Aaaaaah. You have gotten three great nights of music under your belt. You have had time to have your campsite functioning well and made friends with your neighbors. You have made it through three days of having very little need to be fiddling around with your cell phone and spent lots of time with the human beings right beside you. You are familiar with the layout of the venue and accepted the fact that you have to walk, literally miles for some depending on where you camped, your @$$ off at times to get were you wanted to be. You have accepted the fact you are going to get thoroughly scrutinized upon entering the viewing area by folks that seem to have lost their minds regarding the powers granted to a person simply for wearing a yellow SECURITY shirt. With all the goings on at Lockn’, you wouldn’t think that the most tweeked out folks would be the wristband readers. Tweeked wristband checkersers with their invasive attitudes and haphazardly ransacking people’s belongings searches aside, you have realized things are all good and there is one more night of music to enjoy before heading back to your day to day.
Sunday, as any other day of Lockn' Festival, gave the performers another chance to steal the show and be the act that has everybody talking. Whether you are a freak for Widespread Panic, claim Warren Haynes plus every member of Gov't Mule and WHB as faMuley, been digging on Phil Lesh and loving Bob Weir for decades, feeling the kind, country, summer glow that John Fogerty and friends puts out, a fiend for some Cheese, under a spell from Grace Potter, wallowing in the southern sweetness of the Tedeschi Trucks Band or flying high with the Black Crowes; you can’t pick a show stealer or festival maker at Lockn’.
With the way the band credits who plays what instrument, their bio reads like they may run a torture shop for both humans and horses. Let us keep things on the sunny side and all rest assured they are just showing off their sense of humor. Far from tortuous, The Hackensaw Boys' music hath the charms to sooth the wildest beast in the West and the most wide eyed in attendance at Lockn’.
From smoky and sometimes tiny clubs in the late 20th century to the vast expanse of Lockn’s several hundred acre venue in this 21st century, Col. Bruce Hampton is still making it happen. Considering the Colonel & Friends showed up late on the list of acts to perform, when all the other bands are out touring on a regular basis, and played so well speaks volumes about their hearts and talents.
With their own band and when joining in with other performers at Lockn', Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks sure were easy to find. All you had to listen for was some music especially full of jubilance. Well, jubilance is a word for the performances all through the weekend so lets go with extra jubilant for their set plus all their joining in with other acts. To be for sure, lots of folks would have Susan Tedeschi’s and Derek Trucks performances as their favorites of the weekend.
For a period of time during the history of The Black Crowes, folks were sweating, gossiping and throwing in their opinions on the Robinson brothers instead of appreciating the music. While all that was going on, it was easy to wonder just how well these folks sweating the Robinsons were getting along with their own family members. Lots of folks in this world do not get along with family members, while hardly having a pot to whiz in, much less having the added pressures and demands of playing music for a living and having every desirable creature comfort at their fingertips. With their performances on Saturday and Sunday Lockn’, the focus should be back on what the Crowes do so well. These days the Crowes are playing songs that feature virtuosity from all band members and masterfully written lyrics that will stop your mind and heart in their tracks. As for your body, if songs such as Lovelight, Jealous, Hard to Handle and Jumping Jack Flash do not get you singing, dancing, twirling and on your way to nakedness; please consult a healthcare professional.
Think the Grateful Dead from May of 1977 working with as a funky, funky soul groove as you can imagine along with some good old southern up all night when you may have been better off sleeping greasy blues and that sound will put you in the ballpark for Saturday’s and Sunday’s Widespread Panic shows. Jimmy Herring’s Flannel Shirt serves as the closest thing to a magic carpet in today’s modern world. If Ali Baba would have had Jimmy Herring’s Flannel Shirt back in the days of Persia, the issues presented by the forty thieves would have been dealt with much more easily. If Ali could have flown around on that flannel shirt chunking those roughnecks an occasional block of hash, served up some potent psycho-active tea water balloon bombs from above and played them some Widespread Panic on the regular; the thieves would have been laying around eating dates from the open street markets of Baghdad, thinking happy thoughts and had their minds much less focused on robbing and stealing. Massive amounts of hash, psycho-actives and lots of Widespread Panic would not be a bad route to go these days when dealing with Al Qaeda and the like. Dose those $%^*^ up and chill them the %*^$ out! Obviously, our current strategy of spending trillions of dollars and relying on the deaths and maiming of thousands upon thousands AIN’T working too well.
Very appropriate that Furthur ended the festival since their decades earlier side project, The Grateful Dead, interjected improvisational skills into rock and roll. With the recent announcement that Furthur is taking a year off, having the opportunity to see them playing as well as ever for three days in the same venue was priceless. Enhancing Furthur’s set was Jimmy Herring and Susan Tedeschi joining in the fun for a few of the songs. Herring’s extra invisible, double jointed fingers and flannel shirt took things a bit farther with Furthur on classics Brown-Eyed Women and Box Of Rain. Susan Tedeschi added a touch of Donna Jean Godchaux on Dear Mr. Fantasy, Playing In The Band and a lovely, lovely, lovely version of Standing On The Moon.
Check out more photos from Lockn' Festival 2013.
