Stereopirate Sailing through life, one song at a time...

After finally getting some sleep and making it out of the domesticated zoo that was the campgrounds, I made it to catch the Brett Dennen show to start off my Friday. I had seen Brett Dennen twice before, opening up for John Mayer at a show a few years ago at the Verizon Ampitheater in Noblesville, IN and also at Rothbury in 2008. I was glad to see him a bit more sober this year, because I'm pretty sure he was quite drunk last year during his show. Either way, he is still a great musician with a unique sound and music style that makes for a great feel-good concert. Couple that with a great Michigan afternoon on a Friday, and everything was just dandy. There aren't too many videos up on the infamous YouTube yet, but there happens to be a decently-produced video on the web that actually starts off by showing my friends and I in the lower right of the camera right at the beginning. So there is a little FYI for the day, but enjoy the video and check him out if you ever have the chance to for an enjoyable concert experience.

Following the Brett Dennen show, we made it over to check out G. Love and Special Sauce. I have been quite upset that I have never made it to one of his shows, and was extremely happy when I saw his name on the set list for 2009. He stepped up a notch in my book when I saw him come up sporting some new black Nike Blazers with the neon laces. Call that FYI #2. He put on a great show, playing a lot of the songs from all of his studio albums creating a great mix of songs and styles. He even played one of my favorite songs, "Booty Call" so I was thoroughly satisfied.

Moving on from G. Love, we caught a little bit of Femi Kuti & The Positive Force while killing some time before Broken Social Scene. I had never heard of Femi Kuti before, but I was pretty amazed at the performance. Their music was an almost Afro-Beat roots-y vibe combined with the showmanship of James Brown and Al Green. They put on a great show and was extremely happy that I was able to check out a great previousl unknown band.

Leaving the Femi Kuti & The Positive Force show early we made out way over to get some good seats for the Nas and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley show. En Route we landed upon the Broken Social Scene set. Not having too much knowledge of a lot of their music, they came highly recommended from a friend so I wanted to make sure to check them out. I couldn't believe how good their show was, playing with such an energy that you don't get too much at a day-show of a festival. Their music definitely rocked Rothbury during the first full day of tunes.

Leaving after a handfull of songs, I made it over to the Nas and Damian Marley show. This show was definitely near the top of my To Do list for Friday's shows. I have never seen Nas or Damian perform, and both of these musicans have earned a lot of respect in my book for making great music time and true. Nas came out first and did his thing, performing everything from "One Mic" to teaming up onstage with Damian for the timeless "Road to Zion." Damian rocked the stage playing all of his jams and even playing some songs I have never heard before. Hopefully they are some new tunes because I definitely loved the vibe from him and his band during the music. Look for me to get some of my videos from this set uploaded in the near future.

Following the Nas and Damian Marley show, we headed back to take a break for the day and get some food and rest. Missing some of the first set of String Cheese Incident, I was able to make it back to catch a great deal of the second set and witness the rediculous performance they put on. I really wish I would have been able to catch more of their show because I couldn't believe how energetic their performance was. Since their "breakup" in 2007, everyone knew that they wouldn't be reuniting for Rothbury and not put on an amazing concert. To the say the show was amazing doesn't do the String Cheese perfomance justice. They came back and somehow managed to take their vast library of songs and sounds and put them together to not only create an amazing setlist, but they also seemed to create a new sound as if they were going to be getting back together to head on that audio-journey together. There are some really great YouTube videos out there of their performance, I have just hosted a few below. For those who were not the biggest fans going into the show (including myself), I would testify that they definitley made their mark in my mind of a great band that can put on a unbelievable show. Whenever a band reunites on a perfect summer evening with giant beach balls and circus performers, only magic can happen. Check out even more videos on the web and you can just imagine how rediculous it was to be apart of it!

Following an insane String Cheese Incident show, I couldn't even imagine what Sound Tribe Sector 9 was going to have in store for us Rothbury-ites. Following in the footsteps of some amazing performances through just the first 2 days, STS9 seemed to draw from the SCI performance and funnel that energy and hype into their late-night set. They played a lot of tunes that I had jammed to many a times in my room, and even played some songs that seemed to be new to me (and hopefully will be on an album soon!). Seeing them last year had me excited to be able to catch their late-night show again in the beautiful Michigan night.

