Ohana Festival (Day 2+3) review: Dana Point, Calif.

photo: George A. Paul

In Hawaiian culture, the word “ohana” means extended family. Last weekend, during the third annual Ohana Festival in Dana Point, Calif., event curator Eddie Vedder helped foster a sense of community by performing with Mumford and Sons, Johnny Marr and X’s John Doe.

Meanwhile, Switchfoot, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and the Pearl Jam leader all stressed the need to forget about negative news and all our differences for awhile and share a common love of music.

The relaxed vibe and beautiful locale at Doheny State Beach makes Ohana stand out from other area music festivals. Even Bahamas frontman Afie Jurvanen raved about his view from the stage. Many concert attendees got into the spirit by donning Hawaiian leis, shirts or flower crowns (McMahon’s entire band sported the latter item).

Having the large Main stage and medium sized Tiki stage located side by side meant people didn’t have to walk far to view each one. Those who arrived early enough could lay out their towels and blankets between both and not even have to move. Everything seemed to go right according to schedule, with no major delays. As soon as one act finished, the next stage started soon after. One minor quibble: Saturday’s sound mix from both stages was fine; Sunday’s was too bass heavy on the Main stage.

photo: George A. Paul

A portion of festival proceeds are slated to benefit the San Onofre Parks Foundation, a local non-profit that works with California State Parks to develop, preserve and enhance the Golden State’s coastal parks.

Beach conservation was a prime topic at the Storytellers stage as reps from Surfrider Foundation, National Geographic, Sea Legacy Collective and others provided tips and food for thought about plastic usage. A silent auction of music memorabilia benefitted some of these groups.

Award-winning OC surfer Greg Long mentioned the recent bans of plastic straws, Starbucks’ future lid reformulation and said only 9% of what we use gets recycled. “If we make small changes in our lives, eventually, we’ll force the plastic industry to look for better alternatives…it helps to demand (them).” He described surfing in remote locations around the world where he still saw plastic remnants around.

photo: George A. Paul

San Diego surfing legend Rob Machado (pictured far left) talked about how his namesake foundation initially stemmed from going to his daughter’s grammar school and noticing that they didn’t have a simple recycling program and none of the kids drank water from the fountains.

Ohana had water stations sponsored by Machado where you could fill up your empty reusable container. Nearby, kids could marvel at Ranger Jim’s Mini Museum, which displayed shark teeth of various sizes. A visual artist periodically did live painting on surfboards.

Early Saturday afternoon, Bahamas’ breezy brand of pop/rock, included songs from latest album Earthtones on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire label such as “So Free” and “Opening Act (The Shooby Dooby Song).” There was a nice early John Mayer feel to “No Wrong.” Before “Lost in the Light,” Jurvanen deadpanned that he and his fellow Canadian musicians onstage were “honored to represent the soft rock community; it’s a dying art.” They closed with “Lost in the Light,” a top 10 hit at Adult Album Alternative radio here in 2014. 

For this writer, one of the must-see acts at the entire festival was Johnny Marr. Over the past five years, the former Smiths guitarist has been on a creative tear, putting out three compelling solo albums. In Dana Point, the Brit opened with “The Tracers,” an eerie song from current release Call the Comet, where the shimmering guitar effect was unmistakably Marr.

photo: Paul Hebert for Ohana

The crowd responded loudly during a fierce take on The Smiths’ “Bigmouth Strikes Again.” They went crazier for “How Soon is Now,” as Marr twisted the tuning pegs on his Fender Jaguar in tandem with his backing guitarist on slide to get the classic ‘80s modern rock tune’s famous swirling sound. When it ended, Marr said “that’s a good one” (lest anyone needed convincing). Both “Bug” and “Easy Money” were extremely catchy. Vedder was among the all-star collaborators with Marr on Neil Finn’s Seven Worlds Collide projects in the 2000s. Here, he handled lead vocals for closing Smiths song, “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” and acquitted himself well. Marr prompted a crowd singalong at the end.

A few months ago, Matador Records released Girly-Sound to Guyville: The 25^th Anniversary box set to commemorate Liz Phair’s acclaimed debut Exile in Guyville. The remastered collection includes that title along with all the content from the infamous Girly Sound demo tapes. 

photo: Amy Harris for Ohana

Playing electric guitar on the Main stage, Phair sounded great, constantly smiled, pogoed a bit and obviously had some fun. Her winsome Ohana set was highlighted by “Never Said” and hits like “Supernova,” the melodic gem “Why Can’t I” and grungy “Extraordinary (where she noticed “all the ladies vibing on it”).

