Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival 2008: Thursday Review

Thursday, September 11 was the first day of the 2008 Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival, and BOT's very first experience with the event. Starting at 1pm, music filled the festival grounds located near Ozark, Arkansas. Performers included Charliehorse, Elephant Revival Concept, Green Mountain Grass, Hackensaw Boys, Mountain of Venus, and New Monsoon.

Read the full Mulberry Mountain Thursday review after the jump

Our first stop in Arkansas was in the town of Ozark, about 16 miles south of the festival grounds. We had trouble figuring out the layout of the town, but we quickly found that the locals were happy to offer help – the beginning of a theme that would continue throughout the weekend. After picking up some needed items at Wal-Mart and a grocery store, we crammed all of our purchases into the car and headed up the S-curve-laden road to the site of Mulberry Mountain. We rolled onto the grounds at about 10am, and were greeted by the nicest security staff we’ve ever encountered. We’d been hoping for a shady spot in the wooded area of the campsite, and so were ecstatic to find the absolute perfect spot just off the main drive. All three stages were clearly audible from our campsite, port-o-johns were nearby, and we had the good fortune to have some of the best neighbors we could have hoped for. Eggs cooked up a great plan involving a tarp and some ropes – voila! Instant covered porch. Mood=psyched.

We’d arrived a little later than planned, so after we finished setting up, we really didn’t have time for a much-desired nap. It was so refreshing to just peacefully sit and watch other campers arrive, occasionally exchanging brief pleasant conversation with passersby, that we didn’t even notice. When we heard the opening notes of Charliehorse’s set, we grabbed our gear and headed over to the Harvest Tent, ready to begin the musical adventure at hand.

Use the quicklinks below to read about specific artists, or just scroll down to read the whole article.

Charliehorse
Elephant Revival Concept
Green Mountain Grass
Hackensaw Boys
Mountain of Venus
New Monsoon

Charliehorse: 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Charliehorse kicked things off musically at Mulberry Mountain, offering up a country-grass set in the Harvest Tent. They were scheduled to begin at 1pm, but started about 30 minutes late, apparently due to delays with setting up the stage. Festival staff were still raising the spotlights as the band began performing - in fact, they had to halt their set momentarily - but Charliehorse seemed unfazed. Vocalist/guitarist Ben Wardlaw was on the receiving end of some nasty microphone shocks, but even that didn't stop the band from delivering a solid set.

Charliehorse's sound relies heavily upon country influences, but they also throw ample folk, jam, and bluegrass into the mix, giving them the potential for wide appeal. Joining Wardlaw to create the band's 'Ozark American' sound were bassist/vocalist Stacy Liles, multi-instrumentalist Cody Russell (pedal steel/lap steel/dobro/banjo), drummer/mandolinist David Bright, and guitarist/vocalist Brad Helms. Their undeniably dance-friendly music was just the thing to help the audience get into the festival swing of things.

The band's inclusion of a banjo in their arsenal provided the perfect grassy complement to their predominantly country-leaning sound. I also particularly liked Cody Russell's work on the pedal steel - it added a completely different dimension to their music. A definite highlight of the set was the twangy, pleading title track from their debut album, Come On. I was also especially taken by the heartfelt, powerful vocals of "South 25" - backed by the band's rollicking instrumentation, the song easily conjured images of any number of good ol' boys from my youth, racing down country back roads in their pick-ups with the windows rolled down. Charliehorse was an excellent way to being our Mountain experience; even Eggs, who is a vehement country music basher, admitted that he dug their set.

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Elephant Revival Concept: 3:00pm - 4:30pm

The makeshift 'covered porch' in front of our tent faced in the direction of a light blue bus parked a couple of campsites away. Earlier in the day, Eggs and I had been coolin' in our camp chairs when we spotted a gentleman exiting the bus. He was clad in baby blue pants, barefoot and bare-chested, with long unwashed locks flowing down his back...in short, he looked exactly like the kind of guy we would have expected to materialize from this particular bus. We had to smile, then, when Elephant Revival Concept took the stage in the Harvest Tent and we noticed this same guy wielding a banjo among the other band members. Turns out he was Sage T. Cook, banjoist/guitarist/vocalist for the band. We recognized a few of the other musicians onstage from our morning people-watching session, and it began to dawn on us just how different this festival experience was going to be compared with our previous adventures. Bands, vendors, and fans alike were all camped in the same area, which gave the fest a truly intimate feel. But I digress - more on that later.

From the outset, Elephant Revival Concept captured our attention. Lead vocalist Bonnie Paine showed off some serious skills on the washboard and djembe - this was captivating in and of itself because it's not often that you find a musician who primarily plays that combination of instruments. Her talents were obviously widely appreciated by the musicians present at Mulberry Mountain; she went on to guest with several other bands throughout the weekend. Fiddler Bridget Law also quickly became a familiar face - she was everywhere, whether it be onstage with fiddle in hand, dancing barefoot in the grass, or contributing to campground jams.

