An AVLFest Odyssey: Day 3

SATURDAY

My Saturday at AVLFest started mid-afternoon at another of my favorite Ashevile venues, Salvage Station. Salvage Station is located down along the river just beyond downtown, a stone's throw north of the River Arts District. It’s a sweet spot that — due to the expansion of I-26 — is sadly now in its last few months at this location, with inside and outside bars to match their performance options, plus decent New Orleans-style cuisine from the Root Down kitchen shack stuck off to the side, open for as much of the year as makes sense. 

Outdoor shows here often have an enjoyable vibe with good music getting played in a pleasant setting for an appreciative crowd of people. And the indoor shows can find a groove that grows and grows, depending on the group, with JasonG and his crew supplying a quality sound and excellent lights that can elevate the events to nightclub level optics. There is a sizable parking lot on the premises that is often free, but is pay-to-stay for the premium shows. 

I could sense that some AVLFest patrons were not pleased that the parking was not included with their four-day pass, and I was not crazy about the concept either, but there was no time to park elsewhere and walk over (what I usually do) and stay true to my tight schedule. On that day, I decided to pay to Salvage what belongs to Salvage. I think the way to play it was, if you paid to park there, you left your car there and took the shuttle the fest was running to some of the other venues and then eventually returned. I did not do so because, along with laps, shuttle buses do not befit my fictional rock ‘n roll lifestyle.

I showed up to stand outside in the direct-hit sun to see Chatham County Line as part of my adopted approach that sometimes you see a band not because you discovered them, but because a co-worker or colleague was really into them. Chatham County Line is an Americana, now more alt-country band out of Raleigh that a one-time member of my staff, who was fairly quiet for most things, was surprisingly outspoken about in support. If they were playing anywhere near, he and his friends were there without fail.  

A handful of years back, I went to see CCL and I was charmed and impressed, much like my employee and his posse. Even though the band was a foursome —Dave Wilson on guitar and lead vocals; John Teer on mandolin and fiddle; Greg Reading on upright bass and pedal steel; and Chandler Holt on banjo — they reminded me of the Louvin Brothers duo with their plucky country, bluegrass, and gospel tunes, and their iconic close harmonies. I liked how CCL would at times just leave their instruments to the side and stand shoulder to shoulder around a vintage slotted condenser mic and sing the sweetest songs dripping with melted-butter harmonies. 

But in the first of a few “that’s different from what I remember” band configurations at last year’s fest, CCL had lost Holt’s banjo to retirement, and had added Dan Hall on drums. They lost that Louvin feeling and now commanded a look and sound that was closer to Wilco, complete with white cowboy hats. I did miss the old-timey arrangements, but if they were going to move to a slightly different sound, I can think of worse places to relocate to than Jeff Tweedy Town. Their set was a steady stream of catchy alt-country tinged indie rock songs, driven by the newly added drums, but remained anchored in Americana with the fiddle, mandolin, and pedal steel components. I did notice that my former co-worker wasn’t there, but that may have been because he had to buy the full weekend pass to see them play, or he may not have wanted to move with them to their new Wilco-adjacent address.

Right as the outdoor stage show was done, the next band was immediately introduced on the indoor stage. Now that’s some satisfying music fest efficiency! I didn’t realize that’s what was happening when I first arrived, mere minutes before CCL was set to take the stage, and the preceding show, Many A Ship, was still in motion inside. Having anted up parking money anticipating an on-time start, I was about to get all bent out of shape about Salvage getting off schedule, but in fact it was planned precision with the pivot happening with pit-crew quickness. Well played. Not mad I paid.

If there had been a lag between sets, I would not have stopped on my way out to see the next act, Drunken Prayer, play a few of Morgan Geer’s menacing Americana songs, but I’m mighty glad I did. As the name suggests, Drunken Prayer does not occupy the quaint corners of alt-country music, but punches unapologetically like a fairly funny fallen preacher now fronting a dirty truth psychobilly band. Amen and move on.

