SunFest 2011 Review – Part 1

SunFest  - April 27^th-May 1^st, 2011 – Downtown West Palm Beach, FL – Part 1

Words & Photos by Adam E. Smith

Since its inception as a free street parade called The Royal Palm festival, SunFest has served South Eastern Floridians as a large scale annual arts exposition unlike any other in the region.  An impressive twenty-nine year track record boasts a history of acclaimed musicians and bands including names in the vein of Dizzy Gillespie, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Sly and the Family Stone, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, ZZ Topand Huey Lewis.

This year was the second SunFest of the twenty-tens and the five-day bill aimed to please with a fifty-two band lineup ranging from electro-pop specialist MGMT to progressive rockers Styx. As I packed a bag of supplies I reflected on my past experiences. I had not made my journey to the intracoastal water way festival mecca since 2005 but had been a regular the 5 years previous. I remembered two valuable bits of information: it was going to be temperature hot and the crowds would be extensive.

Any seasoned festival patron embraces the persona of a weekend warrior but to push through five days, three of which coincided with the workweek, was going to be a different beast of burden needing slain. I was up for the task and could not shed my jazzed up demeanor that hump day.

Day 1

I arrived on site to a buzzing Clematis Street atmosphere that would literally remain at this level or higher for the duration of the week. Bars were filled with pre-gaming concert-goers, local patricians strolled with under-sized dogs as they observed hordes of excited youth move toward the entrance. I entered with ease and watched the sun start to dip as Bobby Lee Rodgers and company wandered on to the Tire Kingdom stage. He took up his hollow body guitar attached to a Leslie rotating speaker and launched into a mind-number set filled with peaking solos and shredding for the sake of shredding while traversing his Swiss Army knife-like range in both song writing and singing. Solid renditions of “Outer Space, ” “Light House,” and “Beggin” were woven into the fabric of a grooving sixty minutes that proved why Jimmy Herring is so fond of playing with this man. I left the stage impressed with the band as a whole and grinned at how high the bar had been set for the rest for the musicians present.

Crowd

St. Cloud’s own The Supervillians were busy warming up the fans at the Bank of Atlantic stage with sweeping ska and punk rhythms that somehow meandered to a Billy Joel cover of “Movin’ Out” that actually worked for them. The field was already thick with young kids brandishing the infamous Opie Ortiz sun logo from the 40 Oz To Freedom album cover. I had my dose of foreshadow and decided to make an appearance at the Avett Brothers performance. The actual sun began its descent and the temperature evened out. The grass bowl of Meyer Amphitheatre was surprisingly full for a Wednesday night kick off. I have caught the Avett Brothers in years past playing to a crowd a fraction the size, but I have to admit I never quite paid attention either. This time I had done my research. I was ready to be impressed and I have to admit the boys from North Carolina delivered the goods. Bluegrass ballads turned into heavy acoustic rock jams and the crowd energy escalated to a brilliant moment during a particular good jam of “Head Full of Doubt.” I had squashed the notion that they were just a watered down American version of Mumford & Sons, but rather a noteworthy folk rock five-piece with lots of potential.

Like many echo boomers I grew up on the Long Beach flavored punk reggae of Sublime. In tragic rock star fashion, front man Bradley Nowell passed away just as the band’s music was gaining traction. After his death, band mates Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh attempted to recreate the spirit with projects like the Long Beach Dub All-Stars and Long Beach Shortbus. Although respectable in their own right, they never quite captured that feeling. I went into the Sublime with Rome set as a skeptic at best. Nowell’s writing style was revered for being personalized and rooted in unfiltered truth. My mixed feelings remain as I reflect on that night, but I will admit that even though Rome Ramirez is no Brad Nowell, he is the closest thing you can get to it. The packed out crowd reveled in the nostalgic experience but that is not a testament to the performance. Luckily for these guys the tunes can carry themselves, especially when the set list is a medley of greatest hits including “Garden Grove”, “Bad Fish”, “Wrong Way” and “Santeria.” The debut of a handful of new tracks was a nice touch but really demonstrated that these three are crazy fools for thinking the die-hard fans don’t recognize it is a watered down attempt at recreating the masterpiece that was Sublime.

