Outer Banks & Music On The Mountain Top

Brewing Station and Music On The Mountain Top. The Outer Banks is cool. The Brewing Station slams for dinner. Tables are full and there's always a line of hungry, sunburned people waiting for one.  We were told not to sound check as it may bum the eaters. We went rogue and did it anyway. Nowhere near what we needed, but we just made sure the speakers and amps worked. Music is obviously not the main attraction, but when they move the tables and turn the house lights off and stage lights on, the place transforms into a great club with a cool vibe.

We drove 2 hours after the show and about 6 hours the next day to Music On The Mountain Top in Boone, North Carolina. Jimmy Hunt and the boys and girls who put on that fest do a great job of providing a stress free environment for everyone involved. I say boys and girls because they are all younger than me and clearly not jaded.......yet. They took care of their scene with a serious representation of North Carolina bands.  When we pulled in the band Uncle Mountain, from Ashville was playing.  Their style had an 80’s type of college rock thing to it, but yet current. The harmonies were super complex as if they sat down with a piano and came up with the most difficult groups of notes that sound good together and then practiced the ever-living shit out of it until it became 2nd nature. I dug it. The next band was Holy Ghost Tent Revival, from Greensboro. Trumpet, trombone, fiddle, banjo, bass, keys, guitar, and drums. Their sound had that positive indie rock feel to it with flourishes of gypsy Americana. Great songs and great singing. This was my analysis from behind the stage. I peeked around the corner to see what the scene was like on stage. Low and behold the stage looked like two gangs going crazy, wailing on each other. Immediately the perspective changed from hearing them to hearing and seeing them. There was running and jumping, stomping and slamming, teeth grinding, and fist pumping. All while sweat poured.  The energy emitting from the stage was infectious.

Next was The Josh Phillips Folk Festival, from Asheville. Josh's voice has real soul to it.  It has a slight New York hip-hop element that could possibly be accentuated by his baseball cap cocked to the side. Yo.  The band's style is more funky reggae pop than it is folk, but what's in a name? Check out Wicker from the Josh Phillips Folk Festival. Catchy songs and a reggae version of John Hartford's “Steam Powered Aereo Plane”, which is super dope. Yo.

I was on from 7:30 to 9:00 PM (I'm not from North Carolina). The first loop I created screamed out to me that something was dreadfully wrong with my gear. When it happens at the top of my set, it kind of bums me out. I've learned to not dwell on it, but it happens. It hasn't happened for a long time so when it did, I was caught off guard and got knocked off of my game for a song or two.  Lou fixed it and all went well for the remainder of my slot. Yay.

After me was the super funky YO MAMAS BIG FAT BOOTY BAND, originally from Boone. I could actually visualize your mother’s big fat booty shaking around when they played.  My friend Walt said he tour managed them for a couple of weeks. Apparently, they traveled with a stripper pole. Sweet. I got the impression that Josh Phillips used to be in that band, because when he got up to sit in he appeared to be in his element. Rappin and rhyming with call and response from the band. It was way funky and tight. The day was beautiful, and the music was delicious. Yum.