Before I write anything, I have to take the time to thank Chad Shearer and Caren West for their hospitality and the opportunity to work with them. Also, thanks to Frank Potter for allowing Camp Bisco to use his land.

Most road trips are a drudgery taken with an understanding that a relaxing prospect in their near future, a resort, a beach, etc. Well as for us, we were met by a torrential downpour. We were exploring the hippie getaway when the levee broke on us. We ran for cover at a random stand and Mike, Joan. Becah, Tyson of Speedy Fries ended up letting us wait out the storm in the stand. After proper introductions, we witnessed the storms power. Even though getting drenched with in the first fifteen minutes of a festival, or any trip, is not ideal, the creeks of storm water rushing through the 200 acre lot brought a cleansing affect to the festival. With the storm clearing and the newly formed mud sloshing about, the festival gained a feeling of optimism.

After parting with Speedy Fries, James and I found a gong meditation tent. Seeing this, I immediately had to do it. Once laying down surrounded by gongs, I felt as if I was in a room fitted specifically to my dimensions. The gongs and bells playing off of each other gave me the impression that, “This is what creation sounded like.” Walking away refreshed and cleansed, I was ready for Camp Bisco.

Arriving at the Kid Cudi show, I was admittedly not very excited. I posses a certain musical distrust for mainstream hip hop, that I can not explain. However, Cudi’s stage presence demands the attention that I was surprisingly happy to give him. After realizing that I had become enamored with Cudi’s demeanor. I scanned the crowd and realized I was not alone. Only one couple was able to sustain from Cudi’s draw. They rocked back and forth together in a private vacuum, creating the silhouette from the Watchmen in the grass. This break from Cudi’s hypnotic abilities gave way to my realization that Cudi is a legit artist. His use of dreamy seventies R&B over a hip hop beat revealed a deeper appreciation for music that I feel other artist, in the genre, are lacking.











Cudi’s set gave way to Asher Rother rolling into stage in a kiddy Bentley. Immediately the cool demeanor of Cudi’s set was opposed by Asher’s playful and high energy set. You see, at this point I was recording the 1^st minute of Asher’s set as he was hyping the crowd. Some twist of fate me and Asher Roth collided before going about our business. It was then I was finally back in the crowd that I realized that I had just ran into the artist who made the college anthem of y freshman year in college. The set kept with Asher’s public persona with a circus of pot references and goofy antics, best exampled by the boy band dance him and the band performed. The combination of Cudi and Asher is the odd couple of hip hop. Cudi’s cool demeanor offsets Asher’s goofy antics but makes for a fun show.

After the Asher Roth set, we ran to the tent stage to see Prometheus. The band lives up to their Greek namesake, the rebel who gave man fire, mix and an epic jam band style with a Dr.Dre and Floyd like basslines.








Later on that night, I walked to the main stage to hear an unhappy Flying Lotus. Due to the distance, his words were inaudible but he continues on to do the set. I soon realize that Flying Lotus is more of a description than a name. Repetitive sound throughout his tracks, it sounds as if lazer propelled lotuses last into your ears. Lotus’ beats posses an odd quality. The beats rumble everything below my neckline, while the synth is felt only in my head. Lotus plays with hip-hop, adult contemporary, eastern influences and even mixes a quick Looney Tunes like sound. The varied sounds and abilities is pleasing.

Moving on to the tent the United Kingdom’s imperialistic past reveals itself in Ott’s Eastern influenced Dub style, the irony of cultural assimilation, right? Ott mixes the major chord progression  from Jam Rock and adds spacey quarter notes from an Indian Sitar. The island vibe is perpetuated by the shadows of the light sets against the tent top. The lights create the illusion of seeing multi-colored sun rays from underwater. If you need an image based description of Ott’s sound, it’s as if a “Jamaican, Islamic, Jedi started mixing. Crazy, Right?”.





Since I have been writing for Buzzafied I have heard about Shpongle. At every show, concert, and festival I have attended someone always describes at least one of the artists as Shpongle like, Shpongleish etc, usually describing an act that is absolutely bizzare. Yet, we were treated to something out of the ordinary, Raja Ram, the Indian Jethro Tull, who does the flutes for Sphongle, made a rare public appearance to perform at Camp Bisco, for the first time.








The combination of Ram’s live flutes and the sitar gave Shpongle an Indian sound that would eventually break into a Latin flare. I noticed that the girls around me had shifted towards a more salsa-like dance style. I was expecting a heavily drug influenced sound but was surprised to hear a varied appreciation for music from Shpongle X2.

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