As a representative of the Socal Ice Cream Man this summer, I enjoyed two great days at Doheny Days, a music festival in Dana Point, CA at Doheny State Beach. The featured bands included reggae such as Black Uhuru and Ziggy Marley, surf rock including Donavon Frankreiter, Ben Harper, and G. Love, and rock bands Cake and Weezer. On Saturday, we arrived at the Doheny Beach gate and were told to park far off in the general parking. After pleas to find a spot for us in the VIP section and fruitless searching, we ventured far out into the general parking area and had to trek back towards the festival with push cart in tow with a large cooler of treats on top.
No one bothered us for cream as we hastily passed the campgrounds and crossed a bridge with the purple and pink flowered cart. Equipped with Air Heads Popsicles and Ben and Jerry’s bars and minicups, we settled into the Lounge area of Doheny Days after our host Lex graced us with our wristbands, Wahoo’s free lunch, and countless free drink tickets. Early on, everyone was eating lunch so the ice cream distribution was slow, but it quickly picked up and the quantity of cream and dry ice I brought proved to be a perfect amount. Our photographer Bob came by to visit throughout the day and took photos from some awesome vantage points. Since I was at the back of the festival, I could only see the Doheny stage from the back.
Shortly after we arrived Saturday, Katchafire, a Bob Marley cover band, set the perfect mood for the afternoon as the sun was just coming out and the day was brightening after the overcast morning. I caught some of G. Love and Special Sauce’s set mostly from a video screen behind me, but I could hear them well and walked towards the back of the stage to catch a glimpse a few times. He played his normal mix of funky surf rock along with a Johnny Cash cover and even Biz Markie’s Just a Friend. Towards the end of the set, Donovon Frankenreiter joined him on stage as a backing guitarist. Frankenreiter brought a large following of fans clad in fake mustaches, but I missed him because he was on the Sailor Jerry stage.
Sunday we traded a couple Cherry Garcia minicups for a spot in the VIP parking area plus we had the proper credentials. Black Uhuru began as we rolled into our space for another beautiful day on the beach. The only band I really watched was Cake on Sunday. For me, it was nostalgic although they played some songs from their new album. Their trumpet and vibraslap-laden tunes were presented in a sound similar to their albums: fun, simple, and tight. In the reviews I read, Ben Harper and Weezer killed it as the headliners each night. Unfortunately, I had to leave both nights before seeing these bands. The first night crisscrossing the road back to our parking spot and being turned down when we offered Popsicles to the campers. The second with family in tow, tired children who needed to go to school the next day.
Nestled in the back of the fest, we shared space with Joe Aaron, pro longboarder and artist, along with Wahoo’s food table and the Omega beverage counter. Omega produced Doheny Days from 1997-2004, but took a seven-year hiatus until this year. Featuring three stages along with a carnival themed Midway and other special areas, Doheny Days also included bands and artists: Ken Garcia, Aloha Radio, Neon Trees, Common Sense, JJ Grey and Mofo, Ean Golden, Blitz the Ambassador, Pacific Dub, Micah Brown, Orgone, Hyper Crush. I didn’t see most of these bands. Countless other booths abounded within the festival, but I didn’t see them either. I was slinging the cream and explaining to clientele why we give away free treats. Several people asked if I had “Schweddy Balls”. I might have taken offense to this, but luckily I knew this was a new flavor of Ben and Jerry’s. Instead I’d simply offer them a Half Baked bar and say, “This is better.”