As a whole, ERC delivered one of our favorite sets of the festival. Their sound was distinctly their own; we really didn't hear anything else that sounded like them over the weekend. The band mixed it up and gave their set a varied feel, at times plunging into straight-up bluegrass, then delving into more sweetly arranged Celtic-inspired numbers, only to rev up the crowd by hosting a Harvest Tent hoedown with the next song. The band seemed eager to share their genre-crossing glee with fellow musicians: they invited several guests to join them onstage. Cody Russell of Charliehorse sat in with his pedal steel, Jeff Gray contributed his trumpet talents, Opal Fly saxed it up, and Bonnie's sister Anna appeared with her bass. Even the Paine sisters' father joined the party onstage, adding swampy flourishes of his own with a harmonica.

To close the set, the other members of ERC left Bonnie onstage to perform the a cappella "A Part," a hidden track on their album Elephant Revival. The complex vocal nuances she displayed easily recalled Natalie Merchant; at times her voice cut into angrier territory and sounded almost Alanis Morisette-like. Overall, ERC delivered a strong, well-programmed set that left us impressed and wanting more.

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Green Mountain Grass: 5:00pm - 6:30pm

Next up in the Harvest Tent were Austin-based quartet Green Mountain Grass. Eggs and I had caught this band in Houston a few weeks prior to Mulberry and had thoroughly enjoyed them. Naturally, then, our expectations for both of their sets on the Mountain were high. GMG filled most of the first half of their Thursday set with their slower, gentler material, peppered with technically impressive picking passages. Matching the band's tempo were the audience members, most of whom remained firmly planted on the ground. Though an increasing number peeled themselves off the grass and joined those dancing in front of the bales of hay, the show just seemed to lack the sparkle that we'd witnessed in Houston. Perhaps if they'd thrown in a few more uptempo dance-friendly songs, the set would have been a bit more engaging. I'm not saying it wasn't good - they're all obviously talented musicians - but I think that the songs could have been better chosen to fit the time slot. On the first evening of any festival, most of the fans present at the early shows are looking to get the party started, not chillax. Maybe it was just me, though - the crowd seemed to receive GMG's offerings well, even from their seated positions.

Some of GMG's improvisational stretches sounded a little messy, and the guys seemed unsure of themselves in places - almost like everyone was reluctant to take the lead during jams. The foursome (mandolinist Dave Wilmoth, violinist Adam "Pickles" Moss, bassist Jesse Dalton, and banjoist Trevor Smith) picked up the pace about midway through their set, however, and brought out a little of the juice for which I'd been waiting. They regained some of the spark I'd seen from them before, and moved the set in a more energetic direction. I clearly wasn't the only one who'd been waiting for this - a couple of the vendors from the adjacent Tipping Cows Cafe booth soon made their way inside the tent to express their hot-steppin' appreciation.

Toward the end of the set, GMG dove into a classical-sounding sound, only to rip it out and morph it into a high-powered crowd-pleaser. And they didn't stop there: the most memorable part of their set was a phenomenal cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name Of." Midway through the song, they went off onto a frenzied tangent, then brought it back to the killer cover, drawing roars of approval from those gathered in the tent. If you didn't think that it was possible for a bluegrass band to successfully cover a RATM song, you need to check out the video. I admit that I was a little disappointed with the beginning of GMG's first Mulberry set, but they definitely improved as they went on and finished with a bang.

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Hackensaw Boys: 7:00pm - 8:30pm

OK, there's no use skirting the issue: we missed the Hackensaw Boys' set. We left Houston the previous night at about 11 and drove straight to Arkansas, hoping to arrive at the festival grounds early enough to set up camp and get a nap in before the music started. Unfortunately, our ETA was a bit off, and we didn't have time to catch any z's. So when it started raining during the interval between Green Mountain Grass and the Hackensaw Boys, our eyelids started to droop. We woke up just after 8:30 (it was a rude awakening, I might add - somebody who should not have been playing a didgeridoo into a microphone was doing just that), cursing ourselves for somehow managing to sleep through the entire set. On the other hand, we both felt much better after snagging a little rest, but it was still disappointing to have missed them. I'm sure they killed it - if you made it to their set, please feel free to let us know what we missed! At any rate, we felt refreshed and ready for the rest of the evening - and even thankful toward the didgeridoo player for preventing us from missing any further sets.

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Mountain of Venus: 9:00pm - 10:30pm

Mountain of Venus first appeared on our radar last summer, when frontwoman Tanya Shylock performed with the Everyone Orchestra at Wakarusa 2007. That was one of the most memorable sets of the festival for us, and our first experience with Shylock's vocal talents left a positive impression. Thursday's Mulberry set marked the first time we'd seen her backed by her own band, and we were pleased to find that she shone just as brightly.

