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Headstash's Rock n Roll Resort v2 Review Guide

: By Melanie McCarthy; Published on April 05, 2012

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Headstash's ROCK N ROLL RESORT V2 Review Guide

2012 Lineup:

Friday, March 30: Horizon Wireless, D.V.S, Nadis Warriors, Jess Bujak (Silent), Hallucinogen, Phutureprimitive, Shpongle, lespecial, Psylab, Digital Storm

Day 1 Recap

Saturday, March 31: DJ Jamin, DolphynRydr, The Psylander, DJ Masgnosis, Leave it on Stage, Dirty Paris, Digital Storm, Viral Sound, Blue Boy Productions, Cosmic Dust Bunnies, Mystika Music, DJ Jamin, Brothers Past, Manhattan Project, Bird of Prey, MUN, Conspirator, biodiesel, Jiggawompz, OTT, dopapod, DolphynRydr, Jeff Bujak, COSMAL

Day 2 Recap

Sunday, April 1: Connecticon, Samadhi Sound, DJ Jamin, Psylab, MUN, Blue Boy Productions, dopapod, Cosmic Dust Bunnies, RedShift, Manhattan Project, Viral Sound Super Jam, Skytree, Supersillyus, Jeff Bujak, Brothers Past, Conspirator, Jolo & DJ Shane & Melo, Bang Bang, lespecial

Day 3 Recap

Festival Website: http://www.rocknrollresort.com/

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Five Highlights

Conspiring genres. The dichotomy between the two Conspirator sets was striking. Whereas set one included a sample of Kanye West’s “All of the Lights,” set two (mercifully) included Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath teasers – this was Rock n Roll Resort, after all.

Living up to their name. Pinnacle rock n roll moments of the weekend included, Dopapod’s “Brain Dead,” Cosmic Dust Bunnies’ off-the-cuff jams and Viral Sound’s soulful vocals and funk energy.

soOTThing. OTT opened with “Signals from Bob,” and the soothing beat and melodic synth got the crowd warmed up for what was going to be arguably the best DJ set of the weekend. With a humble smile and nod to the crowd, OTT spoke along to the fragments of a speech of philosopher Robert Anton Wilson. Watch a video of the performance below:

Moonlight mystery. A large quiet room with many couches and a grand piano beneath a sparkling chandelier was where I got much of my writing done as well as where I was lucky enough to catch both Tom’s from Brothers Past having a cute, quiet duet. I also happily heard a mystery person play my favorite piece, “Moonlight Sonata.”

Intimate simplicity. All that was needed could be effortlessly accessed at the resort – there was one 24-hour food stand outside of a cafeteria with plenty of seating; there were plenty of balconies for smoking, fresh air and sightseeing; and lounges and three main stages were easy to maneuver.

In due to these simple settings in close proximity, festivalgoers rarely had to choose between acts to see, were always relaxed and easily found their friends.

One Lowlight

Numerical perplexity. The common numerical system of buildings is simple enough – first floor includes room numbers: 100-199, second floor: 200-299, third floor: 300-you get the point.

Not the case at Kutcher’s Resort, which went something like: main floor, in between floor/first floor, second floor: room numbers 700-820, third floor: 822-900, fourth: 915-1001.

Also, the elevator at Kutcher’s bites – literally. Nearly every time a group boarded the elevator those inside were witness to the two doors squashing a poor soul that was trapped on the threshold.

Biggest Surprises

YDB. Young Dirty Bastard, Old Dirty Bastard’s son, popped up to the Catskill Mountains to the surprise of all. He certainly won the “Most Likely to Cash in on the Shock Factor” superlative of the weekend.

Atmosphere

The 400-room resort sits surrounded by 1,400 acres of property owned by the Kutcher family. The family home was built in 1907, and the most recent expansion to the home was in the 1940s, making the resort what it is today.

A conversation was not had that did not include a comment on the vintage décor or a guess as to the building date.

”The hotel from ‘The Shining,’” “’Twilight Zone,’” “Are we going to leave? I mean, alive?” were all things remarked pertaining to the bizarre atmosphere of the resort. One could picture an 80s rock band raging, strewn around round couches.

But we all made it, and looking back it was cozy and nostalgic.

Best Pictures