Electric Forest Recap

Posted on Jul 9, 2013 in Events, Reviews

 

“You’ve not heard this before. I’ve not heard this before. We’re going to create it. Together.”

 

As the glow sticks, confetti, and immense energy settled amongst the tranquil dirt and trees of Sherwood Forest on the last night of the long festival weekend, Dixon’s Violin made a remarkable assertion. The opening and now closing performer of the festival stood draped in meditative clothing, nestled in a blanket of tall northern hardwoods with his violin, and explained how a trip to the Burning Man Festival in 2005 changed his life. Awakened by the experience, he quit his corporate day job and began focusing solely on what was truly important to him – his music.

Speaking softly to the tightly knit audience, he said, “You’ve not heard this before. I’ve not heard this before. We’re going to create it. Together.” What followed was a gorgeous array of layered strings, made more intimate through improvised progression.

When I was thinking about how to write this article, I knew I shouldn’t focus on the music like a typical festival review. Going through my pockets after the long trip home, I realized what made this festival so incredible. I found a kandi bracelet, lineup map, and old-century speakeasy sticker which, respectively, reminded me of the new friends made, music, and atmosphere of the festival and how it all came together to form a genuine, distinctive, and deeply fulfilling experience.

 

Sherwood Forest Crowd (Photo by Matt Urban ©Electric Forest 2013)

 

One of the first things I noticed about Electric Forest was the sense of community. My friend and I arrived late Thursday night and headed into the foggy camp fields under the moon’s natural glow to set up home base. As we began pitching our tent, we made the unfortunate realization that we’d forgotten a tarp. And that’s when we met our new friends and camping neighbors from Detroit.

Lucky for us, they had a backup tarp they were willing to share. From this point on, we put our resources together, sharing Nutri-Grain bars, shelter, a grill, and random stories. And of course, we opened each other’s eyes to new music.

Inside the festival, the eclectic nature of this community became shockingly apparent. There were ravers, Deadheads, middle-aged folks, people in hiking boots, and everyone in between. On Friday night, we were lucky enough to see someone playing what sounded like some kind of Jock Jams rendition through a mini accordion.

Granted, this kind of thing was expected given the diversity of the lineup, but the shocking aspect was how integrated everyone was. Even mid-aged jam band headliners The String Cheese Incident had a moment where they broke stereotype and played live dubstep to an eruption of cheers. And I have to admit it was strangely harmonious seeing a woman with cat-eye contacts and neon fur boots kickin’ up dust to the furious strings of Greensky Bluegrass.

The best example of this collective spirit though came in the form of an unassuming little tree. Tucked away behind a crowd of people and its bigger siblings, the tree was wrapped with wooden shelves containing a random collection of accessories and art. A small, hand-written sign explained that I had arrived at the Giving Tree, and I could take whatever I wanted as long as I replaced it with something of my own.

At a festival of this size with numerous strangers, this seemed like wild concept. Either way, I swapped my LED baton for a kandi bracelet and then it occurred to me. I thought about our new friends from Detroit and the countless other people we had already met. I wasn’t among strangers at all. I was part of an altruistic utopia.

 

Above & Beyond

 

NERVO crowd

 

Knife Party

 

Musically, it was quite obvious that even the biggest performers pull out all the stops at Electric Forest. Adorned with my new accessory, I made my way back and forth from set to set, catching as many shows as I could under the beating sun, stopping only momentarily to borrow some oxygen from the forest.

Luke the Knife’s thumping house rousted a resting crowd from their comfy hammocks, Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamaki of Above & Beyond were in full electric synergy, Liv Nervo went wild spraying what the Australian sisters called their beloved “forest ravers” and unsuspecting event staff with a fog gun, and A-Trak made sure his face wasn’t lost behind the mammoth Tripolee Stage podium by having choreographed dancers pass around giant cut-outs of his likeness. And if anyone was having any doubts about the direction of Empire of the Sun, they clarified their movement towards more dance-focused rhythms by ending their set with a guitar smash.

Most notable in the EDM realm however were Baauer, Krewella, and Knife Party. Major Lazer wasn’t in attendance at this year’s Forest, but Baauer made sure the reggae star from planet moombahton received plenty of airtime. Under the long shadows of a setting sun Friday evening, Baauer complemented a heavy dose of trap with not only moombahton, but drum-n-bass and hip-hop. After mixing up Danny Byrd’s “Gold Dust” a couple of times, the cool-capped DJ kept things pure with an untouched spin of Jay-Z’s “U Don’t Know”. The entire set went off huge but that one really had the crowd roaring.

Along with The String Cheese Incident, Knife Party may very well have had the biggest crowd of the weekend. Playing in the same vast clearing Saturday night as Above & Beyond, the Australian duo packed such a massive audience that the crowd nearly backed up into the Sherwood Forest. Knife Party also provided contrast to the bright festival as they dropped their wicked rendition of Swedish House Mafia’s “Save the World”, complete with Rob Swire wearing his inverted cross.

Then there was Krewella, who apparently didn’t know their own strength. At times it was hard to see their energy – as they, like A-Trak, played at the Tripolee stage – but this would quickly become evident. As they raged on into the early hours of Saturday morning, you could sense the large crowd’s anticipation as they powered up to what was sure to be another monster drop. The track built and built, and then… nothing. They blew the power and blanked the audience. It was just a brief hiccup and they took it in stride later announcing that Electric Forest was “one of the most beautiful festivals ever”.

