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| Ismael Quintanilla III for Ohana |
When Ohana
Festival, curated by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder (pictured) and his team,
returned for the 10th edition in Dana Point, Calif. last Friday, the
question of who would be behind the band’s drum kit for its first 2026 gig as Sunday
headliner was a leading topic among fans.
Turns out longtime
Paul McCartney touring musician - and studio contributor to Vedder’s
2022 album Earthling - Abe Laboriel Jr. handled rhythm duties on Friday
(a surprise Pearl Jam set billed as Eddie Vedder & Friends) and Sunday.
Onstage
Sunday night, Vedder thanked the Beatle for allowing them to “borrow” Laboriel,
citing “an old music adage that…you cannot be a great band without a great
drummer,” and then dedicated “Better Man” to Laboriel (Vedder’s official
Instagram post on Monday also appreciated the drummer for “sitting in” with
them over the weekend).
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| George A. Paul |
Drawing an estimated 15,000 people daily and hosting nearly three dozen acts over three days, Ohana stands apart from other local music festivals. There’s a more laid-back atmosphere, an emphasis on beach culture and just two stages where performances are staggered so attendees don’t have to miss anyone. Ohana also allows people to purchase single day tickets (a commendable rarity).
Merch
lines were long throughout the weekend because Pearl Jam fans absolutely must have
the limited-edition skateboard decks, posters and more than one t-shirt, from
which they had plenty to choose from.
Over at
the Storytellers stage at The Cove area, talks about oceans, environmental
justice, activism, art, community and indigenous voices were done by Pearl Jam
members, renowned conservationist Capt. Paul Watson and others. The Cove
Gallery contained an impressive array of live photos of past and present Ohana
performers, beach-themed artwork and beyond for sale.
As Vedder welcomed
the Day 1 crowd at the Ohana Stage, he said that while looking over the
gallery, someone anonymously gifted him a photo that he was seen admiring. Vedder
held up what seemed to be a backstage pass to possibly determine the
benefactor.
Then he
expressed gratitude his music festival could still take place considering ones
in New York City and Maryland (CBGB Festival, Global Citizen, All Things Go,
Oceans Calling) were called off last week due to inclement weather. Vedder proceeded
to play and sing The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” acoustically on ukelele.
Here is a selected
rundown of the festivities:
FRIDAY
Eddie
Vedder & Friends’ five song set saw Billy Idol turn up for a version of The
Who’s “I’m One,” and Vedder paid tribute to the late Glen Hansard (The
Frames, Swell Season) by covering his “Song of Good Hope.” Then Pearl Jam
appeared to do a surprise 15-song performance including “Corduroy,” “Wish
List,” “Do the Evolution,” “I Got ID,” covers of Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer,”
The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” and more.
Judging by
daily chatter and t-shirts, veteran Mexican rock band Mana was a big
draw.
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| Dusana Karam for Ohana |
Nowadays, Billy
Idol (pictured) seems to be everywhere. Dream Into It, the English rocker’s
solid first album in over a decade arrived last year. The well-received documentary
Billy Idol Should Be Dead is currently streaming. Idol did some nifty U.S.
Open promos amid the televised match coverage and of course will finally be
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soon.
Looking
and sounding great, Idol, 70, took the Ohana stage wearing a studded leather
jacket (the first of several clothing changes). He immediately stood on a
platform, did those trademark sneers and fist pumps to a rousing “Still
Dancing.” Longtime sideman Steve Stevens constantly raised the set’s excitement
level with his guitar pyrotechnics. “Cradle of Love” and “Flesh for Fantasy” remained
strong as Idol engaged with his two leather clad female background singers.
Colorful
videogame-styled cityscapes (and classic Idol music video clips) were used to good
effect. Before the sumptuous ballad “Eyes Without a Face,” Stevens briefly sat
down for a short flamenco-type intro. The ladies did a humorous tug of war for
Idol’s affections on a spirited “Mony Mony.” For the racing “Blue Highway,” the
guitarist segued into a bit of his “Anthem” theme from “Top Gun.”
Later,
Idol told the story about how he came up with the title “Rebel Yell” after
partying with the Rolling Stones in New York. That signature ‘80s song, along
with “Dancing with Myself” and “White Wedding” proved there’s still plenty of
life left in the veteran rocker.
Melodic
hardcore mainstay Bad Religion arrived to an eerie synth sound before
going full bore into the title track to 1993’s Recipe for Hate. The
frequently short songs flew by at a dizzying pace. “21st Century
(Digital Boy)” and other 1990s/2000s alt-radio staples like “Infected” and
“Sorrow” prompted occasional crowd surfing.
Bassist
Jay Bentley was smiling ear to ear, while studious frontman Greg Graffin (who
has a PhD and has lectured at universities) barked the thought-provoking lyrics.
He remarked how “1989 was a hell of a year” before going into a hard hitting “No
Control.” The harrowing and still applicable closer “American Jesus,” which
explores the dangers of nationalism, was a standout made even better by Eddie
Vedder joining for the chant ending.
Aussie
indie rocker Courtney Barnett and her two-piece band thrilled Ohana watchers
from the get-go with a hard charging “Stay in Your Lane,” a recent top 10
Triple A radio hit from her terrific new fifth album Creature of Habit.
“One Thing
at a Time,” with her blazing guitar solo, and the dreamy “Mantis” from that
release also were impressive. Three older tunes from the 2010s – the spacey
“Avant Gardener,” an insistent, noisy “Pedestrian at Best,” and
kick-out-the-jams finish of “History Eraser” were riveting, at times recalling
early Pretenders.
