Belated Waka bookend

By Chris Tackett

Thursday, June 26, 2008

So, I finally finished uploading the rest of my Wakarusa videos. Wow. I sure didn't mean to take this long! (If you missed the first part of our Waka-spectacular, find it here.)

It's been so long since Wakarusa that I actually had forgotten about getting a few of the clips I did. A lot were crap and quickly deleted, but some of them are pretty great, especially considering I shot them with a $125 video camera. One thing you should know about me is that I'm of the mind that if you want me to wear your logo on my shirt, you better be paying me. I'm not one to name drop brands and market stuff for free, but good lord, I love the Flip Video Camera. Save a hundred bucks and go grab one.

It was already posted earlier, but it kind of caught me by surprise to see how great this shot of the opening to the Flaming Lips show turned out. Got so lucky being in the right spot.

Flaming Lips: opening song w/ hampster ball from Lawrence DautCom on Vimeo.

That was from Friday night, though. It was my Saturday clips that I'd yet to post until now, so here they are.

Leftover Salmon - Encore

Leftover Salmon from Lawrence DautCom on Vimeo.

Leftover Salmon - short clip

Untitled from Lawrence DotCom on Vimeo.

The sound, especially the bass during STS9 was pretty intense, but thankfully it only created a little popping on the audio. It still doesn't sound that great on these videos, but it's something. I'd originally thought I was just going to have to download the audio of the show online and edit the audio in.

STS9 - Intro/first song

When you experience their full set list and the intensity of the crowd and them as a band, the 2 minutes that they take to softly build up the sound is just adorable. Who are they kidding? This band took off like a rocket and was probably one of the more intense shows I've ever seen. Just an onslaught of beats and lights. It just makes that first minute funny.

Highlights:

2:22 - drums kick in and there's right into a groove before you know it.

4:43 - nice little burst of drumming after this

STS9 from Lawrence DotCom on Vimeo.

Before seeing them at Wakarusa, I was not that big on STS9. The music just isn't something I would ever want to put on while working, driving in the car, doing laundry, making dinner, exercising, reading or doing anything else ever. BUT, that being said, I also can always appreciate great musicians, an incredible light show and being right at the stage never hurts. And with all the lights, being closeup and knowing I was getting some great footage to show all of you, I have to say this was a pretty kickass time filming. This song might be my favorite clip of the weekend. A lot going on.

Highlights:

0:00 - love how the lights just sllooowwly come up.

3:00 - the drumming was great. you might think it was all electronically-produced if you didn't see it live.

4:30 - lights turned up to 11!

4:53 - yellow light w/ great bass line.

5:15 - notice how the center of the light is black. you like that? I had nothing to do with it.

STS9 from Lawrence DotCom on Vimeo.

After leaving the press area and taking a trip to the toilet (fence?) I walked up on a large circle of people out on the outer rim of the STS9 crowd. In the middle were some fire jugglers/dancers. I later learned they were called the Kaivalya Hoop Dancers from Boulder, Colorado.

fire show from Lawrence DautCom on Vimeo.

Fire show 2

fire show 2 from Lawrence DotCom on Vimeo.

In addition to getting footage for Lawrence.com, I was also aiming to capture some good moments for my friends to enjoy. This is one of those. Once back in the crowd, I wanted to capture a bit of what the lights were like from where we were at. Hard to believe each of those lights is being controlled by a member of The Duggar Family. Incredible! What talent!

STS9 - hey, nice lights! from Lawrence DautCom on Vimeo.

After STS9, we made our way over to see who was playing in the tents. My friends and I didn't have an agenda and I had failed to plan this far into the night, so we weren't sure who we wanted to see. After watching Keller Williams for a while I realized that the Yard Dog Road Show was going on and convinced my friends to leave Keller to check it out. They were kind of reluctant because, well, it was after 2 in the morning and people aren't exactly easy to herd when they've been in orbit for a few hours. But we managed and made our way to the Yard Dog tent.

