Jackson Hole Underground

The New Mastersounds continued their conquest of America with two gigs in the Tetons, kicking off a spree of music that arrives at just the right time.

On Thursday night the booty-shaking Brits rocked the free Music on Main concert in Driggs, an event that quickly has mushroomed into a pillar of community. (Jackson Town Council, are you listening?)

Last night the lads from Leeds conducted an exercise in “tension and release” at the Mangy Moose. Borrowing from The Meters, Sly and the Family Stone and, if I’m not mistaken, even Lionel Richie, the group let loose and turned what could have been a slow night before a small crowd into an outrageous funk party. The release was akin to the Snake River pouring through Jackson Lake Dam.

With a full moon shining over the mountains, and shooting stars streaking across the sky, it was a perfect summer night (even if some yahoo dancing with a beautiful girl got a little too carried away with the tambourine at the end).

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(The Neville Brothers were in Jackson last night to play a concert at Center for the Arts. Last summer, before their performance at Targhee Fest, I sat down with the venerable keyboardist Art Neville, aka Poppa Funk, for an interview, in which we discussed the fate of The Meters, the state of New Orleans, football and the Iraq War.)

It was late in the afternoon, and golden light bathed the Targhee basin. A black SUV pulled up behind the stage, and out stepped one of my musical idols, Art Neville.

A crew member helped him from the vehicle, and he walked slowly with a cane. I set up two folding chairs. There was a break in the festival, and it was quiet.

I asked him how he was feeling, having heard that the band was struggling with the altitude at 8,000 feet. “I feel pretty good,” he said, “as long as you don’t have any wild animals running around.”

This was his first visit to the Teton Range. I asked him what he thought of Wyoming. “Good people,” he said. “I can see that already.”

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Photo © Jim Stanford. Click to enlarge.

As first reported here back in April, a new music festival will be making its debut at Teton Village this summer.

The Jackson Hole Music Festival has added soul guitarists Ben Harper and Robert Randolph to a lineup that already features Wilco, the Black Crowes and Son Volt. The two-day event will be held at the base of the Eagle’s Rest slope on Aug. 16 and 17.

Harper and his band, the Innocent Criminals, have performed several times in Jackson Hole, as have Randolph and his Family Band. Both are fan favorites.

So far, the lineup looks like this: Saturday, Aug. 16 — Wilco, Kaki King, Medeski Martin & Wood, Backdoor Slam; Sunday, Aug. 17 — Black Crowes, Ben Harper, Robert Randolph, Son Volt, the Avett Brothers.

The music will run from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days. Single-day tickets are $72.50, while a two-day pass costs $130. For a limited time, you can purchase a discounted “early bird” pass for $110 (plus $13 service charge) by clicking here.

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(Editor’s note: This dispatch comes from Clint Troxel, eminent computer guru, J-lister and mandolinist who with a group of friends trucked it out to The Gorge for Memorial Day weekend. Sasquatch Fest has become a popular road trip for Jacksonites looking for a spring fix of new music.)

The Sasquatch Festival at The Gorge has provided this music fan a necessary good-music-infusion for a few years running. It never fails to surprise, inspire, and re-invigorate. Check out the lineup.

Highlights included Blue Scholars’ conscious hip-hop, Yeasayer’s awesomely re-created set of self-described “Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel” — and, let’s not forget The Flaming Lips! I know jhunderground is a Michael Franti fan, but my vote for Musical Prophet Of The Year goes to Wayne Coyne. The Flaming Lips UFO show might actually have been from out of this world. If you haven’t heard (or seen!) The Flaming Lips since “She don’t use jelly,” do yourself a favor. This show is a spectacle.

In terms of “most memorable” it was hard to beat, but I can’t stop thinking about R.E.M. I’ve never paid much attention to R.E.M. — for some reason they never clicked. Until Sasquatch.

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The 39th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival closed Sunday with a homecoming, as the Neville Brothers, the city’s first family of funk, returned to perform together for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

Sunday was also “family day,” as the preceding acts on the main stage were bands fronted by Carlos Santana and his son, Salvador, and Ivan Neville, son of the gospel brother Aaron Neville.

Jazz Fest is all about moments, and together these musicians produced an historic one, as the Neville Brothers were joined by the Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indians, younger generations of the family and a host of friends and former band members. One of those friends was Carlos Santana, who joined the brothers for “My Blood” and “Ain’t No Use.” Fiery licks erupted from his guitar as he moved like a cat on stage.

It was a joyous finish to a festival that left me, well, overjoyed. Here are a few of the other peak moments, in words and in photos, from the second weekend, as well as scenes from around the city. Click on any image to enlarge and begin the slide show, and navigate using the arrow keys. (All photos © Jim Stanford)

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