Waka, Day 1: Lights out early

Photo by Jim Barcus/The Star

Thursday night's storms washed out the final eight hours of music, starting with Bettye LaVette's 7:45 p.m. set in the Sun Up Stage. At 7:30 p.m., sound crews were wrapping equipment in plastic and festival spokespeople were on stages telling fans/customers to head back to their tents or wherever it was they'd come from. The tickets say "RAIN OR SHINE" but they don't say "near hurricane winds" or "biblical rain falling sideways."

The cancellations ended up being a little premature: The storm would not hit for nearly two hours. There's nothing wrong with a little precaution. The weather radar doesn't lie. Lawrence got hammered good, like every place else. 

I manage to catch a few sets: Deadman Flats (Prairie Stage), who do bluegrass the way Split Lip reinvented it; Trombone Shorty, the frontman of a bad-ass funk band; and Limbeck, who shake and stir their indie-rock with jiggers of alt-country. Crowds were light across the festival grounds during happy hour. Limbeck played in the huge Revival Tent, which looked like Arrowhead during a Wizards' game: a modest-sized crowd spread out all over the place, making the place seem empty.

Today: Trombone Shorty plays again at 1:30 p.m. at the Sun Up Stage; Limbeck plays again at 9:15 tonight at the Sun Up Stage. The Sun Down Stage opens today and the lineup is big, starting at 2:30 p.m.: Mates of State, Built to Spill, Buckethead, Cake, the Flaming Lips. The big early show, for local fans: Paw at 1:30 p.m. in the Revival Tent. Here's a complete schedule.

The grounds, which were spongy in places long before the rain hit Thursday (water appears to flow into a couple of the tents) are bound to be a mess. Parking will be an adventure, too: It's all in the mucky grass. Wear shoes you don't care about. And please don't throw mud. We'll be out there early this afternoon.

Timothy Finn, The Star

Comments

[kcneon]

Say, does anyone know if Pete was coming back to play drums for Paw's performance?

[Where are YOU headed?]

This should be an interesting Saturday for music in these parts. The smart people, who have some modicum of Education, will be heading over to the brilliant, eclectic Wakarusa Fest and all of the dim-bulbs who didn't finish High School (or maybe received a GED) will be headed to the repetitive, mind-numbing, culturally-inept RockFest at the Penn Valley Park. Socially-conscious hippies on one end and prison-bound stoners on the other. Something for everyone!