I retrieved my car from its rented space and headed just down the road, somehow finding free Frank Sinatra parking out front, to take in a few shows on the event lawn at New Belgium Brewing, one of a couple of beer-producing campuses in the Asheville area where music is sometimes on the menu. I wish AVLFest had made it more widely known that these outdoor shows were free to the public, no wristbands necessary, because the bands were ones I believe the general public would have genuinely liked.

I was slightly delayed by my pause for Drunken Prayer but I did not miss my appointment with Dr. Bacon, a six-piece Appalachian funk, grass, and rock band originally from Boone but now based in Asheville. This group just looks like a good time, with velvet top hats on top of bohemian hair and beards — the human embodiment of another doctor-fronted musical ensemble, The Muppets’ Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, minus Janice. 

This troupe proudly trumpets their diverse instrumentation — as well they should — with Jesse Talbott on lead vocals/guitar; Rory Joseph also on lead guitar/vocals;  Myles Dunder on vocals/saxophones/guitars/etc.; Michael Crawford on harmonica/ keys/synth; Matt Gornto on bass’ Ben New as “Animal” on drums/percussion; plus someone, anyone, playing some resonator, trombone, violin, lap steel, mandolin, kazoo, and more. You could hear their full assortment of instruments, but even more their playful perspective on songs like “Behave,” “Orgrassmo,” and “Pancakes” — as in “does your mama like pancakes in the morning?”,  their “I’m staying the night” version of Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom.” 

Dr. Bacon hovers on the fringe of the Asheville jam band scene, where I prefer to stay as well. I have found myself drawn to the voodoo that they do so well because they are just so darn danceable. With their colorful name and thrift store aesthetic, it might have been easy to dismiss them as more comical than musical, but that would have been a mistake. Dr. Bacon was a delicious boogie-down blowout that deserved a tip of the top hat.

After a between-show beer from the fine servers in the Liquid Center taproom, I went back out on the lawn to watch the group I had seen more times than any other Asheville-based act, The Get Right Band. It has been so cool to see them evolve over the last 10 years from a solid strummy-drummy San Diego style beach bar band that sang about not letting life get you down with songs like “We Work All Day” and “Lovin’ In the Kitchen” (off their 2014 album Bass Treble Angel Devil) to the musically and politically complex studio band that is not going to let life get away with it any longer — as is evident on their recently released concept album, iTopia, that’s inhabited with songs that dare to ask the tough questions like “Am I Just a Battery?” and offer some honest analysis like “Generation Happy Or Dead,” both of which they played as part of their lively AVLFest set.  

I met guitarist/singer/songwriter Silas Durocher over a decade ago when we worked in the same building. He’s a good dude whose good looks earned him some curious onlookers. A woman who came in was convinced that he was Robert Pattinson, or as she said it, “That guy from Twilight.” When I went to tell her that he was not, she wanted none of my naysaying, shooting me a look that said, “Don’t you take this from me, little man.” Instead of pressing the issue as to why Edward the vampire would be working a day job in downtown Asheville, I let her have her fantasy. She was delusional but she was right to recognize that Silas was a hidden star among us. 

Initially going to see him play music was more of a social mission, a place to hang with co-workers away from work. But he just kept getting better and better and the work crew socialized less and listened more, duly impressed. His songwriting got more personal and prolific and his guitar playing started to reach virtuoso status, with me wondering how he could make it sound so much like a synthesizer. Going to see The Get Right Band — the always shoeless Silas along with middle-school chum Jesse Gentry on bass and vocals and the dynamic JC Mears on drums — was like going to my favorite diner: I always knew what I was going to get and they always got it right.

Just because The Get Right Band are now writing songs for the recording studio and not the back patio doesn’t mean that they have lost that original energy and engagement of live performance. They always put on a good show (and I’ve seen many) — a good pop funk soul psychedelic reggae rockin’ show. They did so again on that late-afternoon lawn, although with a slightly different lineup. There was Silas and Jesse, but on drums that day was Jaze Uries, plus the omnipresent Jacob Rodriguez popped up on sax for one song, and sitting in on keyboards, as he had been doing of late, was the accomplished Chick Lichtenberger. And we have completed our triptych of comedy accompanists, with Lichtenberger having gained national fame as part of the band, stephniesid, but also having supplied musical support for the improv-in-the-dark ensemble, The No-See-Ums. 

