All jam band fans know that Memorial Day weekend equals Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, IL. For many, the weekend is scheduled well in advance; basically when the preceding year’s festival ends. For others, they make plans later, and some not until the eleventh hour. Regardless, all who attend have an excellent time, and this year was no different. It was an amazing weekend that had it all: great music, some fun sit-ins, and despite the forecasts, some very agreeable weather. Summer Camp ruled again.
Getting on the road at a very decent hour on Thursday, I had butterflies the entire drive to Chillicothe. I knew what I was getting into for the weekend, and as long as I wait for it, which is about 362 days, the three hour drive seems to take forever. Sadly, by the time I was staking my tent, I could hear Greensky Bluegrass playing their prized song, “Windshield.” But all was not lost, and I was able to make it over there for the end of GSBG set. I arrived to unexpectedly hear the band announce a very special guest, and Umphrey’s McGee keyboardist Joel Cummins for a song. They closed their set with an energetic “Ain’t No Bread in the Breadbox.”
With Greensky effectively ending the night for the Starshine Stage, the next move was to the Red Barn for The Werks. At this point it was pretty evident where everyone was who came Thursday Pre-Party: inside the Red Barn. It was super crowded inside. The Werks, matching the energy level given by the packed barn, played some good jams to get the show going. They opened up with an expansive “Galactic Passport” that got out there. They then followed with “Not Alone” which seemed very appropriate. With so many people inside the Red Barn, there was nobody who felt alone. A newer song, “Lights Out,” followed. Fresh air was becoming a luxury, so stepping outside for a brief moment to get some is all it took to meander over to the Way Down Wanderers. Bluegrassy to the bone, these dreadlocked-pickers provided a very pleasant surprise so late on Thursday night. The Thursday Pre-Party delivered in every possible way and certainly rewarded those fans who wanted to get there a day early.
As Friday rolled around, those who didn’t have the pre-party pass were anxious to get in. People waiting in line were treated to a set from The McLovins at noon. This band has certainly grown leaps and bounds in the past years since their smash hit cover of “You Enjoy Myself” graced YouTUbe back in 2008. Although they didn’t play that song at the fest, they did ask the crowd, “Is it cool if we play a Dead song?” Not needing an answer, or better yet knowing what the answer was, they began a silky smooth version of “West LA Fadeway” that was a unique and awesome version of the tune. The McLovins played a great noon set. moe. followed with their traditional Friday day set at the Moonshine stage. They played a straight forward set including “Stranger Than Fiction” and “Waiting for the Punchline.”
Aqueous was next at the Camping Stage. After seeing them the previous year at Summer Camp, they were someone that was absolutely worth checking out again. Their new drummer laid down the beats exceptionally well, and he exuded a smile for the entire set. Of course he was matched by guitarist Mike Gantzer, whose tones for each note played were sublime. Aqueous brought fans back to the mid-90s with a cover of The President of the United States of America’s “Peaches.” Another great day set.
Later, TAUK played to a rather large crowd at the Starshine Stage. Opening up with “Friction,” they played a great set that included a phenomenal version of “Afro-Tonic.” As the clouds became heavier, fans wondered when would the rain arrive, if any. It didn’t come for Greensky’s second set of the fest. This time they played at the Moonshine Stage. Again they brought up guests including moe.’s Al Schnier on guitar for a cover of “Luckiest Man.” My favorite part of the song was the end when they teased Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So.”
By this point, it was time for Umphrey’s McGee. As per usual, they rocked. You can read more about their Friday show here. Between their sets, Thievery Corporation brought their brand of danceable dub and electronica. Bringing out and utilizing different vocalists for almost every song, those who made it were treated to a great set of music by this very unique band.
STS9 had a set on the Sunshine Stage, and the beginning portion of the set was certainly current Tribe. They played a phenomenal version of “STS9” near the beginning of the set, and it was difficult to leave for any fan. In order to bring so many good artists over the weekend, sets have to overlap. There just isn’t enough time to fit everyone without a new 40 hour day. So leaving STS9 for the Red Barn was the option taken. The first of the Late Night shows was about to commence.
