Be prepared to bop your head and
dance to Soul Coughing at St. Andrew's
Hall in Detroit on Sunday, August 3, at Wednesday
7:30. Advance tickets are $12. July 30, 1997
H.O.R.D.E. displays diverse, better-than-average lineup

By Elizabeth Lucas Traveler wannabes) or Cake Like his nature, performed some mind-bog-
and Aaron Rennie (escapees from the Warped Tour). gling fretwork on his various basses.
Daily Arts Editors Luckily, Chris Wood of MMW came New drummer Brain proved he is a
The acronym H.O.R.D.E. stands for through with a lengthy improvisational much more than adequate substitute
rizons of Rock Developing jam at the H.O.R.D.E. O' Culture tent. for departed skinsman Tim "Herb"
rywhere. As Sunday's H.O.R.D.E. Unfortunately, some of his playing Alexander, meshing perfectly with
show at Pine Knob demonstrated, partners in Screamin' Cheetah Claypool's other-worldly bass playing.
those horizons are developing in some Wheelies (namely the joker of a lead Larry "Ler" LaLonde was permitted to
strange and intriguing directions. singer/guitarist) blew, but Wood solo once in a while, but his guitar
The show kicked off at the second appeared entertained with fooling wasn't amped nearly loud enough. The
stage with a Michigan band, Domestic around with such mediocre musicians, band was unexpectedly well-received
Problems. This group lived up to the breaking into smiles from time to time. by a normally "jam band"-friendly
H.O.R.D.E. spirit, playing "neo-hip- Once other attractions in this area, crowd, who even cheered new songs
pie" jams for an enthusiastic crowd. such as the H.O.R.D.E. CD store and like "Shake Hands With Beef," off
Just as the set was ending, however, an the nonprofit organization table, had Primus' new release, "The Brown
unseen signal from the "H.O.R.D.E. lost their appeal, it was back to the sec- Album." Nevertheless, Primus only
' Culture" tent (a small, out-of-the- ond stage for Ben Folds Five. For a dipped into a few "Brown Album"
y stage) sent the crowd running group that produces quirky, piano- songs, playing mostly fan favorites
from the second stage. Many festival- based pop/jazz, Ben Folds Five played such as "Jerry Was A Race Car
goers dashed to the a surprisingly Driver," "Tommy The Cat" and "My
tent to hear a sur- loud and rock- Name Is Mud." Numerous screaming
prise 10-minute R E V I E W inflected set. The 15-year-old fans in "Back in Brown"
acoustic set by Neil H.O.R.D.E. guest violin sec- T-shirts were highly appreciative of
Young. t'111ocouldn't mit- this aspect of the show.
Next up on the igate the noise, At long last, the festival reached its
second stage was Pine Knob Music Theatre and audience high point when Neil Young and Crazy
Screamin' Cheetah July27, 1997 members didn't Horse took the stage. After opening
heelies, who seem sure what with some rock-based numbers, the
ade the mistake of playing angry, to make of this act. stage was darkened and candles were
abrasive rock to a crowd full of hip- For the next several hours, the crowd lit to provide atmosphere for some
pies. At this point, some of the crowd ran back and forth from one stage to acoustic songs. Young played brood-
investigated the festival's fine selec- another, often having to choose ing, emotional versions of "Big Time,"
tion of tie-dyed fabrics and hemp jew- between missing the last 10 minutes of "Ohio" and "The Damage Done,"
elry, while others returned to the main- one band or the first 10 minutes of before teaming up with Crazy Horse
stage area to hear Medeski, Martin and another. The madness began when col- again. "This is the new guy - he's
Wood. lege-rock favorites Toad the Wet only been with us 22 years," Young
The New York-based jazz trio played Sprocket played the main stage. joked about his guitarist, as he intro-
a stunning, but substantially brief set. Though the pavilion audience was still duced his bandmates, before ending
John Medeski wowed the audience fairly sparse at this point, several the evening on another rockin' high
*th his improvisational organ work, devoted Toad fans danced throughout note. Young was even able to stretch
as did his super-tight rhythm section. the entire set, a mix of new material the rigid H.O.R.D.E. schedule enough
Bassist Chris Wood switched effort- from the group's latest album, "Coil," to allow time for a much-appreciated
lessly from bass guitar to a huge, and older standards like "All I Want" encore. The crowd began to dance
wooden upright bass, and dropped a and "Fall Down." again, and as Young's lyrics had it,
nasty bass solo that got the apprecia- Back on the second stage came "psychedelic music filled the air."
tive crowd dancing. Drummer Chris Morphine, who was back in the Metro All in all, the "sixth annual migra-
Martin, in turn, played a sweet solo, Detroit area for the third time since tion of the H.O.R.D.E. festival" (as the
staying, as the lingo has it, "in the April. The sax, bass and drum trio screaming announcer described it) was
pocket" The audience yearned for played an energetic 35-minute set, definitely not a typical H.O.R.D.E.
,Gore when MMW's 30-minute time which mixed material off its latest show. Short on "neo-hippie" bands -
C it was up, but alas, the group had to album, "Like Swimming," with earlier Blues Traveler skipped the tour for the
saunter off the stage. tried-and-true hits, like "Buena," first time - H.O.R.D.E. was nonethe-
The ensuing hour was the only weak "Thursday" and "Cure For Pain." less long on talent, as such diverse
point in the H.O.R.D.E. lineup. The Much of the crowd raced back to the artists as Medeski, Martin and Wood,
audience had two scheduled listening main stage to catch the intense, hour- Primus and Neil Young vigorously
choices: Leftover Salmon (Blues long set by Primus. Les Claypool, as is proved.
Medeski, Martin and Wood (upper
right), Morphine (middle right), Neil Offset pr "n in
Young (lower right) and Ben Folds Five o es
(left) were some of the eclectic bands
who appeared at Pine Knob in the
1997 H.O.R.D.E. Festival. Their respec-
- tive photos ably sum up their musical Cal r d@quote
styles: MMW and Morphine are intense
and urban, while Neil Young and the Big savings an newsletters
Ben Folds Five are on the sauce.-for
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