*Continued from part 1.
Illumination Woods was my absolute vibe all weekend long. Everyone who performed this stage was a musical maestro presenting originality in forms I’m happy I discovered. Here’s a fun fact from Al Schierer, 20twenty was the twentieth artist to appear on the Illumination Woods stage. Me and the homies are hanging just behind sound booth and we’re all vibing. Ended up catching his whole set, which was terrifically original. Brother man brought up some of his homies to add in a dash of brass, tactics I appreciate. Nicely done, buddy boy. You too, Al. Your visual sequences are legit and the engineers manning the boards made sure everything sounded top tier, throughout the weekend. Aside from Dogma, Manic Focus, and Kill Safari (in addition to Jason Leech to start the day), nearly all the action I enjoyed Saturday night was in the Woods. Before I get to talking about Illumination shenanigans, let me shout out some of the cool cats costarring Campfire.
Dogma is a ferocious energy and talent. Some might call him boundless, even. I love his swagger. Originating from Chicago, he contributed a heartfelt message to supporters about how much he cherishes being part of this community before concluding his set. Heavy and hard dubstep. Tear it out, baby. Afterwards, Manic Focus came across like a baller. Saturday’s performance exceeded his pre-party display, in my opinion, which was tremendous to recount. If his performances from this weekend are any indication, John’s getting cooler by the minute, and he’s already a dope dude to begin with.
That brings us to Kill Safari. All I can say is it was extremely heavy. Death Metal kind of beats. At one point, homegirl Nyx leans in and comments with a straight face, “So this is murder music?” It caught me off guard. I reflected on the concept a moment, kind of shocked by the description, because it actually felt an accurate way to describe Kill Safari’s form of production. That’s not to say anyone’s dying. Yet. However, when you combine Kill The Noise with Bro Safari, what do you get? Kill Safari. Think about it, and let that sink in. The connotation speaks for itself. Anyway, after about half-an-hour of music that would encourage Simon Phoenix to giddily MDK, we headed back to Illumination Woods, our happy place.
Aside from good music and a comfortable setting, MZG, VCTRE, Late Night Radio, Moody Good, and DJ Marb Menthols impressed the rest of the night, this is also where I performed a sixty second plank. It was my first of two for the weekend, and I used it to settle an issue that came about because, sometimes, I’m a little bit daft. You know those rectangular POSH units? They are rechargeable. Not just the battery, you can also refill their juice and flavor. Yea, you’re welcome. I admit, I didn’t know that. When it started to taste burnt, I threw it out. Well, when Hollywood asked where it was and I confessed, he let me have it, as did Frisky. Something about me sucking on it like an old, bored grandma with nothing better to do? Sounds a bit harsh, like the flavor, but I can take criticism. Hollywood demanded twenty bucks and twenty push-ups. I counter-offered $20 and a sixty second plank. He agreed, I paid up, and assumed planking position.
As I’m performing my plank a little behind and to the right of sound booth, onlookers are wondering what the heck is going on, here? Let me describe my technique for forearm planking: forearms pressed on the ground, hands clasped together, body elevated, elbows aligned directly beneath widened shoulders, feet together and pushing back on heels. That’s it! Simple stuff, really. For me, it’s an effective exercise for developing full-body strength. You may not be able to see them, but I’ve got abdominal muscles. A yoga instructor by the name of Payton Kiely noted my form and we got to talking about community and connecting with one another, her journey into becoming an instructor, why planks are awesome and what kinds of planks we prefer (I’m forearm, she’s all about the straight arm), and how a healthy regimen aimed at strength and wellness yields more than just physical benefits.
It came about that Payton is the proprietor of PEAK Yoga and Wellness located in Palatine, IL. Suburbs representing, yo. We out here! Earlier in the day at Creation Dome, from 3-4pm she led a class dubbed ‘Creating Community Through Unity With Higher Self’. In her words, “That’s what the core of Summer Camp and Solshine is about, that community. My intention with the session was to begin to really connect to ourselves. I wanted to start the class by tapping inwards and giving ourselves time, especially in the middle of a festival, to tune back into ourselves. Connect to deeper layers within. After, we got up in a big circle, I had everyone find a different person in the room who they had never met before, and we gazed in each others eyes and complimented each other as a way of starting to share our inner light and a practice of seeing that light in other people.” Fascinating stuff, it’s kind of like unlocking comprehension by recognizing the beauty harbored within those around us. Whether we realize it or not, we’re all connected to one another.
