Wuhnurth (One Earth) Music Festival: Day One

September 17th-19th Stable Studios in Spencer, IN hosted the third annual Wuhnurth Music Festival. The event relocated in 2010 to the southern Indiana venue after complications between Wuhnurth's sister festival, Springfest, and The Waterbowl (located in Muncie and home to both events in previous years).

Follow this link to read my review of day one on NUVO.net.

An excerpt:

I listened in jealousy as I trudged past the main stage on my way into the woods in search of a campsite. Ladymoon was my official welcome to Wuhnurth 2010 but I didn’t have time to stop; we needed to set up before the sun went down. A well-decorated dirt path led through the woods and dumped into a clearing. Here, The Woodland Stage, porta johns, and a small village of vendors awaited. Multiple trailheads branched off of the opening and intertwined across the bohemian settlement coming to life in the trees.

The Butterfly Tour Goes Classical

Yesterday I was privileged enough to be invited to the closing ceremonies of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Every four years since 1982, Indianapolis hosts 40 of the best young violinists from across the world as they compete in the Western Hemisphere's "Olympics of the Violin."

Remarkable performances, extraordinary prizes and a festival atmosphere characterize the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) as "the ultimate violin contest..." writes the Chicago Tribune. Laureates of "The Indianapolis" have emerged as outstanding artists in concert halls across the globe.

Although the contest lasts for 17 days, I was unable to attend any of the numerous events over the last two weeks. However, witnessing the closing ceremonies was something special and gave me a glimpse of the prestige that comes with participation in the competition. I watched thousands of dollars in prize money be distributed across seven people and even got to hear performances from each of the six final Laureates.

The ceremony was held at The Scottish Rite Cathedral, one of the most breathtaking pieces of architecture in Indianapolis. I got to see the inside of the structure a few weeks ago for Rob & Angie Snodgrass' wedding, but this time I also took a peek at the exquisite ballroom from the balcony.

Special thanks to Emily Tornquist and her family for the sweet ticket hookup and for the opportunity to see such an amazing event.

Animal Gangsta Rap, Phishy Sounds, and Face-Melting Funk

Lounge Soundsystem played on the deck of The Monkey's Tale from 8-9:30 last night. A surprise, special encore put the microphone in front of the band's drummer, Tyson Tiede (who usually remains vocally silent as he pounds out rhythm looking very much like The Muppets character Animal). What came next is really unknown to me; it was some kind of gangsta white boy rap full of incoherent, curse word-laden, verse. And it was awesome.

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Next, I took College Avenue downtown to the MassAve Festivall. It was after 10 p.m. and the single-day festival's headliner, UV Hippo, was on stage. I dressed my arms in glow sticks and headed towards the gate. Security let me pass without paying and without checking for credentials, since the event was nearing its close. 20 or 30 people remained, tightly huddled around the front of the stage while bopping around to the psychedelic sounds of UV Hippo.

It was cold. And windy. And I soon realized how much the band's wandering, unmethodical music reminded me of Phish. That meant it was time to go.

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Two hours later, I was standing in a cloud of smoke inside The Mousetrap before one of Indy's best bands, The Twin Cats. I've seen them play at countless festivals and multiple venues around town, but nothing beats a show at The Trap with The Twin Cats' face-melting funk. Although a lot of Indianapolis bands have strong local followings, no other group can guarantee a packed house that goes strong until 3 a.m. every. single. time.

Welcome to The Butterfly Tour

I write about a lot of the shows I go to here, in my NUVO blog. But sometimes I make a lot of stops in a single night and don't have more to say than a few sentences about each destination, or don't have a strong enough opinion about something to write an entire review.

So, considering the fast-paced world we live in full of attention spans no longer than an arm's length, I decided to start capturing those sporadic opinions and disjointed thoughts, however brief or lengthy they may be. It might be a mention of a CD I bought, the band I just discovered, the awesome new dance party I went to, or just a listing of all the stops on last night's Butterfly Tour. In other words- the little tidbits of information about me and my continual, music-related journey in Indianapolis that won't get published anywhere else.

Enjoy.