Last year Bessie and I were supposed to make it to 10,000 Lakes Festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota but werent able to due to sickness (both of us), extreme heat, and the length of the trek (its over 1,400 miles). It was the only festival I missed last year and I was looking forward to making it out there this time around.
10KLF, as its commonly referred to, takes place at Soo Pass Ranch, the same festival grounds where the extremely popular country music WE Fest happens, it’s this coming weekend (Aug 2-4th) with Keith Urban, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood, and a bunch more. Because of the popularity of WE Fest, the grounds are well developed for a music festival which helps make 10klf run near flawlessly.
Bessie and I were heading up from Chicago and stopped in Minneapolis for an NPR interview, to pick up Craig, and to get some ice cream from Big Bell. Everything went smoothly and we started our way up Highway 10 to Detroit Lakes. We werent sure if we were going to arrive that night or the next morning once Craig saw that we could make a short detour to Paul Bunyan land outside Baxter, Minnesota. Upon arrival into the neighboring town of Brainerd we discovered that the old park had been torn down (to make way for a Lowes, of all things) and that there was a new one a ways out of town. As much as I wanted a picture with Paul, Babe the Blue Ox, Bessie, and me, it was a bit too late to extend our detour. Instead we found a nice Super 8 motel and pulled out the trusty wiffle ball and bat for some batting practice.
I slept in a bit too much and missed the make-your-own waffles before heading up to 10KLF. Once there we were instructed to check in with the backstage information booth to see about parking. Chris and her friend were working the booth and we instantly hit it off. Craig headed out on a recon mission, and upon his return, we secured a parking spot for Bessie inside the VIP area next to our good friends at Bodyworks Backstage. We had almost 2000 pieces on board, which is a good amount, but I was still nervous we might run out sooner than we’d like after being overtaken by the VIP masses. Thankfully that didnt up being the case.
The lineup for the night included Umphreys McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Particle, Galactic, and Zappa Plays Zappa. The main stage performers were the ones we could hear best from the truck. Dweezil Zappa has formed an allstar band and has been traveling around playing the music of his dad, Frank. They sounded top notch and Im guessing its the closest anyone will get to a true Zappa experience now. As the sun set we headed up a hill behind the main stage to set up camp for the weekend. I had every intention of returning to the main festival area but there actually wasnt any need, as we could see most of what was going on and the music sounded great. We hung with Kristii and Gator and listened to Umphreys and The Disco Biscuits before hopping into my borrowed tent for the night (Thanks Kristii).
Friday Morning the music didnt begin on the big stages til 2pm so it was sort of slow going on. The
Peace Coffee Truck was there from Minneapolis so I made a couple trips before setting up shop around noon. The big ice cream rushes came just after lunch and dinner but the rest of the time it was pretty mellow. On the far stage I could faintly hear the Everyone Orchestra and New Riders of the Purple Sage. At 6, moe. went on the main stage and everyone was groovin along. The highlight of their set was a version of Paranoid Android by Radiohead which got me moving a bit.
Craig and I decided to let loose a bit that night and get a lil loopy for String Cheese Incident. After he shot the first couple songs we locked up Bessie and headed toward the back of the venue to a nice open grass spot to chat and catch the rest of the Cheese. Since the venue is permanent and, the sound was different from most festivals as the equipment and stages arent portable. At the main stage the two towers that hold the speakers are farther apart than normal stage setups, and I had been commenting how good the sound was since we arrived but when I had some time to relax and really enjoy a set, it really sank in. I like SCI better than most jam bands because their sound is mostly rooted in bluegrass which gives them a bit more depth than your average jam band. Their cover of the Talking Heads This Must Be The Place put a smile on my face with the lyrics, Home – is where I want to be, but I guess I’m already there.
After their set we tried to catch some Trampled by Turtles but the barn stage was uncomfortably crowded so we headed back to listen to Tragically Hip for a bit before wandering off to the campground to see what was going on there. We ran into Strictly Mental and chatted him up for a bit about his work and the art scene in Baltimore. Hes just started to get out and painting and selling his stuff at festivals. Check out www.strictlymental.com to see more of his work.
Unlike most festivals the last day was Saturday, as opposed to Sunday. It still felt like a mellow Sunday though. I wasnt going to come to a festival called 10,000 Lakes and not go swimming so I got up early enough to walk to Lake Sallee for a swim. With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, and a mile long walk ahead of me, it was a very nice way to wake up, especially for a festival. People were already getting their lunch in the VIP area by the time I got back so I quickly setup shop to finish off what we had on board. As planned, we ran out around 7ish that night which was perfect. If we dont have much dry ice on board, the last thing we want to be stuck with is hundreds of creams with no way of keeping them cold.
I cleaned Bessie up so that we could get out pretty early in the morning; Craig had to get back to Minneapolis to fly out at 5pm. After finishing the cleaning we headed back up to near the same spot we watched SCI and listened to some Bob Weir and Ratdog and watched the fireworks. Big thanks to the The Honey Hole who hooked Craig and I with some amazing chicken strips and cheese curds. It was a great way to end a rather relaxing and peaceful weekend.
We headed through the town of Detroit Lakes and on the way south out of town saw Ras Kennedy walking down the road. We stopped to see if he needed a ride and ended up taking him all the way to the airport where he hopped on a train.
My main thought with a lot of the jam band festivals is how long they can go on when theres so many other similar fests (at least lineup wise) and only so many bands to choose from. I think Bonnaroo has managed to survive and thrive because they were able to branch out and get big name bands like Radiohead, White Stripes, and The Police to play. I guess a big test will be with Vegoose in Las Vegas on Halloween Weekend. The lineup there is drastically different than the last two years (Vegoose Review 2005, 2006) with Rage Against the Machine, Daft Punk, Muse, Iggy, Shins and Mastodon all playing this time around. Personally, I can’t wait. It’s gonna be RAD!
