-night set. The crowd showed up en masse for Bisco, and the lawn at the Ranch Arena was about as full as I saw it all weekend. I didn’t catch their entire set, but I could tell that they had the crowd going pretty much non-stop.
Friday
The Macpodz
The Macpodz opened Friday afternoon with a jazz-and-electronic set that probably would have worked better as a late-night set. They were good, but their type of music didn’t seem to go with the early-afternoon slot that they had. I wouldn’t have a problem with checking them out again, but I’d like to do it at a later time slot.
Brett Dennen
Brett Dennen’s set was another decent show, but nothing spectacular. It wasn’t necessarily the band’s fault, since a big part of the problem was the sound system was too loud and had way too much bass. That really didn’t highlight the acoustic guitar, which is really what Dennen was all about. This set did provide the second cover of “Billie Jean,” however, so it wasn’t a total loss.
G.Love and Special Sauce
G. Love and Special Sauce opened up The Odeum on Friday – but if you’ve seen one (or more) G. Love shows this year, you’ve seen them all. Essentially playing the same setlist from his current tour (complete with the now-redundant cover of The Beatles song “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road”), G. Love still managed to woo the ladies and impress the men who haven’t seen him before.
Damian Marley and NAS
Damian Marley and NAS was good – albeit a little bit disappointing; it should have been billed as NAS and Damian Marley, as NAS seemed to have much more time on stage than Marley. They shared a few songs, and each did a few songs solo – but all in all, I would have liked to see more Marley.
Flogging Molly
This was another high-energy set and a high-energy crowd. It’s amazing how well Flogging Molly can blend Celtic and Punk and still stay true to both genres. The band even included a short acoustic set in their show, which continued to show their diversity. A great, fun set, and I really didn’t need to know too much of the band’s catalog to enjoy the show.
String Cheese Incident
Wow. I’m just going to come out and say that The String Cheese Incident put on one of the most amazing shows I’ve ever seen. Another band that I didn’t really know much about going into the festival, but it absolutely didn’t matter. It also didn’t matter that the band is known primarily as a bluegrass/electronic band (two genres that I’m not a big fan of.) The String Cheese Incident knows how to put on a show, and they proved it Friday night.
They played two full sets Friday night. The first set (at least according to my recollections) consisted more of their straightforward bluegrass material, while the second set explored more of the other genres that the band has gotten into. The band didn’t stop there, however. SCI was all about putting on a show, and that’s exactly what they did. The two sets included fire dancers, acrobatics high above the stage, and hundreds of tremendously oversized beach balls and other random inflatable objects throughout the crowd.
Attack of the Killer Beach Balls!
The crowd was absolutely in love with this band. They were loud, they danced, sang, and threw thousands upon thousands of glowsticks in appreciation. A friend that I was camping with, who has seen SCI nearly a hundred times, was adamant that this was the second best SCI show she’s been to. That’s high praise if you ask me. Overall, I would never have been able to tell that the band was coming off of a hiatus, and I would definitely take an opportunity to see these guys again. For fans of the band, this was exactly what they were waiting for, and for newbies like me, this show provided a great excuse to learn more about SCI.
Fire always makes a show better
Saturday
Zappa Plays Zappa
I saw most of this set, and I have to say that I didn’t really get it. It wasn’t all that exciting, and the music was mediocre. The band was decent, but frankly uninspiring. Obviously a lot of people would love to relive the legend of Frank Zappa, but this is a pretty weak attempt in my opinion.
Les Claypool
This was Claypool’s second year at Rothbury (he played the inaugural festival with Primus), and he provided one of the more interesting performances of the weekend. His band consisted of himself on bass and vocals, a drummer, a cellist, and a xylophone player. Odd, but it worked. His set came from a variety of his different projects, and his new album was well represented. Highlights for me included “Southbound Pachyderm” and “D’s Diner.”
Unfortunately, Claypool is another artist that really benefits from a nighttime performance. He’s a great showman, and his masks, while not over the top, do add to the theatrics of his show. An early evening performance really eliminates his “larger than life” persona and takes away from his show. Add on the fact that he had sound issues throughout his set and this wasn’t the best Claypool show that I’ve seen. A good set, but not great.