Let me supply you with a little background on Payton’s journey as an instructor into now owning her own studio. She’s been a practitioner of yoga and meditation for close to ten years. During the events leading up to the pandemic, like many of us, she knew it was time to make some changes and chart a new course.
“I took the leap at the start of 2020. We all know what else happened during 2020. We started teacher training, and it was about a week and a half in, and the world shut down. I honestly saw it as such a blessing in disguise. While we were stuck in our homes and couldn’t interact with the outside world, it gave me something to focus on. To learn, and dive really deep into. I utilized that time to further progress my understanding of this new venture in my life. That was part of what really accelerated my passion for it. When teacher training started back up later that summer, everything beyond there was serendipitous. Training ended, I got hired pretty much right away with the studio I trained at, and the owners are kind of mentoring me along my journey of owning my own studio.” To me, it sounds like she found the best way to navigate the journey of life. Happiness and success flow freely from a strong relationship with ourselves. Isolation aids focus especially when distractions are removed. Genius is developed in silence, and solitude, when we listen to ourselves.
I think of exercise as cultivating a routine of discipline that yields results comparative to what we put in. The more consistent we are, the more strength we build. Plank five days a week, and you’ll see results, brah. Payton shared these thoughts on the benefits of exercise and yoga. “The mental benefits that I got from making physical movements more of a priority is what got me hooked. While we’re building this strength, physically in the body, a lot of that strength is coming from our mental state. I say a lot of time in the classes that I’m teaching is our bodies are so much stronger than our minds like to think they are. A lot of times we want to come out of a difficult yoga pose or holding a plank for an extended time because the mind wants us to give in and doesn’t trust in our strength. A lot of it really is rewiring our thought process. Even though we’re working with the body, we are changing our mind and showing ourselves I am strong, I am powerful, I can do this.”
Before finishing my conversation with Payton, and I’m going to take a moment and mention right here, right now, her husband Mike Kiely is a super cool cat (power couple!). I asked Payton if she wouldn’t mind sharing some inspiration for the community. After considering her words a few moments, she put forth, “Life begins outside our comfort zones. Don’t allow things that maybe make you a little fearful or anxious to hold you back from getting to experience the absolute joy, and wonders, and beautiful moments that really do live around every corner, here for us in life. Life is meant to be enjoyed and experienced to the fullest. Sometimes you’ve got to push through those things that maybe scares us a little bit to enjoy things at an even more beautiful level than we knew existed.” Well said, Payton. Allow yourseslf to grow and enjoy the bounty and beauty that life has in store.
Check out PEAK Yoga and Wellness‘s website for more information on services, schedules, plans and pricing, teacher training, and to sign up for her newsletter. Furthermore, she offers a free one week trial to yoga enthusiasts of any skill level. Certainly, you can’t beat that. Furthermore, if you see me outside planking, come catch up with me and lets do the dang thing. Yeeeeeeeeeeee!
Back to the action, Late Night Radio and Moody Good absolutely killed it at Illumination Woods before DJ Marb Menthols showed up. Smoke e’m if you got e’m. I’d never heard of him before, but a casual onlooker informed me this was Goose’s drummer’s psytrance side project. Which one? I have no idea. Regardless, this sounds cool, and where’s Frisky? He loves psytrance, and plenty of other weird wook stuff which is inherently awesome. Sadly, he’s working overtime at the Red Barn, because he’s friggin’ good at his job, and let me tell y’, he’s phenomenal at whatever he does. He’ll take the hours, but I know he’d rather be here, listening to psytrance with us. It’s okay, Nyx and I had ourselves a fun episode. Boy, it was weird, and we loved every second of it. If you haven’t yet heard DJ Marb Menthols, and you like weirdly cool stuff, I suggest you catch him sometime in your future. This description comes verbatim from his Instagram account. “Slapping an open-face peanut butter sandwich directly onto your brain.” W00t?!? Okay!!! What a great way to close out Saturday’s entertainment before I returned Nyx and myself to our campsite to replenish energy levels with sleep for the final day of entertainment.
