Derision turned to delight today as I introduced Sandy Tomcho to the weird and wonderful world of Mountain Jam. The fourth annual event kicked off at noon today and we’ve just gotten back within the hour, downloaded photos, written a draft of a story, downed way too much coffee. But first, my recap… on Sandy’s conversion to hippie-dom!

Sandy has long had the typical mainstreamer’s reaction to the idea of a jamband festival. Dirty hippies. Noodley music. Sandy had never been to a festival like this before. Sure, she’d gone to Warped, Lollapalooza back in the day, KFest — single day events that start in the afternoon and have you home by midnight. But when it comes to the dig in for the long haul type experience, this was her debut.

These multi-day camping events are rampant in the jamband scene — which makes sense since the bands that comprise it and the audiences that follow it are descendants of that 1969 cultural coup we take so much pride in. In the ’90s, Phish pulled off single-band multi-day camping extravaganzas attracting 80,000 fans to Air Force bases and Indian reservations. Bonnaroo borrowed their planners and reinvented the European summer music experience for Americans. But all the while there have been littler events that music fans have been enjoying, with new ones popping up all the time.

Mountain Jam is a relative baby in this field, but it’s been growing exponentially year-to-year. It started as a one-time, one day anniversary celebration for WDST, and now, with a full co-promotion from Warren Haynes and perma-headlining by his band Gov’t Mule, Mountain Jam is a 3-day camping event with two stages featuring constant music from noon-4 a.m. Friday and Saturday and until 10 p.m. Sunday.

Almost needless to say, I’ve been attending these things for quite some time, as a fan and as a journalist. So I found myself acting as a tour guide today, beginning with the prep stage. We didn’t intend to camp, so I had quite a list for Sandy when it came to items to pack. She thought I was nuts. A full change of clothes in case it rains (until now it ALWAYS rained). A day outfit and a night outfit. Snacks that can withstand heat in the car. Sunscreen. A hat. A book. “A book? I thought I was working?!” So much to learn, like how not to make yourself lose your mind at 5 a.m. trying to turn 16 hours worth of information into a 300 word story.

We got there at 11:30 a.m., set up our blanket and the music started at noon. We watched the first band, Ratboy from New Paltz. We soon got up and walked around. We took a tour of Tent City. We browsed Shakedown Street. All the while with my tour guide commentary explaining the background of terms and sights. I could tell early on that this was not at all how she had pictured a “hippie festival.” I mean, we’re talking about a girl who gets violent at the mention, let alone the smell, of patchouli.

I knew she was done for when she started shopping. Granted, Sandy could walk into a black hole and find a way to browse and eventually buy nothingness (Do you take credit?). But she practically reoutfitted herself one purchase at a time. She loved the vibe. She loved the music. She loved the crowd. She even loved the fashion. Fashion? Leave it to Sandy to find a fashion show at a dirty hippie gathering. I’ll be adding photos tomorrow (I’m just too tired right now) of some of Sandy’s favorite Mountain Jam looks. Meanwhile, she’s frantically typing her scene report, which will run Sunday. Check it out!

And serious props to Sandy on surviving her first taste. We cut out early while late-night performer Galactic still had the stage. But she lasted 15 hours (!) I know hardcore festivalgoers who can’t pull that off without a trip back to the tent or RV for a nap between acts.

Next year Sandy says she wants to go all in — three days of camping, music and mayhem. She’s such a dirty hippie!!!

And now… for the fashion show:

Sandy loved our information booth friend’s funky style.

Sandy gets excited when she spies a Fendi scarf (real!) and Versace sunglasses (real!), then decides they don’t fit in here.

Kidding. Sandy’s not down with the Raggedy Ann look.

We met this chick in the ladies’ room. I saw the pants first, so there! Anyway, the only thing cooler than her pants was her personality. “I love your pants,” I said. “And they love you!” Her boyfriend mocked them and said people were gonna laugh at her. She said she’d heard nothing but compliments on them. So there silly boyfriend!

Baby bandana. (Sorry about the blur). VERY cute.

Sandy callled this Victorian meets Victoria Beckham. She then referred to this girl as Posh Spice the rest of the night.

The girl, obviously. Not the dude. “Is that Lenny Kravitz’s drummer?”

The transformation begins…

Hippie top? Check. Bandana? Check.

Bandana? Scratch that. Headband? Check. Bag? Check.

Mission: complete.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 31st, 2008 at 4:32 am and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

---