The ubiquitous Jacob Rodriguez (Photo by Fiasco Media)

I felt like I could have been seeing this set on a side stage at a much bigger music festival. The Get Right Band was tight while covering a lot of musical ground with their infectious “Itchy Soul,” their anti-authority anthem (well, one of them) “Wired,” and their island-vibe “Touch the Holy,” which suggested that we had the power to postpone the end of this glorious day, “If we keep singing, if we keep singing, the sun will never go down.” It’s not surprising that, with their combination of persistence and exceptional song-writing skills, The Get Right Band is getting some repeated radio airplay and showing up on cool indie movie soundtracks. I hope the sun does not set on their steady ascension through the music industry anytime soon.

There was still enough sunlight left for me to catch one last show outside, Floating Action at The Outpost, The Grey Eagle’s outdoor alter ego just past the sprawling Carrier Park, further south along the same French Broad River that bordered my previous Saturday stops. The Outpost is a recent addition to the Asheville outdoor venue menu that also includes the stage at French Broad Outfitters at Hominy Creek (also soon to close), just one click further down the river, as well as the beautiful wooden stage outside at Pisgah Brewing Co. as you head east toward Black Mountain, the city where Floating Action is from, and the stage they played earlier this year. 

I first came to know of them when a friend burned me a few Band of Horses CDs and graciously included a Floating Action one as well. I liked what they sounded like, only to later find out that They were really more Him. Multi-instrumentalist Seth Kauffman is listed as the band’s sole lyricist, songwriter, producer, recorder, and player of most of the music. He is literally the complete package. Kauffman’s credentials for this band reminded me of one of my favorite theater bios that I’ve ever read. A local performer, with money and moxie to put on musicals and put himself in the lead, had staged a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Next to his name in the program were his three credits that gave him absolute authority: Producer, Director, Jesus (talk about top billing). 

Kauffman may not see himself as a musical savior, but he is held in high regard, with the aforementioned Jim James of My Morning Jacket calling him “the most underrated person in music.” Those are big words but I can say that he and his backing band (that yes, included Jacob Rodriguez) served up a smooth set that went down easy like fine bourbon from a fancy glass bottle. If Kauffman is the lone lyricist and songwriter, hallelujah that he's really good at it. The name Floating Action refers to a vintage Gretsch kick-drum pedal, but it also aptly describes how the soulful Southern surf folk indie rock music made me feel. It was so nice to stand in that sun-filled field, surrounded by some familiar faces, and be gently carried by the genuine quality of Kauffman’s music and the mood it creates.

I chose not to stay after to wade into the waters of the next band, River Whyless. From all accounts, the rising folk rock band from Asheville is fantastic. Another underreported element of Asheville is how the guy playing the hotel lobby or lawn is likely part of a popular group that people really like, for example Daniel Shearin of River Whyless and his Sunday residency at The Foundry downtown. But the thing with all the great music and great beer that Asheville has to offer is, at some point, you have to step away to enjoy some of the great food that Asheville has to offer, or that your kitchen has to offer, if you hope to keep going for more. Feed yourself, And feed your cat while you’re at it. 

Replenished, I returned to downtown Asheville to see another local band that a variety of friends had recommended, the genre-bending indie rock band Krave Amiko at Asheville Music Hall. And there I was in a venue I like, checking out a band that people I like like. I was all for the format: a fan of a five-piece — in this case, two guitars, bass, keyboards, drum, and vocals — I also liked the lead singer lady, Stephanie Barcelona, who was expressive and animated in her big floppy sun hat. She reminded me of Alexis from Schitt's Creek. 

And it was clear that they had a loyal following, my friends not alone in their endorsement. Yet I don’t know why, but I didn’t want to be there. And that is the good and bad of the Asheville music scene, and certainly a stacked Asheville music festival: there is usually another enticing option happening at the same time, often within walking distance. It’s not so much FOMO (fear of missing out) as it is WEIGO (what else is going on?). I decided to find out and left, hoping that I might catch Krave Amiko again somewhere soon. 

