Rothbury
This was my second visit to the gorgeous, oftentimes surreal site that is ROTHBURY. Situated in the woods of northern Michigan, just off of the lake, the setting couldn't be any more perfect in the middle of the summer. If you haven't heard about the Sherwood forest yet, look up some images and see what you've been missing. The fest reminds me a lot of the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, where nature, music and art seem to all flow together seamlessly. From sound and art installations in the woods to an almost ubiquitous focus on greening, ROTHBURY has all of the extras to make a music festival operate smoothly in place. It feels like a music fan's playground, the attention to detail with every aspect of the production is amazing.
This year we arrived about 18 hours after finishing a set at High Sierra Music Festival in the Sierra Nevadas, really about as far away as you can get from Michigan in the US. Getting off of the bus and breathing in the fresh air of northern Michigan was just what we all needed to prepare for the lengthy sets of music that were ahead of us. As it turned out, both nights of music were some of my favorite sets of the year. While the first night got a bit chilly for our fingers up there, the energy of the crowd carried us through. It's a little bit challenging to describe things as intangible as this, but on both of these nights, the music flowed and it felt like we could just keep playing. And every one of us in the band felt that way, which can be an enigmatic to reach in and of itself. In fact, for Sunday night's set we were originally told we could play as long as we wanted to, and had planned on another thirty minutes or so of music on til about 1:30.
But unfortunately the local police had had enough at 1 am and demanded us to stop. Johnny law won yet again. I do have to give props to the police that were out for being some of the most relaxed and easy going folks we've seen at a fest. I heard stories of them strobing their flashlights at the crowd during other sets at ROTHBURY, and then when asked by stage crew what the hell they were doing on the stage, they responded, "Oh, we were just messin with that hippie over there. He was crackin us up." I like hearing that everyone's having fun, but if you're a cop and you're reading this, don't stand on stage and flash your lights at fans, even if they hippies that are entertaining you.
While I didn't have very much time to listen to music this year at the fest, I can say without a doubt that it was one of our most memorable experiences we've had performing. Thanks to all of you out there for raging with us; you made this "old" guy feel young again.
-Joel
A few clips for your viewing enjoyment. Thanks to our buddy Matt Hogan for the footage.
Fireworks rage in the distance during "All In Time" on our Nation's Birthday.
Hajimemashite Shred
Matisyahu joins us on Sunday for some late night improvisation