concert review

GREENFIELD, MA (SEPTEMBER 12-14, 2008) – Confession: this was my first “real” music festival. And by “real”, I’m not referring to the all-day music festivals where the bands conclude at 11pm and everyone goes home to bed. I’m referring to what I like to call “hippie music festivals,” where the attendees camp out all weekend with no showers, no stores nearby, nothing but the music stages and tents that surround you.

At most music festivals that I’ve attended, the artists usually start around 4pm and end around 11pm, which is fine considering you’re usually broke by that time because the beers are $8 a pop. However, one of the upsides of the “hippie” festivals is that it’s perfectly legit to bring your own alcohol and food. Not to mention, there are all sorts of obscure entertainment including gyro rides, hula hoopers, flame throwers and people walking around in giant Halloween costumes.

Another difference is that these bands play all night long. Not only do they have several different stages and cabins that have all-night music, but the main stage music begins at 10am. I haven’t even had my coffee yet and already there are people on stage rocking out.

Wormtown was held last Saturday in Camp Keewanee in the countryside boonies of western Massachusetts. I’ve been told it’s actually one of the smaller music festivals, but I didn’t find it small at all. I spent the majority of Saturday afternoon watching the bands on the main stage and browsing the little stands nearby, thinking that’s all there was to it. About four hours in, I wandered behind the small music cabins out back across a little bridge that crosses over into the woods of “Alice in Wonderland” and home to whole other world. This, I found out, is called “The City,” which is basically a man-made town courtesy of the hippies in attendance. The City held a smaller music stage for entertainment, as well as dozens of other little man-made shops and additional structures (sort of like a high-class version of those little forts that you made out of sheets when you were a kid).

A few jam bands entertained the crowd on the main stage throughout the afternoon, including The Alchemystics, Domino Theory, Juggling Suns and U-Melt, before the headlining act, Max Creek, took the stage at 7:30pm. Now, normally, extended jams that last for 20 minutes aren’t my cup of tea, but with all the surrounding festivities, it would’ve been impossible to experience even a moment of boredom.

Max Creek turned the field into a giant dance-a-thon, starting the show with some escalating jams, including “You Write the Book,” “Darlin’” and “Field” before launching into a few great covers such as Simon and Garfunkel’s “Cecilia,” Dave Alvin’s “King of California” and the Black Crowes hit single “Hard to Handle.” They ended the set with an encore of “Back Porch Boogie Blues” at 11pm. Only for most of the attendees, the evening was just beginning. More music and bonfires galore were waiting out back for our arrival.

I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant about a three-day music festival in the middle of nowhere, watching a collection of jam bands, most of whom were unfamiliar to me. But as it turns out, I actually enjoyed the exposure to different genres of music as well as the entertaining surroundings. Maybe next year I’ll refrain from falling asleep in my tent at 1am and opt to join in on the late-night music events to see what the rest of the evening holds in store.

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