So life-altering was the Woodsist Fest experience in 2012, I vowed to return to Big Sur again this year to see if it would have the same dramatic effect.
It did.
In the most attractive outdoor setting imaginable, 12 musical acts invited by Jeremy Earl of Woods came to the Henry Miller Library grounds off Highway 1 for the sold-out two-day festival last Sunday and Monday.
On paper, the lineup for day one appeared to be stronger – and it turned out that way – but both days were wonderful for their unexpected delights and inspiring performances.
Best of all perhaps was Jonathan Rado’s unbelievable display of talent on Sunday as dusk set in. Only six days earlier Earl announced that Foxygen had scratched out of its Fest slot to be replaced by Rado. It was probably a blessing a disguise.
Rado’s Foxygen bandmate Sam France is a wild child and is still unable to perform after a summer gig accident left him with a badly broken leg. Earlier this year, France had made show-goers nervous given his propensity to put himself in peril while climbing stage equipment.
The awkward on-stage apology Rado issued for Foxygen’s absence at Woodsist Fest turned out to be unnecessary given the way he knocked his hour-long set out of the park on late notice. Not only did Rado (pictured above) exceed the exceptional sound of his great newly-released solo record on Woodsist, he and his band charmed the audience with a brilliant cover of Big Star’s Jesus Christ (was born today). It was as beautiful as beautiful gets.
Rado’s back-and-forth between guitar and keys is intense. Foxygen drummer Shaun Fleming also played guitar. When I walked into the Fest Sunday afternoon and saw Fleming donning bright-red lipstick, it struck me as curious. But then it all made sense when he sang the female vocals (performed by Rado’s girlfriend on the record) on Rado’s fun tune Hand in Mine. At one point during Hand, Fleming and Rado mixed up the alternating nature of the male/female lines. They laughed. The audience laughed harder. Also great was a tune called Alien Dreams, a leftover from Rado’s Law and Order sessions.
Among other memorable Fest moments:
-The tune I can’t get out of my head as I shower – or look out the bus window – or walk down the street – since coming back to New York is “Waterfall” by The Fresh and Onlys. Tim Cohen and company did the catchy number late Monday night and the sweetness and intensity of it made me cry a bit. And I don’t cry hardly ever. I‘m actually crying just thinking about it now as I write this. “You and I know from the radio and the radio never lies,” sang Cohen while later ooohing and cooing while looking straight up into the sky. While this was going on, several young couples danced with single hands held together. They bobbed up and down and laughed while skipping around blankets on the ground. It’s a mental snapshot of the weekend I’ll never forget. The pure joy of the whole scene. I had seen Cohen a few days earlier at a record shop on Haight and little did I know he would deliver such a great moment.
-I gained new admiration for Martin Courtney. Not only did he sing with gusto while fighting a voice-weakening head cold during the Real Estate set, he filled in on last-minute notice as a member of Little Wings. Courtney was doing mostly background strums on his prized Granny Smith-apple colored guitar until Wings mad genius Kyle Field did the Dead’s Touch of Grey. Courtney nailed the lead guitar line on that one. He also later passed up his guitar after Cohen suddenly needed a loaner during the Fresh set.
-Since guests from a non-Fest related wedding last weekend made the nearby Fernwood Resort (Woodsist headquarters) full until Sunday, the schedule this year was unusual given that day two of the Fest played out on Monday. That outcome cemented a feeling that the 300 attendees at this year’s gathering possess a strong commitment to the continuing idea that Woodsist Fest is so incredibly special. Here we were on a Monday, a day often equated with drudgery and commitment to the Man. Said Erika Elder during Monday’s 420 PM MV & EE set: “Monday. It doesn’t feel like a Monday. BEST Monday Ever.”
