Archive - Jul 9, 2009

The annual High Sierra Music Festival took place this past Fourth of July weekend, as it has for the last nineteen years. Featuring an array of talent, including BOT-Favorites DeVotchKa, Umphrey's McGee, Dr. Dog, ALO, The Slip, Everest and many more, High Sierra has always had a reputation for being one of the most laid back and friendliest festivals of them all. It's unfortunate that ROTHBURY now lands on the same weekend, as I'll never miss one of them, but some day I'd like to attend this California retreat. Our friends over at Coventry Music Blog recently posted this video that takes you through many highlights from one festival goers perspective. Check it out:

I really enjoyed the video, especially the impromptu kickball jam with Vince Herman, members of Surprise Me Mr. Davis, and other various tag-a-longs. Really, it just makes me miss both The Slip and ALO, and makes me wonder why they never tour.

While I was running from stage to stage at ROTHBURY this past weekend, BOT-favorites Wilco and Okkervil River joined forces for a pre-Fourth of July get-together at Denver, CO's famed outdoor venue, Red Rocks Ampitheatre. While they both played their own sets, with Wilco taking headlining duties, the encore found both bands returning to stage for a take on Wilco's "California Stars." The Woody Guthrie-penned, Wilco-arranged tune has been on regular rotation in Wilco's live repertoire for many years, but this Okkervil-enhanced version at such a beautiful venue is just a bit better than the rest.

As a bonus, check out Wilco's nasty version of "Misunderstood" from Red Rocks after the jump

"Still here, huh?" muttered guitarist Trey Anastasio as Phish strapped on their instruments for the final performance of Bonnaroo 2009, a full two-set show that lasted from about 8:30 pm until almost 1:00 in the morning. If they seemed a bit slow on Friday night, there were no signs of fatigue from the get-go on Sunday.

Read all about the show after the jump

Photo by Jeff Kravitz courtesy of Phish.com

The second annual ROTHBURY Festival took place this last weekend, and went off without a hitch. I was in attendance, and am soon going to start posting coverage of the event, but in the mean time, I'd thought you festivarians might enjoy this clip. It features Kyle Hollingsworth's Friday at ROTHBURY, from the moment he wakes up, until the following morning after his band, The String Cheese Incident, played their first full show in several years. Packed with footage Hollingsworth took with his Flip camera, including shots from all around the grounds, the clip is set to a simple keyboard version of The Beatles' gem "A Day In The Life," sung by Hollingworth himself.

You gotta love Hollingsworth and Billy Nershi clouding out the back stage trailer!