By far some of the most fun performances however were also the most quiet. At 2:45am Saturday morning, Passion Pit performed the “Secret Set”, made all the more conspicuous by the fact that it was at the Silent Disco. And on Saturday, it was Shreddie Mercury’s turn to kill it softly. Under a cloth canopy deep in the heart of the Sherwood Forest, Shreddie put on quite a show as he spun a brilliant mix of progressive house and electro. Completely in-tune with his venue, he masterfully injected some trap and dubstep to conjur what I’m sure was quite the hallucinatory sight for outsiders.

Unfortunately it was impossible to make it to all the shows, but that just goes to show how good this lineup really was. Not to mention, the importance of the lineup is minimized at Electric Forest because there are so many small and brilliant venues, it’s hard not to find something new to love.

 

Passion Pit “Secret Set” Silent Disco. (Photo by Brian Spady ©Electric Forest 2013)

 

Sherwood Forest (Photo by Tobin Voggesser ©Electric Forest 2013)

 

If you’ve been to other electronic festivals before, you’re probably plenty familiar with all the crazy stunts, glow stick drops, raging, and well, name your other EDM cliche here, but none come close to matching the environment and amount of activity stirring about in Rothbury, MI. This place is teeming with life and the Sherwood Forest is unimaginably bewitching.

Even before entering the festival grounds it’s easy to see the depth of activity. Organized by street signs, even the far reaches of the camp ground are within walking distance. Leading to the festival grounds entrance, the bustling Main Street bazaar was always an exciting walk. Late-night eats, clothing shops, and a Bob Marley Mellow Mood DJ tent lined the path to and from the gates.

Inside the festival was like a huge park. People relaxed beneath trees, played frisbee, joined in on water balloon fights, and even took hoop and conga workshops. Every afternoon there was Yoga at the Tripolee stage, and on Saturday the Beats Antique marching band paraded through the grounds. Even during major performances there was often a live painting taking place on the side of the stage.

Of the plethora of sights, Sherwood Forest was the most mesmerizing. Located in the heart of the festival grounds, rustic, overarching gates spanned from wood to wood. Just before entering, a foreboding hand-painted banner read “Vivid Hallucination”. This was a pretty good way to describe it. There was so much going on that it was actually a bit overwhelming at first.

Like walking through a kaleidoscope, light danced off the soaring neon trees, art installations, craft stations, and brand new old-Chinese styled Observatory platform. You really have to take a minute to let these visuals sink in… Well, several minutes… Actually, just have a rest in a hammock for a bit.

The magical qualities of the forest don’t stop here though. As you venture deeper, you’re taken into a time warp by way of an old-century “Sallun” and “Trading Post”. Doubling as a church, the Sallun came complete with flippable liquor shelves and featured an electro swing DJ performance. The patrons wasted no time resorting to body surfing in the close quarters as the place erupted into a hullabaloo. There was a Hollywood level of detail put into this establishment, and it doesn’t stop with the handcrafted wood lofts. The bar staff was dressed for the occasion and I was assured those at the adjacent Trading Post never broke character.

This participatory installation was created by Jenkstar, a Utah-based collective that has thrown similar old-American parties at Electric Forest in the past. Somehow managing to pull one staffer away from his juggling to get a better understanding of their setup, I learned about the overall effort.

Jenkstar member Switch detailed the sustainability of their collective, noting that they built the “speakeasy” from scratch supplies gathered largely in Utah, with the remaining pieces found in Michigan. While previous installations were more Western-based, Switch expressed his love for their new digs and electro swing parties. “My roomates are driven crazy by it. I was like, ‘well, we’re doing electro swing speakeasy all weekend, so, yeah!’” When I stopped by later that night, there was a mayoral election going on, pitting the speakeasy Sallun against the Trading Post.

There is so much depth at Electric Forest that it actually requires a huge amount of adventure to even come close to experiencing a fraction of it. Everything else aside, this thick environment is reason to return all by itself.

 

Sherwood Forest “Observatory”

 

Sherwood Forest

 

There were so many positive experiences throughout our time in Rothbury that our minor camping tarp error was dwarfed into oblivion. Despite repeating numerous times that I was never leaving this wonderful place, I obviously (and sadly) did. However, I’ll never forget this experience and my friend and I have kept in touch with our new Detroit pals. That said, I can’t wait to return, and I can honestly tell you I’ve never missed porta-pottys so much in my life.

Like Dixon’s Violin, Electric Forest is a one-of-a-kind escape from the rigid confines of the “real” world. While the music is ultimately what brings everything together, Electric Forest is so much more than that. The four-day camping festival is a deeply layered experience that has to be absorbed first-hand to be truly understood.

In his closing performance, Dixon said he thought that Electric Forest might have the power to change lives like Burning Man changed his. I have to say, I think he was right.

 

The Heart of Sherwood Forest (Photo by Matt Urban ©Electric Forest 2013)

 

*All photos by Anders Seefeldt ©2013 unless noted otherwise. Cover photo featuring Shreddie Mercury performing in the Sherwood Forest.

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