Michfest 2013 Wrap-Up: It's On! (Wednesday & Thursday)

Wednesday August 7th
I woke to rain. I woke to a downpour and I knew that it was going to be a long day. I was not only firekeeping that day, but I had also planned to pour water for a two-door lodge that day. I peeled myself up at about 4:45am. I prepped what I was going to bring to the lodge the day before so I didn’t have much to do. I just had to pull it together and get out to the lodge. I put everything that I needed for the day in a plastic bag and ventured out into the early, early morning rain. My flashlight was barely helping me. I almost walked through what seemed like ponds of water. It was pitch black out.

When I got up to the lodge I could see a little fire going. Sharon, Brooke, Robin and Mia were there getting things going. That morning Mia, Cynthia and I were responsible for the fire, but Brooke and Robin camped right by the lodge so there were there in an instant. Once I got up there it was time to put the rocks (ancestors) on and keep the fire going at the same time. Certain people have very particular ways of getting a fire going, but when there is rain you have to do the best you can and use all methods available. We also had to make sure that the kindling was dry at all time. Eventually Cynthia arrived and it took all 6 of us to get that flame really going. There was a whole bunch of fanning happening and then eventually I brought some paper in the mix because one side of the fire was going faster than the other. It was wild to say the least. I think the sun was just starting to come up as we really got it going.

After things had calmed down, Robin, Brooke and Sharon went back to bed while Mia, Cynthia and I keep fire for the rest of the morning through the first lodge. After all that rain it turned out to be a beautiful day; really amazing actually and a great first lodge to firekeep for.

There was a bit of a break between lodges so I went in search of my friend Cassandra and lunch. I ended up finding both. Cassandra and I talked about me to do a Reiki session on her on the land long before Fest, which I was happy to do. So I found her in the WOC tent and we talked about times. Soon I was off to get some grub and head back for the Honoring Our Elders lodge. I was supposed to pour water, but I choose to just sit in that one. It was only two doors, which was good because when it was all said and done I don’t know if I could have done four doors that day. After those two doors I was done and I had a headache that wouldn’t leave me for three days. I don’t know if I was dehydrated or just trying to release something, but it lingered and it was no joke. It’s kind of hard to believe as I write this how much pain I was in for all those days. I was doing everything under the sun to try and get rid of that headache and you know that on a land filled with women, EVERYONE had a remedy. Nothing worked for a good long time and yes I took some drugs too.

Opening the Sky

It wasn’t until around Opening Ceremony that I started to feel the headache really come on. I was actually hoping that might cry at Opening so that maybe I could release some of the tension. I don’t know what it is about that damn event, but every time you may find yourself crying, cheering or both. Seriously it’s amazing. This year we celebrated 13 and it was very powerful. Hanifah and Animal did a rendition of “Pussy Manifesto” that was off the chain and really just warmed people up for Hanifah’s show the following night. Marcelle [Davies Lashley] sang a beautiful song and Lisa [Vogel] did something she rarely does at Festival, she spoke and talked about the event that she created. If it was ever going to happen, this was the year. I won’t get into all the Opening details, but I will just say as usual there was serious dancing and fire involved, followed by the annual singing of “Amazon Womyn.” This year Reinna Williams joined Judith Casselberry on the rhyme and it was off the chain. I have heard that song sung or been a part of singing it for many of the years that I’ve been to fest, but this year was something special. I swear that was the really the kickoff to what was going to be an amazing week of music. I feel like every artist that showed up at fest really showed up this year. It felt so incredible at so many moments.

Heartfelt Opening

Animal & Hanifah: Sisters from another Mister

"Pussy Manifesto"

Amazon Womyn Rise!

The opening ceremony was followed by Gina Breedlove. Can you say off the chain?! This was her Night Stage debut and it was one of the best sets I’ve seen on the land. I know you might think I’m a little bias because she is my friend, but for real it was killing! Gina left us in BK for the Bay, but damn if I don’t think that was one of the best moves she made in her life. While she was on stage I could see and feel the joy in her heart, soul and spirit. Now that brought tears to my eyes. That show was banana-balls. Her band was Vicki Randle on percussion & guitar, Shelley Doty on guitar, Kofy Brown on bass and Julie Wolf on Keys. Also everyone, but Kofy were also on vocals! They were all in white and were calling in the ancestors for real that night. Everyone looked and sounded gorgeous. It was just brilliant. These are also the same ladies that are on Gina’s latest album Language of Light. Pick that joint up immediately. Get it now! In fact open up another tab on your computer right now and buy it! I’ll wait for you to come back…Ok, now that you have the album feel the vibes. LOL! Yes, I am serious.

The angelic Gina Breedlove and what might have been the sexiest band on the land!

Gina Breedlove, Vicki Randle, Shelley Doty, Kofy Brown, Julie Wolf

Gina looking good front to back!

After Gina’s set my head was really pounding and it was cold. The Indigo Girls were up next. There was a lot of controversy around their performance at Fest this year. It was expected that they were going to talk about the trans-inclusion issue while on stage, but it didn’t happen. They did a really sweet set and Amy Ray talked about having a baby on the way. I missed much of it because my friend Rachel was giving me an acupuncture treatment by flashlight. Yes you can get acupuncture in the woods! Sadly it did nothing to ease my pain so we went back and caught the tail end of the set.

After Night Stage there is a midnight meal for the artists and workers. The first meal of the week was one of my faves, sesame noodles. I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked because my head was still killing me. I hung for a bit, but then I went to bed to see if I could sleep it off.

I was a very eventful day and a seriously powerful kick off show to a powerful kick ass week. Rest.

