The Travels and Rants Journal

Back from Floydfest.

The weekend was a blast: Sweet, fun, funny, deeply emotional, completely exhausting, lastingly beautiful. Music means more to me than I will ever be able to express, and getting to be immersed (almost drowned?) in great band after great band was something I will carry with me for a long long time.

And the festival itself was pretty much perfect: Well-organized, thoughtful, peaceful. I can’t say enough about the positive energy that comes from the event itself, and it was clear to me that much of that energy comes about directly because of many conscious decisions on the part of the festival itself. The word is insufficient, but Floydfest is just a very nice event.

As for the music, I always like the little bands more than the big stars, and Floydfest was no exception. The performances I will keep with me the longest were those by acts I had never heard of.

By far the best show I saw this weekend was Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band: Holy shit! This show was amazing! Reverend Peyton might be the finest performer at working an audience that I’ve ever witnessed. It started out funny - almost a novelty act. But the Reverend gave us his magic, his energy, his soul, and by the end of the show, the crowd was in a frenzy. Being in the audience for this show was nothing less than a religious experience. When it was over, the audience had lost all control and became indoctrinated in the cult of Reverend Peyton. If the show had gone on any longer, and if he had asked us to, that audience would have gladly drunk the kool-aid to remain part of that scene.

Among the other musical highlights for me:

The Speckers (John Specker is possessed, and his daughters are… well… Speckers), Railroad Earth (this is what bands are supposed to be: smart, tight, well-arranged, technically masterful, and at the same time, crazy, wild and busting at the seams with passion and energy), Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk (we hadn’t even planned on seeing them - we were on our way out, but couldn’t leave. Put it in the dumpster!), Amos Lee (the most sweet and soulful voice you will ever need to hear), The David Grisman Quintet (this is just smart, well-crafted, and thoughtful music), Oliver Mtukudzi (so positive, so good, so happy), Rusted Root, Tea Leaf Green.

In case I try and wimp out, you are hereby authorized to make me go next year.

This (along with most of the other pics I shot this weekend) was taken on the farm where we stayed.