To start my Sunday, I made my way to one of EVOL Chicago’s booths to collect a terrific sets of pins created by their head designer, Erika Lizette. Additionally, I caught up with talented photographer, Harrison Lupfer (we collaborated on covering Zed’s Dead, and more to come), as well as the owner and operator of EVOL Collective, Misha Pavelko. I asked Misha if he wouldn’t mind chatting about the growth of his company as well as his relationship with Summer Camp, to which he graciously obliged. We walked through the forest where it all began before finding our way to the Soulpatch for a conversation that lasted fifteen minutes, which I am thrilled to present portions of to you, here and now. Are you ready? Because Misha, like myself, is an exciting and genuine soul who delights in giving back to our community through his vision of love and authenticity which he’s been impressing through EVOL for almost a full decade.
Starting off, we talked about what EVOL represents. For those that don’t know, look in the mirror when you’re wearing your EVOL gear, and you’ll see LOVE gazing back to you. He had this to say about the concept. “When we came up with EVOL, I came up with the slogan, ‘Evolution of Love’. That is our definition of what EVOL stands for, and what that means is, the love that you possess can’t be created or destroyed, but it can only be passed on. Essentially, it’s through the evolution of love, developing, learning how to develop your love, relationships with others, with yourself, everything that kind of evolves over time, returns into you this whole evolution of love. That’s kind of where EVOL was born. I initially did not think that putting EVOL on a T-shirt, and looking at yourself in the mirror, would actually read love, but it turned out to do so. That was actually really, really, neat.”
For Misha, it started as a dream. By practicing and applying his philosophies for how to treat others, he’s guided by purposeful intent. Over what is merely a short course of time, he has built EVOL into an extraordinary entity that is admired, appreciated, and respected by many. As we walked the forest, he reminisced that Summer Camp is where it all began. Later, as we sat to chat, he had this to say about EVOL’s origins.
“Summer Camp has been a massive catalyst for my brand over the years. In 2016, it was the first time I came here with my first four original pin designs that we created. I just came here with a backpack, a hammock, and essentially a goal in mind, to share the art that we just produced and created with our local community out here in Illinois. And kind of just start bringing our designs out into the community, and giving a brand that people could represent, follow, get behind the message, and passing on this energy of love. One of the biggest things, I think, is our customers, the people who are supporters of EVOL are some of the best, nicest, most genuine people I have ever met in my life. It’s almost as if ever I find somebody wearing an EVOL product, you could go up to them and start a conversation knowing that they are going to be genuine and very nice people.”
Reverie defines as a state of abstracted musing; daydreaming. I asked for some insight into the creative process that led to the creation of this year’s pin to which Misha contributed these details.
“Erika Lizette, she’s also my wife. We have been designing and creating together since about 2015, where we kind of started collaborating just out of the love of art and the passion of creating something and getting it into the community. Erica has never been to Summer Camp, so this is one of those projects where I have to walk her through a thought process and paint her a picture. This is what we experienced at Summer Camp last year, this is what we hope to embody for this year, maybe you can take these thoughts and run with it. This year we came up with a frog that’s called, ‘Daydreamer’, which is sitting on top of a little stump with some flowers in front of it and some plants, and with a mushroom for a hat on top of him. This little guy has got swirls in his eyes, and he’s just like daydreaming, enjoying life at Summer Camp. You see a frog just hanging out. One of the years, we could hear just frogs all over the little pond and the rain. That was one of our main inspirations for this year was like, man, the little froggies are going to be back, and you got little mushies coming up in the middle of the forest. Yea, this is perfect.”
It was phenomenal speaking with Misha. He’s a genuine man with a rich and vibrant backstory, not only of himself, but the EVOL Collective that he has tirelessly built through diligent and dedicated hard-work. He’s shooting at a target only he can see, and according to Arthur Schopenhauer, that’s genius. Before parting company, I requested he share some words of wisdom straight from the heart. He did not disappoint as he contributed, “[No matter] how much trouble you’re having, try to do everything with compassion, just from a place of love. No matter what, if you’re coming from a place of love, truly from the heart, no one can ever be mad at you for that, because it’s genuine, and you only have good, positive, intentions to help move everyone forward around you.” Thank you Misha. You’ll be hearing more commentary from him as part of my upcoming Electric Forest preview.
