So that picture above is Tara Nevins from Donna the Buffalo, playing with the Bill Kreutzmann Trio at 2009 Wanee festival in Live Oak, Fl. In a weekend of stellar performances, this one was a standout. Tara sang lead on Grateful Dead classic "He's Gone," and she did a kick-ass job of it, the trio also did one of my fave DTB songs, "...Walking, Talking, too Far from the Light, Living, Breathing, in Colorless Black and White..."
Wanee was a mudfest, but none of the shows were cancelled by weather, amazingly. The crowd was super-giant compared to other Spirit of the Suwannee fests. There was also an abundance of what I call "Bowlegged Whiskey Walkers," some of them fixin' to fight. Mostly peaceful, though, and a hell of a lot of fantastic music! Here's a few show reviews for ya:
The Doobie Brothers - They did some classic old tunes, my favorites were Black Water, Listen to the Music, and Takin' it to the Streets. What struck me was really how great their playing is (and was) beyond just being catchy. Their 70's hair --completely unchanged! -- was hysterical.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - This was my first time hearing Grace, and she ROCKED it! She's a super-sultry bad-ass with the attitude of Marcia Ball, and the sound of Bonnie Raitt and Nora Jones. Her band was impeccable.
The Wailers - Did the entire Exodus album at midnight on Saturday as the show closer.Their sound system was curiously low-fi, but it was awesome to hear those old tunes live.
The Allmans, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi -- This is what the crowd came for, and they delivered -- blistering guitar solos, soulful singing, nice long, fat sets.
Little Feat - Were a disappointment, and I'm a real fan. They seemed bored, and Lowell George's daughter, who had been wailing out lead vocals last year, wasn't with them. The set was predictable and forgettable.
The Radiators - LOVED that New Orleans sound! Ditto Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, I had to sit down after that funk-fest!
Col. Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance - Never disappoints! He laid it DOWN with fancy riffs and super soulful vocals. The thing about Bruce is, even though he's been performing for so long, he never seems stale to me. He's just got that funky thing going, deep inside. I had a HUGE smile on my face and a spring in my step!
Arc Angels - Lots of people were loving this band, I was not one of them. Sounded like boring Southern rock to me, I left.
Keller Williams - Was just precious and fascinating to watch his one-man band, plus his very ardent fans.
Umphrey's McGee - One of the best shows of the whole weekend. Their jazzy, jammy riffs were tighter than tight, and they just played the hell out of their afternoon set. Super standout in a weekend filled with Guitar Gods.
I've only got one real complaint -- there were very few sit-ins. With all that talent, I expected a little more cross-pollination among groups. Warren Haynes was stage-skippping for sure, but he was the rare one.
I'll be back next year!
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1 comment:
Thanks for you take on the festival. I obviously didn't see the same things as you, but agree with much of what you said where your schedule matched mine.
Travelled from Toronto to Wanee to be there. Should preface this by saying that my ex can't go anywhere without bad shit happening, so it was kind of magical to make my first non-business trip on my own in 20 years and everything went off without a hitch.
Agree to a point on the Feat. I've seen them more than any other band, and it wasn't their best show ever. I think the short set was a problem and the rain certainly distracted them. Kenny's bass was also testing the sound system. Having said that, they did some really tasty stuff under tough circumstances. Allman's burned on Friday, set kind of petered out on Saturday for me (although up until the drums and bass it was great).
Highlights for me, DBT, Dumpstafunk, Radiators, the Colonel and Govt Mule. I think cross pollination kind of hurt by bands on tight schedules, Dumpstafunk and DBT both came into park and got on stage by the skin of their teeth. Not sure about next year but I will if I can.
Gordbrown48 Toronto Ontario Canada
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