Concert Review: Mountain Jam 2011

This weekend, 6/2-6/5, was the seventh annual Mountain Jam Festival at Hunter Mountain. I had never been before, but my best friend Sam, her mom, and I went this year because Civil Twilight was playing. We only got passes for Sunday, and saw 7 bands.

The first band we saw was The Wiyos. They are a very quirky band with a vintage sound. A bunch of their songs were inspired by the Wizard of Oz. Not bad, but not one of my favorites of the day.

The second band up was Civil Twilight. Sam and I worked our way down so we were close to the stage, near Andrew (guitar). This was the best that I've seen them play. I've never seen Steve (lead singer, bass, keyboard) so animated. He was dancing around, talking to the crowd, and joking with Rich (drums) and Andrew. They started off a bit slow, but about halfway through, they really amped it up, and really got the crowd into it. Their new songs ("Fire Escape" and "High") sounded really good, and "High" was completely appropriate for the setting ;) Highlight of their set was "Teardrop." Steve stayed on the stage this time (he usually goes into the crowd), and I actually prefered it. This way, he was able to stay on stage and jam out with the rest of the band. "Letters..." was awesome, as usual, but I'm really glad they decided not to close with it. Their cover of "Immigrant Song" was phenomenal!! I've seen videos online, but never seen them play it live, and they did not disappoint. I still have chills from their set. Every time I see them, I think that there is no way for them to top themselves, but they do! Their setlist from the show (I'm fairly certain of the order, but I may have a few mistakes):

Anybody Out There
Soldier
Fire Escape
Trouble
High
Teardrop
Letters From The Sky
Immigrant Song

While we were eating lunch, we listened to Dawes. I had never heard of them before, but I really like them. I can't wait to get their album. Highlight of their set was their new song "Fire Away" which really got everyone jamming.

We saw a bit of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros before heading over to another stage. Again, I was not familiar with thei music, but I really liked what little I heard. They were really laid back, and the lead singer spent a lot of time out in the crowd, singing. They also had amazing control over the crowd, getting everyone to sit down during one of their slower songs. I will have to check out more of their music.

Bobby Long was playing on a small acoustic stage. There were probably around 20-25 people watching him (including his girlfriend and her family). We originally went over to see him because he's hot and knows Robert Pattinson (shallow, I know), but he really impressed us. He sounded absolutely amazing. I loved the songs that he played, especially "Two Years Old" and "Who Have You Been Loving." He was also very entertaining between songs, telling stories, and using jokes as intros for the next song.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band was a nice break. It was nice to just sit back on the slope and listen to some awesome jazz music. Highlight was definitely when they got everyone to sing "You Are My Sunshine." So much fun!

Finally, we saw Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. I was only familiar with one of their songs ("Paris"), but I was blown away by their performance. I don't know how Grace did it, but she didn't stop moving/dancing/jumping/headbanging/singing the entire time they were one. It was crazy! She sounded amazing too. Girl can wail! Highlights are definitely "Paris (Oh La La)" "Nothing But the Water" and "Sugar."

Overall, it was one of the best days ever. I can't wait for next year. I'm definitely going back!