I headed down to The Orange Peel, and walked into another outlaw country rock show, this time courtesy of Sarah Shook and The Disarmers from Chapel Hill. Shook (who uses they/them pronouns) was not the pacing show pony that Nikki Lane was, but rather planted themself center stage and sang with more of a punk rock stance and persona, their tattooed arms gripping and ripping the guitar. Shook and their band — Blake Tallent on guitar, Andrew Lambie on bass, Jack Foster on drums, and Nick Larimore on pedal steel — brought a bit more rage and introspection to their rowdy roadhouse, but still wrapped in bouncing rockabilly rhythms that had that full house hopping. 

It’s always fun to stand under that Big Ass Fan (both the brand and the breed) that hangs over the center of the Orange Peel dance floor and feel the energy of the room build to the level where the whirling blades are fully necessary and not just a neat accessory. I’m glad I gave into my WEIGO and went on a walkabout to find this outstanding show. Shook’s a bracing talent and the band was another of a few understandably brought in from elsewhere to help raise the bar for the quality of this already consistently strong festival.

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers (Photo by Fiasco Media)

But my spidey sense was tingling. There was hip-hop to be had somewhere nearby, so I had to be there. I went back to Asheville Musical Hall, this time to their downstairs extension, The One Stop, to catch a DJ set with Mad Mike. And even though the space and the crowd was smaller, I was in my element. I’m fine leaving a crowd of 500 having a fine time to join a group of 50 finding their groove. 

I love a good hip-hop DJ. I love the beats they drop, the speed skater side-to-side motion they make while mixing, the dramatic adjusting of a dial or pushing a button on their decks like Zeus dropping a lightning bolt. Asheville is fortunate to have more than a few. DJ Kudzu always did such a great job with Turntable Tuesdays. And there ain’t no party like a DJ Molly Parti. There’s DJ Erik Mattox and DJ Camaro slaying it at Silent Disco at Rabbit Rabbit. There’s dj lil meow meow, DJ Nex Millen, and more. They all kill it on a regular basis. I just wish more of this city and those who visit were more excited about these hip-hop options. 

Mad Mike was making magic, spinning old school and new stuff, deep cuts and obvious tracks, keeping it going so the dance floor was never given a chance to clear. Coulda shoulda been more dancers on that floor though, but that is frequently the case in Asheville. Jam band shows are jammed. Alt-country rock shows are at capacity. But hip-hop shows often (but not always) have room to spare. Don’t know what that says. Don’t want it to be that way. Luckily the DJs, like Mad Mike, are so good at what they do that the music and the moment they create is consuming, and I can lose myself among however many others have happened upon this hip-hop space.

There was more to see on that Saturday, but it was time for me to go home. I could have gone back to Savage Station to see Andrew Scotchie put an end to the evening with his endearing bluesy rock power pop, but I didn't want to pay to park again and I was just spent. I would have to miss him this time. You have to accept that at a music festival, and in Asheville in general, you can’t see everything. Well, you could, but you shouldn’t. At some point, you should go home. 

I had already missed many sensational solo artists I like to see: Reggie Headen, Pierce Edens, Leeda ”Lyric” Jones, Chuck Brodksy, Tyler Ramsey, the one and only Juan Holladay, and more. Same as I didn’t get to see some really good groups: The Moon & You, JLloyd Mashup, Hustle Souls (twice), Queen Bee & The Honeylovers, Mama and The Ruckus, Toubab Krewe, Tina & Her Pony, Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, JBOT (Josh Blake’s Organ Trio), and a bunch of other bands. Plus, I passed on a few anticipated reunions with Kovacs & The Polar Bear playing together again, along with the celebrated return of The Blue Rags. Bummer, but I was seeing something else, or doing something else, or just not seeing or doing that. 

And that’s OK. Don’t let it eat you up. Go big, then go home. There’s always tomorrow for shows to be seen.

(Photo of Chatham County Line by Fiasco Media)