Lotus Vibes at The Ledges [Summerdance 2019 Recap]

Words by Zachary Franck | Photos by Sam Silkworth

What if I told you that there are special places in the world where time and space don’t operate by the laws of physics that we’re used to? You would probably look at me like I’m crazy and then laugh at me, and I wouldn’t blame you for doing so. What if I told you that there’s an ancient connection between human beings and improvisational music? Depending on who you are and what you’ve experienced in life, that statement might be more believable. When those places are combined with that music, and everything locks into total synchronicity, something happens – to call it magic would be broad and irresponsible, but that’s what I’m going with.

Nelson Ledges Quarry Park is one of those special places and Lotus has the ability to tap into that ancient connection. This past weekend was the 12th annual Summerdance and their fan base made the yearly trek to the backwoods of Ohio to bask in their signature style of jamtronica. I honestly didn’t plan on being in attendance this year, but after two weeks of peer pressure from some of my best friends, I had no choice. A friend and I drove through the night from New York and made it to the Ledges as the sun was coming up on Friday morning. I could immediately sense that these sets were going to be out of the ordinary. I was happy that I changed my mind before the first note was even played. This was my fourth Summerdance and I planned on making it the best one yet.

Lotus kicked off the festival with Cold Facts, one of their newer songs off their 2018 release, Frames Per Second. The band dug their heels in and laid out a 17-minute rendition that was thoughtful and thematic from start to finish. They kept their foot on the gas and jammed into Comptroller without missing a beat. A 27-minute segment to welcome us back to Summerdance was an indication as to what was coming, and we were buzzing with excitement.  Next came one of the biggest bust outs of the weekend, Spiraling Line of Light is a song that encapsulates my favorite era of Lotus – it’s jazzy and elegant while being bouncy and atmospheric. Although I was too young to be seeing them from 2002 to 2004, this song has the ability to act as a time machine and transport the crowd back to that time period.

They played Fortune Favors next, another fan-favorite off of Frames Per Second. It has an Egyptian feel to it and has quickly become one of their best new songs. Next, they dropped into Young Folks, it was an interesting cover of Peter Bjorn and John’s 2006 Indie release. Capping off the opening set of the weekend with Wax was a good decision. The crowd was warmed up and ready to dig deeper during the next five sets.

Once you get over the honeymoon phase of seeing a band and begin to fully grasp what’s taking place on stage, there are certain things that you start to look for. One of the biggest variables is creative set-list writing. You start to look for sets that represent the full spectrum of the band’s sound and style, an idealistic mix of old and new songs. Guitarist/keyboardist Luke Miller is usually in charge of writing the set-lists for the band and he did a fantastic job all weekend. The opening segment of the second set was Neon Tubes P.I > Continuum > Neon Tubes P.II, it was an exact representation of what I’m referring to. Continuum was by far one of the biggest bust outs of the weekend. It’s a song that was created from a jam once upon a time, but like Spiraling Line of Light, it’s an enlightening look into the formative years of Lotus.

Looking back on the second set, Flower Sermon > In the Bliss is what stands out the most, this is what I’d consider quintessential Lotus. The band is at its best when they’re pushing each-other and taking improvisational risks. This is an objective fact that any diehard fan will agree with. Flower Sermon is one of their most utilized jam vehicles, the song has an organic bounce that is easy to latch onto. As soon as they opened it up, bassist Jesse Miller sunk his teeth into it while drummer Mike Greenfield established the backbeat. Guitarist Mike Rempel was messing around with his signature reverse delay, which isn’t always easy to wrangle, but once him and Luke synced up, everything fell into place. Their riffs were weaving in and out of each other with ease. The transition into In the Bliss was emotionally engaging while being disonant and mystical, it kept the crowd on their toes all the way through. Once Jesse brought the bass line in, it was a wrap, liquid psychedelia dripped from the speakers.

Lotus opened the first set of night two with Nematode, another tremendous jam vehicle in their catalogue. Greenfield and percussionist Chuck Morris laid down thunderous drums over a roaring bassline from Jesse before they shifted gears and dropped into a four-on-the-floor dance party. It was followed by another huge bust-out in Lou Carcohl, a song that a number of fans have been chasing for years.

My Own Personal 3-Letter Word was stellar in every sense of the word. The ethereal soundscapes that expanded over the crowd during this song had people dazed, Greenfield and Jesse led the band through pulsing drum n’ bass while Rempel glided all over the songs surface. It was the highlight of the set and I’d definitely recommend this rendition to people looking to hear Lotus at their best. They finished the set off with three standalones: Gunk, Gasoline (with Moon Hooch), and Age of Inexperience.

The Miller brothers put together something extremely unique for the second set on Saturday. Instead of using their traditional setups, they brought their gear from Luke The Knife and Beard o’ Bees on stage. They called the set, Bellweirder, because they used Bellweather as a launch pad and landing strip. It was especially cool to see Luke drop a Four Tet track (Only Human) in there. In the grand scheme of the live music scene, the brilliance of Luke and Jesse Miller can sometimes get overlooked. The fact of the matter is that they are two of the most creative musical minds in the scene. The way Jesse constructed this set using all analog equipment was remarkably impressive. I don’t think that everyone fully understood the complexity of what he was doing, but the people that did were getting down. Club Lotus might not have been for everyone, but I definitely enjoyed it and would be down to see them do it again. If you’re a fan of electronic music, you should give it a spin.

