Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked

 

September 8, 2022

Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked

The final day of the All IN Music and Arts Festival was the one that I was anticipating the most, it had more bands playing that I really liked including a headlining set by what I consider to be one of the best current touring live bands around in Cage the Elephant. It was to be a packed day full of music and fun and was the reason I traveled from Key West to Indianapolis for the weekend.

I started the day by meeting my friend Kevin at one of my favorite Indianapolis establishments for lunch. Twenty Tap has great food and beer and is one of the coolest little neighborhood spots ever. Even though I haven’t lived in Indianapolis in many years, it feels like home and I invariably run into people I know when stopping in for a bite or a brew. I know the owners and most of the staff and feel like a regular as I spend more time there during the average year than any bar in Key West.

After lunch I made my way over to the Indiana State Fairgrounds to meet my friends and enjoy another stellar day of music. I arrived pretty early by festival standards and was able to catch a lot more sets than the previous day. I started of at the locals stage with a set by singer/ songwriter Jonah Baker  then watched a portion of Dream Slice. I was not familiar with either act, but they were both pretty good.

Next I headed down to the main stage and heard two bands that I was also not at all familiar with Hearty Har and La Luz, which were both excellent. Then curator for this event did their homework as these bands that most people were not acquainted with were terrific.

The next set was the Dreamset of the day, at the inside stage where a plethora of well-known and amazing artists performed a Tom Petty tribute set. The celebration of the music of Tom Petty featued Dawes, Matt Schultz (Cage The Elephant), Daniel Tichenor (Cage The Elephant), John Oates (Daryl Hall & John Oates), Rick Mitarotonda (Goose), Jenny Lewis, Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk) and Nicki Bluhm.

The set was not as musically flawless as the Allman Brothers set from the previous night, but had a much a larger and more energized crowd and overall was pretty damn special. Dawes played basically the house band and Matt Schultz gave a preview of the manic energy that was too come during Cagbe’s full set with two blistering covers of Petty.

After the Dreamset, Dawes remained at the stage to play a full headlining set of their own and they were amazing. I like them more and more each time I see them. They are beautiful and their music comes across so well in a live setting, like a sunny Southern California day with a peaceful easy vibe. The day just kept building momentum as it progressed.

I watched some of Julia Khan on the locals stage before heading back inside to catch another amazing set, this time from a band that I have liked for years, but somehow had never seen live, Death Cab for Cutie. I have been missing out as they upped the ante and delivered another stellar set of music that had the crowd amped and myself, loving every minute of it.

Next up was the legendary John Fogerty playing a classic filled set on the main stage. I had forgotten how many classic standards that Fogarty is responsible for both from his Creedence Clearwater days in the 60s and his solo career. He has not seemed to have lost a touch in the 40 some years since I last saw him play live.

There is an old saying about saving the best for last, not sure if that is always the case but it certainly was in this case as Cage the Elephant put on yet another crazy good set of music. They are one of the best live acts that I have seen and they never seem to have a down day. Matt Shultz is as dynamic a frontman as anyone, and I mean anyone in rock history. He really does have moves like Jagger and channels Jagger and Freddie Mercury while maintaining hos own unique mesmerizing presence. It was an amazing experience and one that if you ever get a chance to see, you should.