Hangout Music Festival 2010 Hangout Day 1 Gulf Shores, AL May 14, 2009

North Mississippi All-Stars

I arrived in time to catch a few moments of the blues-rock outfit North Mississippi All-Stars. Featuring Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson, the trio made their way through numerous jam-filled numbers including an extended cut of “K.C. Jones (On the Road Again).” I only stayed for a few songs, opting to claim a better spot at Robert Randolph’s show at the opposite stage.

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

After staking claim to a spot near their stage, Robert Randolph and the Family Band graced the stage shortly after. As Randolph took his seat at his trusted steel guitar, he quickly led the band into a dazzling 75-minute exhibition of soul-laced blues-rock, opening with the gospel-driven “Look Where He Brought Me From.” For those who have not seen the band live before, keep in mind that Robert Randolph is a steel pedal guitarist virtuoso. However, his music is not only compelling due to his immense talent, but also the combination of that and his raw and powerful emotion that make his performances come alive. His guitar becomes another voice, wailing and bellowing through his extended solos and predominantly instrumental numbers—including the epic journey and fan favorite “The March.” Randolph continued the display of his prowess throughout the concert, including his cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”—where he even managed to quickly fix and re-tune a broken string during an extended jam without any issues, before jumping right back to his solo in full force.

While Randolph’s initially emerged as an exceptional talent making primarily instrumental albums, he has more recently incorporated his band at the forefront of their work. Shifting from a jam-based approach primarily focused on his skills, into a style fully incorporating all the talents of the entire Family Band. As a result, their tracks lean slightly towards being more pop-oriented and tightly crafted, yet manage to keep their full attack of their groove intact. Between more recent tracks such as “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That” and “Deliver Me,” Robert Randolph and the Family Band have struck a near-perfect middle ground harnessing their instrumental dexterity and songwriting chops in proper proportion to one another.

The Black Crowes

In their 20th year together since the release of their chart-topping success Shake Your Money Maker, The Black Crowes continue to create and perform their blues-heavy, Southern rock revival with remarkable consistency. Marked by lead singer Chris Robinson’s distinct Southern croon along with guitarist brother Rich Robinson, these now forty-something old rockers have emerged from a hiatus to release two new records over the last three years.

The band opened the set with their track “Good Morning Captain,” from their most recent album Before The Frost…Until The Freeze in typical Black Crowes fashion. Chris Robinson remarked after the song “Oh the Southern children like their rock and roll,” before leading the band into “Jealous”—one of their many classics off their 1990 album Shake Your Money Maker. Chris Robinson danced around the stage throughout the show, looking all the part of a 70’s rock revivalist with his bell bottom jeans, Lennon shades, and a seemingly free spirited attitude that reflected the band’s notable influences.

While band continues to make new music and displayed a good amount of this work, their live performance seemed predominantly dependent on their hits from Shake Your Money Maker—a sentiment shared by much of the audience. While the band efficiently went through the freewheeling “Twice As Hard” and the well-adapted Otis Redding cover “Hard to Handle,” it became readily apparent no matter how good their new music may be, the Crowes will continually be tied to these best-selling songs. “She Talks to Angels” was played for the seemingly millionth time, turning into a sing along that the crowd loved, but seemed far repetitive and redundant for the band itself. Once the band made it through many of these older fan favorites and attempted to play newer material, the crowd slowly lost interest and dissipated. While I personally enjoy some of their new work, I also decided to leave a little early to walk around and explore the festival grounds before Girl Talk’s performance.

Girl Talk

Having just arrived a few minutes before his set started due to travel delays, Greg Gills promptly opened a beer on stage (something he “doesn’t usually do”), before infusing the crowd with a change of pace for the predominant amount of American-based Rock and Country throughout the day. Juxtaposed as an alternative to his schedule counterparts Alison Krauss and the Zac Brown Band, Girl Talk brought some much needed energy to Hangout with his fusion of dance-driven Mashup and passionate MCing. Having seen Girl Talk before a couple of times in the past, the show remains relatively the same, but it’s the crowd that brings new life to each show. Gillis always welcomes an onslaught of his fans to join him onstage to dance and liven up the rave-like experience his music creates. I personally opted to sit down and relax before the headliner after about 30 minutes into Girl Talk’s set. But for what it’s worth, those who partook in the Girl Talk experience seemed to love it.

Zac Brown Band

In full disclosure, I’ll admit that my knowledge surrounding the Zac Brown Band is limited to their 2010 Grammy Awards, their hit song “Chicken Fried” and a crash course on his popular album The Foundation on the drive down to Gulf Shores. So forgive me if I am skeptical about this newcomer representing Hangout as their inaugural headliner.

At the time, I couldn’t really complain though. I was on a beach looking out into the Gulf of Mexico about to listen to some heartland Country. It was the right setting to experience this immensely popular artist at the top of a meteoric rise—one that I would admittedly never give the chance to if the circumstances were different. So I decided to keep an open mind, and take in his performance with an open mind.

The stage lights dimmed to the sound of “Georgia on My Mind” as the Atlanta-based sextet took their respective places onstage. Given that the band has only one album to its name, they played most of the material from The Foundation¬, including “Whatever It Is,” “Highway 20 Ride,” “Toes,” “Free.” In addition, the rest of the 135 minute set was filled by a combination of new songs from the upcoming album and a host of Americana covers, featuring Ray Lamontagne’s “Jolene,” Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” and Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released.”

For the most part, Zac Brown Band’s performance was mildly entertaining, at times even musically impressive (especially their cover of “Devil Went Down to Georgia”). Their Jimmy-Buffett-meets-the-South act succeeds as a form of lighthearted, soft-country pop. My problem, however, was not so much with the music itself, but the blatant commercialized product that this band represented. My case is as follows…

Plug-ins during the concert: 1. Zac Brown Band Sailing Southern Ground Music Festival Cruise 2. Zac Brown Live DVD 3. Forthcoming Zac Brown cookbook 4. Landshark Beer 5. Dodge Ram

These were not subtle in any way, but readily apparent signs of an act riding the wave of commercial success and cashing in on their laurels.

Many people at Hangout were not there to see the Zac Brown Band, which is probably why the band waited to save their carefree Southern anthem “Chicken Fried” as their second to last song. When “Chicken Fried” did come on, the crowd lit up one last time to partake in the largest display of Southern inhibition I have ever witnessed. The crowd relished in their beloved song. I struggled to embrace its novelty. Maybe I’m just a Chicagoan who has found his way a little too far South.

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