10KLF reunites a revolution

Day 2

The morning after. Music lovers waiting for the next dose crawled from their humble abodes, a.k.a. campgrounds, and started to move about.

Breakfast was served throughout by a number of vendors and even a little campsite cuisine was offered: two slices of french toast for $2 made by local campers.

After refreshing in one of the 650 available showers spread throughout the campgrounds, which were supplied with free natural and organic shampoos, hand soaps and sun screen donated by Nature's Gate, the kaleidoscope of people began marching into the bowl, and some made a pit stop to donate food items to the Food Drive put together by the Conscious Alliance.

"We've had an excellent response," Conscious Alliance volunteer coordinator Justin Levy said.

Thursday around noon, the project had a couple hundred pounds of food donated, Levy said.

All of the donations went to the White Earth Indian Reservation of Minnesota. This was the fourth year they raised money for this organization.

"The response this year has been better than any other year," Levy said. "We just really appreciate the community support."

People were able to donate 10 non-perishable items, or donate $10 and receive a limited 10KLF print created by well-known artist Marq Spusta.

As the day progressed, more people ventured to the bowl to take in the jams of the second largest jam band festival in the country.

The first to take the Barn Stage were Green Lemon, an electronic hypnotic trip into the beyond.

As the day passed, all four stages were being put to use. Zappa Plays Zappa, a tribute to Frank Zappa performed by Dweezil Zappa, took the main stage, and in the quaint yet rocking Ourstage Saloon, the men of Stealin' Strings brought out the jamming two-step of their own personal styles, which they refer to as "bluegressive rock."

The stringed quartet took about 12 hours to get to 10KLF from Cedarsburg, Wis., and this was the second year Stealin' Strings performed at the festival.

"We give ourselves the title bluegressive rock, and it covers the whole era," said Rob Shively, vocalist/guitarist of Stealin' Strings. "It doesn't label us as one style or the other."

"When we come to festivals like this, we try to reach out to all of the fans," said Ryan Ogburn, mandolin/guitar/vocalist of Stealin' Strings.

Al Oikari of the Big Wu joined the power house of musical freedom on the stage to rock the keyboard throughout the performance along side the Wisconsin men.

Their newest album, "Waves," was recently released, and many tracks were performed at the Saloon. They considered 10KLF to be their national record release show of sorts.

"A lot of us grew up listening to such a wide variety of music, and in this scene, we kind of try to make every show like you go to a small festival where your going to have a choice of different style," Ogburn said. "Well, if you don't like this song, check out the next song."

It's all about the show, Ogburn said.

"10K is such a huge supporter of the local scene," Ogburn said. "The amount of local support here is just awesome."

The Stealin' Strings show was a romp into the minds of a dreadlocked world of bluegrass told by the talents from a Milwaukee suburb, bringing a dancing explosion to the floor of the Saloon.

A few hours into the night after the strings were stolen, the Saloon was once again taken over by a little rowdier band; the White Iron Band took the stage at 11:30 p.m. to shake the house to the ground with their good time furious outlaw country music, lead by front man, guitar and harmonica player Matt Pudas, who has taken charge of 10KLF with his band for the past three years.

"When we started playing up in Ely, we were all in college; we kind of played all kinds of genres," Pudas said

One of the reasons they started playing their style is because everyone likes to dance, Pudas said

Pudas said he would describe their fans as, "The wild ones. The wild drinkers from the great state of Minnesota are usually our most loyal fans."

The White Iron Band may have come from a small Iron Range town, but now they are living in the big city and taking over larger venues daily.

They will be headlining the Log Jam Aug. 17-18 in Isle, Minn. along with Trampled by Turtles, The Big Wu and many others to partake in yet another Minnesotan music festival.

Pudas said they are trying to portray something rowdier than an average jam band with their sound.

The White Iron Band is currently working on their fourth studio album.

"We did a pre-recording of it, but now we are just waiting to go back in the studio," Pudas said.

