RITES OF SPRING: All access presented by Versus

Submitted by on 04-21-08, 5:09 pm | Updated on 04-21-08, 5:10 pm | More from this Writer | Submit to Digg or Facebook

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Although there were problems with flaky artists, paranoid security and long lines, the weekend saw some amazing performances. Colbie may have been disappointing, but Lord T and Eloise rocked the stage in a fashion that can only be described as “old school.” The charming Feist lit up the stage with her snappy brand of pop rock before the lackluster “frat party” performance by Lil Jon. Read on to find out what we thought about Old Crow Medicine Show, Randy Rogers Band and the rest of Rites of Spring.

‘It’s all happening’ backstage at Rites of Spring
Avery Spofford, Versus Staff Writer

In the immortal words of Penny Lane of “Almost Famous,” “It’s all happening.”

Penny’s motto can be taken quite literally when applied to her own area of expertise — backstage — at Rites of Spring 2008. While the other side of Alumni Lawn was full of college kids chugging their six-per-person beers and squirming through the mob for a better view of Lil Jon or Spoon, behind the stage, crews of students and other staff members were hard at work making sure that it was all happening.

Contrary to what popular culture might imply, a backstage pass does not mean total and instant access to all of your favorite artists, free drugs, naked women and wild after-parties; it means working to make sure artists and staff are satisfied and ready to put on the show on time (even in the pouring rain). Security, artist hospitality and vendor management are just a few of the many facets of Rites of Spring that have to be dealt with behind the scenes, all of which require constant attention and assistance before, during and after the show.

Much of what goes on backstage and onstage is coordinated by a group of about 20 students called The Music Group who work and plan throughout the year to ensure success at events such as Rites of Spring and Commodore Quake.

Although working backstage at Rites is an exciting and unique experience, the staff puts in hard work to make sure the show runs smoothly. Students interested in helping to coordinate Rites of Spring and other concert events may apply to become a member of the Vanderbilt Programming Board’s Music Group during the beginning of the spring 2009 term.

Friday
Battle of the Bands Winners: Oscar Anthony & the Westfolk Band (first place) and Richard Flemming (second place)
Avery Spofford, Versus Staff Writer

Last Thursday, students gathered on Alumni Lawn for what has become known as the honorary first night of Rites of Spring: the Battle of the Bands.

The evening featured seven acts, two of which were selected to perform at Rites of Spring. The judging panel included two members of the Vanderbilt Programming Board’s Music Group, Professor Jen Gunderman (a senior lecturer in the Blair school of music) and WRVU DJ Scott Brown.

First place winners Oscar Anthony and the Westfolk Band are a six-man outfit from neighboring Belmont University. Influenced by artists ranging from the Beatles to the Allman Brothers, Oscar Anthony and the Westfolk Band feature a classic rock sound flavored with country, bluegrass and jam band. Visit their MySpace at www.myspace.com/oscaranthonyandthewestfolkband to check out the sound that opened up Saturday’s festival.

Day one began with second place winners Richard Flemming. Self-promoted as having once made an old woman in a nursing home throw up, Richard Flemming favors a harder sound described by the band as “the Stones and the Foo Fighters and fun.” The five-member act said they were looking forward to playing Rites as their first major show, especially kicking off the first day and getting the audience excited for the upcoming acts. Hear Battle of the Bands’ second winner at www.myspace.com/richardflemming

Wild Sweet Orange
Sydney Wilmer, Hustler Senior Reporter

It started to rain in the middle of the show, but the drizzle didn’t dampen Birmingham indie-rock group Wild Sweet Orange when they performed Friday afternoon at Rites. In addition to playing songs from their newest album “Whale,” (which boasts the song “Land of No Return,” featured on “Grey’s Anatomy”) the band also played a few unreleased songs.

The group’s sound — and to an extent its lyrical themes —are reminiscent of Florida-based acoustic rockers Dashboard Confessional. The lead singer and songwriter Preston Lovinggood sported a full-grown beard, but the teenage-worthy angst was pretty powerful in his onstage groans. And at other points, he simply whispered into the microphone, putting powerful emotion behind the band’s lyrics.

As Wild Sweet Orange was the first non-Vanderbilt act to play on the rainy Friday afternoon, the crowd at their performance was sparse, but students clustered around the stage to avoid the rain. Still, despite the lackluster crowd attendance, those who did attend danced throughout Wild Sweet Orange’s set and were pleasantly surprised by the talented musicians and their inspired performance.