-Both nights ended on high notes with grand finales featuring guest spots. On Sunday night, Woods called up Alex Bleeker and Matt Valentine for a rousing version of CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” Normally stoic on stage, Woods bassist Kevin Morby grinned throughout as Valentine inserted harmonica into the number. The next night, Real Estate was joined by Field and a member of his band for an extended hyper-improvisational version of the Little Wings tune “Look at What the Light Did Now.” Field danced and pranced in a maniacally redwoodsy way while pulling rhymes fresh out of his boundless imagination. Ever the funnyman even after it was over, Field picked up Courtney’s unopened bottle of water as Real Estate walked off the stage. He sang into the bottle of water as if it were a microphone before Courtney gently pried it away from him so he could take a swig. Nobody hustled anybody off the grounds at the end of each night. Fans were allowed to linger as long as they’d like. The beer ran out Monday just before the Real Estate set but the affable couple working the drink stand made up for it by filling up wine cups to the top.
There were no real major snafus – or controversies in terms of how this year’s Fest was executed. My only small complaint was the lack of food offerings – and the failure to highlight that fact in the communication from the promoter Folk Yeah in advance of day one. In his on-stage welcoming remarks to open the two-day affair, Folk Yeah honcho Britt Govea said it was perfectly acceptable to bring in sandwiches and such from the outside but that announcement was too late for many Fest veterans who viewed the made-with-love food at last year’s gathering as one of the crucial components of the experience. In fairness, the advance e-mail sent by Govea describing what to expect in terms of amenities did not promise a food concession. I just think it would have been helpful to explicitly remind attendees to bring their own munchables. There are not a lot of falafel stands within walking distance on Highway 1. As it was, Jacques made a deli run after the Leopards set and returned with a picnic just a couple tunes into the great Michael Hurley performance.
The two porta-potties brimmed near the capacity mark halfway through day 2 but were not rendered out-of-service as happened last year. I thought the sound was good from the audience’s side but there were several acts that struggled mightily to find proper monitor levels on stage. The DJ’s spinning vinyl were again excellent filling the gaps between sets. The house lights went out for a few minutes during the White Fence performance but the sudden darkness allowed the audience to revel in the improved view of the star-lit sky while Tim Presley worked his guitar wizardry without missing a beat.
I can’t explain why, but flying bugs invaded the space on day 2 and seemed to gravitate to people’s necks.
Among several interesting human interactions I had during the weekend was with a young man named Jerome from New Jersey. What a nice, impressive guy he was.
Approaching the end of a temporary job assignment in San Francisco, Jerome came to Woodsist Fest via public transportation. Hard to believe, but Monterey-Salinas Transit runs what’s called the “22” bus. The 90-minute trip linking Monterey with Big Sur runs weekends-only after Labor Day. The fare is just $3.50 one-way. Lacking a pre-arranged place to sleep at the end of the Fest‘s day 1, Jerome said he found a hammock in the woods behind the library and kept the Cali bears at bay in a sleeping bag brought along for his journey. With no 22 bus running on Monday night, Jerome said he planned to hitchhike his way back to the Bay Area. Later, I heard that he had been offered a ride by another fest-goer. When we parted ways, me and Jerome agreed that we’d probably see each again someday at a Woods show.
As the second evening was about to end back at our lodge, I had the pleasure of meeting RJ from Ventura who inspects gas line welds under the ocean and plays in a band called the Shoddy Cons. RJ had a joke a minute and performed a sleight-of-hand magic trick that involved lipstick. Again with the lipstick.
It was at last year’s Fest where I met Jacques from Toulouse, France. We have become good friends. I attended this year’s Woodsist Fest with Jacques and his friend Melanie. Both are exceptional travelers who have covered big chunks of territory in the States. In our time together in San Francisco and Big Sur, I learned much from them about how to apply pace, patience and open-mindedness to one’s view of new sights and surroundings.
Jacques and Melanie dropped me off at San Luis Obispo’s small airport Tuesday afternoon. I waited for a delayed flight to LAX to make a redeye back to Newark. The view on approach into LA from that low-flying, 30-seat Embraer 120 Brasilia twin-prop was eye-popping given the way the sprawl below was lit up under a crystal clear night sky. The actor Peter Dinklage sat up front with his family on the Newark flight and drew lots of attention from Thrones fans.
I return to work tomorrow morning. Back to the real world after a full week on a West Coast that can argue all it wants that it’s the Best Coast – without much of a disagreement from me.