Pudas said he thinks the 10KLF scene is great for band exposure, and he really enjoys what it does overall for the music scene.

After the rowdy Minnesotan rockers rattled the Saloon fans, people were able to wander into the night or partake in Moses Mayes, who closed the night out.

Day 3

Rise and shine festival attendees, the four-day trek wasn't over yet. It was time for day three, and for a heightened level of musical love told by some of the globes most well known jam bands.

Within the walls of each of the campgrounds people were able to breath in smokey differences to entice the senses.

Within the Northwoods, campers had the beauty of the trees and the easy access to the concert bowl. And just past the wooded north, sat the Lake Sallie camping area.

Not only did Sallie have the point of Sallie's sunset, a sight for all to witness, the mini stage also offered an assortment of musical accomplishments.

Opening Friday morning was the whimsical band Northern Drift, a group of men who tantalized waking faces with acoustic gold.

After shaking off the leftovers from the night before, guitarist and vocalist of Northern Drift, Matt Stanaszeck, bellowed "Good morning 10K," to the crowd that formed around the band's soothing cup of musical joe.

The morning wake up led many to Shakedown street where festival attendees purchased gear, food or other psychedelic amenities to prepare for the afternoon filled with cosmic musical tales.

moe. opened the afternoon on the main stage to a roar of fan appreciation. This was the first time they had played 10KLF since the first year of the festival.

"It's good to be back," Rob Derhak of moe. said as they began to jam.

After moe. fans crammed into the gated area near the main stage for a mind-bending performance by The String Cheese Incident, who took the stage for Trey Anastasio who was unable to make it this year, fans were more than ready for a little "String Cheese."

It is rumored this may be the final tour for The String Cheese Incident.

As they began, the crowd filled to maxed out proportions. And as the darkness came, and the sun settled, the glow sticks flew through the air like a scene from "Star Wars;" thousands of sticks were tossed during the three-hour epic performance, making a collage above the heads of thousands of fans.

Heading back to the campsites people were dazed from the performance, and some found themselves gazing into graffiti artist Spray Paint Nate's universe of style he called "Cosmic Reality."

Nate created pieces of art from basic tools ranging from cans of aerosol spray paint, mixed with small pieces of magazine paper to make edges and crisp designs that campers were more than happy to drop $50 on.

After the hypnotic night came to a halt, festival goers either wandered or went to bed to prepare for the final day and night of debauchery.

Day 4

The final day of music arrived and the explosions of fireworks were ready. The "deadly" sounds of one of the co-founders of Grateful Dead, Bob Weir, were ready to take control of the main stage, sending 10KLF voyagers off into an oblivion.

Along the four-day trail, many people were to thank for making the event safe and comfortable for all who attended: security.

These men and women did not hound people, or overbear; they regulated so all were safe who attended the fifth year of 10KLF.

"We've learned to develop with the state and local authorities," spokesperson of 10KLF, Terry McCloskey, said. "I think the ratio between security and public has always been maintained."

There are numerous security and safety groups within the 650 acres, making sure everyone stays safe during their stay.

"It's kind of a seamless web," McCloskey said.

Though this year, the authorities have determined 10KLF was the target of an organized criminal force, McCloskey said. This was taken care of by the authorities, and 12 arrests were made on people from three criminal groups from out-of-state, he said.

But overall, the festival was run without issues slowing down the mind-altering experience.

Fans were able chill and absorb the sounds of Gov't Mule on the Main Stage prior to Bob Weir and RatDog taking control and turning the venue into a blast from the past, with Grateful Dead bears and all. People could either enjoy the final jams from the comfort of there campsites or the front row of the stage prior to the epic firework finale taking the final night into a interstellar realm of musical enhancement.

McCloskey said, "It's (10KLF) been really smooth, and customer satisfaction has gone way up."

For more information about all the bands and charities next year, or for any additional information, go to www.10klf.com.