Costume contests, Elvis and Liza look-alikes presiding over onsite weddings, and 40 bands including Blackalicious, King Britt, Atmosphere, Devendra Bernhart, Digable Planets, and Michael Franti and Spearhead were just some of the fun.

Blackalicious
Chief Xcel and The Gift of Gab, better known to the masses as Blackalicious packed the Clubs Tent for an hour plus set of their inimitable tracks including their fifth album The Craft. Blackalicious stretches the boundaries of hip hop by drawing from wide ranging influences & collaborating with artists of all musical genres.

Blue Man Group
What is a Las Vegas spectacle without the famous Blue Man Group? They did a crisp break on stage between Dave Matthews and Beck. Painted blue from head to toe, they dance and play drums in Devoesque robotic formation, and nobody does it better… or bluer. Always in Halloween costumes, they fit right in!

Michael Franti and Spearhead
The energy really seemed to pick up when Michael Franti and Spearhead went on. Their roots reggae sound mixed with flaming guitars made it impossible to stand still. Like many bands from Australia a strong blues bent and party sound, determination to get the crowd up, dancing, singing along and clapping was irresistible.

King Britt and The Sister Gertrude Morgan Experience
Next we are off to the Clubs Tent for DJ/Producer/mixmaster/poet/electric mystic King Britt with his “Sister Gertrude Morgan Experience”. Her artwork is prized and admired by collectors the world over and hangs in the Smithsonian. King Britt’s band, including guitarist Tim Motzer who collaborated on the album, filled the tent with rhythmic dance/funk grooves laid over bytes of songs recorded by Sister G in the 70s. The music, the lighting and video all fit together to create a collage that filled the senses with rhythm and colors. In King Britt tradition, the lines between funk and rock, music and art were blurred and I was completely swept away in the pure ecstasy of the experience.

With thanks to Rodger Caldwell
Picture of Spearhead © June and Rodger Caldwell