Have Ya'Self a Hangtown Ball
Tucked off the Interstate, in the communal fairgrounds of Placerville, CA. Railroad Earth's 4th Annual Hangtown Halloween Ball, welcomed folks from allllll the planets! Straight Off the Mothership, these hooligans didn't waste a second dressing up, and getting down! Kicking off the morning was music from: Sierra Drifters, Mignon and Goodshield, Lonesome Locomotive, and Groove Session.
Introducing everyone to the grounds for the Thursday Pre-Party were: McCoy Tyler Band, Chatter Box, New Monsoon, and Tracorum...because some just can't wait til' Friday.
Straight Off the Mothership
ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) made a name for themselves early on in the festival, with their evening charm starting on Friday. Coming on strong with a uniquely heavy and thrashy circus growl, unusual for ALO, but they sure made it work! Adding in Papa Josh Clark, guitar and vocals for Tea Leaf Green, to the mix, took this show to another level. Moving from the happy daytime vibe, and evolving into a deep and dark "down the rabbit hole" set, these guys put the Weeee in Halloween.
Really veering from their standard style, 'Shapeshifter' launched the set into a spacey psychedelic portal. With the sun disappearing, and the momentum building strong, this band sure knows how to have fun. Getting real Halloweeny with it, this group of musicians have trippy and jammy down pat. Leveling out with a slowed and cruisy 'Maria' encore tied this whole presentation together smoothly.
This gathering was extremely intimate; the grounds felt like a mini-city, or community space where everyone worked together, shared, traded, and partied. The camping sections were dispersed thoughtfully. The level of respect from all in attendance was noticeable and honored. The activities, music, and general flow catered to people of all ages.
Just after sunset, Mountain Standard Time, took the stage to get everyone's blood runnin'. With much room to dance, this band flowed very well, all together, with a fast paced, yet smooth rhythm. At a certain peak they called out their Colorado folks, then broke down into a lively, fun, beachy, and just plain groovy track; pulling it all back together with a remix of Nelly's 'Ride Wit' Me.'
The Meter Men Featuring: Zigaboo Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter, Jr. W/ Special Guest Robert Walker were straight Soul Funk Grass to the maximum, with very hard bass.
Following a powerful evening of music from Railroad Earth themselves, and Mojo Green came Brother's Comatose, a rowdy string band bred out of Lake Tahoe and San Francisco, CA. This five piece group has been together 6 1/2 years, with 2 albums under their belt, and have been touring their asses off recently with Yonder Mountain String Band, and Devil Makes Three. Being from the area they were able to get linked up with the right person for a slot at Hangtown, and there ya' have it. After spending most of the year on the road, their upcoming plan is to focus on the new album. Sharing the late night stage Friday evening with Jeff Austin in the Hangin' Hall, this gave everyone a low-down on how these guys get down.
Electric Luau
IT'S LATE NIGHT ALLLLL DAY TODAY! The first portion of Saturday's lineup was moved indoors to the late night Hangin' Hall due to those lovely drops of liquid falling upon us...pretty fast. The transition went seamlessly, and everyone was able to dance DRY-ly. We were even blessed with a double rainbow! It's an Electric Luau ya'll...HAVE FUN!
String Band of the Weekend, Achilles Wheel, held such strong momentum, with beautiful builds, and solid on-stage communication. Their ability to have some good clean fun and stay that on point was impressive. The interactions between the members and emotion displayed really crowns this crew with talent. They never stopped, the drum battle breakdowns, the violinist wiling out and smiling away, and the tasteful 'Shakedown' tease made this crazy-riff-grass-show one to remember. After a set in space, they slowly collided back into earth mode and finalized by shouting, "It's only water, let's celebrate!" A quality, hearty, string band.
Happening throughout the day in the Zen Garden and Organ Room were playshops such as: Pumpkin Carving with John Skehan, Ancient Winds with Andy Goessling, and Shake Your Bones Dance Steps with Kelly and Shana as a way to become involved, meet people, learn new things, and take a break from having fun...to have more FUN! Because that is what these events are all about...learning and having fun!
Meanwhile, outside, SunSquabi, a "live-electronic hydro-funk" group out of Boulder, CO. got everyone up and moving. Their smooth and elegant electro-jam vibe was just what this festival needed at that time. Bringing out the sun, these guys displayed some seriously funky grooves! The fast, flow-rock blended in nicely with the harmonized soulful electronics, creating a fun environment to rage in.
The vendors at the event all displayed such quality products including work from: Third Eye Pinecones, Jayli, Family of Light Designs, Naytures Empire Belts, plus tons more extremely talented artists, designers, and creators. Conscious Alliance was also present during the event, hosting their food drive, "Art That Feeds."
