THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 31, 1996 TAG: 9608310380
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 73 lines
Goodness, Toto, this isn't the '60s anymore.
Or is it?
The eclectic lineup of disparate music acts - ranging from Rusted Root to Blues Traveler - and the funky counter-culture array of vendors and exhibits made Friday night at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater seem like a return to the days of Woodstock and the Monterey Pop Festival.
Simply put, the H.O.R.D.E. festival, the traveling circus of off-the-wall music and anything tie-dyed, rolled into town.
Maybe the area couldn't get the famed Lollapalooza tour, which has somewhat degenerated into a howling metal fest anyway. But we got the H.O.R.D.E., which offered a much more adventurous lineup than its better-known cousin.
Headliners Blues Traveler closed the minifest with a rousing, jam-happy 90-minute set.
While Hurricane Edouard lurked in the Atlantic, the amphitheater had its own source of strong wind in lead singer and harpist John Popper. He is a large man with an equally large capacity for gritty blues-styled vocals and heaps of harmonica riffs.
While the band of guitarist Chan Kinchla, bassist Bob Sheehan and drummer Brendan Hill built a full and solid rhythm foundation, Popper constructed whole cities of harmonica solos in endless varieties.
The band's blues-based songs, gleaned from its most popular recording, ``Four,'' delighted the near-capacity crowd. Highlights were the band's versions of War's ``Low Rider'' and John Lennon's ``Imagine.''
Another mainstage crowd-pleaser was the king of retro-rock himself, Lenny Kravitz.
The lanky Kravitz wielded his many guitars like most self-indulgent guitar-slingers of days past. He and his band conjured up genre-busting musical images of Led Zeppelin, the psychedelic Beatles and the Chambers Brothers.
Besides the vintage rock of Kravitz and the endless jamming of Blues Traveler, the variety-laden festival offered something to please most musical tastes.
In fact, some of the festival's most satisfying musical treats where found on the more intimate side stage.
The critically lauded Son Volt, led by Jay Farrar, presented a passionate dose of roots rock and cow-punk energy.
Veteran bluesman Taj Mahal and his raucous, earthy Phantom Blues Band led an appreciative crowd up to blues and R&B heaven.
Other festival highlights included the savage funk-metal attack of the Los Angeles-based band 311; the blended and chopped world music pop of Pittsburgh-based Rusted Root, which sported a Latino-African percussion sound while sounding very much like the Crash Test Dummies; the hard-edged modern rock style of New Jersey band Cycomotogoat; and the eclectic jazzy urban pop of Richmond-based Agents of Good Roots.
But no matter what stage, the hordes of thousands enjoyed this seven-hour musical stew. H.O.R.D.E. came, played and conquered. ILLUSTRATION: LAWRENCE JACKSON photos
The Virginian-Pilot
A guitar-slinging Lenny Kravitz was a major crowd-pleaser at the
seven-hour H.O.R.D.E. festival tour at the Virginia Beach
Amphitheater on Friday. He and his band conjured up everything from
the psychedelic Beatles to Led Zeppelin.
Angie Houston, at center, and Gretchen Zohn dance to the sounds of
Rusted Root. The 17-year-olds were part of a crowd of thousands that
turned out for the eclectic mix of musical acts.
MUSIC REVIEW
H.O.R.D.E. Festival
Friday night at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater by CNB