Rothbury 2008: Day 2

Rothbury kicked into high gear on Friday, as Jakob Dylan ushered in the afternoon with a set of dusty Americana tunes. Sporting a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses that could've reflected a nuclear blast, Dylan looked like Sheriff Cooley from O Brother, Where Art Thou? while singing in a comfortable, cool baritone. “Let me be the first up here to say ‘Happy 4th of July,’” he said, drawing applause from the crowd of Wallflowers fans and wandering passerby.

At the nearby Odeum Stage, the Wailers ambled through Bob Marley's greatest hits. Frontman Elan Atias isn't Jamaican (the bio on his website lists him as “an American Jewish reggae singer”), but his smoky voice is a dead ringer for Marley's. “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Three Little Birds,” and “Stir It Up” rarely sounded so authentic, even if they were sung by an American vocalist dressed in designer duds.

Snoop Dogg was slated to perform next, but we still ran over to Sam Beam’s set during the 30-minute interim. After watching Iron & Wine get its jam on at Bonnaroo, it was nice to see Sam Beam take a mellow approach to his indie-folk songs. He joked with the crowd, flaunted his ever-expanding beard, and capped things off with a stirring version of “The Trapeze Swinger,” which an audience member requested as soon as he took the stage.

Back at the Odeum, a laidback Snoop Dogg urged concertgoers to wave their hands, sing along, and/or bare their breasts. We missed his grand entrance, which reportedly involved the Doggfather riding onto the stage on a tricycle, but we did show up in time to hear Snoop offer the most astute summary of the day. “It’s the motherfucking 4^th of July,” he proclaimed, “we got Snoop on stage, we smokin’ weed and gettin’ drunk!” Attaboy, Snoop. A string of fan favorites, including “Gin & Juice” and “What’s My Name?” followed.

We passed on the 311 show in order to catch the Drive-By Truckers, who offered some of the loudest rock 'n' roll on Rothbury’s roster. Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood took alternating frontman duties, while soul legend Bettye LaVette (who was born in Muskegon, Michigan, just 30 minutes south of Rothbury) sauntered onstage to sing a cut from her 2007 effort, The Scene of the Crime. Despite the Truckers’ sweaty energy, most of the crowd seemed to be waiting for Modest Mouse, who took the stage immediately afterwards for the last date of its summer tour. Isaac Brock looked absolutely fierce as he wielded his banjo (not an easy feat), while guitarist and former Smith Johnny Marr remained coolly collected.

As Widespread Panic serenaded the masses on the main stage, Of Montreal brought its flamboyant, poppy presence to The Ranch Arena around nightfall. Blue and yellow lights shone on Kevin Barnes’ costumed torso while a pack of children dressed as masked ninjas (think the Foot Clan in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film) chased him around the stage. Later, a full-grown ninja tossed baby dolls into the audience. It was bizarre, of course, but the spectacle helped draw a line between Of Montreal’s sugary, electro-pop sound and the jam-band strains of Widespread Panic. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? dominated most of the setlist, which reached its psychedelic peak during the 12-minute “The Past is a Grotesque Animal.”