3GM: Letters From Equifunk – Saturday

[Photo by Dino Perrucci]

After a few flips in the water during Turkuaz’s sound check, the Brooklyn-based funk squad kicked things off right with an all-out set of feel good music that took the pool party from bubbling to boiling. Incredibly genuine funk originals with a few choice covers peppered throughout was exactly what I needed at 2PM. I high-fived at least 30 people. No one ever high fives you, Reality. You just don’t get it.

Turkuaz is a well-rehearsed band of prime musicians who could probably play anything they want, but they chose to play party music because they can create a scene in which multiple people just may have the time of their lives. Hundreds of campers danced their asses off but the best moves came from the people in the deep end, who moved in a sort of intergalactic half-gravity with the rhythm. The energy peaked with a 10-year-old kid performing mind-blowing circus stunts on the pool deck while lead singer Dave Brandwein belted out Stevie Wonder’s’ Signed Sealed Delivered.

[Photo by Dino Perrucci]

The Main Squeeze was the next act up, and they weren’t afraid to follow Turkuaz’s killer set. Corey Frye is a true front man, magnetic, energetic and kinetic. These guys deftly blended funk, hip-hop, soul and blues into a riot-inciting stew that sent a few of the weaker swimmers heading for their towels. It was during their closer, the party standard Shout, that I’ve never felt further from you. A sort of positivity-driven chaos took over and no one spoke your name. It was beautiful. What an afternoon.

[Thanks to Carly Meyrowitz for the video]

Every camper present won’t soon forget that pool party. They understand, just like I do now, that breaking out of your stifling grasp becomes more important the older we get, and that music is the fastest way to freedom. I know that Monday will come soon enough and I won’t be able to avoid several shitty conversations with you about my savings account and lackluster work performance, but at this point I’m beyond caring. I’ve got 18 more hours at Equifunk and I’ve seen what amazing things can happen when 400 people forget they’ve ever met you for a short while.

See you soon, jerk.

Conor

Jonathan Kosakow:

Journal Entry, 8/23/11,

I woke up and it was dark out.  I must have passed out after a day in the sun and too many ribs.  In the bunk, Kevin was screaming something about the Ultimate Warrior as he marched back and forth across the bunk, then he threatened to chip away at my soul and put it on his spaghetti.  I didn’t know what he was talking about, or what was going on.  A bottle of grape rum was shoved in my face; it tasted like terrible cough syrup but I drank it anyway. Again, I wasn’t really sure what was happening, it’s still all a blur.

After all the excitement of the daytime, I couldn’t imagine the night would top it.  But still, I was surprised to see the E-Rena nearly empty for the show.  You’d think on the last night of the festival, everyone would make one final push, but I guess with age, people get soft.  I couldn’t figure out why, after the music the night before, the whole camp seemed to turn off , but I guess this is the reason.

Leroy Justice were definitely the odd men out – the only southern rock on the bill. But, there’s nothing wrong with going against the grain.  And besides, they absolutely wailed! Their version of Whipping Post kicked the still young night into something a pubescent 13-year-old, too early for anything really wild but still ready for anything, and just about everyone in attendance could be seen straining their vocal chords to hit those chorus notes in unison. It’s great to see someone doing this sound right, especially when the only other bands who seem worthy anymore are North Mississippi Allstars and any band that Warren Haynes plays with.

For some reason I was compelled to walk around the camping area and meet some new people before Kung Fu went on. Kind of late in the game to say hello, like buying a girl a drink at 3AM, but you can’t question a random stroll into the dark of night? Can you? Again, I was surprised at how quiet it was given the fact that there were at least 100 tents set up in the field. I hoped it was the calm before the storm.

Just as I expected, Kung Fu was straight space funk – a bit of New Orleans jazz, a touch of psychedelic rock, some solid rhythmic structures and a hit of aggression to even it out. It wasn’t long before I started to feel like this was my last chance to live like a true camper. Maybe it was the fact that Mercury was in retrograde, or that the weekend was so close to an end that I could smell the soap and shampoo of my home bathroom, but I could feel an end in sight, and I wasn’t happy about it. So what else was there to do besides run a lap around the baseball field and chug a Genessee like it was bug juice before shoving my head down and getting front row for the New Deal?

As the electro-trio came onstage amidst clouds of smoke and colored lights, I looked around and saw how crowded the room had gotten. “Good news,” I thought, “Not everyone has gone soft.” Granted, my feet ached and my legs were yelling at my brain to just let them rest already, but I calmly told them, “Keep pushing, it’ll be over soon.” With only one more show scheduled after this summer on the upcoming Jam Cruise, and a rumored New Year’s Eve show somewhere in the Big Apple, The New Deal were sure to throw down. For the next two hours, it was nothing but an all out dance party. The band may not have put on their best performance, but at that point in the weekend, I hardly even noticed.



There wasn’t much more to do than dance, play some 3AM basketball, and snore loudly until I got kicked out of the place.

– Jonathan

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4 Responses

  1. 2 reviews and no mention of the Main Squeeze’s cover of “2001”, which actually inspired the splash party during shout. blasphemy. lazy reporting. too much bacardi grape

  2. Lazy? Perhaps…but blasphemy? That’s just a big word you misused to make your point. Main Squeeze was dope but if the splash party was the highlight of your weekend, you needed to stay up past 930.

  3. looks like hidden track has a lot of main squeeze fans reading their blog. i’m going to start the rumor it’s their lead singer. how narcissistic!

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