Day 2

Ra the sun god must have bumped up the thermostat Thursday because the temperature mixed with humidity was noticeable enough even to a crowd of Floridians. It may have also been that I had arrived earlier in the day so that I could catch Miami-based band ¡MAYDAY!. This investment of time paid out in full – with interest. From an early set “On 2 Somethin’” to set closer “Technology” a raw energy emanated from the Tire Kingdom stage as the rock-rap pioneers pushed out a sound that rose above the gimmick that plagues most that attempt to blend dynamic music styles. These guys are the real deal and have a track record to prove it having collaborated with Cee Lo Green, Devin the Dude, DJ Craze and Lil Wayne to name drop a few. Non-traditional instrumentals mixed with faint electronic influences and fitting percussion textures. Needless to say the vibe was noticeably higher as the crowd moved into the streets to check out the endless row of vendors and sponsor tents.

I grabbed a few free items as I avoided head on collisions with those that had apparently taken happy hour to heart. I made it to the main stage where Brook Fraser was wowing an intimate crowd with her sultry voice and a stellar cover of Coldplay’s “Violet Hill.” I took the opportunity to grab some grub that was surprisingly decent and on par with what you would find at Delray Beach’s Garlic Fest.

Cee Lo

It was a smart decision to not wait until Cee Lo Green finished his set before eating because the pop-vocalist played his best diva card and was a full 20 minutes late starting his set. The crowd was beyond restless and this did not bode well for him when he brought out hip-hop group the Goodie Mob for a string of songs early in the show. Families packed up and left as middle fingers and F-bombs flew from the stage. A few more mediocre R&B tunes, a butchery of Aerosmith’s “Sing for the Moment” and a tiresome all-female backing band was enough reason for me to leave early.

Jason Mraz was the ace headliner, and I was optimistic that he might get the bad sound out that Cee Lo had left in my ear. It had been a few years since I last caught him on tour, and I had hoped to witness a mature and evolved sound. The set did not start out particularly energetic with tunes like “Coyotes” and “Up” but progressively became slower and slower to the point of being cheesy easy listening. Mr. Mraz may have thought he was being clever playing into the mature crowd but he was captivating very few and a large majority were busy socializing and taking solace from boredom in their drinks. Intermittent saxophone solos between cheese ball ballads was not enough to retain my attention so I bailed early to catch a buzz at the World of Beer before The Heavy Pets late night show.

Brooke Fraser

I braved the first two evenings of SunFest solo, which had it advantages, but I was elated to meet up with some BLP faithful at Roxy’s Pub. I was feeling the effects of the work week and told myself I would leave after a few jams. I guess the Pets had something different in mind and proceeded to throw down a rock solid dance party for the regulars – and I feel they may have made some new fans along the way. I caught my second wind and could not help but boogie into the late hours. After a disappointing couplet of headliners that day, this show was the perfect antidote and the best I have seen the boys play since the show at Hooligan’s opening week.

Videos by Cheesehead Productions

Day 3

Until Friday, the logistics of SunFest seemed to have been executed quite well. When I arrived at quarter till 5 PM, the gates were closed and there was a line of a couple hundred people.  I was running on fumes and caffeine but did not want to miss the dance party that I suspected would be going on for California DJ duo Inspired Flight. The schedule had them starting at 5 PM. How can a band start playing if no one is allowed in until then? By the time I went through security and made the hike down Flagler Drive it was closer to quarter past 5 PM. I could not hear music or see a crowd at the stage as I approached and thought they may have canceled the set due to looming dark clouds above. This was not the case. The band had not started playing because there was literally not one person there other than security. I was the first to walk up and remained alone in the crowd throughout the first two or three songs. The kicker was that they were really good and not holding back their onstage antics. I did my best to represent for the South Florida dancing inclined as they moved through a sequence of melodic, electronic, downtempo tracks laced with live guitar by Gabe Lehner, turn table scratching of Eric Poline and vocals from Ashley Marie Mazanec. The combination came across naturally in the live setting and was a gold nugget of West Coast electro-melding.

Vending

I could have left then and would have been perfectly happy. Instead I swung by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies set for a few throwback tunes from a throwback ska-swing band. The horn section was exceptionally tight and the rest of the band was good at not showing their age. The crowd danced some and the feel good demeanor of lead singer Steve Perry was infectious. A quick instrument change on the same stage brought out The Vegabonds. These boys are some hard hitting young guns from Alabama that keep it simple with blues-infused rock and roll. Smashing lead vocals cascaded over ringing guitars on songs like “Streetlight Gypsy” and slowed down into soulful piano led anthems like “Pick Me Up Mary.”

I wanted to stick it out but the skies decided they wanted some attention and opened up. I waited under the Buzz 103.1 tent for twenty minutes hoping the storm would pass. This was not the case, and I made the executive decision to run back to my vehicle and use this opportunity as a blessing in disguise to gear up for an evening with Ultraviolet Hippopotamus at The Funky Buddha Lounge and Brewery.