Claypool rocks the pig mask like no other
The Dead
Jam band legends The Dead headlined Saturday night, and the fact that it was the Fourth of July wasn’t lost on anyone in the audience. The lawn was filled with fans decked out in red, white, and blue, and fireworks from the crowd were rampant.
While they didn’t have the same energy or stage show that SCI brought to the stage, their 4-hour show into the early hours of the morning definitely showed that The Dead could still hold their own.
What I was impressed with more than anything was the diversity of the set. The band played plenty of great songs from throughout their career, and the crowd absolutely loved it. The lawn was more packed for this show than any other show either this year or last, and everyone was having a good time. My group even got to “enjoy” a naked guy dancing with sparklers about 20 feet from us. It takes all kinds, I suppose. They didn’t play a couple of my favorite songs, but they did do “Sugar Magnolia,” “Eyes of the World,” “Friend of the Devil” and “One More Saturday Night,” so I really didn’t have any room to complain. I did miss the encore and the fireworks so that I could be sure to see the beginning of the Umphrey’s McGee set. Since The Dead ended up playing on the main stage through more than the first half of Umphrey’s set, I’m glad I made it over early. But, if you’re a Dead fan, I don’t see any reason you would’ve been unhappy with this show.
The crowd during The Dead
Umphrey’s McGee
So Umphrey’s McGee was one of the band’s I was most looking forward to for the weekend, and they were another band that didn’t disappoint. They sounded absolutely amazing, with a great light show and a lot of energy. It’s a pretty hard act to follow The Dead, but Umphrey’s did very solid job.
They opened with the title track to their latest album, Mantis, so that put me in a good mood right away. Their set was more electronic than I expected, but it had more than enough heavy rock to keep me energized. “All in Time,” “Gulf Stream,” and “Cemetery Walk” were all highlights for me, but the set was solid front-to-back. The band even had Pretty Lights perform a DJ set during their break so that there wouldn’t be any break in the music at 2 in the morning.
I will admit to leaving this show near the end of the second set, just because I wanted to make sure I had the energy for the walk back to my campsite. Sadly, that meant I missed 1348 and the encore, but I still feel like I got a great Saturday night show from the band.
Sunday
The Sam Roberts Band
Another singer-songwriter that I really enjoy, and Sam Roberts did not disappoint at all. He sounded very close to how he sounds on a CD, only with more attitude and energy. Listening to his CD’s, I hadn’t really expected him to put on the high-energy show that he did, but he pulled it off without a problem. For me, the highlights were “Lions of the Kalahari,” “Brother Down,” and “Detroit 67.”
Sam Roberts at Sherwood Court
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
I have a confession. Whenever I hear any music or singer with any hint of country “twang” in it, I immediately zone out or change the station. The utter crap that is Toby Keith and Shania Twain has alienated me from any music that sounds remotely Southern or Country. It’s the talentless hacks of the mainstream country music scene that keep me from giving actual musicians like Grace Potter and the Nocturnals the credit that they deserve. Their Rothbury show absolutely set me straight.
Grace Potter performed one of the most energetic and exciting sets of the festival. Stylistically, she’s reminded me Janis Joplin for a while, and her performance was worthy of that comparison. Add on a cover of “White Rabbit” from Jefferson Airplane (in honor of Sherwood Forest), and you had a great set on your hands.
Ani DiFranco
Ani Difranco was another set that I was eagerly anticipating, and another set that didn’t disappoint whatsoever. DiFranco started her hour and a half set strong and aggressive with “Anticipate” and didn’t let up for 16 songs. I’ve always considered DiFranco to be more of a poet who puts her poems to music than a traditional singer/songwriter, but I never really respected what a tremendous musician she actually is. She attacks her acoustic guitar in a way that I’ve never really seen before, and it made for a great show.
After “Anticipate,” Ani launched into a set that borrowed extensively from her lengthy catalog. Some of my personal favorites was a classic version of “32 Flavors,” an intense “Fuel,” a very strong “Splinter,” “Napoleon,” a very impressive version of “Shameless,” and, my personal favorite, “Untouchable Face.” The encore was “Evolve” and “Both Hands,” a pair of strong songs to close out her night.