Jeremy Lister
Chris Gearing, Versus Managing Editor

Although a bit tame in this writer’s opinion, Jeremy Lister was excellent this past Friday at Rites of Spring. Lister played his repertoire in the rain, which somehow highlighted the intimacy and emotional aspects of his music. Songs like “Fit” and “Hostage” describe the intricacies and slight flaws of romance that make them truly beautiful. The slight dash of rain to the mix made the scene truly poignant as he stood on stage with his acoustic guitar and delivered his music with earnest diligence and a unique sense of love for his work. Although Jeremy Lister may have just released his first album, keep your eyes on this Nashville star as he is definitely on the rise.

Cupid
Avery Spofford, Versus Staff Writer

Let’s be honest: I don’t think that anyone expected Cupid’s 50-minute set on Friday to be as fun as it was. Cynics complaining about how Cupid “only has one song” or “is so last semester” were proven wrong on Friday night, however, when Cupid brought out the big guns — his new single, “The Happy Dance.”

While perhaps not as emotionally stirring as Lil Jon and Shawty Putt’s rendition of “Dat Baby Don’t Look Like Me,” “The Happy Dance” was a rambunctious and upbeat way to dance away the rain and get the crowd excited for Cupid’s self-described “main event:” “The Cupid Shuffle.”

“The Cupid Shuffle” was likely the only reason most of the crowd came for Cupid’s set, and he delivered the track with all due excitement and animation. The song sounded suspiciously like the wondrous “The Happy Dance” and the sky was pouring down rain, but the crowd was so excited to have a reason to forget about the weather and dance that no one seemed to care. Such is the allure of Cupid: they had to shuffle, rain or shine.

With a set including both a Cupid Shuffle cameo from the Vanderbilt Programming Board’s own Music Group and the premiere of the soon-to-be club staple “ The Happy Dance,” Cupid’s performance was one of the high-energy highlights of Rites of Spring.

Colbie Caillat
Courtney Rogers, Versus Culture Editor

Watching Colbie Caillat perform Friday night, you would never have known Nashville was rainy and gray. Sporting a camisole and a Rock and Republic denim mini skirt, Callait kept her cool despite the chilly weather and delivered a performance that was full of enough pop optimism to make the audience forget that were in ponchos rather than beachwear.

In addition to indulging the crowd with her bubbly, down-to-earth personality, Callait’s set list was a good mix of material from her debut album as well as a few surprises. As she mentioned in her interview with Versus Magazine, Callait performed a new song she wrote on the road about missing home. She also chose to tackle some classic covers from her favorite artists including mellow versions of Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low” and The Rolling Stones’ “Beast of Burden.” Of course, one of the highlights included Callait playing her hit single “Bubbly” on a brand new guitar as Alumni Lawn crooned along about crinkling their noses. She closed her performance with a song from “Coco” titled “Feelings Show” about having an unrelenting crush. After a great show despite lackluster weather, don’t worry Callait — as far as Vandy goes, the feeling is mutual.

Spoon
Chris Gearing, Versus Managing Editor

Although Friday’s lineup may have been lackluster before Spoon took the stage, the indie rock gods certainly made up for Colbie et al with a rocking performance that dazzled the entire crowd. I was surprised by how much they sounded like their albums because, as any good Spoon fan knows, they have a bit of a weird side and employ a lot of modified and synthesized sounds. But they pulled it off. They sounded enough like their record without being fake, which really made their performance sparkle (technical proficiency with a live edge, what a surprise!). The Austin, Texas, natives played a good bit of their catalogue and even included unorthodox selections like “The Ghost of You Lingers” with its haunting lyrics over choppy piano.

Their rock edge may have been a bit off-putting with the festival atmosphere of Rites, but the addition of brass on top of acoustic guitar really separated Spoon from the competition. Just ask everyone who was there. They were dancing and singing to the off-brand of music that Spoon brought to the stage. When the signature horn line emerged for their big single “The Underdog,” the entire crowd started singing along into the white lights of the stage. If there was one magical moment at Rites this year, that was definitely it. Spoon definitely ran off with the prize for the best performance of Friday.

Saturday
H-Beam
Avery Spofford, Versus Staff Writer

H-Beam’s performance at Rites of Spring was not for the faint of heart … or the sober. The psychedelic rockers opened up Alumni Lawn on Saturday to a whole new world where giant panda suits, frog masks and homosexual rock opera reigned supreme.

The band performed a rock opera titled “Jane,” which details a Nashville coed’s quest for self-understanding. The story journeys through a Nashville bar (which H-Beam hinted at being Vanderbilt favorite Fuel), to Cancun, Mexico, and back again, eventually leading Jane to discover and embrace her sexuality as a lesbian.