Having to leave the STS9 show early to catch the Girl Talk show, I was nervous that Greg Gillis and company wouldn't be able to bring the amount of energy and excitement that was being pumped out of the speakers of the STS9 show. As I secretely had hoped, Greg Gillis aka Girl Talk came out, started the REAL party, and it never seemed to stop for another 2 days later! I have been a big fan of Girl Talk for quite some time, and after missing out on what turned out to be a horrible performance at Miami (OH) in Oxford, OH, I was stoked to be able to see him at his prime late-night festival slot. Coming out on stage already packed with fellow Rothbury-ites, Greg sported a red and blue sweat suit looking like he just came out of bed. If I got to wake up to rediculous mixes of Pop, Rock, Hip Hop and everythign in between, I'm sure I would be much more productive everyday. We were lucky enough to get fairly close considering Sherwood Court was packed to the edges. I couldn't have been more happy to finally see Girl Talk live while being in one of the greatest party environments ever! (That and the glowing colors and heart-pounding beats always combo with other things to make an even better experience)

I don't even really know how to start with my recap of the festival. Since I was lucky enough to be able to attend the inaugural year of Rothbury in 2008, I knew that I had to make this an annual event for my summer break. When they announced the line-up for the 2009 festival, I knew I would be spending my Independence Day Weekend in Rothbury, Michigan once again. With so many great bands to check out, I was just hoping that there wouldn't be too many schedule conflicts so I would have to miss out on some great concerts. It's hard to describe all of the shows and events from the weekend, but I will do the best I can to try to let everyone in on what was probably the greatest 4 consecutive days of my life.

I'll just do a show by show run down of all of the concerts I can remember. If you were in attendence, then you know that keeping track of all of the sights and sounds could be quite a challenge at some points.

I started off Thursday catching the end of the Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam and moved on to check out Keller Williams. After seeing him last year, I knew that seeing him kick off Rothbury 2009 would be a real treat. As expected, he didn't let me down. Playing all of my favorites, I was quite pleased to kick off the festival with some amazing jams from the greatest One Man Band in the world.

Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam [From Thursday]

Leaving Keller a bit early, I was able to go check a completly unknown band called Future Rock. Hailing from Chicago, these guys were one of the most energetic shows that I had ever seen. Following the rising trend of digital electronic synth-rock bands, Future Rock sets themselves apart from the rest by being truley innovative with their music. You can almost hear a structure composition in their sounds, creating an almost synthsized symphony sound. I definitely recommend everyone check them out and try to catch one of their shows if you ever can. I will seeing where I can catch an upcoming show.

Check out a short video I shot from their Rothbury performance at the Tripolee Dome. It's not great, but it sure does show how energetic their shows are.

After the Future Rock show, we headed back to catch a good part of the Lotus show. Being a band I had only heard of a few times, they put on a great show at Rothbury in my mind. After a great Lotus show, I made it over to catch the Cool Kids. Kid Cudi was originally scheduled to perform during this slot, but for some reason ended up cancelling a few weeks before the show. Although bummed I wasn't going to be able to catch my first Kid Cudi show in one of the greatest concert settings ever, the Cool Kids definitely did not let down the fans (including myself).

Following the Cool Kids set, we moved onto the headlining show of the evening, The Disco Biscuits. Seeing them for the first time last year opened my eyes to a whole new sound to music. I had been eagerly awaiting this show ever since it was announced, and once the music started I was taken to a whole new place. For their entire set, they played with non-stop energy and emotion. I had never heard them sound so good together, and everyone else around was having the same thoughts as me. Their show set the bar so high for the rest of the festival, I was actually slightly nervous as to what could possibly compare to such a raw performance of sound and light. As my video clip below shows, the entire place was packed and filled with energy (and tons of glowsticks!) After seeing the show, I became an instant faithful fan and have been spending the last few days downloading a lot of their recent shows off of Archive.org. I promise that once you hear their newer stuff, you will fall in love with them to. Be sure to catch them if at all possible on their current tour, you will not be let down!

After getting mind-trapped in The Disco Biscuits show, I was only able to catch the last few songs of the Cold War Kids. I was pretty bummed to find out that I missed out on a tremendous performance from the Indie rockers. Even though I have yet to see a full concert of them, I am still not that upset since I got to be a part of one of the greatest festival performances ever with The Disco Biscuits. With the first day in the books, my expectations had been set quite high for the rest of the amazing bands still to play during the 4th of July Weekend.

From Thursday

This video is everything I would expect from the Synth-Rock band from Brooklyn, Dirty Projectors. I can't think of any better concept for the music video than the outdoors, mountains, goats, and the band. Definitely a nice compliment to the song, enjoy!