Ice Cream Man

Last weekend I had the good fortune of returning to Pioneertown for the third time this year. This time for the 3rd annual Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven Campout. After heading out for the Clean Air! Clear Stars! Festival, I knew that Pappy & Harriet’s was the place to be for a festival and decided that I had to make it out to the Campout. I filled Bessita to the brim with frozen goodies and made the trek out to the desert.

I got into Cracker back in high school when their first self-titled album was released. Unbeknownst to me at the time, frontman David Lowery already led a semi-successful outfit called Camper Van Beethoven. Luckily, with the advent of the internet, I was able to learn more and after buying all three CVB albums in print at the time, I ended up becoming a much bigger CVB fan than I had ever been a Cracker fan. When I heard of the first campout I had wanted to make it out, but plans fell through. Thanks to Ice Cream Man, I had no problem making it to this one.

Dusty Rhodes and the River Band opened things up on the outside stage (Sean Kennedy was the first act on the indoor stage, which I didn’t get a chance to see) with a very entertaining, highly enerjetic set that sounded somewhere between the Decemberists and the Band. They were also probably the biggest ice cream fans of the weekend (save for the security guard that came back for more three or four times). Check them out at The Key Club in L.A. on Oct. 2nd for their record release party. Or check them out wherever you see they’re playing, it’s a great live show.

Next on the Outdoor stage was Magnolia Electric Co. The set was a very mellow, one may say stoney, folk rock. They actually sounded really good, but for myself, it’s the kind of stuff that I don’t care to see live, but will listen to at home. In fact, during the set I went back to the car to have a beer and relax and ended up enjoying the set much more at that point. I feel the same way about Wilco which would cause intense shock and possible hatred by Wilco fans. Eh, sorry.

After talking with Allen from the River Band for a while about Long Beach (Ikey Owens produced their album, yes there’s actually an Alex at Alex’s Bar), I headed in to see the Watson Twins. I saw them a little while back when they played the Prospector in Long Beach and was interested in seeing them with a better sound system. Sure enough, they sounded a lot better than the last time I saw them, and even looked more comfortable playing, which may have been incidental.

The reason most people came that day however, was headliners Camper Van Beethoven. Apparently, their set was exactly the same as one they played in January 2005, except backwards. Over the course of the two hour set they plowed through favorites “Take the Skinheads Bowling,” “Pictures of Matchstick Men,” and “Tania” among many, many others. Their fusion of Russian folk, American folk, punk rock and country western was incredibly infectious live and was definitely something to see. Afterwards, I had heard from some die hard fans that this was one of the best CVB shows ever, which made me glad that I saw it. The set should be available for download soon at archive.org. Also, make sure to check them out with Built to Spill at the Henry Fonda Sept. 13.

Ending the days festivities was the interesting cabaret duo, Vermillion Lies. They proved to be the biggest surprise of the day, putting on a high energy, interactive show that must be seen live. In fact, I will hesitate to even describe it, save maybe something like Dresden Dolls meets They Might Be Giants and Flaming Lips. Seriously though, if you get a chance, check out their live show. I’ll leave it at that.

After spending the night in the car (with windows rolled down due to the dry ice) I stayed around giving out loads of ice cream in the hot sun for most of the next day. In thanks, I got a glass pendant from a local glass worker, check out his stuff at glassparadise.com. With previous plans for the night, I had to get back to Long Beach and missed the Saturday shows, but I’m sure it was just as entertaining. I’m looking forward to next year.

I’ll have to apologize for the quality of the pictures, I’m not much of a photographer, but enjoy!

Thanks to Velena Vego, David Lowery and Pappy & Harriet’s for setting me up to see the shows and sling some ice cream. And of course, thanks to Levi’s for helping make it all possible.