Up-Front and Behind the Scnes at High Sierra 2005

By Margaret Pitcher
Photos by David Vann

Quick caveat before I begin this review: I work with the High Sierra Music Festival. In an effort to make this truly fair and balanced coverage I'll try to stick to personal musical highlights over the course of the weekend, though working behind the scenes doesn't allow the staff to see too much music so I'll throw in some organizational fodder here and there. And when I say that High Sierra is my favorite vibe of any festival – and a must for anyone who prefers intimate gatherings where the focus is on the music, not just the party – rest assured I've been saying that since before I went to work with the organization.

From an organizer's standpoint, it was a very good year. The music was fabulous, the turnout great, the crowd wonderful, the atmosphere lively but chill, and the production went smoothly overall. For the past five years the festival has been held on the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds which provides some infrastructure for our operations plus comfortable camping and RV accommodations for our patrons. Nearly 10,000 music fans arrive in the small mountain town of Quincy, CA (pop. about 5000, elevation 3800 ft.), a majority of whom opt to stay on site in one of the fairgrounds camping areas. This year attendance reached 9600, which was a far cry from the perceived numbers of some friendly old-timers I overheard talking in the local coffee shop about the 16,000 coming in for the festival, two days before the gates were to open.

Me: Actually, the fairgrounds capacity is 10,000 and attendance is between 8,000 and 10,000. Are you going to the festival this year?
Old Timer #1: I don't know. I hear you got a lot of music there.
Me: We have all kinds of music. I bet you'd find something you like.
Old Timer #2: You think they'll have a kazoo player there?
Me: Hmmm… not sure but it could happen.
Old Timer #1: How about bagpipes? Boy I sure would like to hear some bagpipes.
Me: Well you should go check it out for yourself. Did you know we offer discount tickets for locals?

By Wednesday night, the night before the gates opened to the public, the site was seemingly in full swing. Many of the artists had arrived and a few were playing ad-hoc sets near their campsites. (High Sierra encourages busking as long as it's unamplified after 11:00PM.) The food court and craft vending booths were up and ready to go, and the site was beautifully decorated by our volunteer ambiance crew (fans of the festival who donate their time and work to High Sierra). Outside the fairgrounds the scene was a bit chaotic with people queing up for the box office to open at 8:00AM. Even one of the festival partners was out there helping our parking staff and local authorities direct traffic.

Thursday was a whirlwind, although many long-time staff and associates said it was the smoothest first day they had yet experienced. This was the 15th High Sierra Music Festival, and in fact a few staff (and even some patrons) had been with the festival since the first event in 1991. This year's line-up included four artists who performed at the very first High Sierra: Michael Manring, Jerry Joseph (who was with Little Women at the time), disappear fear, and Michael McNevin.

So onto the music: Didn't see much on Thursday, but from the production trailer I did catch a bit of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. This young lady has a knockout voice and great stage presence. And The Waifs were a pleasant surprise. The Simpson sisters, who form the core of The Waifs, were both very pregnant yet they took the stage by storm and rocked the house. I had a bit of a break at midnight and was able to see some of Man Vs. Machine, i.e. the trio of James Blood Ulmer, Jamaaladeen Tacuma and G. Calvin Weston, all Ornette Coleman alumni and two of whom (Tacuma and Weston) were going straight to the Montreal Jazz Festival right after they finished playing High Sierra. This band was a bit of a departure for High Sierra, but it was a booking gamble that paid off: the music went over well with fans and gave them a taste of something different than jam-rock and bluegrass. From there I could have checked out the scene at the late night shows… but no, I pretty much missed out on those. (A note on High Sierra: there are five late night venues, three of which operate like nightclubs on the site, i.e. they're a smaller capacity at 800-1000 per room and because they're enclosed can go into the wee hours without breaking the local noise ordinance.)

Friday was still pretty crazy. Caught a bit of Two Gallants on my way back to the main stage. They too were a bit of a booking stretch for High Sierra, but those who got it were listening intently to their intelligent lyrics and not minding that this was not dance music. To top it off we planned a birthday celebration for Roy (the aforementioned partner who was directing traffic on Wednesday night) and our production manager Eric, both of whom have birthdays during the festival and therefore get slighted in that department every year. We did get Michael Franti to lead the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday" during his main stage set with Roy and Eric on stage, then the staff partook in a birthday beer or two backstage. Dave snapped some photos of the crew, then we jumped in my golf cart and zipped away to the Americana Stage where our friends Surrounded By Ninjas were finishing their set. Bassist Kai Eckhardt from Garaj Mahal and keyboardist Jared Bell from The Lymbyc Systym were sitting in with SBN and the crowd was loving it – again something different for this crowd, a DJ and processors with some live instrumentation mixed in, very danceable for those looking to shake it.

In between tasks I was able to catch Mexican funk band Kinky blowing away the late night crowd in the Funk'n Jamhouse. Another example of a seemingly atypical High Sierra band that was a great fit for the festival. Ditto the Bill Frisell Band, who on Friday night performed in the same time slot and stage as Man Vs. Machine. This marked the first time I could actually step back and enjoy the music… and no better moment than this. Frisell and his band - Greg Leisz on pedal steel, Jenny Scheinman on violin, Viktor Krauss on bass, and Matt Chamberlain on drums – were fantastic. Top-notch players, very intricate yet soothing music. From there it was on to the Les Claypool late night tweak out in the High Sierra Music Hall, which threw me into an altered mind-set despite my sober state. Maybe it was the enclosed space and the late hour, maybe it was the combination of Skerik, Mike Dillon, Jay Lane and Les's odd protogee Gabby La La that set me off. Good set, but when the house lights came up I was ready for a few hours of sleep.

Saturday and Sunday leveled out a little bit. More highlights: The New Mastersounds, a British quartet whose instrumental funk is nostalgic but fresh; Conspirator, a DJ/bass/keys trio whose performance was a bit loose but still a welcome injection of live electronica; Papa Mali with his sticky swamp funk; Garaj Mahal late night with numerous sit-ins including Kai Eckhardt's nine year-old son Danilo. Also Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon with percussionist Neil Symonette. While they weren't as tight as could be, it was a great feeling to sit (yes, sit!) on the side of the stage and enjoy almost their entire their set with the sun setting and the evening cooling down - very fitting for their homespun, often lighthearted compositions.

In conclusion, the following fall under the category of Bands I Deeply Regret Not Seeing at High Sierra: Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons, Chuck Prophet, ThaMuseMeant, Soul Rebels Brass band, Al Howard and the K23 Orchestra, The Lymbyc Systym, Old Union, Old School Freight Train, Peter Rowan's sit-ins (he was an unannounced guest player at the fest). And three others that are almost too painful to mention, as apparently they reached great musical heights at the festival: The Mother Hips, The Slip, and Surprise Me Mr. Davis.

Of course I didn't catch any of the Playshops, a High Sierra trademark: each playshop is centered around a theme and brings musicians together in unique pairings or groups. This year's offering included a Warren Haynes solo playshop, a Fareed Haque/Steve Kimock guitar masters session, a tribute to Monk, bluegrass sessions, a shred-fest called Guitarmegeddon, and a playshop with Electric Apricot, i.e. Les Claypool and friends parodying the jamband world a la Spinal Tap.

Nor did I get to enjoy the parades, the yoga classes, the cool craft vending, or the outdoor playshops where you could learn anything from Brazilian, Tahitian and Belly Dance to hooping and henna body painting. But that's why you're all here: to enjoy this four-day event we work year-round on (and get some enjoyment from during the whole involved process). I hope to see you there next year.