I really have nothing bad to say about her set at all. Yes, Ani can be overly political at time. But she speaks her mind, and she’s honest about what she thinks and believes. Her stories in her music are great, the imagery in her lyrics is vivid, and, as I said before, her guitar playing is spectacular. What probably impressed me most of all, however, was her crowd interaction. I tend to consider myself pretty good at reading an artist on stage, and Ani seemed to be having an absolute blast playing her music and talking to the crowd. Out of all of the artists I saw at Rothbury, Ani is the one I’d most like to see again headlining her own show.
Umphrey’s McGee
Umphrey’s ended up closing out the festival with their second late-night show of the weekend. Their second show was just as good as their first, and included a great version of “In The Kitchen,” “Hangover,” and a cover of “Comfortably Numb.” Again, Umphrey’s puts on a great show, and it was an impressive way to close out the weekend.
Sunday night with Umphrey’s
Venue
The Odeum
The main stage of the festival, The Odeum was a massive stage with lawn space for everyone who had a ticket. Two large screens sat on either side of the stage, food, vendors, and water were readily available, and the light show was great. The sound wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad either. I have to imagine it was difficult for them to project The Dead evenly throughout the lawn. The Odeum was at the back of the venue, meaning you had a decent walk through the grounds to get there, but there was more than enough to see to make it not a chore.
The second biggest stage was the Ranch Arena, which was right about in the middle of the venue. It was only somewhat smaller than The Odeum, and big enough to house names like Gov’t Mule, STS9, and John Butler. This is probably the nicest stage of the entire venue, since it’s not only not nearly as massive, but there’s a decent amount of tree shade available. Unfortunately there were sound problems at this stage also, specifically during Brett Dennen’s set.
The third stage was Sherwood Court. Last year I avoided this stage do to the lack of shade and the fact that field was just dirt and straw. There still wasn’t shade this year, but there was more grass available to sit on. Plus, since the weather was cooler with more overcast for the festival this year, the lack of shade wasn’t that big of a deal. The only sound issue at this stage was during Les Claypool’s set, but, other than that, I thought everything sounded great. The best part of this stage was the fact that it was open in the back, with a great view of the trees behind. A beautiful venue for artists like Grace Potter and Ani Difranco.
The last two stages were Tripolee and the Speak EZ. Tripolee was a small stage near the entrance that housed primarily yoga, activities, and think tanks during the day and electronic acts at night. The Speak EZ was a very small stage in Sherwood Forest that took the place of the “secret stage” last year. This stage housed a few very small bands, some “performance art” style shows, burlesque shows, and even a couple of bigger names like Lotus. The only problem with this stage was, since it was in the middle of the forest, there weren’t very many spots where you could see what was happening on stage without having a tree in your way. Unless you were lucky enough to get right in front, you were going to miss a lot of what happened on stage.
Fire dancing at the Speak EZ
Overall, Rothbury provided great diversity in their stages this year. If you wanted small, intimate performances, they were available. If you wanted huge stadium-style performances, the Odeum was there. The festival had a year under their belt, so they already knew how to set up the stages for the maximum affect, and they did so this year.
Other Stuff
Nothing like a good hammock to relax between music
If there was one area where there was a drop off from last year, it would fall under the “other stuff” category. Rothbury did a great job last year in their attention to detail. A variety of large-scale art pieces were scattered throughout the grounds. Interactive art like the blossoms to sit under in Sherwood or the flying monkeys kept the crowd engaged. Unfortunately, there was much less of that random art throughout the festival grounds. In fact, while there was a couple of small pieces, there was nothing that was even close to being on the same scale as the monkeys or the white blow-up gate or the sticks from last year. I don’t know why Rothbury decided to cut this type of presentation, but I think that it was a bad decision. The two things that stuck out for most people last year were Sherwood and the flying monkeys, and, while I didn’t want or expect them to bring the monkeys back, I was expecting something equally as mind-blowing. Sadly, it wasn’t there.
The other disappointment that I had from the weekend is that Rothbury 2009 seemed to be less “environmentally friendly” as Rothbury 2008. Zero waste, recycling, and basic “green-ness” were big parts of last year’s festival, and it seemed to drop off this year. I don’t know if that was mainly something missing from the folks on staff this year, or if the crowd didn’t take their responsibility as seriously this year. I don’t have any statistics yet on recycling, waste, etc…, but my impression was that the festival wasn’t quite as environmentally friendly as last year’s.
