Good weather once again blessed the pristine valley of Somerset WI this past weekend. Summer Set Music festival is one of the highlights of the entire year not just the summer, and it has failed to disappoint in any of it's three iterations. Lorin aka Bassnectar said it best " When festivals give the opportunity to play without noise interference it opens up so many magical doors of possibilities".  The magic of a festival tucked away in the woods, devoid of the hustle of the city is something you simply need to experience.


Somerset Amphitheater is the setting for the Summer Set Music Festival which promised many upgrades from last year and delivered on many fronts. The Grove Stage was the biggest improvement of all. No more breathing in dust and melting from the heat of 10,000 human beings crammed into a giant tent. Rather, it was nearly impossible not to enjoy the music and scenery on a permanent stage down in a secluded valley. Home to the greatest after parties imaginable, it didn't disappoint. With ample water stations at your disposal (a historically significant problem) it was a massive upgrade.


With a lineup full of big name acts and only an hour from the twin cities this is something you can't pass up. This being our third time at the festival we knew what to expect and what are agenda was. Making our way to the main stage watching the people filling in is always fun. The people watching may be as entertaining as the music itself, there is no lack of unique spirits wandering the festival grounds. We were there for the music, but much of the fun is just hanging out with like-minded people and taking the opportunity to see how people express themselves when unencumbered by their daily life.


Break Science was the first "can't miss" act on our agenda and they blew everything we expected out of the water. After they threw down we made our way to the Grove Stage for The Disco Biscuits, another highly anticipated performance we mid-westerners don't get often enough. Kaskade closed out Friday night on the main stage with a massive set. The fireworks were a huge surprise and definitely put a cap on the evening. Summerset's after parties are possibly the musical highlight of the entire festival.  Collaborations and performances with a variety of "special guests" are what make them so special.  With the world premiere of ManicScience, a collaboration between Break Science and ManicFocus and a full set by Gramatik, if you had anything left in the tank at 2:30 in the morning, you are a better man than I am.

Saturday had a huge lineup with most people vowing not to miss to Cherub at six. As you can imagine, the early part of the day was less busy as people recovered from the night before. We stopped by Wu-Tang Clan, which had a large crowd and good energy. The crowd was bumping to the beats they were throwing down. Our musical tastes lie in a different direction, so we headed for Flux Pavilion at the Grove stage. He exceeded everyone's expectations as well, epic laser show and heavy beats made for one hell of a show. Our most anticipated show of the entire weekend was the three time Summer Set veterans Big Gigantic. They closed out the main stage on Saturday night and were the group we were looking forward to most. Big G always brings their "A" game when they come to the Midwest and this time was no different. We tend not to be front and center in the thick of the crowd, rather we hang back and take in the surroundings as a whole. Big G had Cherub on stage for their single "The Night is Young" which was a welcome surprise. Next Flux Pavilion took the stage with them and threw down an epic jam. The show took on a whole new aspect after that, Big G ramped it up. Another epic fireworks display made for an unforgettable experience.


Saturday night's after-party may have been the most anticipated 2 hours of the weekend. We meandered down the wood chip trail pumped for Savoy, but it was the Emancipator Ensemble that was a genuine surprise. We have heard of them before but was never able to partake in the enchantment that is their live performance. Big ups to those four, it was perfect to start the after party.  Savoy

Coming in through the back left of the stage, the venue opens up into a general admission, multi- floor, concert utopia. There is a huge circle light installment that covers the entirety of the main dance floor, which you must take a staircase down into. The GA floor is lowered into the center, with a ground level around area wrapped around the sides that is home to bars, coat check, merch tables, and bathrooms.  There is also an upper balcony that wraps around the back and right side of the stage, and 3 VIP booths located on the upper left of the venue. The view from up top is pretty sweet and the support beams don’t cause much of a disturbance in your view – unlike at EPIC Nightclub. All of this exploring was while Blood Diamonds, a 6’9” Los Angeles native, took the stage by command. He skillfully switched between house & trap and kept the crowd going the whole night. It was pretty cool and I was definitely impressed this first time seeing him on the decks. I would definitely like to check him out again sometime and see if he can deliver a second time around.

Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett took the stage right at 9:00 and dove head first into a collection of tunes nearly any music fan would recognize.  Just the two of them on stage, their guitars and microphones.  That's all they needed.



Not familiar with The New Orleans Suspects...  Well, let me suggest you get acquainted. These guys are some of the most storied and talented musicians in New Orleans music, and arguably rock music as a whole. "Mean" Willie Green has been the drummer for the Neville Brother's Band since the 1980's, Reggie Scanlan has played bass for The Radiators for over 30 years, Jake Eckert was the lead guitarist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, CR Gruver has played keys for The Meters Experience, and a laundry list of other jazz legends, and Jeff Watkins has lent his saxophone skills to James Brown for over 12 years, and worked as Joss Stone's producer for 6.  These 5 guys put more funky-jazzy musical talent on stage than your brain can handle.



As if all of that wasn't enough, the third and final set of the evening was all these ridiculously talented musicians on stage together, at the same time...  Playing favorites from both The Suspects and Little Feat's rosters, as well as a few artfully chosen covers, not a person in the Cabooze was sitting still.   The party was rockin', and we were all sad to see it end, including the guys on stage.

A Special thanks to the Krewe of D.A.D.s for putting this show together.  Further proof that the Minnesota music scene has a little bit of everything, and a little NOLA funk doesn't go unappreciated.

