Three Sisters Park
Chillicothe, Illinois
Words & Photos By Kevin Hahn
Southern Illinois. 110 degrees. Midwest throw-down. These are just some of the things I remember distinctively hearing while packing up my car to head to Chillicothe, Illinois for SummerCamp 2013. Living with a SummerCamp veteran I was given tips, tools, advice, guidelines, do, don’ts, bands to catch, and people to see, all while being reminded that Umphrey’s McGee is about to blow my brains out over the next four days. My level of excitement was extremely palpable as the days whisked away leading up to my initial summer road trip and of course my first SummerCamp music festival. Leaving from Michigan we were able to avoid the all-too-noteworthy police presence of the Midwest and landed in the main parking lot of Three Sisters Park around 7:00 AM on Thursday. I believe this is where the initial confusion, chaos, and overall disdain for the organizational aspects of this amazing festival begins… please let me explain:
-Not all volunteers were versed on the appropriate credentials, wristbands, etc…making this process not only slow, but very frustrating.
-Lines of cars stretched all the way to the highway as certain volunteers who seemed to have already started their SummerCamp party bumbled through festival rules and chain-smoked cigarettes as if the world was ending tomorrow.
-After receiving your wristband and parking your car the real waiting game was about to begin, as a large group of festivarian’s had been patiently waiting for the gates to open since 3:00 AM Thursday morning. Talk about commitment!!
-This rain, though not the worst we would see, was just enough to thoroughly soak the dedicated SCampers and make waiting in line to find that special camping spot even more exhausting and for some just downright miserable.
As the gates opened and festival patrons started to pour in, one of my main weekend worries was staring me right in the face. Hearing from numerous past SCampers that security walking in the gates is pretty tough/strict I decided to sit back and watch a few groups go ahead through the checkpoint before entering the gauntlet. To many attendees surprise the 2013 SCamp security was quite lenient, and very courteous. As hoards of music lovers ran towards the woods to look for their home-spot for the next four days, smiles were abundant and the mood was cheerful as many patrons thought they would have much more trouble getting their favorite bloody mary ingredients into the park. I met up with my festival family at our designated home base, and started to get that good-ole music festival happy feeling. People from all over the nation seemed to be camping around us and the diversity of people/culture/music that SummerCamp is, truly started to show its colors.
-We came prepared for warm weather… all 20,000 of us
-Alcohol consumption was immense, intense, and very binge-like
-Even with the initial confusion/chaos SummerCamp 2013 was ready to rage!
Umphrey's McGee Sound check:
Questions swirled around my music-obsessed brain, but as I walked away from the Sunshine Stage I knew that the weekend ahead of me was going to rage… HARD!
Set: 1348 > Roulette
Cosby Sweater feat. Joel Cummins:
Side projects are always interesting and unique, because sometimes even the artist doesn’t know exactly what is going to happen. Cosby Sweater is a perfect example of this. A newly founded electronic trio, Cosby Sweater combines funky drum beats and intense tenor saxophone solos with a DJ mixing in samples and other sounds, which reminds me of what Big Gigantic used to do. For their Thursday set Cosby Sweater was joined by the UMPH piano-guru Joel Cummins and his love for the up-and-coming electronic/dance scene. In my opinion, Joel should have stayed in his trailer and prepared for the upcoming UMPH shows. Watching him try to play his keyboard over the immense sounds of the on-stage DJ was a train-wreck, and even Joel seemed confused at times with what he was supposed to do. The sax player and drummer were quite talented, but completely overshadowed by the ridiculousness exuding from the man pushing buttons and turning knobs. There were moments of musical greatness though, as the on-stage producer/DJ would take a break from time to time and allow the actual instruments on stage to come through in their full musical ability. Joel’s continued mastery of the keys shined through during these brief moments, and was truly a delight to see/hear. (It is quite hard to hear him in UMPH sometimes, so this was a great opportunity to experience his full repertoire.) In my opinion, if the trio consisted of Joel, tenor sax, and a drummer, this could quite possibly be one hell of a side-project… but until then, I highly recommend you wait for Cosby to try on another sweater.
Cornmeal’s Summer Camp Ramble:
SCampers have become accustomed to Thursday being a sort-of Cornmeal day, and now with Allie departing the band, who knows what next year will bring. One thing is clear, Ms. Kral is an immensely talented musician and whomever she joins will be extremely lucky to have her. By the looks of the other performers on stage, this ramble was a true success and came to a rocking end with a beautiful rendition of “I Know You Rider”. Cornmeal and Allie still had much more music to play throughout the weekend, but their ramble was a true highlight and joy to be a part of.
Ultraviolet Hippopotamus:
I have been fortunate enough to see a plethora of music over the last couple of years, but not many bands get me truly “excited” anymore. UV Hippo is one of those special bands. The camaraderie on stage can be felt in the crowd, and the love their fans have for them is almost unmatched. I truly cannot believe I have not been exposed to the rays of these Hippo freaks before, as they embody everything I like in a musical group: great lyrics, intense musical styles, and the ability to make a crowd dance/rage no matter the circumstance. I highly recommend you jump on the Hippo train, as it is quickly picking up steam around the world. I for sure will be catching them the next time they come around the Denver area, which I truly hope is sooner rather than later.
Kevin's Photo Gallery
www.summercampfestival.com
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