4Peaks 2024 - Music Report

I mentioned in the 4Peaks 2024 Road and Festival Report that I would post about the bands. This year we were able to see or at least very clearly hear every band. So, this is fairly exhaustive. I will follow a similar pattern to what I did in 2021 (See 4Peaks 2021 Music Report).

Stages

TEB closing Friday

4Peaks has always had at least 2 stages. Some years, there was a third stage in Kidlandia for quieter acoustic singer-songwriter sets. This stage was not there in 2021 (no Kidlandia either) nor this year. Perhaps, that stage was an experiment that will return. The main stage appeared to be the same stage that has been used in prior years. It featured large Ryan Kerrigan side tapestries and a large sheer fabric across the back of the stage with a big floating 4Peaks logo in the center. Across the top, of course, was "4Peaks Music Festival", there were many speakers suspended on either side and across the front, lights, fog machine, etc.

The smaller (Lava Rock) stage was not an enclosed tent as had been prior years, nor was it the small platform used in 2021. Instead, the house space looked like an inverted taco and felt like a large concert shell, creating a shaded, but open space. Boo and I really liked the open air. The lack of sides allowed breezes to pass through and allowed the music to flow out more clearly out into the larger event space. We hope they repeat this set up in future years. The stage itself was nearly as wide as the usable part of the main stage, but lower to the ground (but not by much) so the artists who appeared on this stage felt closer, more intimate. Unlike prior years, the shorter Thursday evening of bands played on the main stage. This was by design from the outset, but it was not clear why. Sunday was as-usual with the 2 bands playing this (Lava Rock  / smaller) stage. The morning yoga classes were also held at the Lava Rock stage.

Music

In the past, I would describe the band's sound and then explain whether I would go see them again. This usually takes the form of "I would stay at my bar if they showed up" or something like that. Copying what I did in 2021, I will shorten those statements into a number 1-5:

1 - if (artist) arrived to perform at a place I was all set up for the night, I would leave

2 - if (artist) showed up to play, I would pay my bill and prepare to leave but look for improvement

3 - if (artist) showed up, that's fine, but I'm not looking for them

4 - I will pay attention to when they are playing in town and go if I can

5 - I will look for this artist, add them to my instagram and jambase feeds, etc

Magnolia Boulevard

Overall, the bands were good. It seems like we are finally out of the "Age of the Banjo" and entering the "Age of the Keyboard". Years ago, when Mumford and Sons were all over the radio, it seemed like every new band with more than 2 people in it had a banjo and too many of their songs featured banjo solos. I called it "Death by Banjo". More like a slow death, as it was making me leery of festivals. As years passed, banjo solos diminished and in their place bands had bridged that gap with guitar solos. Now, it feels like we are seeing more keyboards, and with them the considerable variety of sounds produced. From organ to electric piano to some crazy (or dirty) Moog synth, I absolutely welcome the re-emergence of the keyboard. Few sounds with snap your spine quite like some funky keyboard.

Thursday

Billy and the Box-Kid: (2) bluesy, but pitchy kinda rock-ish 5-piece with 2 electric guitars, 1 acoustic guitar, a bass and a cajon (plus noisemakers like cymbals, etc). Fun local Bend band.

The Pickpockets: (3) 5-piece bluegrass with really nice intertwining instrumentals. Good vocals.

TEB: (4) These guys are kinda new-age jazz meets jam / prog-rock band. Very skilled, super clean tone. 6-piece including a guest additional lead guitarist with absolutely slammin keys. With 3 lead instruments, they tossed the solos back and forth, from keys to guest (on a LesPaul) to lead singer (on a Strat/Telecaster). The grooves were super fun and these guys were very dance-able bringing different rhythms from song to song. Overall they are a really good band, but the bass player, a fellow lefty, was visually (and sometimes musically) distracting.

Friday

Wolfchild: (2) I was really not excited about Wolfchild and would only check him out at a coffee shop or similar where I can tuck in for a full show of slow story-based singer-songwriter material. He was way too low key for a festival, especially one geared towards grooving jams and/or power vocals. Wolfchild would probably fit better into a folk festival.

GreenNeck DareDevils: (2) Good instrumentalists; tight band with strong solos and decent backup vocals. So why a 2? The vocalist tries too hard, over-singing the melodies. Between every song he hit us with "Let's go" crap like, seriously, the whole time, every time. Not to over-grind it, but he had a professional announcer voice (like a DJ or voice-overs for advertisements) that made all of it feel less sincere. If not for the band around him, it would be a 1. Yeah, I know that's harsh. My blog, my thoughts.