If you're unfamiliar with them, Lawrence.com describes them as follows:

In an era when any reality show reject can stuff himself in a girdle and call it burlesque, it's refreshing to see real freaks like the Yard Dogs Road Show keeping it real. The traveling neo-vaudeville sideshow features sword swallowers, fire eaters, pastie-safe burlesque and rambling hobo poetry — all animated by the live sounds of the Yard Dogs Cartoon Jug Band. If you're in the mood for some high-class, low-brow entertainment, tramps like Yard Dogs are your pony...and dog. Show.

Sounds incredible, right?

Well, none of my group knew what they were in for. I had tried to explain it, but even I wasn't sure what to expect. I did mention there would be sword-swallowing and nudity, but I don't think they believed me. One thing I'd failed to mention because I wasn't expecting it either was a guy in a massive white beard. I'm not sure Beardy or the whole Yard Dog scene cooperated with the senses of my friends. I think Beardy freaked them out.

yard dog road show: beardy from Lawrence DautCom on Vimeo.

My friends weren't having it. Something about Beardy just didn't work for them, so they took off.

I decided to stay for a few more songs, while the rest of my group left to see another band in the next tent over. Immediately after they were gone, these girls came out for the next song, I figured I'd film this too to show my friends what they'd missed.

If you're allergic to awesome skull masks, high kicks or nudity, don't watch. If you've had your skullmask/highkick/nudity vaccine, enjoy!

yard dog road show from Lawrence DautCom on Vimeo.

Highlights:

0:55 Sword swallow. Notice how the bass drum continues making you think you hear your own heartbeat. Intense!

1:30 Effing Love the 80's bass line that kicks in here! Such a great juxtoposition between the music and the scene/costumes/vibe.

2:50 Wow. Swallowing a lightbulb or something.

3:58 "All stories must come to an end." Like this song? Whoa, did she plan that? Dude!

Yard Dog Road Show - Stick Things Down Your Throat Jam

Yard Dog Road Show - sword swallow from Lawrence DautCom on Vimeo.

After they had swallowed some light bulbs and swords and stuff, they decided it was time for some more nudity. Whatever.

yard dog road show from Lawrence DautCom on Vimeo.

I hate to say it, but that concludes my Wakarusa Archive. We ended up hitting the road on Sunday morning missing all the day music and later canceled music and storms. Really wish I could have seen Truckstop Honeymoon and Split Lip Rayfield again, but that's what next times are for.

Overall, I found the festival to be a great time. The crowd was smaller, which means lines and crowds weren't as big of a hassle. The cops were protective, but not in your face. There was a sense of safety and freedom. What a concept! The small crowds at times made me wonder about the viability of the event over the long term. But it also made me revisit a thought that I think is worth-noting. Never has Wakarusa aimed to be the next Bonnaroo or Coachella. You aren't getting 80,000 people into Clinton Lake State Park. It just isn't happening. And the smaller size and mellower atmosphere is what made Wakarusa so appreciated to begin with - because it wasn't Bonnaroo.

The chatter is out there on forums and jam band websites that Wakarusa let folks down with a weak lineup and canceled shows. But bad weather happens and you deal with it. And their hosting Widespread Panic and Ben Harper in 2007 - Panic being the reigning kings of the jam scene and Harper having broad mainstream appeal - definitely set a higher bar than previous years had and maybe some peoples' expectations were inflated to too high a level. I know among some of my friends who were first-timers in 2007 that up until the week of the festival this year they were always expecting one more big headliner to be announced. But in the end, I think Wakarusa returned to a level and size it is most comfortable with and things were smooth and enjoyable as a result. There are always some things you can do better. And the weather? Well, yeah, what can you say. But in the end I think it was a success.

If you have more pictures or videos to add or just want to share some final thoughts about Wakarusa 2008 - now that the dust has settled and you've managed to get those pictures uploaded - share it all in the comments.

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Posted by idarastar (anonymous) on June 28, 2008 at 1:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

:-)

Belated Waka bookend

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