Characters featured in the opera included Jane’s father (Admiral Doc Hop-a-long, a bass saxophonist crowned with a giant frog mask) and “The Love Panda,” a mascot-sized panda dressed up in a Lil Jon costume complete with bling and dreadlocks.

Vanderbilt Music Group member Lauren Richman said she felt that H-Beam’s performance was “new for the Vanderbilt crowd but well-received.” Festival attendees enjoyed the opera, laughing along with the humor of the Love Panda while sympathizing with Jane’s struggle with her sexual identity.
If onstage theatrics and an epic throwback to the psychedelia and experimentation of the 1960s are your style, check out H-Beam’s MySpace at www.myspace.com/hbeamlive

Alana Grace
Reanne Zheng, Versus Staff Writer
The 19-year-old California native Alana Grace was slightly better received than her predecessor H-Beam — at least half the crowd was on its feet. Still, the angsty poptart’s music called for a little more enthusiasm than the Saturday afternoon’s audience seemed willing to muster. Fortunately for the performers a couple of very devoted fans (or perhaps just some very merry revelers) kept the energy of the whole crowd up, particularly during the song for which Grace is best known, “Black Roses Red.” Reminiscent of a younger Alanis Morissette, Grace is definitely an up-and-coming artist with some seriously awesome songs (available on her MySpace page) so definitely check her out if you are one of those people who wandered out onto the lawn only just in time for Lil Jon. Though her Rites’ performance may not be indicative of what she is capable of and what she will be in the near future, Alana Grace is one singer songwriter to keep an eye out for.

Lord T and Eloise
Darcy Newell, Versus Editor in Chief
Lord T and Eloise, a Memphis-based rap and hip hop trio, might have been the biggest surprise at this year’s festival. Decked out in colonial-inspired outfits, powdered wigs and gold face paint (one quick visit to the group’s Myspace will tell you that these outfits have become a staple of the band’s on-stage identity) Lord Treadwell, Maurice Eloise XIII and MysterE, as they are individually known, rocked a sparse crowd on Saturday afternoon. The rain had stopped, but Saturday’s crowd was mellow, at best, allowing Lord T and Eloise’s energetic rhymes to simply become background music to their conversations. Still, there was a disparity between the greatness of the show and the size of the crowd — the guys jumped around stage with so much energy and flair you would think they were performing for a full house at Madison Square Garden. Their hard-rocking sound mixed rap, hip hop and crunk (Lil Jon’s musical invention) and while their sound probably caught Saturday afternoon’s crowd off-guard, by the end of their lively set, Lord T and Eloise probably made themselves some new fans.

Hill Country Revue
Elizabeth Middlebrooks, Hustler Editor in Chief

When it comes to music festivals, the smaller-billed, less-known artists can often deliver performances more impressive than those of the headliners. This certainly held true for Hill Country Revue, the blues-rock group from Mississippi.

Hill Country’s Saturday-evening performance shined as a bright spot in the day’s lineup. Their modern blues sound had most of the crowd dancing and cheering for more, despite the band’s relative obscurity. The group played a tough spot in the lineup, falling between the entertaining Lord T and Eloise and the Randy Rogers Band, but Hill Country kept up the tempo between the acts and kept the crowd energized.

Hill Country Revue is an offshoot of North Mississippi Allstars, a regionally popular Southern-rock band, but the two groups share little more than a couple members. The Allstars have a much more country sound, but Hill Country’s blues set the band apart as much more than just a side project of a few members.

Hill Country’s performance at Rites surely gained the band some new fans and increased the loyalty of the fans the group already had.

Randy Rogers Band
Chris Gearing, Versus Managing Editor

Randy Rogers promised a hell of a show this year at Rites, and boy did he deliver. The Texas natives brought their signature Texas country-rock sound to the stage on Saturday and delighted fans and newcomers alike. Although there’s nothing experimental or “edgy” about the band, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. They played through their predictable but solid catalogue of fiddle- and twangy guitar-filled ballads well and (as always) with technical proficiency. They may have been the lesser-known half of this year’s country offering at Rites, but they made their genre and fans proud with a solid country performance.

Grace Potter
Owen Canavan, Versus Staff Writer

In the aftermath buzz of the Rites of Spring, Vermont’s pride Grace Potter and the Nocturnals seem to be at the top of many spectators’ lists of the best performances of the weekend. Given the immense talent of the band, in terms of both soulfulness and instrumental and vocal virtuosity, one would think that the group’s status would be far bigger than it currently is. Still, Saturday’s crowd, raging from the Randy Rogers Band performance that segued into Potter’s set, greeted the Waitsfield, Va., native rockers with enthusiasm and energy, jamming along with their unique breed of instrumentally-sound rock.

