The spirit that fuels outdoor events like Woodstock and other music festivals shined down on The Original 6th Annual Salt River Acres Fall Rock-N-Reggae Bash in Oil City this past Saturday, as the "rain or shine" outdoor music festival attracted a couple thousand diverse concert-goers.
This year's lucky attendants who braved the unpredictable weather of a late-season show were blessed as the "Gods of Happiness" shined down in the form of unadulterated warm sunshine and clear skies on the audience members. These people also basked their brains and bodies in what the "Gods of Craziness and Inebriation" also had to offer. These multitudes of Generation X'ers got one of their last tans of the summer while they baked, not only in the sun, but also in the array of intoxicants and other fun substances floating through the air that day.
Many of the concert-goers arrived not only to catch some of the Midwest's finer local and national rock and reggae bands, but mainly to imbibe the many forms of typical college socializing. Many people made themselves at home at the party by bringing and lounging in couches and chairs. Whatever they were doing individually, collectively they were wasting the day away in true Rock-N-Reggae style.
Matt Gross, lead vocalist for headlining funky soul rock band Knee Deep Shag, agreed that the event is "an established historical party" that was truly "living up to its name" that day.
"This is definitely the phattest party of the summer and I'm just glad to be here. We are up for the challenge of headlining (such an event)," he said.
Knee Deep Shag took the stage later in the evening after the garish antics of The Reverend Right Time & The 1st Cuzins of Funk ended their set of hard, guitar-based "P-Funk" rock. The Reverend and his men tried to be serious after a long day of wanton partying; they stood on stage in chilly night air wearing fur coats and preaching.
"This is what it is all about: real people of the music industry and the bands who really do it, who legitimately work for a living, and do this concert. This makes it more valuable than something like the recent Woodstock. This is the real thing and more of the real deal," said The Reverend.
But before the cool evening which followed the warm sunny day complete with a comfortable breeze, many of the droves of people mainly tailgated at their cars while many others watched first-hand and in front of the stage reggae bands such as The Basiks, a trio which uniquely mixed Motown with roots reggae or occasionally threw a cover tune into their set (by The Beatles, for example). Other reggae and soul groups included Buffalo, N.Y. based One World Tribe and the Chicago group called Indika, who aside from their original tunes, played many old hits by artists such as Bob Marley. Bridging the gap between the rock and the reggae were bands like Heavy Weather, which combined a soulful and hard groove with elements of rhythm-based funk and rock.
"This end of the summer kind of thing is topped off with a great variety of music from reggae to soul, funk and groove to rock. It is an all around good day," said Carole Walker, lead vocalist for the group.
Preacha Freedom, vocalist for One World Tribe, explained in a very heavy Jamaican accent the band's premise, which bases itself on the concept of unity through diversity. He related it to the event by saying, "This is a beautiful venue to be sharing music and bringing the message across this way where it's for the people. This is definitely happenin': The music and people are one and it would be wonderful to see an event like this continue, where good people of all different kinds gather and support local music. It puts our skills (as a band) to the test and at the same time allows us to get away from the Buffalo blues."
Later that day, the band Daddy Longlegs kicked off the early evening rock & roll vibe with their psychedelic ska-rocking improvised grooves, and really seemed to draw the straggling attendees away from their cars and lawn blankets and more toward the front of the stage for dancing.
Another addition to the festival which seemed to bring many folks to the front of the stage included the "Outrageous Lingerie Contest" hosted by Luscious Lynn and radio personalities of WKQZ FM including a man called "The Captain." The hype surrounding the contest was a bit more than deserved, as only a small handful of young females from the audience participated, even though the contest was open to anybody. What ensued was mainly a few stripteases complete with French kissing and other disrespectful attempts to win prizes such as t-shirts and a multitude of "marital aid"-type items. Many spectators agreed that this part of the show was nothing more than bawdy and tasteless.
"I don't like 'The Captain.' He is too extremely loud and annoying. On top of that, he talks badly about women. That all gets old. He should be talking more about life and other new things such as us coming together more as a society," said Gladwin resident Cody O'Rourke, who continued to resent the persistent degradation of women in a time when equality is finally coming a long way. O'Rourke, as did many other people who witnessed the display, believed that contests such as that undermine the universal premise of peace and unity that the open-minded atmosphere at Rock-N-Reggae should promote.
Others enjoyed the contest. Salt River Acres staff member Dan Ripke explained he appreciated the contest because "the key to it is the spontaneity."
Nevertheless, there was a huge element of friendliness and unity in the air, even among the band members as musicians from other groups such as Daddy Longlegs joined Reverend Right Time and Knee Deep Shag on stage to jam on their various songs.
