In the summer of 1991, I harvested quarters from the sofa and bought a $24 one-way bus ticket to Los Angeles. For three months, I lived with relatives in Santa Monica, Calif., worked as a telemarketer and grew my hair Sideshow Bob style. The week before I hopped on the next chicken bus back to Texas, I attended A Gathering of the Tribes, an outdoor music festival organized by Bill Graham and The Cult's frontman Ian Astbury. Bands like Primus and Fishbone headlined the show.
The year prior to my own Tribes experience, the Jane's Addiction lead singer, Perry Farrell, attended the festival and, as the story goes, incubated the idea for the Lollapalooza music festival. With its debut, Lollapalooza did its best to reignite American youth culture in the aftermath of the late '80s Huey Lewis shit fest. Before the term "alternative" lost its luster and was commodified into oblivion, the festival exposed audiences to a fringe culture. Despite the festival's current configuration (it now boasts only one show per year in Chicago) Lollapalooza set the standard for the modern outdoor music festival. Santa Fe once held that same funky and uncorrupted alternative spirit in its bones. The Santa Fe Muzik Fest is here to remind us of our eccentric sensibilities. It is also set to prove that a three-day outdoor concert at a crumbling horse track might be the trick needed to put New Mexico on the musical map.
The Muzik Fest is in the unique position of being the biggest concert in New Mexico's history and yet no one seems to know what the hell it's all about. Santana was one of the last bands to play at the Downs, which has been silent as a music venue for nearly a decade. Shaun Parrish, freshmen music promoter and one-half of the festival's brain trust, KAOS Productions, searched for an experienced hand to organize the festival and eventually named music promoter, publisher and Albuquerque local Allie Shaw as executive director. Shaw's Hyperactive Music Festival, a two-year-old music festival and conference in Albuquerque, features national bands and a multitude of local, indie and unsigned bands. Despite her brief tenure-Shaw has been at her position for less than a month-she has dug in and infuses the Muzik Festival with the same independent vibe.
"I think about this event and I think about what this could mean for New Mexico and how big this could get and the exposure for local and unsigned bands that are playing this," Shaw says emphatically. "I want us to be part of the music nation that has been created across the world; New Mexico can be just as big. It's our turn now."
The festival's lineup is nothing if not eclectic; some may even call it erratic. But what it lacks in focus, it makes up for in raw ambition. Many of the festival's headliners, such as George Clinton, Wu-Tang Clan and Blues Traveler, share the stage with emerging acts like indie hip-hop artist Busdriver, Albuquerque outfit Vertigo Venus and jazz/groovesters J4DA. Electronica, trance and a small army of turn-tablists represent their side of the musical spectrum at their own stage, while local bands such the Sean Helean Band, Sol Fire and D Numbers appear throughout the festival. With a little luck and repose from the afternoon rain, the festival will be the beginning of a musical renaissance in New Mexico.
TOP 10 ACTS NOT TO MISS
Robert Glasper Experiment (3:15-4:15 pm Friday)
Glasper's panoramic collaborations with Mos Def and Q Tip (among others) push jazz possibilities even further.
Citizen Cope (3:45-5 pm Friday)
Cope blends urban neo-soul with fussy chord licks and rich vocals. The singer-songwriter creates bold groovy strokes through simple means.
Hieroglyphics (5:45-7 pm Friday)
The pioneering indie hip-hop collective from Oakland, Calif., led by Del tha Funkee Homosapien, set the blueprint for hip-hop's conscious underbelly with meticulous rhymes, tricky beats and breaks.
Wu-Tang Clan (7:30-9 pm Friday)
Despite the passing of one of its main contributors, Ol' Dirty Bastard, the group is still as prolific as ever.
Public Enemy (9:30-11 pm Friday)
Nothing comes close to those huge bass beats over festival amplifiers.
Rabbit in the Moon (9:30-11 pm Friday)
Electronic musical hyperbole meets performance catharsis.
Shiny Toy Guns (8-9 pm Saturday)
The indie electronica band builds on a foundation of soulful songwriting and performance.
Dark Star Orchestra (9-11 pm Saturday)
If you happened to miss that Grateful Dead show in Copenhagen circa 1981, no worries. DSO will literally play the entire set, verbatim.
Red Leaves (4:15-5:15 pm Sunday)
The Austin, Texas, trio's orchestral arrangements with post punk savvy are as engaging as they are rowdy.
Soular (9:15-10:15 pm Sunday)
It's introspective and well-formulated pop blends will undoubtedly send the Albuquerque band where only the Shins have gone before.
Santa Fe Muzik Fest
~ 2-11 pm Friday, Aug. 10
~ 11 am-11 pm Saturday, Aug. 11
~ 11 am-10 pm Sunday, Aug. 12
$59-$135
Downs at Santa Fe, 27475 W. Frontage Road
