CABINFEST

CABINFEST VI: ESCAPE FROM THUNDERDOME!
Cabinfest returns with a vengence in 2009, with new faces, new surpises around every corner, and 3 nights of Wounded Buffalo Theory in beautiful Andes, NY, once again at the legendary UpDaHill Festival Grounds!
Lineup:
Wounded Buffalo Theory (3 nights, including special daytime set on Friday)
Black Mountain Symphony
Dolly Trolly
The Ameros
Curious Mishap
Basso Crew
Timbre Coup
DJ Robonitronicus
Torn Asunder
DJ Nanobot
DJ Triplomat
Thadius Kocisuko (acoustic)
Japan on the Moon (improvising score to the film "Sunshine")
Kieran Murphy (acoustic)
Blanton Family (acoustic)
Jay Cowit and the Enemys
AND MORE TBA!!
More details and tix at www.woundedbuffalotheory.net
CABINFEST V: ALIVE!
The 5th edition of the now legendary Cabinfest leaves behind an endless trail of wordless thoughts, it's utter achievment in the face of the world speaking volumes. Those who were there know what they saw and heard and felt, and why, even when it's impossible to build on something beautiful by such a huge level, combined human inertia and spirit and community can somehow raise the bar. The success of Cabinfest is always a testament to the people who travel up to lose themselves, and this year's version was no different.

Thursday's crowd, the largest ever on a first day of Cabinfest, were treated to an utter sonic brain-melt, forging memories of the dark psychadelic origins of the fest back in 2003; BLACKLITE began the party with a set of tight, spinning layers of sound, spiraling around a dizzying array of beats. Set against a Cold War era documentary on the screen behind him and his own paintings around the stage, the man otherwise known as Travis Basso broke down barriers of noise as the party raged around the Cabin, celebrating the start of a 5th Year Anniversary night. JAPAN ON THE MOON made a rare appearance and would not dissapoint, especially if the crowd really wanted to see lots of costumes. SCAMONE, aka the Great Justin Wood, started his working vacation by improvising projected visuals, pretty much everywhere. JOTM spun a quick set of old favorites and new vocal vehicles, and featured guitar work by JOHN BLANTON. Following the duo's conclusion, TORN ASUNDER AND DJ ROBOTOTRONICUS delivered sequential knock out blows with each spinning long sets deep into the morning. With Friday's start hours away, there was no retreat. The sun had set and risen again at Cabinfest!
No Cabinfest Opening Ceremonies would be complete without the Mayor of Cabinfest, and WILL DITHERIDGE, his honor, laid claim to the "Deck" Stage in sport coat and bloody mary, and at times, both simultaneously. Featuring MARK WISE, perhaps consuming bloody mary's as well, WILL tore through a action packed "Space Oddysse" before reprising 2007's anthem "Ninja" to an adoring crowd. CULTURAL RELATIVITY brought the heat next on as the first mainstage act of the festival. Intertwining guitar meshed with serious vocal harmonies, CR impressed many with their lyrical subject matter, much of which dealt with government hipocracy, 9/11 conspiracies, and lack of honesty among the powers that be. JUSTICE ONCE, in their final show under that particular moniker, appeared on the Lake Stage, and played acoustic renditions of old band favorites, traditionals, and choice covers, led by drummer(and sometimes guitarist!)/lead singer BILL PALINSKI. THE KAUSE's monster afternoon set on the main stage led many to pump fist jersey style, and even more to take notice. The Cabinfest rookies grabbed much of the growing crowd by the balls early and didn't let go; they'd also play a prominent role late in the weekend! OG KIERAN MURPHY added an extra 6 strings to his axe for his traditional acoustic set, and filled up the Lake Stage with a heavy hitter filled act complete with "Tankass", a song possibly older than some of the younger people at the festival. MARK WISE AND THE SCHIZOPHRENICS unleashed a vicious set of desperation served with deep-fried angst and loathing, focused loosely around an interpretation of Wise’s 2007 hit album “Lowering the Bar.” SUNSET STRIP, perhaps the surprise of the festival, brought the party like it was 1988; covering the best and worst of 80's hair metal, Diamond Dave, Johnny 5 and the rest of the Strip nearly emptied the fog machine, and perhaps broke some hearts, on their way towards a "Final Countdown" encore and a noble take on "Don't Stop Believing." By the time night fell, the crowd at Cabinfest was waxing, and the HIPPOCAMPUS (Download or stream from Archive.org) spent the next two hours destroying minds and wiping the floor with lower jaws. A laser tag-mix of house, trance, ska, DnB, and more, the Hartford CT 3-piece blazed through 2 hours of originals before culminating the set with covers of Nirvana, Bloodhound Gang, and their always stirring take on “What is Love?” As the early morning hours took hold, so did the incredible army of resident Cabinfest DJ’s. TORN ASUNDER debuted material from his new album, released at the fest, while SCAMEONE’s projections filled the room with towering pillars, twisting streams of liquid oblivion, and porn banned in most of the continental U.S. DJ THAD slid up to the DJ table next, slamming down familiar sounding Softhammer classics with new innovations, with help from Neil from the Hippocampus on drums. DJ ROBONOTRONICUS brought the night to high gear with a set of electro and house that had the whole property shaking.
Saturday left no time for rest for the weary. CLASSICAL BREAKFAST became the soundtrack for a beautiful adirondak mornig, featuring CHRISTEN BLANTON and friends tackling classics in what would be a long day for BLANTON musicians. Saturday including an acoustic set by JOHN BLANTON, and material featuring all three Blanton siblings, John, Christen and Mary. John let Paul Simon do some of the talking during his set, and also dove into some WBT classics in between raindrops. Cabinfest Classic John "Dsan" Dennison played his normal (i.e. FREAKIN' SWEET) set of kids' songs and jam songs that sound like kid songs, including a gorgeous take on Phish's Horse > Silent in the Morning. ZACH HURD made his Cabinfest debut on the main stage in the early afternoon, and helped eased the populace back to sanity after a long night of unsane-ness. Chris Sobik busted out the THADDIUS KOCIUSKO moniker for another year, blasting out requests and otherwise to the tune of Modest Mouse, Mike Doughty, Alkaline Trio and more, and featuring portable guitar work by Kawari of CULTURAL RELATIVITY. Following the first ever CABINFEST 1K race, the members of Justice Once became BLACK MOUNTAIN SYMPHONY, an electric train of raging rock, thoughtful ballads, and blazing improvisation. Featuring another new lineup of incredible musicians, Palinksi and Bear and company cut through the hot afternoon sun with 2 hours of originals, as the band made it’s 4th straight Cabinfest appearance. JAY COWIT became the first ever performer to play at the Thunderdome, Cabinfest’s official VIP Tent. Lurching around obscure covers and even more obscure Buffalo acoustic hits, Cowit was assisted by KIERAN MURPHY on djembe and LUCAS SHINE on acoostic geetar. TARA LYNNE BAND (Download in mp3) brought the heat next in their 3rd Cabinfest appearance, tossing out material from the past and future, and featuring a harder edged sound, including some prog rock! The entire TL BAND would also contribute later that night during WBT’s set, on percussion vocals. WOUNDED BUFFALO THEORY (Download or stream from Archive.org) took the stage as the night turned black, and celebrated 5 years of tradition and love with a 3 hour set, the first with new guitarist LUCAS SHINE. While highlighting songs from the band’s upcoming album, the set took time to call back to old Cabinfest favorites like “Mcguirk’s”, a play-along star- studded version of “Burning Down the House” featuring members of Justice Once, The Kause, TL Band, and more, and even a tribute to the other original Cabinfest act, BROTHERS PAST. As they have so many times, SOFTHAMMER PERCUSSION brought the weekend to a close with what was billed as their last set for some time. Twisting through well worn classics and still creating new sounds at every instance, SHP with BILL PALINSKI drew the night to a searing peak with a crunching rendition of “Haunted Spaceship.” DJ NANOBOT took control of everything in the early morning hours of Sunday, spinning psytrance with such energy and sonic explosiveness that many thought the entire Cabin would begin to bounce down the hill. DJ ROBONITRONICUS finalized the weekend in an “easy” way, laying down beats until nearly dawn. And thus, CABINFEST V: ALIVE! Had come to it’s conclusion…the finish: a good place to end! Much had been played and said and sang, more had been thought about and rediscovered, and still the most had been seen and heard and felt among the mountains of Andes NY. What could it lead way to? Only up…and out! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR…CABINFEST SIX: Escape from ThunderDome.
Started in 2004, CabinFest has become an east coast phenomenom, melting dozens of brains in its brief but thusfar memorable tenure as the finest festival money can't buy.

The first shows at CabinFest took place on April 21st, 2004; the event became the first official festival at historic and beautiful UpDaHill Cabin, a staple of the Blanton family for, um, years. or something. Brothers Past headlined the inagural show, and proceeded to take the pristine mountain landscape and twist it into hyperspace, slamming two of the darkest, sickest sets of music any of us has ever seen into the night sky, while their lights slanted and cut across the darkened hills like aurora borealis. Wounded Buffalo Theory was proud to open up the day with a long long set of apocolypse rock, much of which became the recorded groundwork for their first studio EP, Red.

CabinFest II: Festivus Cabinus took a great idea and ran real fast with it, expanding the already monumentally successful festival to more bands, more people, and more incredible music in the middle of nowhere. Featuring 3 huge sets from WBT, 2 nights of Softhammer Percussion, the very first La Fiesta Party Band show, skull crushing music from Downstairs, and acoustic preformances everywhere the eye could see, the second year's show affirmed in most people's minds that CabinFest was a permanent addition to each of their lives.

CabinFest III: Retox took place on August 11th-13th and was once again an event of remarkably large and unprecedented production. This year featured not 4 but TEN! acts on three different stages. Joining the infamous Mountain Stage was the outdoor Rock Stage for acoustic acts, and the Lake Stage, the new home away from home for the Paprika drum ensemble. The first day featured acoustic sets by an abbreviated Enemys, 2 hours of brainmelting rock/everything fusion from Justice Once, Mike B.'s blistering set of live beatbox/keyboard/guitar madness, Kieran Murphy's first set of 700 that weekend, and a late night insanity chamber featuring Softhammer Percussion, Sigourney's Beaver, and Wounded Buffalo Theory. The second date saw Paprika play indoors and way out, bringing the mountains to their knees from the middle of the lake, 2 more mammoth WBT sets, the final La Fiesta Party Band show taking place where it all began, a full Enemys brigade, Thadius Kosiuscko, We Hump Cats, Kieran Murphy all on the Rock Stage and a superjam late night featuring John Blanton, Kieran Murphy, Mark Wise, Joe Dimino, Michael Ogushowitz, Tamika Enemy, and the Justice Once boys that literally brought on meteor showers.
CABINFEST IV:The RAGEFEST sprawled over 3 days, August 9th-11th 2007, and was a large step up from it's lofty predecesors. Once again increasing in scope exponentially, Ragefest featured 20 different acts on 3 stages, yoga classes, sex toy trivia, and nearly non-stop music from daylight till dawn.
Beginning with a late night jaunt with JAPAN ON THE MOON on Thursday night, Cabinfest proved to be a excercise in total stimulatic experience, featuring a monstrous light array and a projector showing various images throughout the sets. Lighting work by Michael Ogushowitz, and design by Kate Contino, Mike Frederick, and more transformed the beautiful UpdaHill cabin into a cauldron of sight and twisted sound. Friday afternoon saw WOUNDED BUFFALO THEORY play it's first of two sets celebrating the work of founding guitar player John Blanton as he made his departure from the band, and also showcased the new incantation of WBT, featuring Jay, Rob, Justin Wood, and John Deming. In addition, Mark Wise and John Dennison showed up for historic guest appearances in a "History of WBT" segment. Meanwhile, WILL DITHERIDGE took Cabinfest by the proverbial balls with his unique versions of the best songs ever, plus his instant Cabinfest Classic: "The Ninja Song." BADGERPANTS followed suit by whipping out some mid-afternoon thunder, opening with a stellar improvisation off the Police classic "Driven to Tears," and never looking back. Next, THE CHANNELS traveled from Massachusets to deliver their classic take on smart songwriting and power punk to the Cabinfest faithful in a headlining slot to remember. "I Couldn't Be Worse" nearly destroyed the strong walls of the cabin, and their take on "Henry the 8th" near the end of the set was fist-pumpingly good. Cabinfest veterans JUSTICE ONCE finally were able to bring their entire ensemble to Andes, and it resulted in a mind-blowing set of remarkable songwriting, a sonic wall of noise, and a late night opening slot that showed why people leave Cabinfest each year with this band's songs stuck firmly in their shaken heads. DJ REMINAK (Thadeus) was next, spinning his electronic insanity deep into the night, and in addition to an acoustic set the next day, was all over Ragefest. THE BLACK SPIRAL, featuring members of WBT, SOFTHAMMER PERCUSSION, and the LA FIESTA PARTY BAND, smashed up a combo of trance, DnB, and industrial dance music, all live, and carried on it's firm tradition of causing great confusion, panic, ecstacy, and resolution to all in attendance. Finally, DJ Triplomat finished out day 1 with a 2 hour set of dirty DnB in the DJ booth, making sure the music would only stop at the break of dawn.
Saturday didn't give the cabinfest weary throng much time to recover, but bouyed by the beautiful landscape, people came out strong in the early afternoon for a quartet of acoustic preformaces; JOHN DENNISON, KIERAN MURPHY, JOHN BLANTON and FRIENDS, and JAY COWIT and the ENEMYS each preformed profound sets from the very steps of the cabin, backset against the scenic front spread of the property. In stark contrast, THE MARK WISE EXPERIENCE sprawled to the very ends of sanity, featuring ambient guitar work by Wise and backing bass by Rob Malko, as wel as a short country set and spoken word comedy CONSIDER THE SOURCE followed with their blinding dexterity, perhaps proving to be the most diverse of any Ragefest act. With speed metal/prog rock rythems providing backdrops for etheral guitar work, the band provided the perfect set for some mid-afternoon introspection. More Cabinfest veterans followed, with the TARA LYNNE BAND, finally amassed completly at Ragefest. plowing through their set like a bulldozer. "Relief" allowed for ample headbanging and TL had the whole floor shaking from dancing, and there was no doubt which band came to the Cabin with the best head gear. Following a guest spot playing bass for TL, THE INVISABLE MAN MIKE B. took over Cabinfest once again, exploring the very edges of solo musicianship, while creating a sound bigger than many full bands. Mike would also hit the turntables later that night to spin some classic hip hop. With all of this music, one would figure Cabinfest to be spent by this point. On the contrary, with the original Cabinfest partners in crime still to play, Saturday night was just getting warmed up.
SOFTHAMMER PERCUSSION played one of the best sets of it's history, and without the multiple guests of years past, the cabinfest crowd got pure unadulterated Softhammer, like a shot of bliss in the neck. Featuring a rediculous "I Don't Even Believe" and a "Gothic" encore featuring Tammy, drummer for TL Band, Softhammer's dual sets were perhaps the greatest dance party in the history of Cabin. The fact that the floor survived is a near miracle. Raising the bar for WOUNDED BUFFALO THEORY would not be an issue, as the band was ready to rage off into the sunset, specifically for the John Blanton era of Buffalo. Blanton, the proprietor of UpDaHill and guitarist/songwriter/singer of WBT for 5 years, was moving on to greener pastures, but he was inspired to leave his indelible mark on the minds of cabinfest folk for years to come. Leaving very few old school WBT songs on the cutting room floor, the final main stage act of Cabin played a FOUR AND A HALF HOUR SET, with no break, featuring most of the WBT catalouge. The final notes resonated at around 5:30am, but...this isn't madness...this is RAGEFEST! Following WBT's marathon, DJ TORN ASUNDER played an abbreviated set, followed by DJ ROBONOTRONICUS bringing it all home till 7am. The dust had finally cleared, but the memories remained. And all would be happy to reminisce about this years manic successes, and look foward to next year's adventure.