heads in harmony
Once again your Rio Bisbee Band headed upta camp at Freedom Field to participate in Maine Vocals’ annual Heads in Harmony outdoor music festival. After an early start, for musicians, the Bismobile’s Dodge V-8 powered us, and our gear, through River City, then up and over the foothills of the headlands to Carson Hill in Harmony, Maine. At the gate there was a head count, so to speak, but no screening. One of the great things about Maine Vocals’ events is relaxed attitude, and plenty of space. Unlike mega-events with large crowds, long lines, and remote parking, Freedom Field lives up to its name by affording instant entrance and plenty of elbow room for parking/camping near the stage, or not if preferred. Simple rules – no pills, no powders - provide focus on cannabis culture and legalization. Free joints dispensed to artists were six-inch fatties, filled with serious dank nuggage, unlike schwaggy pinners at lesser venues.
As we pulled up to the stage, a guitar duo was finishing their set of troubador-style Americana. With a new stage manager and sound crew, there was some adjustment to be made, set-up, sound check and what not. Harrison, Peter and Y, today’s Rio Bisbee Band, took the stage at 1:30 pm. With Flying V through a Dean Markley 12” found at the dump, and Rhythm Ace with a pre-CBS Fender bass, we played our favorite original rock-pointilism numbers: Testify, Country Girl, Cold Chillum, Quick Stop, Kahuna, Make It Happen, Medication, Back Burner, Reefer Leave Me, I Remember Quaaludes, Dans Mon Bateau, Rasta Sunset, Be Thankful There’s Rock ‘n Roll to vocal acclaim from the widely dispersed audience enjoying comfy spots on the sward, in tents and RVs, and standing by various vendors’ booths.
After our set, we adjourned to a spot not far from the stage, but outside the zone of maximum sound pressure, and made camp. A Persian wool rug, futon, sunbrella, and brazier, all found at the dump, created a breezy, harem-like space contrasting cave-like camping-store nylon-zipper offerings and cubed-out metal-frame pop-ups. Cool cats and hippie chicks roamed the grounds in various states of dress in the sultry mid-summer heat, colorful, frilly, bearded and beaded, reminiscent of the Summer of Love. A tiny white dog sported a green and pink dye-job. Cute! A petite tattooed artiste spent the afternoon robbing the rainbow on an easeled support. We discussed pigments, pure or blended, and the effect of using a dark ground. When clouds broke, the sunbrella provided shade in the lowering afternoon sunshine, in the cool of the evening reflected heat from the brazier, and late at night protection from incipient precipitation.
Rio Bisbee Band was followed by Muddy Boots, another power trio, doing roadhouse favorites, as evidenced by many in the audience singing along. The next act was Partners in Grime, comprising bass, electric ocarina and computer DJ behind a large tie-dye screen. Self-identified as “Live-tronica”, the sounds, though stored in tone banks, never repeated – no two bars alike! Alternately high or low, sweet or raucus, the tone-stream evoked fantastic imagery, enhanced by flashing light show through smoke. They played non-stop for almost 2 hours, entirely extemporaneously – you can’t rehearse this stuff! There were some word bites. One I recall in particular:
“In the 20th century, reality was everything.”
That was food for thought.. I remarked to the bassist I would be exhausted after all that. Yes! He said He is exhausted! But he was glowing! Everyone was tripping.
Next up was Change-Up, with bass, guitar, drum set and hand drums playing Funkadelic music arranged into cohesive numbers that nevertheless provided a lot of variety and excitement. Occasional tiny drops of precipitation could be felt on exposed skin. After the heat of the day it was a relief. Boston-based Kong is a five-piece: bass, guitar, drum set, hand drums, trombone with tone bank, blending digital modulation with analog instruments for funky driving psychedelic trip-hop music. Toward midnight Jaberwocky came on with more psychedelic funk-style rhythms that kept the young folks dancing into the wee hours. Phosphorescent costumes and fire-dancing made fun visuals amid lasers and spotlights that danced about the grounds. I munched crispy French fries from the food truck – they stay open late – then slounged by the fire to get some rest, though sleep was impossible with the pounding music. All Freedom Field events are an opportunity to show off our stuff, relax in a supportive community atmosphere, and take in all the other great music, colorful art and friendly folks. We don’t stand on ceremony, we’re ALL Maine Vocals! We make it happen!
After the last band, DJ came on with more funk electronica. The music finally shut at 4 am. My brain slid into silence like a fish into water. For the first time, I could hear the skeeters buzzing around me, and see them in the dawn’s early light. Tiny droplets became steady rain as we folded our gear, loaded RIO BISB and hit the road. I was grateful to be driving in daylight. It was raining upstate, but back on the island roads were dry. We arrived home at 8 am, not too late to have a full day ahead of us. Thank you Maine Vocals!
Yobassman
072221