The energetic 7-piece group, Poor Man's Whiskey, held quite the celebration. So true to their instruments, and in love with what they do, this group just had such a damn good time up there playing music for us, and it showed. The accordion just turns the clock back in our ears. With such loving emotion and energy, these fifteen years of friends created a grand collaboration for the enjoyment of others. Thanks You.
Following suit with the "having an absolute blast on stage" theme, Leftover Salmon Featuring Bill Payne of Little Feet, was no exception. Providing us the roots of strings, this intense jamboree of musicians were so collected, precise, and hilarious. They truly love playing music.
The food court spanned for miles, with heaps of options. There were diner style cuisines, authentic Jamaican and Thai stands, vegan and natural food vendors, dessert treats galore, and your typical fairground fiestas like corn dogs and funnel cakes.
New Monsoon is FUNK! They threw a super groovy dance party that got the crowd elevated for Railroad!
Railroad Earth...quality beyond words...Beautiful, peaceful, pleasant, and fun are just a few words used to try and illustrate how good these musicians really are. The authentic nature of their abilities radiate through each and every one of us. They play from their hearts...to ours. The precision and genuine ethics are one of a kind. This was not a concert, it was a journey; an enchanted, whimsical, harmonious, journey. They got super Halloweeny with it this night, and didn't hold back one bit. They tied together the Hangtown Ball Jam, and broke into a bluegrass superjam, creating a perfectly seamless and flawless presentation to say the least.
Keeping the night owls company at the late night luau were ALO, The Motet, and our good buddies spicing up water, Sierra Nevada.
The boys from ALO share the stage so well. It seemed as if they were playing around with us during this set, experimenting, and feeding off of the crowd. Phil from New Monsoon helped them out on the keys for awhile, as well as adding in Charlie Wilson on the saxaphone to jazz things up a tad. Such pristine elegance and smooth blues funk. They went trippy and trancy with it when Allie Kral joined the team for 'Barbeque!' Wow, that woman knows how to Fiddle!
Powering through the weee hours of the morning The Motet played some of that Hallow's Eve Funk, a week early! Letting loose on the bongos, and tapping into that Jamiroquai twang, this outer planetary set kept everyone bouncin' til' breakfast.
Zombie Prom Disco
Sunday morning meditation was held in the Zen Garden, a grassy plateau, elevated up from one of the grounds' main paths. This gong style meditation was conducted in smaller sessions, with different intentions to be set for each segment, for example a love and kindness meditation was practiced. The instructor, Tim Carbone, was straight forward, and said "I am the nicest asshole I know."
The Shook Twins from Portland, OR. held a mellow undertone, but engaged this classy Halloween growl. With an appearance from Jeff Austin and Danny Barnes this light and leisurely precision of sound leveled out very nicely and was a pleasant way to start the day.
"We are spanning the globe to bring musical consciousness to you," announced the Shook Twins.
As the storms finished up, and the sun came out to dry up the land a bit, Scott Pemberton Trio gave the festival something to chat about. Slap-stickin' the guitar, and bongo'in out, these guys are making NEW music, implicating traditional principles with modern styles, and loving the process. The weather was perfect, and that change seemed to have blown in some improvisational playfulness.
A local Portland fan said. "The local crew hasn't even seen this side of the SP3...ever! Rudy on drums was a new addition, and can't wait to see the new setup back home."
"I can tell by the way you are all dressed that you are from that Hangtown place," laughed The Motet as they took the stage for the second time at the festival on Sunday afternoon. Bringing back nothing but straight funk, they lit up the main stage!
Moe. came on so strong with that traditional Moe sound, adding a Halloween spin to the mix. They were having such a jolly good time rocking out casually together. Their emotion is effortless, but not cocky; a modest approach gentlemen. Pumpkins were carved on stage, and live art was being created to the music. The bass hit so hard and loud, feeling it deep in the heart, as every other instrument came together beautifully. Molding into some spooky reggae, merging into a super heavy rock jam, and leveling out into 'Nebraska" for sunset was spot on. This just in: Allie Kral is a P.I.M.P. on the fiddle! And adding in Jeff Austin to the crew...you are in for a serious concert folks! This riddle of musicians and goofsters created such an intense hoedown!
Railroad Earth closed out the main stage Sunday night by making love to every member of the crowd's ears. A very unique undertaking for these guys in the way they executed their set this night, very funky and unearthly.
Poor Man's Whiskey doing their 'Dark Side of the Moonshine' set, and Dead Winter Carpenters wrapped up the musical activities in the Hangin' Hall early Monday morning.
This festival was very humble, to say the least. It gave off that feeling of being in your mother's kitchen, in your sweats on the couch (with a cup of hot chocolate), and front row at your favorite show all in the same emotion. The organization was stellar, security was friendly and understanding, and the music was so pure and alive. The costumes were creative, and the people were out of this world...literally!
See you next year, enjoy your journey!