The Red Barn late nights are extra tickets that must be purchased in addition to the general admission to the festival. They are exclusive and usually sell out extremely fast. This was true for Tauking McGee and EOTO with Keller Williams. The former had many chances to collaborate together over the past couple of months as TAUK opened for Umphrey’s on tour. On this night, it was Stasik, Cummins, and Cinninger who came out and jammed with TAUK. It was a phenomenal set that included covers of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and Led Zeppelin’s “Dancing Days.” The latter actually began with a “Over the Hills and Far Away” tease from Cinninger on guitar, but alas they went into “Dancing Days” instead. Easily the most insane moment of the show (and perhaps of Summer Camp 2016) happened during Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottom.” As I recall, the members of both groups were rocking hard, and the crowd was dancing along eagerly. When I looked up, out of nowhere, the band members were smashing their guitars. It was a total surprise to see grown men take these instruments that they had been playing for the previous 90 minutes, and raise them high into the air, only to smash them as hard as possible. Both guitarists Jake Cinninger and TAUK’s Matt Jalbert completely shredded their guitars, both literally and figuratively. It was awesome.
Saturday brought more of the same Summer Camp magic that had been present the previous two days. The first set of the day on the Moonshine Stage proved to be one of the better sets of the entire weekend. Steve Kimock and Friends graced the stage, and it included a couple musicians very much associated with the Dead. Keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Ratdog drummer Jay Lane were up there helping Kimock. They didn’t stick to Dead covers, although the “Bird Song” they played was great. Kimock’s tone is simply beautiful and was on full aural display during the set. For the last tune, Kimock brought up his son Miles Kimock on guitar to assist. It’s entirely possible that the younger Kimock had one of the best days of his life, as the elder announced to the crowd that it was Miles’ birthday and fans should shower him with gifts and drinks.
Making the way to the VIP lounge was the next move, as Kyle Hollingsworth Band was playing their only set of the weekend. It was a very intimate way to see the String Cheese Incident keyboardist. His set was filled with covers like “Eminence Front” and “All Night Long” as well as Cheese originals like “Rosie”. It was a short but fun set. On the opposite side of the festival grounds, what seemed like a million miles away, Dopapod played to a large crowd at the Starshine Stage. Only being able to catch the last couple of songs, they were sounding good with a heroic version of “FABA” followed by the set closing “Super Bowl.”
Up to this point, which is Saturday evening if you are following along, the weather had been perfect. It had been warm with a few small rain spurts that helped keep the dust down. As Saturday carried on, the sky slowly grew more and more ominous. There wasn’t one Summer Camper there that was NOT informed about the weather forecasts. It was supposed to rain all weekend, but it never came. You have to count your blessings. But with dark clouds and no rain, the shows continued.
Hard Working Americans brought their gritty rock to the Sunshine Stage for a good while. Their set was delayed maybe 10 minutes to allow the crew to cover the lights in rain gear; a very prudent move it was. Maybe 40 minutes into their set, the heavens finally opened up and it began to pour. The band and crowd evacuated faster than I’ve ever seen, though the hard rain only lasted a few minutes. Slight rains continued, but it was very manageable.
Mother Nature wanted to show her love for those who descended upon Three Sisters’ Park, so for the next two hours she enhanced our visuals with a beautiful sunset (think of Lotus’ “Sunrain” in reality), an amazing rainbow (and some claimed it to be a double rainbow), and a massive lightning storm (which was the real reason bands were delayed.) Many, many thanks to the weather deities for the beautiful show, as well as the great weather that was present all weekend. The infamous mud pits of the park remained a past relic of 2011 and 2013.
Music eventually continued, albeit on a slightly delayed schedule. Umphrey’s night sets absolutely raged. The first set included a “Puppet String” that featured Fishbone’s Rocky George on guitar. The second set was where Umphrey’s brought it. “Ringo” was a great version that had a good jam, and they teased “XXY” before going into “1348.” The “Nothing Too Fancy” sandwich with “Phil’s Farm” in the middle was the tastiest portion of the UM musical experiences of the weekend. Although it wasn’t exactly long or jammed out, the intro to “N2F,” and its subsequent reprise following “Phil’s Farm,” are what Umphreaks dream of.
moe.’s sets on Saturday equaled Umphrey’s sets in epicness. While Umphrey’s played all originals, the Saturday moe. sets will likely be remembered as the covers set of 2016. They played a ton of covers, mostly all for the first time, including 21 Pilots’ “Stressed Out,” Bowie’s “Fame,” Prince’s “Purple Rain,” Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” and Talking Heads’ “Making Flippy Floppy.” They were all spot on. To hear the echoing notes of the introduction of “SOYCD” was amazing. Of course moe. got a little help from their friend Kyle Hollingsworth as he joined the five guys named moe. on the Floyd and Heads covers. It was a phenomenal set from the oldest tenured-band at Summer Camp.
