Headstash

Headstash On The Road: All Good 2012 Day 2

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Before I woke up Friday morning, a light drizzle had started. The early morning sprinkles whisked away the Thursday humidity.

Clouds would keep the sun hidden for all but a brief 45-minute window around lunchtime, keeping Legend Valley at a cool, comfortable temperature throughout the day. Anyone who’s slogged it out through a 100-degree Bonnaroo will understand this writer’s deep fondness for these cool festival days.

Back in 2008, the Rothbury Music Festival issued the first cloth wristband I had ever seen. This year’s All Good introduced me to a new music festival technology, one that could easily be imagined as a direction of the future.

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Festivalgoers were all issued wristbands with a small plastic “All Good” tag containing an RFID chip. Access to the concert bowl and special access areas such as VIP, media, and staging areas are all controlled by scanning a person’s wristband.

Early after lunch, I scanned my way into the concert area, and was treated to a Friday full of All Good deliciousness.

Elephant Revival from Nederland, Colorado, kicked the festival off at noon, treating several hundred early dancers to their special blend of bass-heavy bluegrass.

ALO

After a brief stop back to the campsite, I made it back to the concert area shortly after the start of ALO’s 1:15 p.m. set. A crowd-favorite out of California, Animal Liberation Orchestra is loved for their upbeat, feel-good surfer-rock almost reminiscent of Jack Johnson (whose label, Brushfire Records, ALO is on).

We walked in to “Plastic Bubble,” an ALO favorite with its feel-good ukulele riff. It was followed by “Barbeque” – during which front man Zach Gill treated the crowd to his undeniably charismatic crowd banter. Gill, strutting away from his keys and out onto the subwoofers in front of the stage, led the crowd into an “Eye of the Tiger” sing-along in hilarious fashion, before making his way back to the keys for a seamless segue back in to “Barbeque.”

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Roosevelt Collier from Lee Boys made an appearance on slide guitar and closed out the set with ALO in what would be the first of his two sit-ins Friday.

Moonhooch

Moonhooch, a virtually unknown name outside the Bedford subway station and surrounding neighborhood in Brooklyn, brought together dueling saxophones and a drummer for an extremely high-energy, if rough around the edges, set.

They broke up some acoustic dubstep with dueling baritone saxophones – a treat that had the crowd dancing like crazy. They were plenty appreciative for what they explained was their first festival experience, and given their spectacular set placement, were clearly shown as a “chosen” favorite of festival producer Tim Walther’s.

G. Love and Special Sauce

A veteran after the rookies, G. Love and Special Sauce blasted out of the gates with a strong Southern opener sprinkled with sliding guitar licks. “I-76” was a highlight, treating the crowd to a thick bass solo and walking bass lines that continued through the set.

Photo Credit: Jordan August

“Baby Got Sauce” was undoubtedly the crowd favorite, during which G. Love showed he was a practiced performer with unique swagger. Zach from ALO made a guest appearance on melodica, and the resulting melodica/harmonica interactions between Zach and G. Love were an absolute blast.

Rubblebucket

Rubblebucket, accurately described in the program as “indie dance jazz,” maintained a strong energy throughout their set and whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The set was whimsical, and the band and crowd exuded a fun energy, much like that of Ghostland Observatory. The trumpeter ran off stage and jumped onto a fan’s shoulders, marching him through the crowd before returning him back to the stage.

Yonder Mountain String Band

Yonder was high energy out of the gate, bringing with it the first hints of blue sky through the clouds (though not enough to show the sun). They served us several Yonder classics and a cover of The Talking Heads’ “Girlfriend Who’s Better.” They concluded with “Traffic Jam > Whipping Post” during which a complex dueling banjo and mandolin interaction ensued.

“We were born a bluegrass band, and we will die a bluegrass band,” they proclaimed, before making their way off stage and making way for the Pimps of Joytime.

Photo Credit: Jordan August

The Pimps of Joytime took the stage in a dazzling display of Brooklyn funk. Practiced and tight, The Pimps‘ intricately layered horn samples and Southern twang with a funky twist was characterized by big build-ups and high energy. Throughout the set, The Flaming Lips’ giant, couch-sized disco ball was hoisted above their stage.

The Flaming Lips

Anyone who has seen them before knows it’s a spectacle that can be hard to describe. It’s intense – a blaze of dazzling light and a circus of sound and show. Weird sounds were brought 360 degrees around the crowd thanks to a special horn placed by the soundboard specifically for Flaming Lips set.

Girls dressed up as Dorothy on either side dancing throughout the set, assisting the stage hands in throwing giant balloons filled with confetti into the crowd where they’d bounce around until popping, littering the fans in glittery paper.

Crowd favorites like “Do You Realize” had everyone singing along, though The Flaming Lips show seems much more centered around the spectacle and theatrics than the music alone. The set ended and parted ways for an epic display of fireworks.

Papadosio

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Papadosio came on with a beautiful “By The Light of the Stars” intro. Dual LEDs showed psychedelic visuals in the back, as Papadosio fused electronic samples with clean guitar over glitch drum-and-bass beats. “Magreenery” and “Snorkle” displayed the band’s unique ability to combine pre-produced samples with live instrumentation – a refreshing and timely talent that has been on the rise at a sharp pace since their breakout in summer 2010.

Galactic

Galactic absolutely stole the show during their late-night performance, and had the crowd shaking their moneymakers to their New Orleans style funk party.

A “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” put their versatility to the test, and Roosevelt Collier came out for his second appearance of the day. The set was sprinkled with displays of incredible musicianship, showmanship and vocal prowess in one high-energy late-night.

“Cult of Personality” had the audience rocking, while a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil,” had the crowd singing the familiar line, “Pleased to meet you/hope you guess my name.”

After Friday night, All Good in Thornville has begun to take shape as its own, With fond memories of Marvin’s Mountaintop, festivalgoers seem to have embraced the change of scenery Legend Valley offers. The amazing music has only helped.

 

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

Photo Credit: Jordan August

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Day 3 will feature The Allman Brothers Band, Lotus, Big Gigantic, Dark Star Orchestra, Lettuce, Railroad Earth and more slated to perform.

Stay tuned for more coverage from Thornville, OH all weekend long and be sure to check out our live Instagram pictures. Check out All Good's official website for more information.