Culture

As day three of Nelsonville Music Festival 2018 gets to a rolling start it’s hard not to be swept up in the leisure of it all. The event may be only a weekend, but it’s hard not to find yourself in a routine: wake up, sweat, take in as much good music as you can, sweat, write and article, sweat, repeat. My body has already started waking me up bright and early and I’ve been fighting a compulsive urge to take off my shirt and hop on a unicycle. Oh god, I hope I didn’t catch something…

One thing I certainly did catch was Adam Remnant box-car serenade session. The Athens local holds the prestigious title of the only act to perform AND have a tribute band performing in his honor: Stuart’s Afterschool Band’s early morning slot featured Adam Remnant Tribute Band, a group who, despite their name, doesn’t cover any of their instructor’s songs. I don’t see why not- Remnant’s explorative songwriting lives and breathes in these Appalachian hills. After one track Remnant remarked, “this is a song about being from Ohio”, and as someone from Ohio I can say confidently that this applies to nearly all of his hometown tunes. One thing I love about NMF every year is the wealth of local talent given a wider audience.

New to the fest this year is Skate NMF, a mini skate ramp accessible to all. In addition to open skate and displays of impeccable professional skill, lessons are being offered to those brave souls willing to put their bodies on the line. Despite my long hair and aloof charisma, I’ve never been able to skate and it’s lead to much jealousy and rage on my end. Luckily, for feet-walkers like myself, another Athens local The D-Rays will play on the ramp tonight at 7 p.m. Since I’ll now be able to head over there and enjoy this skateboard structure just as much as the skaters themselves, I feel I’ll finally be able to put my extreme envy aside.

The pronunciation mystery that is Smizmar hit the porch stage in the early afternoon, offering upbeat, twangy guitars and a to and fro rhythmic style that had the grounds bouncing. The Athens boys (I didn’t even realize this was such a cohesive theme until now- I’m not this well-structured, just lucky!) misted the crowd with icy slick earworms. Music can provide a surprising relief during these long summer Saturdays.

The first half of my day was bookended by the heavenly grace of Bedouine. Hailing from Los Angeles by way of Syria and Saudi Arabia, her silky songs brought an ethereal energy to the main stage. As her voice floated through the once stagnant humid air a parade of dandelion fluff snowed down on the basking masses. The drifting seeds provided a cinematic framework so fitting of Bedouine’s traveler’s tales that it felt planned. Maybe it was planned? Who cares! For a few brief moments life was pure bliss. That is, at least, until George Clinton and P-Funk bring the party tonight. We’re counting down, t-minus 390 minutes… 389… 388…

———————————————–

– I don’t know if it will make the cut tonight, but seeing a King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard shirt is strange. What is the process of buying that shirt like? The group penned FIVE ALBUMS in 2017. Many bands will do a couple of shirts an album- I hope there’s someone out there with 10 KGatLW shirts from 2017 alone.

– Did I mention George Clinton is tonight? Because George Clinton is tonight. I’ll be watching George Clinton. Live. Tonight. Only at NMF!