Miko Marks: (5) Holy crap. I mean, like, wow. Miko's vocals are amazing, pulling tones like early Tina Turner, Mavis Staples or Aretha with a full-on hard-bangin band. Soul, Gospel, R&B, this 4-piece started playing to a crowd of maybe 50 of us and by the time they were done there were well over 200 people, pulled from their respective camps. Guitarist also played harmonica that killed. Keyboards were clean electric piano toned (coulda been louder in the mix, mr soundman) and the bass player was arguably the best fit-for-style of the whole festival. He created a pocket and we all danced in it. Definitely the most solid dancing bass of the festival. Miko Marks are legit, we will definitely see them again.

Ural Thomas and the Pain: (3) Chicago blues / MoTown. Baritone sax, multiple percussionists, keys. Very professional outfit, but lacked the special something that inspires. The musicians around Ural had periods when they looked bored so the energy from the stage was not very powerful. Perhaps, they suffered from following Miko Marks' so their perceived disinterest was really just because Miko Marks had just thrown down so hard.

ALO: (3) Jerry Garcia electric guitar tone, noodle band. ALO has appeared at this festival a few times, and we left the concert area during Ural Thomas, so we heard ALO from the campground. Their rating might have suffered from Ural Thomas, so let's call it 3.5.

Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country: (5) These guys could play a straight Nashville country set, a bluegrass set or go full jam-band. They do all 3 styles incredibly well. Take those three things and throw them in a blender and that's how their set went: show us some country... show us some bluegrass... maybe a little jam.. and then start moving from one to the other. Shazam. Mind blown. For such a big stage and overflowing crowd, it felt very intimate with Daniel somehow bridging to the crowd such that we felt like he was playing to and for us, and not just putting on a show. Such a great vibe, and a fun band. They are an incredibly skilled 4-piece (guitar/singer, keys, drums, upright/electric bass), with perhaps the most complex electric bass work of the festival.

Broken Compass Bluegrass: we mostly missed them (they started at 10PM), but knew they would be on the big stage on Saturday. Great female vocal and they sounded like a lot of strings, but there were only 4 members and one of them was a bass, so that left a mandolin, violin/fiddle and a guitar. They made those sound like way more than 3 people. I mean that in a good way.

Saturday

Hasbens: (2) These guys had amateurish lyrics / vocals / stage banter like they were not really playing to a festival. More like they were playing around with some of their friends in their backyard. Cool they can get so comfortable, but their good jams were diminished by that professionalism gap. We were not at the stage, so maybe there was like a group of, like, 10 people so it felt to them like it was a backyard bbq. The mains were so strong, though, that the bands could be heard clearly over 500 feet away, sending it 100 meters into the camping zone, reaching lots of folks.

Bon Bon Vivant: (3) New Orleans horns, speakeasy-jazz with female vocals. They were really good at what they do, but it's not really my thing. Rating suffers accordingly.

Broken Compass Bluegrass: (3) Solid bluegrass 4-piece. Great lead and backup vocals. Just as good as the night before, but the day mix by the sound guy was even fuller/better. They played a knockout "Jack Straw" with multi-part harmonies.

Magnolia Boulevard: (4) Kentucky-based rockers with a strong female lead vocal. It seemed like the band was more supporting her, unlike Miko Marks' band which vibed more like a democratic band. Good jams on the keys, but lead guitar wasn't very inspired. Very generic solos from him, but he didn't take as many as the keyboardist. Maybe he was tired or something. The overall EQ of the band was too boomy, lacking punching clarity and the keys were buried in the mix which is too bad since they were the lead-instrument highlight.

Southern Avenue: (3) Very Portland Blues Festival. Strong female vocal with piano and a super clean guitar. They threw down a very clean, produced blues show with little raw or unexpected. As a jam-band fan, that is not a good thing; I would rather hear some edges, some risks even a mistake if it is in the interest of raising it up. On the other hand, this band would be a hit at the blues festival.

Diggin Dirt: (5) They had a Sly and the Family Stone or James Brown vibe meets mid-70's power. With a super strong male lead vocal and bangin horns backed by an early disco / 70's funk rhythm section these guys threw down HARD. They are out of northern California and we will definitely see them again. They threw down a Mississippi Queen that just crushed. Highlight of the day.