MoV's sound is rooted in jam, with rock/country vibes peeking through from time to time. Extended stretches of improvisation and groove jams are cornerstones of their live show. Though Shylock doesn't play an instrument onstage, she's no less into the jam sections than her fellow bandmates: she uses the lyric-less passages to hone her rocking-out skills. It's always nice to see singers who own their stage presence and always give you something to watch instead of looking uncomfortable and unsure of what to do with their hands when they're not singing. As for Shylock's singing, it oozes with jazzy and bluesy influences, and is topped off with impressive stretches of vocal gymnastics.

But make no mistake: MoV's instrument-toting members can hold their own onstage as well. In fact, one of my favorite songs of the set was the instrumental "Gator Meat" - Shylock left the stage and allowed the spotlight to focus on her band, with excellent results. Soon after Shylock returned to the stage, she introduced a song entitled "Midgets at the Buffet," and I'm still unsure of whether or not this was an inside joke. At any rate, the allegedly titled song had a playful feel, and stood out to me as another set highlight.

Near the end of the set, Shylock ripped out her best "Festivaaaallllll!!!!" impression, and the crowd was delighted to see Vince Herman himself join the band, mandolin in hand. This was Herman's first sit-in of the weekend, but it certainly wasn't his last. If I learned nothing else while in Arkansas, at least I can say that I've come away with this knowledge: Vince Herman loves Mulberry Mountain. No, really, he freaking LOVES this festival. By this time Thursday, I was already beginning to see why.

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New Monsoon: 11:00pm - 12:30am

As expected, San Francisco-based jamband New Monsoon drew the largest crowd of the day. We've caught this band live numerous times and in several different incarnations, and were pleasantly surprised by how on point they sounded and looked the last time we saw them. Bassist Marshall Harrell and drummer Sean Hutchinson, the newest additions to the band, appeared even more comfortable with their roles onstage, and acoustic guitarist Bo Carper, electric guitarist Jeff Miller, and keyboardist Phil Ferlino looked happy to have the company.

The crowd gathered in and around the Harvest Tent appeared to be in the full festival swing of things, dancing and hooping the night away to the grooves being emitted from the speakers. A clear standout song for me was "Shapeshifter" - it's one of my favorites from New Monsoon, and it was in top form this night. The band ran into some technical problems later, though, when Carper's mic went silent for all but the last thirty seconds of a song. It was a bit disconcerting to hear only Miller's backing vocals throughout. The issue was rectified, however, and the band continued their set without further incident. The second half of their show included an excellent rendition of Little Feat's "Spanish Moon."

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After New Monsoon's set ended, Eggs and I decided to explore the campgrounds a bit. We wandered over in the direction of upgraded camping, hoping to locate Camp Chomp so that we could find our way to the Chompdown in the morning. When we spotted a multi-canopy structure adorned with Christmas lights galore and a huge Stella Artois sign, we felt sure that we had found our target. Sure enough, some friendly Chomp folks were holding down the fort, so we stopped to chat for a few moments and admire their set-up. And let me tell you: whoever cooked up that building scheme was a genius. It was definitely the best campsite we saw all weekend. One canopy was enclosed on three sides and featured an area rug, a loveseat, a coffee table, and a TV. Ample camp chairs were placed under the other canopies, perfect for relaxing and sharing conversation and brews.

After thirty minutes or so, we decided to head back to camp and get some sleep. Lame for the first night of a festival? Maybe, but I'd only had about 3.5 hours of sleep in the previous 36 hours, so I thought it best to get some rest. I fell asleep almost immediately after I curled up in my sleeping bag, but Eggs got distracted by a musically delicious sound coming from a nearby campsite. Grabbing the point & shoot and his flip-flops, he followed the music to Elephant Revival Concept's bus, next to which sat members of ERC, Green Mountain Grass, 3 Penny Acre, and Vince Herman. He was fortunate enough to catch them meandering through versions of "Salty Dog," "Old Home Place," and the Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."

It was incredible to stumble upon happenings like this throughout the weekend - and that's just one of the many things that we loved about Mulberry Mountain. On the first day of the festival, we were immediately impressed with the layout of the grounds and the scheduling. Maybe it's because we're used to going to huge festivals with multiple stages and time conflicts, but we we really appreciated that we were able to catch every single set of music on this day (except - ahem - the Hackensaw Boys). Plus, we could hear the stage quite clearly from our tent. It was fantastic to be able to chill out at camp for a few minutes between sets, and then head back over to the stage when we heard the next band begin.

After only the first day of our Mulberry Mountain experience, we'd already decided that we'd be back for more. We went to bed excited about what was in store for us over the next two days.

Check out our other Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival 2008 coverage:

Thursday
Review
Photos
Videos

Friday
Review
Photos
Videos

Saturday
Review
Photos
Videos

Words by Cereal
Photos by Eggs