Wakarusa Boogie Blog: Day Two
Friday, June 8, 2007

It's all about the music, baby...

Day two at Wakarusa was picture perfect – the weather was ideal, the people kind, and the music....ahh, the music. The lineup was downright delicious from the start, with Perpetual Groove opening things up over at the main Sun Down Stage and The Fuz, Crooked Still, The Beautiful Losers, and Down the Road starting off the day on the other four stages.

J.J. Grey and MOFRO followed P. Groove over at Sun Down and drove the crowd into a frenzy with their sweet, funky grooves and front porch soul. J.J. Grey was on fire and was lovin' the energy the crowd was throwing back at him. After having taken three weeks off, he was ready to give it to the eager crowd.

"This feels good God damn, boy!"

Luther Dickinson joined MOFRO on stage for a spell, wailing away on his guitar as only Luther Dickinson can do. Boy does that man play it sweet!

J.J. Grey and MOFRO treated the crowd to a few tasty tracks off of their latest album, Country Ghetto, including the title track. If you haven't picked this one up yet, get it done!

I sat down with J.J. after the electric set and talked with him about the high energy, rock hard performance he had just delivered.

"An audience here, at this kind of a festival, they're ready to go. You don't have to warm them up; you don't have to do nothin'. You just play and feel it and let yourself get lost in the moment and then it all goes itself. And we had the time off and I was really ready to play."

J.J. Grey and MOFRO will hit Boulder, Colorado on Saturday night before heading to New York City. Check out upcoming tour dates by clicking here.

I then headed over to catch RAQ, a band out of Burlington, Vermont, who was laying it down in the Revival tent. I had never seen RAQ play live before and boy was I in for a pleasant surprise! The band was serving it up hot and heavy to a good sized crowd - it was clear they were enjoying their on stage experience at Wakarusa.

"Thanks so much for enjoying this beautiful day under the tent with us!"

The word that kept coming to mine while listening to RAQ was ‘pure' – their jams were hauntingly beautiful and intricate. Every song seemed almost like a celebration. Funky, hard driving beats, sweet, delicate jams...RAQ delivered it all beautifully. This is one band I cannot wait to see again.

Railroad Earth was next up on the main stage. Having just celebrated their sixth anniversary, this American roots jam band plays a tight show. The crowd was huge and the hula-hoopers were out en masse for the Railroad Earth performance. The band gave the crowd a little bit of everything – from slow, sweet and pretty, to foot stompin', ass shakin' goodness. If you are headed to Bonnaroo next weekend, be sure to catch these guys while you're there.

Another very pleasant surprise came in the form of a set laid down by Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band. These guys rock! Funky, dirty, nasty, hot and heavy, YMBFBB brings it hard. Not only are they fantastic to hear live, they are a lot of fun to watch too. Suzanna Baum, a guest vocalist with the group, has this sexy, throaty voice that stirs the soul – and she's got moves to go with it! On the band's website, it identifies YMBFBB's particular groovy style as "Bounce Music". I understood what they meant after seeing them play live- I could not stop movin' and shakin'! For a great time, check these guys out live!

It was then on to Delta Nove at the Campground Stage. This world funk band out of Long Beach, CA, always puts on a show that will leave your heart pounding and a big, fat, cheesy grin on your face. Heavy on the drums, heavy on the beat, Delta Nove always gets the booties shakin'! With their eclectic blend of Brazilian samba, funk, ska, reggae, afro-beat, jazz and rock, it's hard not to fall in love with these guys whatever your preferred genre of music. For me, the best part of the set was when all five members of the band joined together for a drum performance of mind-blowing proportions. The energy was intense! The crowd was totally into it and relishing every beat. Man alive, that was some good shit!

Feelin' good in my soul, it was time for me to head back down to the main Sun Down Stage to catch the rest of North Mississippi Allstars. Whenever I watch Luther Dickinson with his guitar, I get the feeling that I am watching history being made – he is seriously one of the greatest guitar players I have ever had the pleasure of seeing live. Luther, Cody Dickinson (drums) and Chris Chew (bass) were in fine form Friday evening. Playing for just an hour and fifteen minutes this round, their kick ass set left the crowd yearning for more NMA. These boys have a new live concert DVD, which will include an exclusive live EP, dropping on June 26th. Entitled, "Keep on Marchin'", the footage is from a show filmed back in November of 2005. You can pre-order it on the NMA website by clicking here. The North Mississippi Allstars will be playing the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic at the end of this month. If you want to get an idea as to the kind of music that has played a key role in influencing the North Mississippi Allstars, try and make it to this two-day fest.

Ozomatli put on a red hot, fiery performance Friday night that had the massive crowd going out of their minds. Talk about intensity! After twelve years together, you can tell there is a new, electric energy coursing through this band. A look at the band's profile will tell you why...

"On the surface, nothing's changed. There's the same core line-up, the same oppositional politics, the same live shows that erupt into drum-line blessed community parties, and the same devotion to polyglot urban sound clashing. But here's what's new: after 12 years of collaborative song-writing, 12 years of constant touring everywhere from Denver to Tokyo to Sydney, 12 years of supporting anti-war mobilizations and global human rights movements, 12 years of pioneering Spanish-English mash-ups of hip hop, salsa, cumbia, dub, and Middle Eastern funk, and most importantly, 12 years of facing up to internal battles and personal struggles, they've emerged anew with their fourth full-length studio album, Don't Mess With The Dragon, the band's most cohesive, polished, and joyous record to date." From the Ozomatli Band Profile

Ozomatli is known for grabbing their instruments and heading into the crowd to end the show. They did not disappoint the Wakarusa crowd Friday night – the massive crowd centered around the members of Ozomatli and indulged in an all out jamfest. It was incredible!

We were fortunate enough to grab a video interview with two members of Ozomatli following their performance. Look for the video to hit MoBoogie in the near future. See what the buzz is all about and pick yourself up a copy of their latest album.

While Ozomatli was shakin' it up at the main stage, Galactic was bringing it on home in the Revival tent with a performance that left the crowd downright giddy!

The crowd over at the main stage continued to swell in anticipation of the Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals performance due to start at 10pm. Ben Harper started off by taking the stage on his own and eased the audience into his set before letting loose and giving it to the crowd. Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals rocked it hard for two hours straight, doling out one sweet, rockin' jam after another. Leon Mobley (percussion) served up a downright crazy bongo solo during "Burn One Down". Ben Harper fans did not walk away disappointed, that's for sure.

The party continued well into the night with performances by Yonder Mountain String Band, Tea Leaf Green, ALO, Pnuma Trio, and Zilla, to name a few. Day two was friggin amazing! Now on to day three...

More coming your way soon!

Peace,
Cyndi