The Green Room Lounge Lizard

In spite of the heat early last evening, Thousands of One had the entire infield packed with dancing, shouting, singing, fist-pumping people. Their seamless fusion of rock rap funk and soul electrified this crowd, some of which had been in 100-degree weather all day, and others who made it out just in time for the set. “We really need the crowd to do a good show,” Jake Roberts, one of the guitarists for Thousands, said earlier in the Green Room Lounge, but his concern that their enthusiasts might be lacking high-energy feedback was unnecessary. Thousands of One and their fans, as well as the people hearing them for the first time fed off of each other’s energy, resulting in a set that was unstoppable, like a vortex which pulled everyone in and wouldn’t let go. Considering the political and socially insightful nature of this band, when the set ended with a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean,” it was a sweet, relatively lighthearted way to release the audience back into the night.

Immediately after, I headed over with some friends to The Dance Tent for The Carolina Chocolate Drops, a festival favorite. “A lot of people’s one stipulation for volunteer shifts (which earn a free ticket) was that they didn’t work during the Carolina Chocolate Drops set,” said Anna, one of the volunteer coordinators, “that was the one band they didn’t want to miss.” When we got to the dance tent I was bummed to discover my hat had dropped off of my bag, it was my only not-black hat, so went to search for it, stopping to check for it at the Green Room Lounge where film-maker Bryan Root needed humans to sit on the couch so he could light it properly for the upcoming filming of an interview. Never found my hat and couldn’t find those friends again, but, did check out Balkan Beat Box, a band originally formed in Brooklyn by a Klezmer clarinetist and a Punk rock drummer. They carried on with a hip hop, heavy rock hybrid and the infield, darkened and cooling down was packed with a giant mass of people moving to the urgency of the set.

I moved on to The Grandstand, a huge band shell across from stadium seating, with A LOT of room for standing between the band and the seating. Here, there was a sea of people watching the Sim Redmond Band, one of the Ithaca area’s favorite roots bands. I couldn’t move through this crowd so went to the backstage viewing area w/my magical wristband. Partially shoeless, this band is so comfortable on stage it’s easy to see they love what they do. And the audience loves them.