Day 2 of Forecastle was gorgeous. We got there in time to see Umphrey's McGee, but watched them from the CokeZero party bus. I don't know if it was the extreme heat (close to 100), but they seemed a little bland. This is a video earlier in their set.
I was fine watching from the back of the field, taking in the whole scene and the nice view of the bridges that head to Indiana. It was good background music while we had some more BBC beer. When the band started a cover of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence," there was a rush down towards the stage. It woke me up and was a nice break in the drone of their typical jam music.
Luckily for us, and not so lucky for them, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals are still relatively unknown so the crowd wasn't very large at the front of the stage for their set. We got a great spot near the front, right behind the VIP section, close enough to see all the red flowers decorating the stage.
They are great live, fantastic stage presence. Its her voice that really carries the music, but the blend of funk, soul, rock, and blues that gives the performance character. They just released a new album last month, which I'm dying to listen to. In the past, their produced albums have been lacking compared to their live shows. I'm hoping this new album has finally captured that something, but still I never mind seeing them live. This video is of their signature song which they sing at every show, "Nothing But the Water." Grace is singing it a capella which really showcases her vocal abilities.
By the time Grace Potter's set was down, it was pretty crowded up front. Everyone was ready for CAKE. I've been a big fan since high school and was excited to finally see them live for the first time. Their albums sound so produced and detailed and John McCrea's voice is so unique that I couldn't picture how it would transpose to a stage.
Ultimately, I was a little disappointed with CAKE's set. He seemed a little condescending and unwilling to relate to the crowd. With a body of work that large and already well-known and liked by so many fans, I thought he was just resting on it, expecting a good set to happen by just playing crowd pleasing songs exactly as they sounded on the albums without any excitement or creativity. Ho hum. To top it off, they didn't really play any of my absolute favorites, but with CAKE I honestly like all their stuff anyway. So I'm glad I saw them and put a face to their music, but it's not something I would do again. This is and excerpt from their song "Short Skirt, Long Jacket." The quality is really bad since we were so close to the speakers. Just listen to the album version anyway, the live show added nothing.
We stuck around enough to see Devo perform "Whip It" and a few covers. What else have they written themselves?
No comments:
Post a Comment