Saturday, June 6, 2015

Wakarusa Dispatch 2: When It's Hot, Try Bacon.

If Thursday was hot, Friday was hotter, forcing folks to gather in any version of shade they could manage.  For me, that meant spending a good portion of the evening in the shade of the OtterBox charging kiosk, sucking down samples of Frappuccino and eagerly awaiting the drop of the sun behind mountains to the west.

Wakarusa 2015 has already gone down as the hottest... at least, that's what I've been told.  With temperatures popping up into the 90s, ice and water are at a premium.  Batteries, too

We pick up this dispatch with Thursday evening, down at Satellite Stage, where the sun set earlier and electronic dance music is the theme of the night.
Satellite Stage is located in a natural amphitheater downhill from the rest of
the main camp.  Art makes this area somewhat ethereal, with inflatable lanterns,
stationary kites and dozens of individuals in hammocks.  Someone even put up
a swing this year.

The crowd started to gather Thursday night before Goldroom.

The crowd was... diverse.

I caught this shot of Josh Legg, aka Goldroom, during soundcheck.  I think he posed.

Once he got into his show, the sunglasses came off and he jammed right along with
the throng of dancers out front.  He's adorkable.

People of all ages seemed to really dig the set.  Goldroom's exposure on Sirius
XM Chill certainly hasn't hurt his carryover with more mature audiences.
A video posted by Kat Robinson (@tiedyekat) on


The beauty of Satellite Stage is the way the wooded area along the hill funnels
the music upward.  There are no bad seats, or hammocks, in this house.

Goldroom's set is the first I have danced to for its entire length... in years.  It wore
me out.  My plans to hike out of the hollow were put on hold for me to rehydrate
and relax, eat a can of pears and drink some cold coffee.


That gave me the chance to hear Conspirator, though it took them quite a while
to get going.  Love the laptop cover here... apparently Boba Fett loves a slushie.

Once they got going, Conspirator's heavy drums and guitars fell onto laid down
tracks.  They had quite a following, including a crowd from Maine and from Boston.

A video posted by Kat Robinson (@tiedyekat) on

This crowd was entranced. And as the light left the sky, the lanterns lit up and
the crowd brought out every sort of light devices of their own.

A video posted by Kat Robinson (@tiedyekat) on
While I was downhill, Grav was up top at Main Stage for Umphrey's McGee.

Their jam lasted quite a while... I could hear it when I reached camp and was
able t enjoy it late into the night.

Grav caught the Lotus puppet from the Astral Gypsies in the crowd.  You'll
see it bobbing about in the video below for STS9, later.


Friday morning, we got up to head down to Chompdown.  Last year's event was on Friday,
and the crowd was pretty significant.

And thought the heady scent of frying bacon was in the air, the crowd this year
was smaller....

Probably due to the Friday slot.  There were still hundreds of hungry people
on-hand.  /The smart folks bring food to share - which, for us, meant pancake
mix, marshmallows, cookies and crackers.

The table never seems to go empty.
Dirtfoot added to its distinctive Louisiana sound with some Missouri-style
trombone playing from the Ben Miller Band.  I think Dirtfoot only retains about
two of its members and everyone else changes out.


Something this Wakarusa has taught me... the value of acute, immediate personal
hygiene.  Thank heavens for Wet-Naps.
In the heat of the afternoon, there were the Delta Saints.




And Wick-It The Instigator, cutting up at Outpost.
Wick-It may not be as adorkable as Goldroom, but he draws
some interesting fans.

The big show of the early evening was definitely Galactic with Macy Gray.  The
New Orleans based jazz rockers have paired up for a collaboration with the Ohio-
born R&B star. But she was nowhere to be seen the first two songs of
the set.

No matter.  These guys really know how to show off.



And then there was Macy.

A video posted by Kat Robinson (@tiedyekat) on

It was 90 degrees in the shade and she rocked feathers.
Her passion ignited the crowd.

And what a crowd it was.  

Out on the Main Stage lawn, bubbles were being blown and aircrafted.

Dozens hung out under and on geodesic domes.
The appearance onstage of Chance the Rapper drew out some...
interesting sights.
They call him Mellow Yellow.

As the night waned on, Grav and I caught a spot with a haybale and stationed
ourselves with a big sheet to sit on to lay in the grass.  This is how I watched
Chance the Rapper.
And then... there was STS9.

A video posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on

The sheer amount of light coming from the stage was astounding.  There was
an amazing amount coming from the audience, too.

Grav caught fire dancers on full display...

As STS9 plied the music of the night into fluent waves of smooth.




Saturday, we'll yoga, enjoy The Roots, reconnect with Nahko and Medicine for
the People and try try try to survive the heat.
If you'd like to see what's going on right now, follow The Sideblog or watch Grav on Instagram or Kat on Twitter.

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