Neal Francis: (4) These guys are total pro's with great keys and a bumpin' rhythm. At the time, I described them to Boo as "walk like an ape music", like you just can't not dance. Your brain may say "but I'm in a crowd at a subway stop during morning rush hour" but your hips, listening through your headphones don't care. Must... Dance. Really great jams.

Pixie and the Partygrass Boys: (3) Bluegrass, of course. I suppose any band with the word "grass" in it must by definition be a bluegrass band? This group had played 2 days earlier at the Sawtooth Valley Gathering in Stanley Idaho, making the long trek to 4Peaks in between. That didn't appear to take any energy off their performance, though. Good fiddle work and mandolin, but, I think, simply comparing them to Broken Compass, bluegrass-to-bluegrass, I liked Broken Compass more.

Sunday

Hasbens plays Phish: (4) This was very unexpected. After an unimpressive opening on Saturday, they came out on Sunday and jammed Phish so hard. I don't know Phish tunes as well as some other artists, but they sounded amazing and the crowd ate it up. The few songs I recognized were done incredibly well. Sunday shows are generally not very well attended as folks pack up and leave in large numbers and very early. Still, they filled the shaded area of the bowl, and crushed. They have inspired both me and Boo to listen to more Phish. In fact, we created a new Pandora channel to facilitate.

Garcia Birthday Band: (2) They are a Grateful Dead cover band from Portland I've seen a few times. They are pretty much the same as they have been for years. Maybe I have unreasonable expectations of improvement, but this show wasn't the best I've seen from them. Regardless, they played an odd set, placing songs together in a kinda patch-quilt way that didn't fit together. But, it included a St Stephen and an Eleven (though the solo/jam part was in 4/4 not 11/8). The leads were okay, but just okay. Their vocals are pitchy with a not-so-great tone. In the end, there's a reason I (confessed DeadHead) don't go out to see these guys when they are basically the hometown Dead cover band and it's not just because my ex-wife goes to all their shows: they just really aren't that good.

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Well, that's the band run-down. Boo and I left during the Garcia Birthday Band's execution of the Eleven, knowing we had a 4+ hours long drive home. We had not yet tried to start Hapy, so we also knew there was a possibility that the starter would need and R&R before we could leave the camp zone. As I mentioned in the prior 4Peaks 2024 post, Hapy was a great runner this trip, and started right up. As to the bands, we look forward to seeing Miko Marks, Diggin Dirt, Magnolia Boulevard, Neal Francis and Cosmic Country again. That's 5 new gotta-see-them-agains from one 4Peaks. That might be a 4Peaks best. Thanks again Stacey and your team.

That's it for today. Thanks, as always, for following along-

Hapy Turns 50

Quick post to commemorate Hapy the wonderbus turning 50 years old. Totally unrelated, but a fascinating video, here is a company in the UK looking at building an internal combustion engine that runs on hydrogen. Cool stuff. On to the celebration...

How 50?

I guess we start where I did with every person who asked "how do you know his exact birthdate?". I refer you to this post where I deciphered the manufacturing codes aka M-codes. Basically, every VW of this vintage has the planned manufacturing date imprinted on the plate. So, based on week number and day number, you can determine your vehicle's manufacturing date. Hapy has been in the family for less than half of his life, though.

When I received him, his engine had been replaced, but the interior, exterior, wiring, and everything else was 100% original. Consider "original" does not always mean "good". There was mold in the upholstery, the seats were shot, the pop-top bellows were dry-rotten and torn. But, I made use of him, in his original condition, even trying to return many of the systems to spec. Ultimately, though, safety concerns for my then-young kids started me down the trail I have documented here.

First, it was the sink/icebox unit blocking the handle to the sliding door. I considered the "what if" of getting into an accident that renders me unconscious while my kids are trapped in the back, unable to open the slider because their arm's aren't long enough to reach around the sink. So, that got pulled, and down the rabbit hole I went.