I chillaxed most of the rest of the day before making my way to Moonshine around 5pm to catch Vibeline. Pretty much all of my homies were there, Crystal Lake and McHenry County well represented. My guy Tyler described it as that Griz energy that everyone has been missing since he stepped away. I feel like he’ll be back eventually, and I remember when he played Summer Camp in 2021. Baller moves, son. Vibeline’s energy and presentation ring soulful and sweet. Described as bassy and funky, with hip-hop tones to please, there’s more to discover the further you go. Hey Mikey, he likey! Have a day, Vibeline. You’re the perfect compliment to this Sunday Funday.
Next up, DJ Logic at 8pm, sunset, Illumination Woods. It’s an intelligent choice, for me. I’m loving these woods, and he’s offering a saucy electro jazz medium which the crew and I are digging. I sat down in my chair and I started collecting and organizing my thoughts. You wanna know what they were? Here’s a little sample of what’s going on in my head.
“You get what you are willing to receive. That’s why you gotta be cool baby, dig it, y’know? Roll with it, do the right things. The best thing. The logical thing. Making moves to make it happen. Align yourself with goals. Literally commit, and you got this. Have some fun along the way. Life is best with purpose. Guiding intent. Blinding light. Foresight. Uncanny perseverance. That’s how all these professionals got here.”
We caught a bit of Artifakts before migrating to Campfire and MickMan at 930pm, catching a bit of lespecial before the changeover occurred. MickMan was one of my favorite sets of the weekend, and the sight for my second, and unofficial plank championship. Undefeated, I have the belt. It was literally a no contest, but maybe I should have put it out there publicly that I was planning to plank at MickMan. I’ll make an announcement through Facebook in the future. However, I’m curious who wants to workout at an EDM show? Squats at Rusko, yo. All day! I think I’m alone in this regard, for now, and when a remix of ‘Particle Party’ played, I dropped to the ground, started the timer, and ran it until my abs gave out. I set my inaugural Solshine Reverie record, of which I will improve upon every single year I return. What’s my time? I’ll tell you, but I’m gonna need about, three-fifty. I’ll also tell you what we named the tree at Illumination Woods. Once MickMan’s glitchy, hoppy, high energy set finished, we migrated back to Illumination Woods for the remainder of the night before Disco Biscuits.
Thought Process was really good before a polite young woman calling herself Bad Snacks took the stage to terrific effect. She had me bumping with a number of original tunes, and I found her adorable. Bad Snacks is an accomplished producer and instrumentalist steadily gaining notoriety through her rich and varied creations. She infuses a number of sources into her songs, dance rhythms and string melodies amidst intense, stellar basslines. Yea, she’s dope, and that’s just a taste of what’s she’s serving up around midnight. Her set was followed by Esseks, which tempered quite a bit darker. I didn’t mind, I’ve been known to farm the abyss for fractals of light. Positivity isn’t limited to happy, upbeat offerings. Sometimes you need to cross beyond thresholds of light to develop ideas. Nyx shared with me that she felt his rhythms sounded kind of sinister. I agreed, although I imparted my own feelings that he didn’t harbor evil intent. It was more a showcase of beautiful cadences from a darker dimension for appreciation in ours. Human music, with a twist! Are you a darksider? Do you stand amidst the grey territory between the realms of darkness and light? We hold the hill, my lord.
Nothing could prepare me for what came next, although it had been recommended by Kitty-Kitty Bang-Bang and Whatever back on Thursday. While in line waiting to get in, this cool couple recommended we catch at least part of this next set. Here comes Saxsquatch, a large hirsute figure emerging from the bowels of darkness with saxophone in hand ready to motivate all to jam. Bro, the feeling of hearing Saxsquatch for the first, of many more times in my life, rivaled the pure joy and ecstasy I felt at any other time throughout Solshine Reverie. In addition to his groovy, jazzy, uplifting tunes, his mic etiquette was superior to the rest. At one point, and I’m paraphrasing here, he let us know that if we were ever having a tough time, we should take solace in the fact that he’s squatching us. Yo, what? Wordplay is my favorite noise. As he signed off from what was an epic performance, he encouraged us to hit him up, or something. I might just do that. He seems like a cool humanoid, I’d love to chat about…stuff. Since I know how to pick up garbage, we’ll combine forces and keep the forests and woods of our world clean, together!
