– Shayna Hodkin
If one were to put together a soundtrack for the Equifunk Music Festival, they’d have to squeeze the Cheers theme song somewhere in there; the stacked lineup brings a lot of new faces up to Camp Equinunk/Blue Ridge, but the real draw is the actual campsite itself. In the crowd of about 1500 people, it was hard to find someone I didn’t have at least a few mutual friends with, making the festival not just small, but intimate. Even more to this effect is the fact that Equifunk is all-inclusive; though there are opportunities to spend money, if you’re okay with Coors Light and camp food, you can keep your wallet in the car (until Sunday, at least).
The Equifunk lineup was stellar, from the first show on Friday to the last note of The M&M’s on Sunday night. This year was the festival’s first stab at a third day of music; Relix sponsored this year’s ‘Sunday Series,’ featuring three supergroups: Jon Fishman’s Pork Tornado; the M&Ms featuring (take a deep breath) Maceo Parker, Marco Benevento, Stanton Moore, Papa Mali, John Medeski, and Robert Mercurio, with a special appearance by Mike Dillon; and the Equifunk Allstars, featuring Tash Neal of the London Souls, James Casey of Lettuce, Mike Dillon, Eddie Roberts, Stanton Moore, Nigel Hall, Joe Tatton, Carly Meyers, and Pete Shand. Additionally, there were sets by the London Souls, The Revivalists, the Frank Stalloners, Papa Mali, the Mike Dillon Band, and, of course, The Main Squeeze — making Sunday a can’t-miss day for anyone with two ears and any leftover brain cells.
Part of what makes camp special is tradition, a fact that is not lost on Equifunk. The Main Squeeze is Equifunk’s version of a family band — something that the band acknowledges as a part of their success. The lead singer of The Main Squeeze, Corey Frye, was quick to acknowledge that their camp and college family is a huge part of their success. Having recently opened for Page McConnell and the Metermen, The Main Squeeze are quickly becoming the “big thing” in the jamband scene, but Frye said the band still hopes to keep playing Equifunk for years to come. The band played twice over the weekend, and their Sunday Poolside set could have broken festival records for attendance and audience participation.
If The Main Squeeze are Equifunk VIPs, then The New Mastersounds, Maceo Parker, and Marco Benevento are certainly the MVPs. In addition to their two scheduled late-night sets, the members of The New Mastersounds could be seen sitting in on sets throughout the weekend– an impressive feat on its own, but even more commendable because guitarist Eddie Roberts broke his foot at some point during Day Two. Their sets also featured some incredible sit-ins, including appearances by James Casey, Eric Krasno (playing Mike Garulli from the Heavy Pets’ guitar), and Maceo Parker. Maceo Parker was unstoppable, bringing some old-school funk down to the mostly under-30 crowd. In particular, Parker did a number on the Soulive set, throwing down especially hard on ‘Shake Everything You’ve Got’ and ‘Pass the Peas.’ In terms of Marco Benevento’s MVP status, he played the longest set probably in Equifunk history — what was supposed to be an hour by the campfire in between Soulive and The New Mastersounds turned into a seven-and-a-half hour marathon. Sunday morning the talk of the festival was Marco’s all-night jam, which went well past sunrise and featured artists from all over the festival.
One of my favorite things about Equifunk is something that you won’t find there: Overlapping sets. Originally a highlight of the All Good Festival, block scheduling at Equifunk means there’s no tough decisions and very little running around to find the band you’re dying to see. The festival is logistically set up for success, with the two stages about a two-minute walk for each other with merch tables and, on Saturday, free coconut water in between the two. Even though there’s little-to-no cell phone service, finding your friends isn’t hard when everything you’d want to see, hear, or eat is probably within a five-to-ten minute walk from wherever you’re standing (on boys’ side, of course).
When there are no overlapping sets, there isn’t much of an excuse to miss music. Every set brought its own magic, but each day had its highlights. The Main Squeeze’s Friday set signaled the real beginning of the festival; even though it wasn’t the first set of the day, it functioned as a reunion for old friends for whom Equifunk is not only a festival, but also a camp reunion. The New Mastersounds with James Casey brought the funk heat, especially on ‘You Mess Me Up’ and ‘Soulshine.’ Friday night’s Boombox set broke from a day of funk/rock with more of an electronic element, and anyone who could stay up through it couldn’t help but go nuts on the dance floor.
Saturday, between what was scheduled and what came about by surprise, was unmissable. Soulive & the Shady Horns, along with Maceo Parker and Nigel Hall, played a mix of classic Soulive, Hendrix, and the Beatles that destroyed the E-Rena. A particular highlight from Soulive’s set was their cover of ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ which tore down the E-Rena in a funky mess. Saturday was a funky day overall, with particular instances of groove including a James Casey sit-in with The Heavy Pets on ‘Help Me Help You’ and a cover of ‘Gimme Shelter’ by The Monophonics.
Marco Benevento‘s campfire cover of ‘Bennie and the Jets’ became a massive crowd singalong, with Marco directing via ‘Bene’ stickers. The entire Benevento set was incredible, but in particular the ‘Atari’ that he consistently blows up and away — and then, of course, there’s the six-and-a-half hours he played unscheduled after all of that was done. Seeing Eddie Roberts onstage with a broken foot was pretty jarring, considering the hot fire he managed to play; guest spots by Krasno and Maceo Parker didn’t hurt either.
I’ll Be John Brown and Superhuman Happiness both played really great morning poolside sets, and made what could have been a rough morning into a pleasant segue. After Saturday, it was hard to believe there was more, but for the first (and hopefully not last!) time there were Sunday sets. The Frank Stalloners opened up Sunday with the energy and excitement that campers needed to recover from what was a wild Saturday night.
Throughout the weekend, there was a lot of New Orleans representation, mostly in the form of Jazzfest button-ups, but that all came to a head during The Revivalists set. The whole band, but particularly lead signer David Shaw, presented an energy and exuberance that captured everyone who made it through the first two days. The Main Squeeze played a set of fiery originals, with lead singer Corey Frye taking it away song after song with his soulful voice and positive energy. The festival’s three supergroups played on Sunday: The Equifunk Allstars played a poolside set, and came together for a stage full of jams and jazz. The other two groups, Pork Tornado and The M&M’s, had a little bit more hype, and understandably so — Pork Tornado featured Phish‘s Jon Fishman, and The M&M’s featured probably every talented musician on the continent with an “M’ somewhere in their name. Pork Tornado’s set ended on an interesting note, with a cover of ‘Kiss My Black Ass’ leading into just that, when a member of the band mooned the audience and an audience member leaned over and, well, kissed it. The M&Ms chose to go a different route, keeping their pants on but playing covers by The Who, Jimmy Cliff, and Neil Young, as well as Benevento’s ‘Real Morning Party.’
Musically and socially, Equifunk was a weekend to throw down. The talent roster couldn’t be missed, and the festival comforts can’t be beat. All-inclusive is right; Equifunk satisfied it all.
Here are some photos from the weekend. For a full gallery, click on Day 1 and Day 2. All photos courtesy of Matt Enbar/MenbarPhotos