Potter swayed the crowd with her stunning looks, Joplin-esque voice and bluesy Hammond B3 organ work. The Nocturnals’ lead guitar player Scott Tournet, however, brought an equal amount to the table too; while his slide work was positively powerful and his finger picking engaging, it was his ability to comp Grace’s work on the keys that made him such an important force in the group’s soundscape. The subtleties that stemmed from his Fender Telecaster did wonders for both the band’s rock numbers and sobering ballads. Their show on Saturday evening found the Nocturnals in full force, despite the short set, delivering what was, in my opinion, the very best performance of the weekend.

Owen Canavan is also a member of The Music Group.

Old Crow Medicine Show
Davis Macmillan, Versus Staff Writer

Nashville-based Old Crow Medicine Show are said to have gotten their big break while playing in front of a pharmacy in North Carolina. They were spotted by country legend Doc Watson, who immediately signed them on for his Merlefest music festival. Old Crow Medicine Show has since become a nationally known act and their performance at Rites on Saturday showed why: Their impressive mix of old time country tunes and rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities lit up the crowd and stands as one of the best performances of the night.

Old Crow Medicine Show was given the daunting task of following Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, one of the surprise hits of Rites of Spring. The rain had let up for a bit and Alumni Lawn seemed full enough to burst, with lines on both sides snaking deep into campus.

Old Crow’s singer Willie Watson bantered with the crowd in a deep, weirdly melodic accent in between songs that ranged from fast, screeching fiddle tunes to slower ballads. Large sections of the crowd, more locals than Vandy students, danced along with a sort of country two-step. Along with fiddles and banjos, OCMS included the harmonica on a number of songs, which picked up the early part of the performance.

For their last song, OCMS played their hit, “Wagon Wheel” to a screaming crowd. It seemed that most everyone was singing along and dancing, and this marked one of the high points of the night. The band walked off stage briefly, before returning with an encore performance dedicated to “all the Carolina girls in the audience.” They tore through the last song, giving the crowd one last burst of energy to hold them out until Feist came on.

Feist
Ellie Mix, Versus Fiction Editor

One, two, three, four … can we have a little more? Saturday night’s smoothed down rocker chick didn’t even need an introduction as she picked up her guitar and swayed in the deep red and blue lights to her enticing, mysterious music. This girl was intense on her guitar: she played like a bona fide guitar hero, putting the likes of tame and bland Colbie Caillat to shame. Even when slowing down to one of her love melodies or the greatest rendition of “Secret Love” ever heard, she still grasped the attention and admiration of everyone there. All around me there were couples and friends dancing, sitting on shoulders or just staring, smiling as if before them played the next big thing out of Canada. When she finally appeased us all with “1234,” the Rites crowd danced together, unified, just like in her giddy, melodic Apple ad. Professional, cool and energetic, Feist’s performance on Saturday night was easily one of the best of Rites of Spring this year.

Lil Jon
Elizabeth Middlebrooks, Hustler Editor in Chief

“Don’t Stop Believin’” seems to be everyone’s favorite song — it’s catchy, memorable and fun to sing with a bunch of strangers. Except when one of those strangers is Lil Jon.
The Music Group caught a lot of flak for booking Lil Jon as Saturday’s Rites of Spring headliner, and while I had my doubts about his “festival-ness,” I was sure he’d at least put on a good show. He is the “purveyor of crunk,” after all.

After Lil Jon took the stage, each minute just felt like a repeat of the one before it. Instead of performing whole versions of his songs, he basically did a medley of the songs he’s had a hand in creating. Lil Jon is a producer, not a performer; his 45 minutes of running around the stage demonstrated that point well.

Yeah (“Yeah!”), the crowd got into the songs, especially favorites like “Get Low” and “Snap Yo Fingers,” but we only got snippets of all the songs. The show really began going downhill, though, with “That Baby Don’t Look Like Me.”

But Rites just became one big frat party when Lil Jon led the crowd in renditions of “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Actually, he didn’t so much lead the crowd as he ran around the stage yelling random things into the mic (Lil Jon: “What’s that smell?” Crowd: “… the smell of wine and cheap perfume …”). His disc jockey deserves more credit than he because the DJ was actually playing the songs.

Overall, Lil Jon delivered an underwhelming, lackluster performance that just proved all the nay-sayers correct.