Thursday August 8th
I woke with a calm mind and then just that fast the headache was back. I just had to keep moving through it. I drinking so much water, Emergen-C and Hibiscus tea that I had to pee every five minutes. I know that’s probably the best, but it was killing me. I just kept drinking because I was thinking that I dehydrated, but clearly after a while I was thinking that something was on me in the lodge and it was taking some time to get it off. Nothing I was doing was helping, but I had work to do so I had to hop to it.

At 10:45am I went to soundcheck for Hanifah’s show. I’m not sure what I did before that. Maybe just chilled and checked out the schedule. Hanifah’s soundcheck was fast, but good.

After soundcheck I still had a headache, but I wanted to go check out Round Robin and I really needed to take a shower. So I ate some lunch, took a shower and then headed to Day Stage. But instead of finding a seat I went to check out my girl Kelly Horrigan at her booth. The crafts area is situated at the edge of the Day Stage area so it’s a good place to hear the music, but not be in then blazing heat. There is really not much shade at the Day Stage at all. In fact there is only a big tent that only so many people can fit under and it usually gets filled up quickly. Anyway, that day on the Round Robin was Marcelle, Gretchen Phillips, Laura Love, Jenn Todd, Jill Sobule and Cris Williamson. They all sounded so great and I was glad I caught a bit of it. One of the songs that they sang was “We Shall Overcome,” which I hadn’t heard in a long time. That moment turned out to be more poignant than they probably know. Later that day Shirley told me that the song started just as the Cancer Survivors lodge was getting ready to start. So they sat with the lodge door open, listening and releasing until the song ended. It’s not that the Day Stage is right next to the lodge space, but the sound carries on the land and that song came right on time.

After Round Robin was Big Bad Gina, who I had met on the road and at sound check the day before. I only caught a bit of their set because my head was killing me. I chilled with Kelly a bit longer and then headed back to my tent to take it down for a bit. I had missed poet/actress/writer Lenelle Moïse’s set on Tuesday and I heard it was great. So after a brief rest I peeled myself up and went to see her on Acoustic Stage. I’m glad I did because her show “Womb-Words, Thirsting” was off the hook. Sadly I couldn’t stay to see Stacyann Chin do her thing because I had to get ready for the set with Hanifah.

I still had a headache, but by this time I was just moving through it. I have had this top with a Chinese collar that I have been wanting to wear for a long time, but I need a camisole or something underneath it and I don’t have one. But at Michfest that’s the only time I feel like I can go with just my bra or something like that and get away with it; meaning I feel safe to wear just my bra because it’s a safe space.

Hanifah is always the cool nerd so her and Julie were right in step, but I know Hanifah likes heels so mine were in full effect. I wore the shoes that I had on at Pussypalooza; black, open toes with rhinestone heels. I really love them. Black pencil skirt and my top, which was all the way open so you could see my new bra (I love it) and my dangling hoops. We were ready to rock!

The outfit in full effect!

Hanifah was debuting the music that she’s been doing in France with her band St. Lô and it’s off the chain. I think my favorite new joints are “Flight and Fantasy,” and “Legendary,” but really she does a killer rendition of “In the Pines” that I love too. We had the early set so we didn’t have the luxury of the stage lights to really set it off, but Hanifah is nothing if not a show-woman and she killed it. We officially ended the set on “Hero,” which is a crowd favorite, but of course we couldn’t get out of there without doing “Happy,” the unofficial Michfest anthem.

Hanifah Kicking it off!

In the air!

The Mezz & I

The Cool Nerds!

Marcelle and I getting "Happy!"

The "Happy" Dancers!

Hanifah & Julie in a post-show glow

Brooklyn/Bay Area Love!

Footwear: That's what it's all about.  Ha!

Hanifah did a remix on that joint and it was dope! People came up on stage to dance and it was a blast! Marcel was the first person to crash the stage so I told her to come over and sing harmony with me on “If you feel it/you can do it!” Shelley Doty danced on the catwalk and said it was her first time out there. She never gets out there because she’s a guitarist and usually the band is glued to the stage. Well that is unless you are MEN, but more on that later. I think that moment was the beginning of the Brooklyn/Bay artist love affair that was at a high level this Fest. I mean there has always been love between us, but this year for some reason it just felt really strong. We danced together that night and danced together though the week. It was the beginning and there was much more to come.

Emily Wells followed Hanifah that night and if you are not familiar with her she is a one-woman band. She played drums, violin, keys and samples. Oh yeah she sings too. That was a really cool set as well. Right after Emily was the return of JD Samson & MEN. I’ve seen MEN before at Festival; in fact I think they followed me on Night Stage in 2011 if memory serves me correctly. Although I had seen the set I stood in the audience for a while to catch them once again because my girl Ginger was back with the group and it’s always a pleasure to see her. As I mentioned earlier, usually guitarists are glued to the stage, but next thing you know I see Ginger heading to the catwalk. Shortly thereafter Gretchen come up behind her and starts playing Ginger’s guitar while Ginger just lay back like and angel and let her play. From where I was standing it looked like Gretchen had picked her up in the air. She didn’t, but it really looked like Ginger was flying. That was a really cool moment.

What was also fun was watching and listening to people in the audience negotiate whether or not they were going to body surf through the crowd. People were going up left and right so if you ever wanted to body surf that was the night.

The rest of the MEN set was really great! I won’t give away the ending of their show in case you get to see them one day, but I will say this, “Who am I to feel so free? Who am I?!”

I think the midnight meal that night was chicken. I say I think because I could be getting my days mixed up, but I’ll go with it. There was a dirty rumor that it would be fried chicken. Not so much! Maria [DJ Rimarkable] and I were joking about that on the line and cracking Elvira [Kurt] up. Fun, fun night all around!

Stay Tuned...