The second annual Festival Del Mar may have been sparse in terms of audience turnout, but it was by no means low on musical talent. Somewhere between ‘Ginormous Music Extravaganza’ and ‘Street Craft Fair’ lies what we will term a ‘Local Weekend Late Summer Sunday’ kind of feel.
That is not to say any of the musicians felt or sounded lazy. All of the bands brought terrific energy and unique styles to a very well-organized, small-scale venue that represents a lot of what is great about San Diego. (namely palm trees, ocean breezes, fine sunsets, good music and smiling people)
We loaded Bessita up with some Julie’s Organic Ice Cream then made the trip south for the weekend. Saturday was the closest a New Orleans Jazz Fest would get to San Diego. It was an absolutely fabulous lineup, with the likes of Dr. John,
Little Feat, and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The laid back atmosphere really added to enjoyable flavor as the bayou music wafted through the air.
Some suprises included Super Chikan, whose delta-style guitar playing was amazing. His unique guitar and riffs would transport you to a backwoods hole-in-the-wall dive. Although I feel he would be better appreciated in a small, dark, smoke-filled club. Also Medeski, Martin & Wood with their experimental jazz, had a soothing effect over the audience, with plenty of space for the fans to lounge and dance to their long jams.
The headliner was the legendary George Thorogood, who is still “bad to the bone”. His adoring fans turned every song into a sing-along, which I don’t think he minded. He still loves performing and even feigned collapse from total exhaustion and the end of his blistering guitar set. His performance took me back to my high school days when his songs populated the rock stations, and we would blast One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.
Sunday highlights included an enthusiastic Skanic, a Long Beach area band recalling a mixture of Sublime-like energy with shades of Oingo Boingo and a healthy dose of Ska seasoning. They hit what they were aiming for, and the early sparse crowd enjoyed their upbeat style.
Breakestra brought fresh funk and people started to move. No, people started to groove. Which, it seems, is the type of movement that happens when people get their funk stepped on. And not just their funk, but their hip-hop, reggae and rock too. As bassist Miles Tackett is fond of saying, “What are the first three letters of FUNK?”
Leon Mobley and his crew let the drums do the talking…and they spoke up loudly with a rhythmic vocality that woke up some restless vision and gave it legs to dance on. These masters of percussion wove a complex and punctuated tapestry of beats the crowd could dig on many levels. And they managed to tread lightly across several categories of drumming (tribal, reggae, folk, and more) without staying too long in any one.
Kaki King was a surprise crowd-pleaser; (and this writer’s personal standout artist of the day) other musicians were seen flocking over to check them out. If you have never heard Kaki’s melodic ambient blend, make sure you check them out — especially if you like the ethereal aspect of older Pink Floyd. Kaki is practically channeling Roger Waters while tossing in some Keller Williams and adding her own unique signature over it all.
San Diego Music Awards winner of Band of the Year for 2006, B-Side Players continued their solid tradition of classic Latin-jam style with their combination of keys, trumpet, funk, and a side of — you guessed it — salsa. Their new original song Mikaella was a fantastic treat that was both a pleasantly predictable framework, and surprisingly fresh in the moment.
And speaking of fresh, what did the people think of fresh ice cream from The Ice Cream Man? The well-received young band The Censored, when told it really was free, responded with a quiet but emphatic “Oh man this is the best day of my life.”
Mad Professor masterfully dubbed his way into the minds of everyone within earshot, and it was like a lure. People were drawn to the undercurrents of roots reggae and low bass from all over the venue.
ALO, aka Animal Liberation Orchestra, really seemed to bring the festival even closer to some earthy jam base while furthering that summertime Sunday feeling with tunes like Girl I Wanna Lay You Down. I mean, who else would rhyme rasta with pasta and candles with love-handles? And who-else would have fans dressing in a full-penguin suit come out and show their support? The quirky crowd fit with the quirky band like two puzzle pieces snapping together. And when there is that synergy between band and crowd, it is almost tangible, definitely noticeable, and very, very cool.
Oh yeah, and speaking of that fantastic summertime feel, moe. rocked out early on in their set with a The Who version of Summertime Blues. (and congratulations to moe. for their upcoming tour opening for The Who!) These boys from New York played a fabulous sundown, kick-ass southern California set, complete with hoola-hoopers on the side and a beach ball or two. And like tasty free ice cream, all good festivals should have some of THAT.
Cake‘s roaring motorcade of popularity was a sing-along that went the distance in such a classy way…not classy in the sense of a black-tie affair, classy in the sense of naked truthfulness to a pure sound. Cake established themselves back in the 90’s with their own mix of quirky lyrics, punctuating trumpet licks, and all-around modern-day pop-folk comfort. Rock and Roll Lifestyle, Never There, Sheep Go To Heaven, Goats Go To Hell…all songs that could be sung, if not quietly around a campfire, loudly around a huge bonfire.
And at the end of a fantastic late summer’s day, Cake’s big crackling bonfire of a show fit perfectly.