On Sunday, everyone woke to a blue sky with not a cloud to be found. Everyone knew it was going to be a scorcher. Besides being extremely sunny, it was the last day of the festival. American Babies played a great set on the Starshine Stage including a great rendition of “Jolene” as well as the Dead’s “Deal.” Lead Guitarist Tom Hamilton did his work on his instrument and just shredded.
Umphrey’s day set followed. Guitarist and singer Brendan Bayliss brought out his toddler son to excite the crowd, and although I couldn’t understand what the little tyke shyly said into the microphone, there was no ambiguity in the rock sign he was making with his right hand. Everyone in the crowd responded in kind. The set rocked, including a pleasant cover of The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” “Much Obliged” followed, and the newer song “Draconian” had a fun metal-ish jam session.
American Babies were so enjoyable the first time around, so I visited their set in the VIP lounge that same day. They did a very bluegrass (for them) version of “Cumberland Blues.” It was very relaxing to hear Tom Hamilton completely shred the ending of Springsteen’s “Atlantic City.” Ironically (or perhaps not so much) it was the second time I heard that tune by the Boss, as GSBG also performed it two days before. Hard to say which version was better. But American Babies kept on rocking, and ended with a roaring version of “State Police.”
Twiddle played the Starshine Stage to what looked like the biggest crowd at that stage for the entire weekend. It was packed. Their set only contained six songs but was not short on jams. Opening with “Apples,” they followed with a fun version of “Beethoven and Greene.” “Amydst the Myst” contained a very dark jam that somehow made its way back into the song from which it came. It was really neat to see the dark, brooding jam return to the melodic ending. Fan favorite “Jamflowman” followed, and then they invited The Werks’ guitarist Chris Houser up to add his skills to “Hatti’s Jam” and “When It Rains, It Pours.” It was a great set from the Vermont quartet.
After that show, Lotus was next up on the Moonshine Stage. Playing to a crowd that filled the hill, they mixed new with old. Perhaps in a nod to the weather the previous day, they played a fun rendition of “Sunrain.” Then they invited Joey Porter, keyboard wizard of The Motet, to the stage for an extra funky version of “Greet the Mind.”
Everyone who attended Summer Camp was prepared for the next act: Mudcrutch. Although you may not recognize that band, you undoubtedly know their lead singer: Tom Petty. It was awesome to see an American rock hero such as Petty, even if he wasn’t playing some of the hits that everybody knows. His touch on music is like the Midas touch, everything he makes is gold. Petty played a trove of songs from his first band, including tunes that sounded more country-esque, Americana, and as he described psychedelic bluegrass. Summer Camp always does a good job of bringing legends to Chillicothe, and they certainly completed this task with Mudcrutch.
Every year, moe. traditionally “closes” out the festival. Although they used to do this, now it is more of a symbolic move with music raging well past the last notes from the Moonshine Stage. Nonetheless, moe. rocked their final two sets of Summer Camp, including a ripping version of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” with Allie Kral on fiddle. They also played a raging version of “Rebubula.” In the second set, highlights included “Recreational Chemistry” and “Kids.” For their final song of the festival, moe. encored with Cream’s “White Room,” a song that hadn’t been played for eight years. Well done moe.
So as the last notes of moe.’s set echoed through the air, the Moonshine Stage was emptied by Summer Campers. Many headed to some of the other stages as music, including the Big Grizmatik set, continued until 4am. Others returned to their campsite to hang out with friends both old and new for the last time over this Memorial Day weekend. Summer Camp again delivered on their promise of providing a fun and stimulating environment for music fans over the course of the holiday weekend.
Sad it’s over, but the countdown for next year already begins.
A full gallery of images from Ojeda Photography can be seen below:
