It was a hot one in Arizona this past weekend! As 12,000 fans descended on the Tempe Beach Park, the bands were getting ready to give them what they came for. With the line up stacked from begining to end, plenty of people arrived early. The local bands, Something Like Seduction, Kava Kreation and Clairevoyant, played during the heat of the day and kept the crowd dancing. As more fans poured into the park to hear Katastro (originally from Tempe), you could feel the hometown love grow. They were a perfect prelude to Iration who, as the sun started to set, reminded us of why we love those "Summer Nights." Everyone was singing along to the new and old jams. They have remained true to their original sound, while Micah Brown adds a unique element to the group. He had the whole crowd singing along to one of Bob Marley's greats. It was awesome to watch everyone enjoying the new and,I think, improved Iration. Next it was Pepper's turn to crank up the energy and give the crowd another a shirtless show to remember. Pepper's set list was filled with old favorites and the new hit from their latest album. A highlight for me was "Ashes" when the whole audience joined together to sing "Whoa, whoa whoa. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." The full moon provided perfect lighting for Atmosphere to drop his lyrical genius upon us. It's amazing to me that one man can be so captivating on stage with hard hitting beats and unique lyrics. Atmosphere is unlike anyone else in the industry. He did my favorite, "God Loves Ugly," and had the whole crowd jumping and swaying. Though it seemed as if we couldn't handle any more (since most of us had been there since 1:00), it was still up to Rebelution to finish the show with a bang. As usual, they did not disappoint. I thought their retro disco ball suspended over the set was a nice touch and they had everyone dancing and singing until after midnight bringing only good vibes. The music kept us in high spirits. The only negatives were an insufficient number of port-o-potties, minimal food offerings and the extraordinary amount of trash left on the grounds long after the fans had departed With festival season quickly approaching, we must all do our parts to insure that the trash ends up in the appropriate trash and recycling bins. We can't afford to assume that someone else will clean up after us.
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