"It's cool that there seems to be a good unity between the bands as they help each other out like that. Usually you are used to seeing rivalry between them but here they seemed to work well together," said Rebecca Volrath, Clinton Twp. senior.
Amy Hose, Manistee senior, explained that she came to the show to support Knee Deep Shag and enjoy "a good opportunity for all the people to come together and forget about school or work and just share some good fun-loving music."
Despite the many brain cells people lost at the Rock-N-Reggae Bash, many of the dazed and confused will remember it as one of the hippest ways to kick off the school year.

By David Palmer
LIFE Et cetera Writer

On Saturday, Vestaburg was once again the host of one of the two fall Rock n' Reggae bashes, competing for attention with the more well-known Oil City bash. However, this didn't keep down the 1,000 plus people who made it to the bash.
"This was kind of a spur of the moment thing," said Mary Buchan, who came from Traverse City to attend the concert. "My friends asked me if I wanted to come down state for a huge bash, and here I am. I'm having a blast and it's such a sweet time."
The entire setup of Reggae Field was impressive. There was a large stage next to a smaller stage that one band could set up on while the other band played, making for a seamless flow of music throughout the day. There were several vendors there, but not as many as one might expect. IIncluded among these was a food stand (which got a lot busier later on in the evening); a stand that sold Native American style clothing, as well as necklaces and the infamous door beads; a stand selling decorative tobacco pipes, made from Pyrex in various shapes, sizes and colors; a large table of Bob Marley shirts, which may or may not have also housed some Peter Tosh shirts in there; a table selling silver jewelry, mirrors displaying Ozzy, AC/DC, and the Bone Thugs N' Harmony "Art of War" symbol, as well as some cast metal decorative tobacco pipes; and a table dealing blankets (which also got busier as the sun went down.
The festival also included the music of eight live bands, including The Dopes, Cosmic Banditios, Black Market, Simple Neptune, Family Magic, Pleasure Pushers, and Ekoostik Hookah, whom most people considered to be the headliner of the show. The music started at noon, and lasted until about 11:30 p.m.
"It's a long day, but it's so worth it in the end," said Jim Samson, Alma resident. "The music is great, and the atmosphere is even better."
"This is one of the most fun times I've had in my life," said Christi Thomas, Flint resident. "Everybody here is so cool, and this whole experience just blows my mind."
The show turned out to be an excellent combination of musical styles. In their mainly reggae set, the Dopes included a song with a country sound to it that inspired a group on the hill to start line dancing.
"The Dopes are pretty cool," said Peter Hawkins, of Lansing. "If this is any kind of a clue as to what the rest of the bands are going to be like, this ought to be a great day."
The only time during the day that was less than fun for most people is when a police cruiser decided to pull in and check out the situation. Nothing came of this, except for a public service announcement from radio DJ and event MC Dan the Man, who said "If you see a cop, he's your friend, give him a donut."
The day continued with Cosmic Banditios, who Jessica White of Big Rapids thought might be a mariachi band.
"I was surprised when they (Cosmic Banditos) came on," White said. "I was expecting some kind of funky Spanish music from them, but they've proven to me that they're cool."
The music continued with Family Magic, who played several sets at various points in the show, acting as a sort of a house band at times when other bands were setting up and tuning their instruments.
"Family Magic does some good stuff," said Phil Madison, of Midland. "Even though they've been on stage a few times already, it doesn't matter, because they have good music that comes from the heart."
Simple Neptune stepped on the stage in the early evening, and played a rock n' roll-style set. Also on stage with them were two girls who were throwing out free frisbees, beach balls, and the occasional CD.
"As soon as I saw them throw out those beach balls, I knew things would get interesting," said Vera Waters. "But, Simple Neptune is cool, so what more can you want?"
The sun was already below the horizon when Dan the Man took the stage with the antics that he had been using all day as a filler between bands to hype up the next band, which was Ekoostik Hookah. Dan, who was on his fifth change of clothes, proceeded to give away shirts to the side of the crowd that was loudest. After about 10 minutes on the stage, the band had finished setting up, and was ready to go.
Ekoostic Hookah put on an excellent show, drawing the people who had been tailgating nearly all day to the front of the area so they could see the band. Frank Maynard said he came "all the way from Kalamazoo to see Ekoostik Hookah play."
"One of my friends called me at home and told me that Hookah was playing," said Maynard. "Since I had seen Hookah before, I knew I was in for a good show. All the other bands were cool, too, but to me they were just preparing me to see Hookah."
"All things considered, this was a really great show," said Rick Homsley of Alma. "The only downer is when the cops showed up. But, nothing really came of that, so all in all I'm really happy that I came."
Vestaburg will be having another Rock n' Reggae bash in the spring for those who missed the bash on Saturday. Information about this bash will be released in the spring, closer to the time of the festival.