Wakarusa Recap
Thoughts on this year's festival.
June 9, 2008
By Mike Holtz
In the midst of all that is wrong with the world it is nice to know moments such as Wakarusa are still possible and still exist.
Wakarusa, for me, was not an escape from this world. It was in fact the realization of what this world can be. It was 15,000 people coming together to share in one joyous experience despite the rain, rising gas prices, and stale economy. It was about living in the moment, having fun, and enjoying life. It was an accumulation of everything there is to love about this world miraculously condensed into four days of musical ecstasy that was over so fast I can’t help but ask myself, “what really just happened?”
Now that the weekend is over, here’s my attempt at an answer.
To begin, I should mention that I was unable to purchase an all-weekend pass, but I did manage to get tickets for Friday and Saturday to the tune of $115. I wandered around the festival early afternoon on Friday, running into some friends and checking out various bands at four of the five stages.
Highlights included Del the Funkyhomosapien, Blackalicious and the New Orleans funk band Trombone Shorty (whose show included three members of the audience covering themselves in mud and performing what looked like some sort of tribal dance).
As the sun slowly began to set and after to eating a $5 slice of pepperoni pizza (the profiteering put a slight damper on the whole hippie vibe), I first witnessed Buckethead’s guitar shredding, rubber chicken wielding genius. The weirdness of That 1 Guy and his innovative one-man-band creation added a nice touch to Buckethead’s demonic performance.
Cake was scheduled to follow Buckethead on the Sun Down Stage, so needless to say I was pretty excited to be forty feet from the stage like I had been. Then came the only bad news of the festival (with the exception of the weather that is). Due to flight delays of some sort, Cake would not be playing their set until midnight on the Revival Stage. I was bummed to hear the news.
In place of Cake the New Orlean’s funk/hip-hop band Galactic (who originally were scheduled to play at midnight) took the stage. Their funk infused hour of New Orleans style grooves promptly featured Lateef the Truthspeaker (Blackalicious) on several songs. Not quite Cake, but definitely not a bad substitute (I managed to catch the end of Cake’s performance anyways which include “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”, so it all worked itself out).
What happened next I would soon realize as being the best live performance I have ever seen – The Flaming Lips. From start to finish, front man Wayne Coyne had me in a sort of inescapable trance, as if taking me on a journey fueled by sound and driven by emotions. A journey that made me realize all we ever have is what we experience here and now.
Trying to pick a best moment from the Flaming Lip’s show is like trying to pick the best player from this year’s men’s basketball team – the fact that the sum is greater than its parts reigns true for both. Whereas the sum of the basketball team resulted in a national championship, the sum of the Flaming Lip’s show resulted in pure emotional rapture.
However, I will say this. Coyne’s brief words on the war in Iraq and the importance of the upcoming election, followed by the playing of “Taps” was one of the most genuine and moving acts I have ever witnessed. It was at this moment in a small field in Northeast Kansas on the most perfect of summer nights, under the stars of a cloudless sky, hippies, parents, children, and all walks of life stood silently with their heads and hands held high, waving peace signs (skip to 6:19 in this video). It truly was a beautiful scene - the human race at its finest.
That’s what really just happened.
Oh, and as for Saturday. Ben Folds was OK, but nothing compared to Sound Tribe Sector 9; it’s really too bad they were scheduled to play at the same time. I watched Ben Folds for thirty minutes, but after hearing the booming bass of STS9 on every slow ballad and between every song, I couldn’t help but give in to their hypnotic vibrations and made my way as fast as I could across the festival grounds. I quickly became pleased with my decision once my mind got lost in STS9’s celestial light show and mesmerizing music.
Did I mention that White Owl was there directing traffic? That guy is everywhere.
Discussion
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Dude, if you kill yourself, I'll just show everyone this blog and peoples minds will be put at ease, they'll understand you were doing them a favor. Just kidding, this is the funniest thing I've read in a long while, so many lol's in here they should redirect traffic from collegehumor to this website. It's Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, do your research and learn to journalize right.
Your first and last comment ever,
Roscoe P. Coletrain
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