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – led by singer Karen O. – were wild as ever. Clad in a shiny and colorful, seemingly tailor-made patchwork outfit with kneepads, she laughed while singing opening number “Y Control” as Nick Zinner added clarion call guitar effects. Later, she’d do such risqué moves as putting the microphone in her mouth and caressing the cord. Fans in front near the stage barrier got to contribute their own yelps as Karen walked in front and went all down the line, putting the microphone in their faces. “Heads Will Roll” (inflatable eyeballs were rolled out into the audience) and the ballad “Maps” fared the best.

Eddie Vedder’s nifty center stage setup included an old reel-to-reel machine, a cluster of various electric and acoustic guitars, a chair and more items. His walk on music was the “Batman” theme sung by children. The solo, sometimes acoustic, set started with the first of many Pearl Jam tunes. Fans sang along loudly to “Wishlist.” The singer talked about how being grateful is a key to life and that he was grateful for Mother Nature before doing a fine take on Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me in Your Heart.” Another hearty singalong ensued amid Pearl Jam’s “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town.”  

photo: Steve Sherman for Ohana

Phair guested on “Better Man” and Vedder wondered whether he’d "ever heard a woman sing it." Other times, Vedder would go on humorous tangents about surfing etiquette and politics.

There were some quiet ukulele songs from the soundtrack to “Into the Wild.” Then Scott Thurston from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers appeared on organ and guitar for songs by his former boss, like a touching “Wildflowers,” “Room at the Top” and “I Won’t Back Down.” Simply amazing. Alone again, Vedder took to the organ for a quiet cover of George Harrison’s “Isn’t it a Pity” as a cameraman zoomed in on a lyric sheet.  

Sunday afternoon, Dana Point’s own Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness drew a large audience. With his parents watching, McMahon turned in a high energy set as always. Starting with “Fire Escape,” he briefly stepped away from the piano to work the stage and go into the crowd on a percolating “Island Radio.”

“I wrote this in San Clemente,” the singer said before a soaring, syncopated piano-led “Dark Blue,” by previous band Jack’s Mannequin. On-again, off-again guitarist Bobby “Raw” Anderson is now back by McMahon’s side. The singer’s usual crowd surfing on a yellow inflatable duck was fun to watch.

Reaching all the way back to the Something Corporate days, the guys played “I Woke Up in a Car” after McMahon proudly recalled growing up on Doheny Beach and going to high school nearby. “This is my town! It’s a dream for me to be here. My mind is blown.”

Majestic new single “Ohio,” from the forthcoming new album, was a highlight. The multi-colored parachute came out for “Synesthesia” as McMahon went underneath it to sing. Finally, the jubilant “Cecilia and the Satellite,” penned for his daughter, ended the terrific set on a high note.

Americana was well represented at Ohana. One of the more underrated bands of the genre is Nashville’s The Wild Feathers, whose latest album Greetings from the Neon Frontier is among the year’s best. Launching with a rousing “Quittin’ Time,” the guys provided some seamless harmonies on “Wildfire” and impressive vocal tradeoffs during the Petty-ish “No Man’s Land.” By this point, the crowd was stomping, clapping and dancing up a storm. So the catchy-as-hell, Motown-styled bass groove in “Happy Again” fit perfectly. A vigorous take on The Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” also went down well. The band capped it all off in fiery fashion with “The Ceiling.”

Jon Foreman's messianic stage presence and Switchfoot’s inspiring anthems proved especially life affirming near the beach. Mostly eschewing hit singles (except for “Meant to Live,” “Dare You to Move”), the San Diego band with a few surfers among the musicians brought out expert boarder Rob Machado to play guitar on a couple tunes and pal around.

Beck didn’t really scale down the dazzling production that I caught at Hollywood Bowl two days prior for his Ohana set. This hour-long version opened with a frantic “Devil’s Haircut.” Surprisingly, “Loser” was dispatched early and OC got to hear “Black Tambourine.” Elsewhere, “New Pollution,” “Mixed Bizness,” “Girl,” “E-Pro” and “Where It’s At” were all given spirited deliveries and greeted with plenty to enthusiasm from the huge crowd stretching all the way back to the grandstand seating.

Having been impressed with my first Ohana Festival, I definitely hope to return again next year.