Later on August 9, 2008 at the Summer Meltdown up in Darrington, Flowmotion headlined the entire festival Saturday night.I've seen Flowmotion a number of times live before hand, and they always have a nice mix of original material as well as cover songs. Their set started off with a cover of "Sergeant Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band" right into "With a Little Help from My Friends." At first I was a little thrown off to hear covers beginning a set immediately.... however the effect on the audience was palpable since everyone was instantly electrified and dancing, even though the constant downpour in Darrington that night had not let up.
The epic moment of the set was when Flowmotion had the artist 'That 1 Guy' come out and jam with them during on of their songs. If you've never heard of That 1 Guy, I urge you to check him out online or on Youtube. I was honestly blown away by his presentation! Originally, That 1 Guy (aka Mike Silverman) was a bass player with extensive knowledge of electronics. Over time, he hand created his own instrument which looks like a giant metal question mark. It is a series of tubes, a bass string, and joints, with kick drum pedals all linked up by analog triggers... so whenever he hits, strikes, rubs or touches the pipe- depending on the location- it will trigger a digital signal which will create some bizarre sound, or drum sample. He lovingly calls it his 'Magic Pipe.' The concept of the 'one man orchestra' has never come so close to being a complete reality until I saw That 1 Guy.
Watching his solo was a totally different experience. Unfortunately since I was unable to come to Darrington until Saturday, I was unable to see his own solo performance which was Friday night... I hear it was incredible, and a sight to see! However, when he jammed with Flowmotion, it was odd to hear the band rocking out and than these bizarre noises, pops, grindings, stand up bass bowings all emanating from his 'Magic Pipe.' That 1 Guy is another one of those incredible musicians which has an eccentric marketing image - like Buckethead... which is strange to mention since they have been doing joint shows lately this past summer. That 1 Guys songs range from Weird Al Yankovic-esque parodies like 'Butt Machine', to unearthly sound scapes like "The Moon is Disgusting - because it is made out of Cheese." All in all, I feel the bizarre presentation is trivial and gets in the way of the music- but once again it is all highly memorable.
After That 1 Guy had left the stage, Flowmotion rocked the end of the set and the crowd exploded into applause -- Flowmotion were in their element, and this was their moment.
As the audience began to disperse yet another hidden gem of the Northwests music scene came out - AriSawkaDoria. Honestly I've heard about the band in passing a number of times during shows around town, but nothing could have prepared me for their set. AriSawkaDoria is essentially three extremely talented local artists that banded together for this group - KJ Sawka (the incredible Jungle Beat, Drum Machine); Joe Doria (one of the best Hammond B3 organists on the West Coast) and Ari Zucker (Guitarist and sampler.) Between the three of them, they created an acid jazz, techno, surreal sound. Their musicianship was flawless - however I had to admit that by this point the night, and the rain had began to take its toll - it was well after midnight, and I began to loose interest in AriSawkaDoria. Nothing against their sound, but at that point, it began to all blur together and I found I just wasn't in the mood for their set. I had wandered off at this point, however I instantly regretted my decision when I was informed that Blake Lewis had taken the stage and was singing lead vocals for the group on top of their powerhouse of sound. At this point, I gave up and wandered around the Meltdown during the late night before planning on falling asleep.
The very last planned performance of the evening was the All Star Jam - which grabbed up artists from a variety of different bands that had been performing at Summer Meltdown, and threw them together for a late night event. I stumbled into the tent where they were performing, trying to keep myself awake. The show featured members of McTuff (who performed Friday); That 1 Guy, Discs of Fury (who were performing Sunday Night); Viking from Delta Nove, Flowmotion, AriSawkaDoria, etc. to name a few. I was hoping for Buckethead to come out a do some face melting solo some time during the night.... but that never happened. At this point, I was seriously tired and out of it, but the real stand out moments were when Lee Oskar of the classic rock band War came out and did a cover of 'Low Rider' with the assembled performers. Also another highlight was when RL Heyer (the newest member of Flowmotion) came out a did a cover of Dear Prudence, and a rousing version of Hot for Teacher by Van Halen. The Beatles cover which the group did was touching and captivating - and emotionally raw. I talked to Heyer the next day about the performance and he admitted that he had two margaritas right before he went on stage. (well done) - He seriously kept my attention for that song with his guitar and vocals.
During the last song of the All Star Jam - I retired to my tent and passed out, lulled to sleep by the driving bass and reverberating screech of a guitar.
For over the last decade, Flowmotion have hosted this camping and music festival annually, and with each year the quality increases. Even though this year was my first year attending the festival, I thoroughly enjoyed the event. As a festival overall, Summer Meltdown is underrated by all means. The caliber of musicians which it brings in, Tea Leaf Green, AriSawkaDoria, Blake Lewis, Flowmotion, Buckethead, attests to the quality of the musicians which it invites. Between how the festival treats its audience with plenty of food, activities, events... etc. and how they treat their artists (and I can personally vouch for this)- the Summer Meltdown is a great Northwestern live music treasure which I hope continues to thrive moving forward.
When Sunday rolled around, it was time for me to pack up and leave Darrington and head back to Seattle -- I missed a couple of other great acts and to name a few, On the One, Blue Turtle Seduction, Discs of Fury, and Panda Conspiracy. Next year at Summer Meltdown, I sincerely plan on staying the full three days so I can experience the whole festival fully.
~Andrew Joslyn
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