Last night, Samuel Bean better know as Iron & Wine took the stage to a capacity crowd at First Avenue in Minneapolis.  The show had been listed as "Sold Out" for weeks, but upon arrival at the doors tickets were still available, but obviously not very many.  As a fan of Iron & Wine from a few years back, I had envisioned Bean on stage with his acoustic guitar and that was about it.  Memories of "Such Great Heights" and its simplicity are what had me hooked on his brand of melodic sound.  As Iron & Wine took the stage it was glaringly obvious that things had changed, as a dozen people and instruments found their spots and set up shop.


They made the switch from big band to Bean solo a few times, creating a rising and falling tempo to the show.  While solo on stage, the room seemed to shrink.  As fans shouted requests from the floor Bean would respond directly to them.  When a robust "Boy with a Coin" came from the audience Bean's retort had the whole place laughing...  He said "I have played this song for every show for the last fucking seven years. If you eat the same fucking meal for the same seven years, it's time to try something else."   

To finish off the evening, Bean returned to the stage for a one song encore, the emotional and quintessential Iron & Wine track "Love Vigilantes".  Bean stood in front of the microphone and said "I'm gonna do one more then send you on your way"...



While we enjoyed the musical stylings of Iron and Wine, just across First Avenue legions of 50-somethings sat inside Target Center suffering through The Eagles.  One of the many requests shouted at the stage was "Hotel California", to which Bean replied, "Just lean your head out the window"... Thankfully, Iron & Wine ended about 20 minutes before The Eagles, allowing most of the crowd to avoid the walking sea of baby boomers.  

In whole, it was a great show.  If I had to come up with a complaint it was that when accompanied by the full band, Bean's vocals were at times drowned out.  The big band sound was a welcomed surprise, but if the sacrifice was to override Bean's melodic voice, it wasn't worth it in my opinion. 

Setlist

The Desert Babbler
Carousel
Kingdom of the Animals
Tree By the River
The Trapeze Swinger
Sixteen Maybe Less
Belated Promise Ring
Baby Center Stage
Monkeys Uptown
Such Great Heights
Boy With a Coin
Upward Over the Mountain
Resurrection Fern
Waves of Galveston
Caught in the Briars
Sundown (Back in the Briars)
Jezebel
Grace For Saints and Ramblers
Low Light Buddy of Mine
Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me

Encore
Love Vigilantes

Being away from the stage while recovering from an ankle injury sure hasn't slowed down Prof. Waiting for this show, since the announcement months ago, has been hard but was definitely worth the wait.  Set outdoors between two of Minneapolis' great establishments, The Cabooze and Whiskey Junction, it supplied the perfect venue for his return. With a bill to satisfy, including up and comer Mally, well established acts like Evidence and the two brother tandem of SoulCrate Music. Prof had the crowd of 4,000 ready for him to come to the stage.

SoulCrate,one of the best underground acts in hip-hop, quickly impressed playing songs off their recently released album "Welcome Back From Wherever You've Been" - which was ranked #36 on iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap top albums charts within a week after release.One of the last songs' in the set was the best one they performed, "All Day", they use the chorus of the song to get the crowd into chanting along with them. The set being backed by Later Babes DJ trio, how can you go wrong?


The heat continued to rise on and off the stage through out the day; with the acts coming on one after another ,before you knew it, the time for Prof to take the stage had come. The "Get Cryphy" DJ group had the stage before Prof went on and they didn't disappoint. Mixing between beats from the early days of rap to the most recent releases they had the whole crowd jumping and ready for Prof to grace the stage.

Prof's return to the stage was nothing but exceptional, the noise was deafening and the wait was finally over. His set ranged from his brand new track "Zoo" to his most popular track "Animal". He brought several special guests to the stage with him, St. Paul Slim to do several tracks and Shambhala brought the heat as well. With "Animal" 20 people selected from the crowd were brought on stage to dance, shoot confetti and pump up the crowd. From there the set became much slower paced as his time on the stage began to dwindle. With a man in a giant balloon surfing the crowd at one point in the night this was surely not a show many attendees will forget anytime soon.



With the day finally over and a chance to reflect, I had an amazing time and even though I would have enjoyed some of Prof's older joints I can't say I would argue with his claim that "all my songs are fucking amazing".

Friends and family from all over come home for Thanksgiving.  You get to see people you haven't seen in years (sometimes that's just the way you like it).  The night before thanksgiving is notoriously a busy night at the local pub. Every bar in town is crammed to the gills and you just don't know what to do.  For the last (I'm not sure how many) years, our crew has been at the same party, DRINKSGIVING!
Famous Dave's in Calhoun Square Uptown plays host to a party unlike anything you will find at your neighborhood drinking hole.  From 8pm 'til 2am, you get great music and the drinks are flowing.  The opening bands change from year to year, but one thing remains constant, White Iron Band closes out the show and they enjoy this show as much as anyone.  If you are unfamiliar with WIB, they are a uniquely Minnesota version of hillbilly rock.  In their own words they are a "high-energy renegade American roots band specializing in foot-stomping, forget-what-troubles-ya music"  Minnesota Pride radiates from the stage and a version of Rock with a Country twist gets even the most stoic Scandinavians on their feet.  You can't help but love these guys.  



Each year the crowd at Drinksgiving is a little different and a little bigger.  The place was absolutely packed this year with not a seat in the house from about 9:30 on.  Making your way to the bar could be a bit of a challenge, but Bud and PBR tall boys could be obtained from a number of locations for quick refills.  

So, if you have to entertain family next year (and maybe looking for a place a little too loud for hours of converstion) look no further.  It will be the best $8 you spend all year.

This review was originally posted to the electronic music blog Dancing Astronaut by Michael Sundius, borrowed for your listening pleasure...