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Summer Camp: Day 2

The adventure continues at Summer Camp 2008.

8:43 am – Just waking up with the aid of caffeine.  Waterstreet is playing today, and Rob’s house is bustling with band members getting ready to load (Lisa: The music industry isn’t always glamorous, case in point a 8:00 am load time to head to a festival for an early morning slot).  An 11 am slot may be a tough time to capture everyone, but I’m pretty sure once the guitars start squealing people are going to wake up.  As for me, hopefully some loud music will jumpstart my day.

10:31 am – Waiting for Waterstreet to go on.  Lisa and I walked around the campground near the Starshine stage and did some street team work with the rising hippies.  The smell of bacon is in the air, and my stomach is rumbling.  But my spirits cannot be broken.  I feel super cool, passing out flyers and telling people about Waterstreet, even when I’m not sure how good they are - Lisa assures me that they are good, however.  It’s definitely interesting being on the other side of the fence of the music industry (Lisa: It’s a weird strange side of the fence, that’s for sure).  Girl Talk and the Flaming Lips kicked our asses last night, and Lisa and I are looking pretty haggard as we lean against the speakers for support.  I wonder if we can survive.

11:18 am – Waterstreet draws a decent crowd for eleven in the morning, and more are crawling out of the campsites to see what’s happening.  When Lisa told me about their cover of Radiohead’s “15 Steps,” I was extremely worried but the band has proved me wrong.  I know Lisa’s my friend and I’m obligated to support her, but I sincerely enjoy this band.  I was never born in the 60s or 70s but hearing Waterstreet makes me feel like I’m getting a slice of it. Plus, being a merch girl is a sexy-ass job.

2:25 pm – After loading up, Lisa and I rode the tractor taxi about five times with the fellow campers (Lisa: Hell yeah! Tractor taxi!).  I’m pretty sure the driver is wondering what we’re on because we’re having way too much fun.  The sun is shining and it feels amazing after experiencing shitty weather all day yesterday.  Now we’re sitting underneath the Canopy bar with a margarita and resting.  The Trojan condom virtual rollercoaster totally took the wind out of us (Lisa: Yup, a condom company-sponsored rollercoaster totally makes marketing and branding sense?).

4:00 pm – Elsinore?  What?  Why are you stuck on the Camping stage?  You’re actually not that bad.  Because of the space there’s not a lot of room for people but it’s pretty decently packed.  This stage is so awkward.  No one’s really dancing around too much, but it’s totally reminds me of Chicago - which is also known as civilization.  Elsinore is the only indie rock act at Summer Camp and even though their music may not match the rest of the acts here, they’re playing their hearts out (Lisa: I’m thoroughly impressed and interested, can’t wait to see these guys again in Chicago soon).  At the end of their set, lead singer Ryan Groff is playing so intensely that he knocks over the microphone stand.  Oh indie acts, I miss you here.

5:23 pm – Summer Camp has treated us well, except for my minor sunburn (Lisa: More like major sunburn, I’m as red as a tomato).  The acts aren’t bands that I would usually go see, but the atmosphere alone is entertaining.  Lisa and I cruise the hippie stores and immerse ourselves in the culture (Lisa: So much tie dye, so many djembes).  Though it may not be for us, I’ve never felt safer at a concert before.  Everyone’s super friendly.  I’m not use to people approaching me and starting up a conversation.  It’s strange, but awakening.  We’re quite sleepy so we break into Joe’s flatbed and take a little nap with Groovatron on the Starshine stage in the background (Lisa: See, the perk of working with a band is the fact you get to hide backstage, steal free booze and water and take naps in your van while all the plebeians outside are forced to suffer in the sun).  Their sound is a little distracting, but only because I’m trying to sleep.  But during a lull in their set Lisa and I catch a bit of Blind Melon on the Sunshine stage playing “No Rain” and freak out.  I hope the bee girl was there (Lisa: Even if bee girl isn’t there, there is a lot of homage being paid by the hippies dancing).

6:32 pm – Going to go see Brainchild.  We meet up with Rob and walk over to the Camping stage.  I don’t know how it’s possible, but the place is so pack that I can’t even inch close enough to snap a good picture.  Brainchild’s like dead head ska, which is perfect for the campers around them to light up to.  Both genres have never been my cup of tea; however the guitarist Roy Ponce is fantastic.  He’s just tearing it up onstage and even though I can’t see him whatsoever, I can feel the energy.  If Summer Camp has taught me anything, it’s to appreciate jam bands (Lisa: It’s a totally allegiant and dedicated group of fans, and for that I can respect the jam band fan base).

7:24 pm – I feel the Roots’ incredible bass power all the way from where we’re standing, and when I go up to the pit to take pictures I can feel the bass all the way in my throat.  The Roots start off strong, with Black Thought commanding the crowd.  From the pit I can see some guy holding up a spear and thrusting it up and down to the beat (Lisa: Clearly security is really tight here at Summer Camp, since a dude brought in a freaking spear).  I don’t know if that’s safe or not, but the band doesn’t seem to mind.  They jump into this amazing medley of hip-hop classics (from Salt-n-Pepa’s “Push It” to Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Jump on It”) that is so seamless that each transition sounds natural, like these songs were meant to follow each other. The set slows down when the band decides to go into a political shtick, but ?uestlove’s drum solo is incredible.  I don’t know what it is about bands throwing in politics in their set.  The Flaming Lips had a lecture on Bush yesterday night, and now here we are listening to the Roots’ rendition of “Working Class Heroes.”  I appreciate the concern about our country, since I’m sure we all have the same feelings, however I believe there’s a time and a place to say it.  Summer Camp isn’t one of those places for me.  But they just bring it right back up and Lisa and I are dancing around with the rest of the hippies.

9:00 pm – Having a press pass is amazing.  The drink prices on grounds are fairly pricey but the VIP lounge, which I have access to because of my awesome laminate, has dirt-cheap drinks. This could turn into an interesting night.  Summer Camp treats their people very well.  We’ve met up with two of Rob’s friends Nick and Allegra and we’re discussing music with them over drinks.  It’s very interesting to see what people in the business think about the direction music is going in.  I think we all know that the major labels blow, but where do you go once all the foundations have been brought down (Lisa: If you really want to know the answer to this question just ask, because I seriously talked Nick’s ear off about the current state of the music industry. Man, I am such an obsessive music nerd)?

10:31 pm – Trying out the hippie experience via alcohol and moe. still fails to capture me.  I don’t know, I guess they’ll never be my thing.  There are well over five thousand people listening to them, glow sticks in the air, so they must be doing something right (Lisa: It may not be our scene or sound, but you’ve got to respect and appreciate a group of talented musicians that really cater to and know their audience).  With each Budweiser can I recycle the better moe. gets.  Is that good?  I have no idea.  I guess any way to convert a hipster to jam band fan works.

Posted by Lisa White, Amy Dittmeier on May 27, 2008 @ 12:00 am