Park Play

To celebrate Hapy, and honestly any excuse to celebrate this year is a fairly good one, we reserved 5 camping spots in nearby LL Stub Stewart State Park. Our long time friends GratefulEd, lovely wife Dawn, and Belle joined us, as did my brother Eric, who rented a Eurovan from Road Trip Oregon for the special occasion with his 2 daughters (K4 and K5). Many other friends and family were on-hand on Saturday for the big party and many of them stayed overnight. We also had arranged a duo to play some jazz and old country in one of the reserved campsites in the center of the reserved spots. Unfortunately, the park rangers shut the duo down before they completed the jazz portion of their set. So, they completed their performance sans-amplification. Undeterred, Boo rolled out a stack of subs, a couple of coolers of bev's and a couple trays of VW-emblazoned cupcakes for a singing of Hapy Birthday. Yes, yes we did.

One of our gests had set up cornhole, another had set up badminton and Eric set up croquet. So, we played yard games while the acoustic duo played. It was the hottest day of the weekend, so impromptu shade was set up. When the official music completed, many of the day-trippers, and our official musicians, headed home. Those who remained shifted from the "venue" campsite to Hapy's front door for some (also mostly acoustic) jamming. For this, we were joined by friends from the Hillsboro bluegrass scene (some pictured, some not). We played until we were shut down by the park rangers again (silence expected at 10:PM), but not before our neighbors had joined us, demonstrating again that we all need a little more joy, and few things bring joy like live music and a small crowd laughing. After we stopped playing, we continued to visit (read: drink) for a while, and we broke up by midnight.

Everyone other than Boo, Hapy and me left the next day. Boo had rented some electric-assist bikes so we took a ride that afternoon after everyone left. There is a paved trail from Manning to Vernonia that passes right through the state park, and we explored a small section of it. That evening, we gazed at the stars through a borrowed telescope. With the lack of white noise from the city lights and no visible moon, there are just so many stars to see. We pointed the telescope first at single noticeable stars, but found it much more interesting to point it at a relatively uninteresting area of space and then see how many stars appeared. We both caught a shooting star through the lens that way, while also noting that in an otherwise uninteresting area of space there are still hundreds of stars visible through a non-commercial tri-pod'd telescope.

There and Back

No trip in Hapy is complete without a review of how well the bus handled. The drive out was late afternoon on a Thursday. Traffic wanted to go faster than Hapy did. Hapy still did well, driving into an on-angle headwind. The handling was much better after the shock-absorber adjustment, though the increased speed and headwind caused his engine temps to run a little high (topped at 198*F). We did not experience meaningful engine stumbling in either direction, nor did we throw a code. So, I think that much of the stumble was some bad fuel or a partially clogged clean filter (which I replaced after 4Peaks) or both. I will still be looking into other causes. The trip back was even better than the drive out. Whatever wind there was, it must have been at least partially behind us. Hapy's temperature rarely ticked above 186*F, and he was happily cruising at 55-60mph*. I had the stereo blasting an old Jerry Garcia Band bootleg, my elbow resting on the open window, and we just cruised with one hand on the wheel. The merge from 47 onto US26 was effortless with the bigger nozzles and chipped computer allowing Hapy to scoot into traffic. Honestly, it was the easiest drive home I can remember.

*: I use the asterisk here because Boo was following in a chase car, and was able to tell me just how fast I was going when... and when Hapy's speedo says "50" I am going 55. When his speedo says "55", I am going 62. So, the speedo is definitely at least 10% off, showing 10% slower than I really am. This is consistent with the odometer checks I have done along the freeway, showing the odometer is closer to .8 of a mile when the mile marker says a full mile. Since my mpg has been getting calculated without this extra math, the mpg is even more impressive. I have been getting just shy of 30mpg with the odometer reading at least 10% low. So, I'm really getting 33mpg or better.... in a bus that's loaded for camping 95% of the time.

That's it for today. Thanks, as always, for following along.

Throw-back to embedded picture captions like I used to do:

top - meadow between the Dairy Creek campgrounds

next from top - (L-to-R) Stevan on Mandolin, Rose (standing) on fiddle, Rodney (back turned) on guitar, Joe (standing) on guitar, Dawn (seated can only see top of her head/hat), Mo (standing), me (back turned) on bass, Ed (back turned) on guitar. Joey (mostly obscured by Ed)

next from bottom - Ed and Belle in full-fest-form

bottom - Boo on the bike trail

And, here are some other pictures:

(L-to-R) Rose, Boo, Joe, Mo
and me (back-turned)

Boo and I sharing
the lot couch

LL Stub Stewart camping

(L-to-R) Rodney, Stevan, Joey,
Joe, Boo (back turned),
Mo (obscured) and
me (back turned)