Posted on 07/02/2008
Finally an answer to the age-old question: how does one run a solar-powered festival on an overcast, stormy day? With a lot of interruptions - as The Citysol Festival, New York City’s best and only solar energy music festival proved over the weekend at Stuyvesant Cove Park. Actually, the breaks in the music had less to do with the sun playing hide-and-seek as it did with the intermittent buckets of water pouring from the sky. The concept was to promote solar energy and advocacy by running four days worth of activities on the sun. A solar-paneled house sat behind the small stage, hosting the festival’s batteries, which collected solar energy whenever it could and remained charged enough to keep Saturday’s lineup of bands running throughout the day and night. Facing the stage were a series of plywood pavilions lined with triangular panels that looked more like an Indian shantytown than an environmental display. Whatever their true purpose, they were used as temporary shelters from the sun and rain.

The first band to go on after the initial rain delay was No Surrender, a band I was only curious to hear because Eddie Steeples from “My Name Is Earl” is allegedly in it. The band was pretty good, despite his absence, feeling like a low-impact Saul Williams set. I was hesitant to like them because the lead singer started off with a spoken word feel to his verses, but as the set went on, he switched it up with a more impassioned (but not too emo) style. One of the group members jumped off the stage to incorporate his little girl into the set, which sent flashbulbs popping.



The daylight maintained long enough for Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers to take the stage. Armed with her harmonium (accordion look-alike), she killed a set of bluesy folk rock with her raspy voice and quirky lyrics. I’m a sucker for deep-voiced female singers anyway, but she hooked me with her dark interpretation of “I Only Have Eyes For You,” which in Ray’s hands went from sweet love song to creepy stalker vampire song. The sky opened again near the end of the Ray’s set, but she forged ahead for two more songs. Fans went running to the shantytown for safety from the drops, but soon, even that was not enough and people stood like trolls under a nearby overpass. Once it rained increasingly harder for 15 straight minutes, it was clear the show was going to be on an extended delay now that the storm was here in full force. Like the nature punk I am, I used that opportunity to go get some dinner.

When I returned, the sun was receding and I missed Tanya Morgan (sadly, I'm sure they were awesome) and So Percussion. Canadian band The Acorn took to the stage with its shoegaze rock and, after a couple songs, used their banter time to give the guys in Tanya Morgan a shout out. The lead singer praised their LL Cool J sample, while the bassist mentioned it was the best hip-hop show he’d been to without having to pay $40 to get in.

Burkina Faso’s Burkina Electric hit the stage next and provided a much-needed jolt of energy. Despite the damp faithful sticking around, the excitement seemed to have washed down FDR Drive. But when the first house beat dropped, suddenly the sparse crowd clustered in front of the stage and appeared to double in size. Led by Mai Lingani’s distinctive vocals, the group tore into a set of folk tales to a backdrop of Afrobeat and electronica. The crowd pleaser was the dance battle between the two male singers built into every song they performed. Even better, they’re going to be performing at Lincoln Center this summer with a crew of 15 dancers. The only thing that could make their show better is more space to do their thing, so that should be something to keep an eye out for.

The next performer was Brooklyn (by way of Ghana) rapper, Blitz the Ambassador, the real reason I even attempted to stand in the rain for a free concert. I refused to preview any of his music after being told how dope he was and that he performed with a live band. I figured sight unseen, if he was really that good, he’d have me at ‘One, two, one, two.’ Sure enough, I left that set open. Blitz embodies everything to love about hip-hop that the media never talks about: thoughtful prose, unbridled energy, complete mastery of a crowd and a sense of boyish glee that he really couldn’t be happier doing anything else. He even got in on the solar-powered fun when he took a minute to shout out the now hidden sun. I don’t think any rapper could have sounded so convincingly un-corny thanking Mother Nature (except maybe Ghostface), but Blitz had me believing he could do anything. There were signs of a heavy Black Thought influence from a couple “Web”-like verses over sparse beats, his repeated acknowledgements of his band (“You are now rockin’ with the Almighty Embassy Ensemble”) and a little singing thrown in for good measure. His horn section added to the orchestral, cosmic vibe under the muggy night sky as Blitz closed his set with “Remembering the Future”: “I am who I am/you can never change me/Reaching for the sun/Remembering the future.”

The unfortunate announcement then came that Dan Deacon, who was set to be the final performer of the night, landed at LaGuardia airport an hour or so ago, but his equipment landed in Cincinnati. Sighs of disappointment and shrieks of outrage emitted from the crowd as they were told to catch his next show elsewhere in the city. I’ve never heard the indie favorite’s music and was looking forward to a live taste test, but alas, it wasn’t to be.

Instead, the accidental final act of the night, Ecstatic Sunshine, took to the stage. All I can say is, they were two minutes into their first song before I realized they weren’t still doing a sound check. The noise band’s lead spent the entire wordless set crouched on the floor playing some sort of distorter, sometimes accompanied by a guitar and keys. I politely listened because they were from Baltimore, but not one bit of it was something I could call in traditional terms ‘enjoyable.’

All in all, the Citysol Festival was way too good and free to have so few people attend. Not like Stuyvesant Cove Park, which is the size of a parking lot, could’ve handled a massive crowd anyway. With its promotion of alternative energy and entertainment, its success can only grow for next year.

- Candace L.


This year's CitySol Festival also came along with a FREE MIXTAPE! Produced to coincide with the festival, this digital download mixtape features new music from Estelle, John Legend and Andre 3000, Santogold, Tanya Morgan, Talib Kweli and CRAC.

It's mixed by rising New York DJ sensation Getlive and hosted by Lyricist Lounge co-founder and Current TV producer Ant Marshall. It also features original cover art by Fresh Daily of AOK.

It's not only a classic summer mixtape but a means to bring awareness to CITYSOL and the efforts of the SOLAR 1 organization. With the energy crisis in full swing and global warming facing us everyday we all must work to get information about solar power as an alternative resource. This mix is our effort to continue to learn more and then pass along the message. Plus how many mixtapes you hear sampling RALPH NADER breaking down why solar power is the answer?!

Download it here - www.digiwaxx.com/green