Headstash

Headstash on the Road: Wakarusa Day 2

Photo Credit: Patrick McGettigan

Day two of Wakarusa featured an eclectic mix of music and weather. The morning started off hot and muggy then along came the clouds. Some rain cooled things down for the rest of the night, but that didn’t stop the fans from enjoying the hot beats of some very talented acts.

The dreadlocked multi-talented artists of Dumptruck Butterlips preached of living for love and allowing self expression no matter who you are or what age you happen to be underneath the Revival Tent.

From the foot-stomping feel good bluegrass to their slow jam-esque blues that got everyone in that loving mood (seriously, there will be Waka babies), the band captured the crowd’s attention. 

The young Lucas Parker, their guest guitarist, kicked things off nicely with an inspiring solo during “That Can Change Your Life.” 

Photo Credit: Patrick McGettigan

Then, Dirtfoot’s “sax offender” joined in on a sexual breakdown of “Fly Home to Georgia” and “Fucked Things Up.”

Hailing from Denton, Texas, Snarky Puppy injected the first wave of funky soul into Friday and ignited the crowd with a preaching gospel from keyboardist Michael League’s heart. During ‘There’s A Riot Going On,” the funky jazz organ made the crowd erupt as the light emanated from his soulful crooning.

MarchFourth Marching Band brought out quite the crowd at 4:00 p.m. even though Mother Nature was not cooperating.  This group of 20+ musicians knows how to get things funky. Between their quirky band uniforms, people walking on stilts, female acrobats and a full on brass band, it was sensory overload and a definite party.

Who brings their own crowd tunnel to walk through while playing a show? Rubblebucket, of course! This band has such a love for their fans and they show it often. The Outpost Tent was jam-packed with fans dancing away the rain and getting down to this Brooklyn-based group. Lead vocalist and saxophone player, Kalmia Traver swooned the crowd with her unique vocals and dance moves while playing one of their fan-favorites, “Silly Fathers”.

Heartless Bastards can be explained entirely by their name – a group with a deep abyss of heart who play with a vigor that shows theirs were shattered a million times over again. They fed the crowd some soul and finished to the setting sun in the most ironic and appropriate way, by playing “Rising Sun.”

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros took the energy to the next level to kick off an amazing night on the mountain. This 12-piece brought good vibes and had the crowd at their fingertips the whole set. 

Photo Credit: Patrick McGettigan

“Carries On” was a sing-along that the whole crowd participated in. Next, they busted out the album-less orphan, “If You Wanna.” This got the crowd moving as front man Alex Ebert jumped into the crowd and started walking the divider.

His heartfelt emotions were evident as he perched on the divider while watching his band play and the fans grasped onto him.  They ended things with the oft-requested, “Home,” to cap off an amazing performance.

Railroad Earth made for a special set by bringing their best along the “Mighty River” to the Revival Tent. John, Andrew and Tim broke out their electric instruments to kick the night away in a jam spiral while Perpetual Groove performed admirably and tore music lovers between the two stages.

RRE was not to be quieted easily after an awesome performance and they returned to play “Bird in A House” as an emotional final stop to their Waka showing.

If there is one band that never lets you down it’s Umphrey’s McGee. Anticipation was high as lead guitarist Jake Cinninger came out for a sound check and the place erupted.  When the band finally took the stage, everyone in attendance was on the same high.  As soon as Ryan Stasik hit the sliding bass line for “Wappy Sprayberry,” we knew we were in for a treat. 

Photo Credit: Patrick McGettigan

Jeff Wafful’s lights were also a highlight of the show (as always) and the performance was one of the best of the festival so far.

Ghostland Observatory’s Aaron Behrens left people wondering how they could bottle up the same amount of energy to harness for each show. Backed by one of the most intricate light shows (lasers to be exact), the performance was high-octane and reminiscent of an underground club but with the freedom of being outdoors. 

The show brought up a lot of togetherness with everyone being on the same dance party page. The band and crowd spoke of the love felt right off the bat – love that increased tenfold as Ghostland tore into “Sad, Sad City.” The song fueled the rest of the night. Lets just say things got “weird.”

Along with the fantastic music scene here, fans at Waka are some of the most unique festivalgoers around. Whether it’s crazy costumes, good vibrations or knowing every word and beat to a song, the fans here have got it. 

A group of people set up a soup kitchen on one of the main strips on the way into the main venue area that is open to all festival fans. Each day, this group of people cook up meals and leaves out snacks for those who walk by and are in a need of some food fuel. 

They also offer a phone service to call friends and family if you aren’t getting cell reception. Nothing but positive vibrations in the air over here at Mulberry Mountain and it’s undoubtedly going to stay that way the whole weekend.

 

Photo Credit: Patrick McGettigan

Photo Credit: Patrick McGettigan

Photo Credit: Patrick McGettigan

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Stay tuned to Headstash for more coverage from the grounds of Wakarusa 2012. We’ll have constant Instagram and Twitter updates on our homepage and more daily recaps in the next few days.

Saturday has another great slate of artists with round two of Umphrey's McGee, Primus, Slightly Stoopid, Big Gigantic, Beats Antique, RJD2 and more.

For more information on Wakarusa, check out the festival’s official website.