LIVE: 2013 Equifunk Recap - Part 2
Yesterday we gave you five of our favorite moments from Equifunk. Today we continue with three of our favorite acts, some of our favorite covers, and a marathon jam session by one of the most fun performers around.
The Main Squeeze
Chicago-by-way-of-Indiana’s The Main Squeeze played their third Equifunk, and each time they’ve added more time and more sets. This year they played two, Friday night in the E-Rena and Sunday by the main pool stage. Both shows were blow-your-doors-off badass (their Friday night cover of Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” was astounding) and illustrated that this band can rock any stage they set foot on. (Last year they even played an impromptu show in the camp dining hall at about 3 a.m.) And those stages keep getting bigger – by way of example, one of the band’s first ever stops in the DC area was at Whitlow’s in Arlington; next month they’ll headline at the Hamilton (September 22 – don’t miss it).
There are many things that make the Squeeze such a fantastic live act, the most obvious being vocalist Corey Frye’s honey smooth voice, nonstop movement, and infectious enthusiasm. Max Newman is astounding guitar player, able to switch from funk to metal at the drop of a dime. And keyboardist Ben “Smiley” Silverstein earns the nickname; he consistently looks like the happiest guy in the room as he conjures up sounds ranging from Rick Wakeman to Stevie Wonder and everything in between.
Speaking of Stevie, one of the highlights of Equifunk was Arleigh Kincheloe, aka Sister Sparrow, jumping up on stage for a version of “Higher Ground” that was tighter than a snare drum. And speaking of covers…
Click to see the rest of the gallery.
Covers
We’ve already mentioned some of the great covers that we heard during Equifunk, but you could easily write a book-long treatise on the way to cover a song based on this weekend alone. Both Bobby Paltauf and Soulive did their own take on “Eleanor Rigby.” Anders Osborne and Marco Benevento each tackled “Rainy Day Women.” The London Souls’ ripped incredible versions of Shuggie Otis’ “Sweet Thang” and Frank Zappa’s “Apostrophe.” Then there was the Monophonic’s Black Keys-esque take on Sonny and Cher’s “Bang Bang,” the M&Ms taking on the Who’s “Eminence Front,” Keller Williams adding bits and pieces of everyone from Tom Petty to Flight of the Conchords in his set, Pork Tornado teased a bit of “I Touch Myself,” and finally Marco Benevento covering every song ever written in his set by the campfire (more on that below). If covering a song is an art form, Equifunk is the Italian Renaissance.
Mike Dillon
Most folks know Mike Dillon’s name – he’s played with everyone from Les Claypool to Galactic to Ani DiFranco (a former neighbor of his, as it turns out), and was in Garage A Trois with Marco Benevento. But seeing him live is a whole new ballgame. The Mike Dillon Band play a mind-boggling fusion of funk, hip-hop, blues, and punk, with an incredibly dirty edge. Vocalist/trombonist Carly Meyers is an incredible whirling dervish on stage, spending the entire set alternately wailing on her trombone, blowing a gold whistle to keep time, holding up signs, and dancing her ass off, all while Dillon whaled on his vibraphone. Much of the audience – us included – weren’t quite sure what they were seeing at first. But just a few minutes into the set, no one wanted it to stop. The Mike Dillon Band live is that next level of live performance – an experience – and it’s one we hope to have again VERY soon.
We chatted with Dillon following his set, and he was effusive in his praise of the DC music scene and his influence on him. “DC is very important in the equation,” he said, “from Bad Brains to Trouble Funk. Minor Threat, Fugazi, all that DIY thing.” Dillon will be in DC on September 25, opening for Karl Denson at the Hamilton.
And the Rest…
We really haven’t even scratched the surface of the great music we heard this weekend; as we said yesterday, there wasn’t anything close to a weak performance in the bunch. JJ Grey may look like Chris Elliott and dress like you grandfather, but he and his band Mofro played one of the best sets of the weekend, a hard-hitting, bluesy parade of tunes that blew the crowd away. Superhuman Happiness played an incredibly fun set of Afrobeat and dance tunes that channeled everything from Miles Davis to the Talking Heads. And of course Phish’ Jon Fishman and his country-jam band Pork Tornado…well, what else can you say. But without question, the highlight of this year’s festival was…
Marco Benevento
Benevento may have been the hardest working man at Equifunk, which is saying something. First off was his wonderful set by the main pool stage on Saturday. Using an old heavily modified Gibbs piano decked out with effects pedals, stuffed animals, and duct tape, Benevento and his two band mates strung together an incredible, chameleon-like set that illustrated his many gifts as a songwriter and composer. His set ranged from jazz to new age to funk and then back again, sometimes in the same song. He donned a huge tiger mask for crowd favorite “Limbs of a Pine” from his 2012 album TigerFace, and after looping vocalist Kalmia Traver’s catchy-as-hell chorus, began dancing like a madman. Beautifully performed tunes like “Eagle Rock” gave the crowd a chance to catch their breath and bask in the beauty of the sounds Benevento creates. His ability to connect with a crowd is something to behold, both on stage and off; following his set, Benevento traded vinyl copies of his albums for whatever tchotchkes audience members had to give him.
Much like Lionel Richie, Marco Benevento prefers to party ALL NIGHT LONG.
His love of performing became even more apparent later that night. At about 1:30 in the morning, an old-fashioned sing-along began at the camp’s campfire circle. The majority of festival goers squeezed in to hear Benevento – piano and all –jam and take requests, all with the lights off and the campfire roaring. He began with a playful version of “Benny and the Jets” – tossing his homemade “BENE” stickers as the crowd sang-along. At about 2:30 a.m., most of the crowd began heading back to the E-Rena for the New Mastersounds second set of the weekend(which was fantastic, by the way). When their set wrapped up at 3:45 a.m., folks began heading back to their cabins – only to find that Benevento was still playing. Corey Frye of the Main Squeeze had joined him and in the two got in some amazing duets, with the crowd helping out when they could. As the sun rose over Equifunk’s first ever Sunday concert series, Benevento played on, covering Dolly Parton, the Beatles, Chicago, even ripping a great version of “Linus and Lucy,” and not stopping until just after 9 a.m. In a weekend full of incredible musical moments, Benevento’s quiet, all-night fireside serenade managed to stand out for its pure beauty, audacity, and just plain fun.
And that’s Equifunk in a nutshell, really – just plain fun.