Sherwood, however was back and just as good as ever. There was plenty of art dangling from the treetops, which was amazing to look at from the comfort of a complimentary hammock at night. The light shows in the forest were amazing. They added a bar (which I think took up valuable hammock and hang out space), along with Reincarnation, which was an amazing art garden made of recycled materials. As I said earlier, there was also the Speak EZ in the forest, which included much of the performance art of the festival this year. My only complaint about Sherwood is that it did feel very similar to last year, with fewer surprises. The Reincarnation garden and the Speak EZ were announced prior to the festival. Some of the hanging art was different, but some of it was very similar to last year. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a lot of fun and very cool, but it didn’t have the same element of surprise and awe that they had last year.
The gateway into Sherwood
The Sherwood Hearts
Part of the Reincarnation Garden
More Reincarnation
The Smokehouse in Reincarnation. A very popular gathering place.
One new thing I did get to see first hand this year was the VIP experiences that Rothbury offered. Rothbury representatives had said that they were trying to offer a VIP experience unlike any other North American festival, and I’d say that they probably accomplished that. There were numerous VIP levels, from a simple upgrade to a private camp (that was still very similar to the General Admission campground) to more high-end opportunities like private safari tents that really came close to the amenities of a nice hotel room in the woods. There were also options of colorful teepees for families, or remote camping by Lucky Lake for those who wanted a much more “traditional” camping experience with their festival. The VIPers got treated to catered food, special food and drink offers in the venue, exclusive viewing areas (with shade), shuttles to and from the venue, and even a concierge service. I had no problem with General Admission myself, but if I was bringing my family I could easily see myself upgrading to the VIP treatment. From everything I saw in the VIP areas, Rothbury makes the money spent well worth it.
VIP camping at Lucky Lake looked to be a very nice option.
Who doesn’t want to live in a teepee for a weekend?
Finally, Rothbury did a great job this year of focusing some “crowd participation.” There was a “tree decoration” contest, a coolest campground contest, and open mics between sets at The Odeum to go along with the Think Tank, yoga, workshops, and other opportunities for festivalgoers to become part of the show. This was a fun way for people to give people an opportunity to participate at whatever level they were comfortable with.
The “Crown Royal Tree” at the tree-wrap contest
A short performance at the Clif Bar stage near the Odeum
Overall
Before I end this, I want to send a big thank you to a few people who helped with this report. First off, a big thanks to Megan McFann and everyone on the media team from Madison House for helping with pictures, statistics, VIP tour, and basically running things so well. Also, thanks to my friend J.R. for his help with some reviews of bands I didn’t catch(G. Love, Damian Marley and NAS) or details I may have missed (there’s simply too much to see for one person to get to even half of it). Finally, thanks to all of my Infobury friends for a great time in the campground.
The Camp Infobury Crew
With the 2008 festival, I think that Rothbury had set an impossibly high standard to meet this year. Rothbury 2008 was probably as close to a perfect festival that I can imagine. I know many Bonnaroo veterans who were blown away by what Rothbury did. So it was unlikely that, even in the best of circumstances, Rothbury would have exceeded last year. I know that troubles with the venue made it difficult to begin planning the festival immediately after Rothbury 2008 ended, which made it even more difficult to exceed expectations.
That being said, the 2009 edition of Rothbury did end up coming pretty close to what happened in 2008. The music was amazing, the venues were great, and, even though there were fewer surprises this year, Rothbury’s attention to detail was still apparent. I came into the festival with the mission of wanting to know whether it was primarily the music lineup or if it was the “other stuff” that led to my enjoyment of last year’s Rothbury. I have to say that it was a little of both, but, even with a different lineup of music this year I still had a great time. I think that there’s room for improvement for the 2010 edition, and I’m planning on being there to see what they come up with next.
The 411: This year's Rothbury had a lot to live up to. With highlights like the String Cheese Incident, The Dead, Umphrey's McGee, and Ani DiFranco, the festival had a whole lot going for it. New features like the Speak EZ and the Reincarnation Garden gave veterans plenty of new features to take advantage of. Overall, Rothbury 2009 was a great success, and it will hopefully lead to an even better 2010.
