UPDATE: The DVD is done and is available to download at dimeadozen.
While Van Halen might not be the typical band you’d find here at Funk It, this video project just came out too great not to share it!
UPDATE: NEW VIDEO:
Van Halen 2/18/12 Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Jump (3-cam)
Van Halen 2/18/12 (teaser clip) Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
The Trouble With Never (clip)
Van Halen 2/18/12 (Part 1) Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
You Really Got Me, Runnin’ With The Devil, Romeo Delight:
Van Halen 2/18/12 (Part 2) Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Everybody Wants Some!!, Somebody Get Me A Doctor, Mean Street, Unchained, The Trouble With Never:
Van Halen 2/18/12 (Part 3) Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Dance The Night Away, I’ll Wait, Hot For Teacher, Ice Cream Man:
Van Halen 2/18/12 (Part 4) Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Panama, Eruption, Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love, Jump (ending):
Big thanks to ironchef for his amazing audio recording, which can be downloaded here. Also, big thanks to all others involved in this project, notably Matt Thomas for the 2nd video angle.
When we left Atlanta on Friday morning, our goal was to arrive at Bear Creek Music Festival, set up camp, and get our asses down to the Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio set at 3pm. After some fast driving and an even faster tent set up, we set out to explore the magical Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park with time to spare.
As we exited the campground area, I encountered the Big IV Ampitheater for the first time. I had seen pictures and heard stories, but now I was able to truly appreciate the wonder of this small piece of earth they call Suwannee. At that point in time, the Spam Allstars were on-stage with Pee Wee Ellis guesting.
As I pulled out my video camera to shoot my first video of the weekend, they began the James Brown classic, Cold Sweat! I started shooting immediately, then decided to try out my new press pass to enter the pit area. You can see at the end of the video as I try to enter and security informs me that my press pass only allows access to the pit during the first 3 songs of each set. Turned away, I stopped filming in order to better absorb this magical place with my own senses, rather than the camera. Accordingly, this particular video is less than 3 minutes long, but it shows some of the vibe on this Friday afternoon.
Bear Creek is like late night at New Orleans Jazz Fest on steroids. You have to walk away from someone like Pee Wee Ellis in order to catch another legend like Dr. Lonnie Smith. I was excited for his trio in large part because of the drummer, Jamire Williams, who has played with Christian Scott, Robert Glasper, Gretchen Parlato, Bilal, and others from the NYC jazz/hip-hop scene. Although, I was equally impressed with guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg, whom I wasn’t familiar with. Anyway, When the good organ doctor and his trio came out the silky smooth B-3 organ sounds wafted through the warm afternoon air and all was good…
Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio – Mellow Mood 11/11/11 Bear Creek:
Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio – Beehive 11/11/11 Bear Creek:
Finally, I’ll include another early afternoon video, this one from Sunday morning. Breakestra took a rare trip out of the LA area to bring their non-stop medley of hip-hop samples to Florida, and I was able to capture a few bars…
Breakestra – Medley (Ring Of Fire > Greedy G > Shifting Gears > Champ > Because I Got It Like That > Funky Soul > Getcho Soul Togetha) 11/12/11 Bear Creek:
On the last day of the Bear Creek Music Festival, I was fortunate to get wind of the secret after party jam session that was supposedly for staff only. I was told it would be in the tree house behind the Purple Hat stage. Luckily I was able to borrow a 4 gig memory card from a friend (thanks Bob!) which enabled me to record about an hour of the jam session before I was flat-out out of memory.
When I arrived around 11:30pm, I saw WRD (Robert Walter, Eddie Roberts and Adam Deitch) set up and ready to play. I had previously thought it strange that this new group didn’t get a Bear Creek set, considering all three players were at the festival. So this was quite a treat to close out the weekend with. I didn’t record the first tune, but I did get the next six, approximately 54 minutes, which you can watch in excellent HD quality right here….
For me, the highlights are Topaz‘s saxophone blowing on the first video, Eric Krasno‘s jazz guitar chops on the second video, Louis Cato‘s bass solo at the end of the fifth video, and Ivan Neville jumping on drums to join Jamie McLean for a cover of Delbert McClinton‘s “Standing On Shaky Ground” on the sixth and last video. For those that weren’t able to attend or who didn’t find out about the jam session, sit back and enjoy it here in Funk It vision…
Bear Creek Secret Tree House After Party Jam Session (1 of 6) 11/12/11 Bear Creek Music Festival (Robert Walter on keys, Eddie Roberts on guitar, Adam Deitch on drums, Topaz on sax, Jonathan Lloyd on trombone, Louis Cato on percussion) – Almendra:
Bear Creek Secret Tree House After Party Jam Session (2 of 6) 11/12/11 Bear Creek Music Festival (Robert Walter on keys, Eddie Roberts on guitar, Adam Deitch on drums, Louis Cato on bass, Eric Krasno on guitar, Topaz on sax, Jonathan Lloyd on trombone) – Flood In Franklin Park (Grant Green cover):
Bear Creek Secret Tree House After Party Jam Session (3 of 6) 11/12/11 Bear Creek Music Festival (Robert Walter on keys, Eddie Roberts on guitar, Adam Deitch on drums) – Pack of Lies (The Counts cover):
Bear Creek Secret Tree House After Party Jam Session (4 of 6) 11/12/11 Bear Creek Music Festival (Robert Walter on keys, Eddie Roberts on guitar, Derrick Freeman on drums, Jamie McLean on guitar) – Louisiana Slim (Leon Spencer cover):
Bear Creek Secret Tree House After Party Jam Session (5 of 6) 11/12/11 Bear Creek Music Festival (Robert Walter on keys, Eddie Roberts on guitar, Adam Deitch on drums, Jamie McLean on guitar, Louis Cato on bass, Topaz on sax, Jonathan Lloyd on trombone) – unknown jam:
Bear Creek Secret Tree House After Party Jam Session (6 of 6) 11/12/11 Bear Creek Music Festival (Robert Walter on keys, Eddie Roberts on guitar, Jamie McLean on guitar, Louis Cato on bass, Sean Sullivan on drums and then Ivan Neville takes over on drums) – Standing On Shakey Ground (Delbert McClinton cover):
