Rites of Spring Gets Sprung

by Nikki King

Winter crashed the party at Vandy’s Rites of Spring on Saturday. Despite inclement weather, freshmen girls showed up in skirts which we can assume were intended to impress the freshmen boys. Frisbees and footballs were tossed in an effort to keep warm, which gave the back half of the Alumni Lawn all the aesthetic of a popcorn machine, what with all of the recreational objects flying through the air. Speaking of popcorn, the kettle corn stand that occupied the thatch of lawn beside the Paste tent had heavenly fare. Moving on…

The early attendance could have been for Oscar Anthony and the Westfolk Band, one of the winners of the battle of the bands held earlier in the week. Or it very well could have been the self-proclaimed “rock opera” of H-Beam, which was also not on the initial bill. Entitled Jane, the presentation was a comedic take (we hope?) on the sexuality of the protagonist. The former included a solid landscape of saxophone, accordion and southern rock inspired jams, in the vein of John Butler Trio. The latter included tight red pants, a giant panda (dubbed the “Love Panda”) and lots of hair (see below).

H-Beam

Needless to say, by the time Alana Grace took the stage, I was ready for a change of pace from the psychedelic innuendo. Grace seems to be best known for her track “Black Roses Red” from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which she made sure to note, her style nearly too reminiscent of Evanescence. Then she covered 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up,” which (let’s be honest) is a song we all would rather just forget existed.

Lord T (or is it Eloise?)

Lord T and Eloise was by far the most refreshing surprise of the day. “We are the richest men in the world and we are here to save rap music,” they proclaimed from the stage. This statement should be prefaced with the fact that one was wearing a ridiculous powdered wig and the other had gilded gold skin. Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars renown backed the group on drums (unfortunately, he did not assume a costumed persona). The “new crunk” sensations rapped about riding around in black limousines, riding on their high horse and life in the Middle East (“where the oil is crude”). The group will be at Bonnaroo this year and is worth almost whatever you have to miss to see them.

Hill Country Revue

Hill Country Revue is a spin-off project from two of the North Mississippi Allstars: Chris Chew and, again, Cody Dickinson. The band could be classified on the more legit side of the jam/country rock genre, with solid guitar solos and swelling harmonica interludes. This led into the Randy Rodgers Band, a country band that is true to their form. “Thank you for inviting our country ass to your party,” Rodgers said from the stage after the first set of songs. “Hope you are having a good day.” Ah, not only were they solid musically, they were charmers to boot. By the time they had finished playing, the crowd had filed in, filling Alumni Field beyond the sound booth.

Grace Potter

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals blew expectations out of the water. The set was constant movement, with Potter switching from keys (and sometimes a Hammond B-3) to a Gibson Flying V midway through songs, almost like her musicianship was fueled by an acute case of ADD. She played the expected singles early on, playing “Falling or Flying” and “Ah, Mary” before debuting a new song, “Sugar,” that was a slow Joplin-inspired swoon: “sugar, you’re just too sweet for me / I’ve got a big ole pot of coffee / all I need is a little cream.” The song lent itself well to an extended version that morphed intriguingly into jam that reflected the austerity of a southern hymn, “won’t you take me down to the water / yes we’ll all go there together / there’s hope for us again.”

Potter wins the award for best band introduction ever: after announcing names, everyone (including Potter) grabbed drumsticks and broke it down on the five-piece. It was somewhat like Stomp, but with Wayfarers on. Without missing a beat, Potter walked authoritatively back to the Flying V, picked up the guitar and started the next song.

Old Crow Medicine Show

The Old Crow Medicine Show is a band that claims Nashville as home base after their early days of busking the streets of Music City, USA. Naturally, they were one of the anticipated favorites for the evening. But even though they played a lot of favorites and several songs that aren’t even on albums yet, they seemed to be executing more than performing. They did, however, play a track from their next album, slated to arrive in late summer. Don’t get me wrong; they were decent. But it was not necessarily a set that transcended what one would get from listening to their albums.

Leslie Feist started out her set with a slow take on “When I was a Young Girl.” Standing in ambient red and blue light, her visage matched her ghostly, wispy vibrato. Little effects throughout added intrigue, including makeshift snowflakes on “Mushaboom” and silhouettes of high heels and stemmy legs on “Sea Lion Woman.” On “My Moon, My Man” Feist stopped singing to the young girl and started singing to the stage crew that was making a racket backstage. Inevitably they stopped whatever they were doing; Feist launched headlong into “Gatekeeper,” followed by “I Feel it All,” where at the end of the song she just held the end of the note, stepped away from the mic obviously still screaming the same note before stepping back behind the microphone. Badass.

Feist loves...you...inside and out (photo by Lance Conzett)

Her banter was not limited to scolding the roadies backstage. She split the audience up based on year in school and taught them a harmonic note so they could sing along to something other than “1, 2, 3, 4.” She also announced the presence of Ron Sexsmith in the audience. A fellow Canadian, co-writer of “Brandy Alexander” and songwriter classique, Sexsmith was in town to play the Belcourt Theatre on Monday with Nick Lowe in support of his forthcoming album, Exit Strategy of the Soul. Feist played his song “Secret Heart” in homage.

“Keep those New Kids on the Block hands up in the air; it lets us know you’re alive,” she said before finishing the set with “Inside and Out,” “1, 2, 3, 4,” “Mushaboom” and “Sea Lion Woman.”

After Feist, Lil Jon was on next (there’s a transition I thought I would never write) and as one fest-goer behind me noted, “that guy’s a marketing genius.” He was right. I am sure the set we saw was different from what they perform on any given tour; they completely catered to the college crowd, playing songs that most would know (whether they would admit it or not) including “Get Low,” “Snap Yo’ Fingers” and “Bia Bia.” They ended with karaoke, dude-bro style, with Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

Though not technically the beginning to the festival season, the Rites of Spring gave a glimpse of what to hope for in the months to come: fun-lovin’ hip-hop, timeless performances and, at the very least, warmer days.