By the time the final night of the weekend came around, my friends and I were in the zone. We were prepared to make this the best night of the weekend. I could feel the electricity in the air, it lingered with an invisible vibrancy. Spiritualize was a fitting way to open up the evening. I’ve always felt that the song symbolizes Lotus with graceful distinction. When it comes to jamming, it’s one of their go-to songs, and for good reason. Jesse grabbed the wheel and steered them toward the sky as Luke laid down atmospheric sweeps on his synths. I could sense that the band was feeling great, they were playing off each other with relaxed confidence.  They followed it up with another enormous bust out, Seen from Out Here is a rarity that nobody was expecting. Originally played in 2003, the song felt so natural as it echoed from the stage. It’s no secret that Rempel loves playing songs from that time period, the jazzy sound and style is what made Lotus stand out from other jam bands during their foundational years.

Like Spiritualize, It’s All Clear to Me Now is another song that epitomizes Lotus. It’s made up of everything that makes Lotus great: soul, emotional composed sections, varying dynamics, auditory storytelling, all while being a prodigious jam vehicle. The inter-connected guitar parts of Luke and Rempel float atop the surging energy of the rhythm section flawlessly. From the galloping drum n’ bass to the blissed-out funk, I sat back and watched them cradle the crowd in the palm of their hand with a grin stretched across my face. The fact that they attached it with Moss Shoes made this segment stand out even more, yet another song from the golden time period of 02-04. If you’ve never heard the 2-9-02 version from Munchies Emporium (the show also features the first recorded version of Continuum), you should stop what you’re doing and listen to it.  

For as long as I’ve seen Lotus, I’ve always wanted to see them jam into Blue Giant. I’ve been chasing it for years, so when I heard them bringing in the melody out of Moss Shoes, I lost it. Because of Luke, it was one of the most seamless transitions of the weekend. The song invokes thought and wonder in the mind and soul, it’s a cosmic journey through purposeful songwriting. The placement was superb and it set the crowd down softly. They closed the set with a cover of Radiohead’s Airbag which featured Josh from Paris Monster on vocals. There was one set left, and everyone knew what it was about to be.

During the weeks leading up to the festival, Lotus created a contest for fans to submit fantasy set lists for Summerdance. The fan base voted and narrowed it down to five sets, then the band selected one to close out the festival. As the weekend went on, sets got eliminated one by one until there was only one left. They happened to choose the set list that was written by one of my best friends. This is an individual who loves Lotus more than anybody that I’ve ever met, he’s seen the band well over one-hundred times and is extraordinarily passionate about their music – they couldn’t have picked a better winner. It was a memorable experience that I’ll forever cherish.

Opening the final set of the weekend with atmospheric bird sounds transported all of us into the Amazon rainforest. It was dosed out and tribal in the best ways possible. They dropped into Lucid Awakening with a euphoric presence that was felt by everybody. Once they locked in, the guitar work between Luke and Rempel had a compelling nature that was intensely purposeful. Moving from Lucid into Futureworld, Greenfield lowered the tempo with such command - as a drummer, I was in awe. The band sounded at their absolute best during Futureworld; it didn’t sound like five separate musicians were on stage, they were operating in total unison as a singular entity. The whole segment was one long dreamscape, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have been there to experience it.

Next came Mikesnack, a song that always gives Rempel a chance to spread his wings and fly as high as he wants to. The song features dueling guitars that reach into your chest and rip your heart out. It also gives percussionist Chuck Morris a real chance to shine, he adds layers that can take a good song and make it great. Jesse’s bass lines propped up Rempel’s licks, giving them that extra punch to hit the crowd even harder. The Snack jam brought us back to the jungle and had people digging holes in the sand with their dance moves – primetime Lotus baby!

Unfortunately lightning began to crack the sky as a thunderstorm rolled in, they had to pull the plug in the middle of the set and tell everyone to seek shelter. The sky opened up and it poured for twenty minutes before they returned to the stage to finish the set for all of us. It was pretty fitting that the next song was Livingston Storm, it was a beautiful “coincidence”. They had to condense a lot of the jams because of the lost time, so they jammed into Slow Cookin’ and then Umbilical Moonset. The Moonset featured a sick house jam (which was written in the fantasy set list) that was driven by Greenfield’s drumming. Out of that jam, they dropped into the middle section of Suitcases and rode it into 128, but this 128 was unique because the set list called for them to jam it out with guitars only. Normally 128 is one of the most synth-heavy songs in rotation, so this was a cool little challenge for the band and they did a good job.

For people that are into the romanticism of experiences, closing out the weekend with Umbilical Moonrise was the storybook ending to Summerdance 2019. The world can be a cold and dark place, it’s vital that human beings seek moments filled with love and connection. If you find something or someone that supplies a platform to do just that, you should take advantage of it with pure intentions – Lotus does just that, they’ve created a community of music lovers that has slowly expanded into one big web of friendship. So, take the inspiration and vibes that Lotus gave you at Summerdance and allow them to propel you toward your dreams.

Until next year,
Z. Franck