Saxsquatch was the last full set of my weekend, and I bounced between arenas and stages enjoying the last of their offerings and saying goodbye to friends, old and new. Hollywood and Muffin settled at the Disco Biscuits, as it’s kind of like a religion to them. They love it. Though I may not be a zealot for the Biscuits like they, I can appreciate the tremendous amount of energy and passion on full display at Disco Biscuits engagements. Giggles and Nyx explored Ravenscoon before we all reassembled at Campfire for the final moments of the Biscuit’s performance, and marking the end of an incredible and wonderful weekend.
With all the good that was offered this year, was there any bad? Not much, but I will outline some areas ripe for improvement. First and foremost, Campfire didn’t sound nearly as good as the rest of the stages. I felt Illumination Woods was by far the best sounding arena, and according to Frisky, the speaker system they used in the Woods is a rare one, indeed. There’s a few ways Campfire stage can be improved, though it has many aspects I consider excellent. The bleachers are great, it’s a wide open area excellent for congregating and flow arts, but I would love to see some measures for creating shade and sanctuary during daylight hours. Campfire should be a place showcasing top tier talent, and I felt the sound system lacked depth, nuance, and texture. Aside from that, Campfire stage is a fine area. I love the gathering place around the fire pit towards the back adjacent the paths. I’m very happy that element from past Summer Camps has been retained.
Secondly, I felt bathrooms were a bit sparse. Ample bathrooms are always appreciated, and though we are outdoors, I prefer to relieve myself in the confines of a toilet. Yea, I’m a Bear. I know what you fun folks think I do in the woods, but I’ve learned some culture through my existence. I at least try to dig a hole. Maybe a man-made latrine system is in Solshine Reverie’s future. I don’t like having to trudge five minutes to get to some bathrooms, but I am pretty good at holding it in with a potty dance, should I be delayed in locating a lavatory.
Thirdly, not a big fan of the exorbitant alcohol prices. Food vendors have gotta charge what they do to cover the cost of ingredients and labor, make their bottom line, and create some profit. No bones there, but when you’re gouging patrons for cans and cases of beer and seltzer, I take umbrage with that. Many festivals have a one or two case limit, that’s a standard that I think should be observed here. Plus, by charging so much for adult beverages, you make it harder for bartenders to make some bucks and pad their own pockets. Anyway, this is kind of the of the least of my gripes. Not having booze most the weekend was fine by me. I stuck mainly to water, sugar, energy, and fun throughout my four days.
Lastly, and this point doesn’t reflect on Summer Camp: Solshine Reverie, poorly. There are bad actors who work in groups to rob and steal from our community. There’s a notion that many of these people have been doing as such, for years. I’d love to see festivals adopt a zero tolerance policy against those committing crimes like robbery and theft, and polluting our scene with horrible, harmful substances. If you get caught inflicting damage to a person’s property or wellbeing, see-ya! Cut the wristband, and you’re not allowed back. Ultimately, we gotta look out for each other. Get to know your neighbors, be kind, stay alert, and let’s contribute to an experience we all want to be a part of. More than the music, community is what makes these experiences possible. Just my two cents, festivals don’t happen without a community of people showing up to support them, and I want to see Summer Camp and Solshine Reverie continue to thrive long into the future.
This experience was wonderful and great, I had tons of fun. Here are many of my favorite performances from the weekend, in no particular order: Barclay Crenshaw, Saxsquatch, Maddy O’Neal’s MADHAUS, DJ Marb Menthols, Blue Future, MickMan, Manic Focus, Bad Snacks, Esseks, String Cheese Incident, Snakes and Stars, Black Carl! // Levity, Jason Leech, 20twenty, J-Rose Loops, MZG, VCTRE, Late Night Radio, Moody Good, DJ Logic, and John Summit.
I had a terrific time with and around the community. It galvanizes and inspires my motivation to cross paths with unique and talented people engaged in writing their own stories. Summer Camp Presents: Solshine Reverie felt like an intimate gathering and fellowship between peoples aware of the unique and special history Summer Camp has developed with Three Sisters Park and the township of Chillicothe over the past twenty-three years. As the organizers continue to seek out wildly entertaining talent, implement new and unique ideas, while reinvesting gains in improving facilities and infrastructure, I hope we’ll still be celebrating Summer Camp, and Solshine Reverie, for at least another twenty-three years.
Be well, be successful. Bear Swiftly.
–Electro Scribe–