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| Ismael Quintanilla III for Ohana |
This past
spring’s live reunion of Sugar (pictured) singer/guitarist Bob Mould’s short-lived
noisy Nineties alt-rock band, has been drawing raves. A mini-documentary just
debuted on YouTube, and the Minneapolis trio has several U.S. shows scheduled
through October.
In a taut,
satisfying set, Mould’s guitarwork was still totally abrasive, while his
harmonies with bassist Dave Barbe (who also took two lead turns) were seamless.
They really meshed well on “Changes,” where Mould played the life out of his
guitar and did a Pete Townshend-type windmill, the jangly old MTV “120 Minutes”
staple “If I Can’t Change Your Mind,” “Helpless” (a top 5 modern rock radio
hit) and cascading “Gee Angel.”
Hailing from Mexico, Midnight Generation’s brand of electro-pop and funk defined “fun,” especially on the aptly named “Energy” and “Don’t Wait Up” off latest album Tender Love (think: Daft Punk-meets-Zapp, with bits of Chic and Kraftwerk thrown in).
All five members wore matching white attire, a few sang in falsetto. They did synchronised moves at one point and the singer/guitarist engaged in plenty of talk box action. A few attendees near me marveled when one member used a coffee cup as percussion.
LA-based male singer Muttlee followed with some aggressive
Rage Against the Machine-inspired alt-rock such as “Let the Metal Sing” and a cover of Fontaines D.C.’s “Boys in the Better Land.”
Mereba, a female singer from Alabama, opened the Tiki
Stage with soul and rap-inflected tunes including a nice cover of Bob Marley’s
“Redemption Song.”
SATURDAY
Americana
singer/songwriter Tyler Childers headlined and surprisingly didn’t play his biggest
country single – 2023’s platinum-selling “In Your Love.” The bill also included
Alabama Shakes, Jon Batiste, Stephen Wilson Jr., and Men I Trust,
among others. One late addition was female Irish indie rock band Florence
Road which had its gear stolen, couldn’t perform Friday, but ended up with
a primo Saturday slot instead. Eddie Vedder generously lent his instruments.
SUNDAY
A touching
video tribute to Glen Hansard prefaced Pearl Jam’s powerful 18-song headline set.
The montage showed the Irish singer/songwriter’s frequent regular and guest appearances
at Ohana. Pearl Jam followed it by playing “Long Road.”
Many well-known
Pearl Jam hits were offered up in vigorous fashion, including “Given to Fly,”
an extended “Daughter” (plus bits of U2’s “Bad” and Hansard’s “Down on Our
Knees”), “Even Flow” (Vedder admitted, “We started out pretty good as a band; then
we got better”), the brawny “Jeremy” (Mike McCready and Stone Gossard played
side-by-side), “Black” (McCready pulled out all the stops on a psychedelic solo)
and set closer “Alive.” Another standout was the thoughtful, more recent
“Wreckage.”
Eddie Vedder
heeded first verse vocal duties for “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a
Small Town” to guest Billy Strings, the award-winning Americana/bluegrass
artist and Ohana ’22 alum. They played it on acoustic guitars after Vedder
recounted how Strings won his elementary school talent show with the same song.
The Pearl Jam singer pointed out a harvest moon overhead and said, “We’re
thinking about our Uncle Neil (Young). Maybe we can get him out here next year.”
Strings
and the band covered “Throw Your Hatred Down,” off 1995’s Neil Young
with Pearl Jam album Mirror Ball and the lyrics really hit home
considering current world events. McCready and Strings did some fine tandem
electric guitar work together. Later, in the encore, Strings returned for
Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
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| George A. Paul |
Fontaines
D.C. turned in a
captivating sunset performance that affirmed why it is one of the most exciting
rock bands to emerge from Ireland in a long time. The Dublin post-punk quintet previewed
its exceptional upcoming James Ford-produced fifth album Dopamine Chamber (due Oct.
16) with a haunting synth-laden “Six Shot Morning,” sung by frontman Grian
Chatten (pictured) in his lower register, and the keening wonder “Marianne.”
Launching the
set with “Nabokov,” they provided a claustrophobic sonic sheen as Chatten, clad
in a Dropkick Murphys shirt, hunched over a monitor. He veered from aloofness (saying
“you don’t want to get to know me”) to urging fans to sing along by holding out
the microphone at various points during the performance.
The
frantic “Boys in the Better Land” was an adrenaline rush; so was “Jackie Down
the Line.” But the best moments came as the guitarists and keyboardists -
extended to a six-piece in concert - combined chiming and jangle textures that evoked
The Smiths during “It’s Amazing to Be Young” and “Favourite” (both off the
deluxe edition of 2024’s Romance).
Bassist
Conor Deegan added prominent backing vocals throughout. Chatten frequently paced
the stage, gestured and raised his hands in the air, adding dramatic emphasis. Prior
to the lead singer’s passionate delivery on a stirring “In the Modern World,” he
said “Free Palestine.”
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| Ismael Quintanilla III for Ohana |
Vedder
introduced Pixies (pictured) by saying that the ocean’s high tides stopping at 9:30
a.m. must have been a sign of “good karma” and how this band was a favorite. Early
in the set, Vedder proved it by joining the musicians for “Wave of Mutilation.”
Black
Francis was manic as ever, caterwauling through popular live and alt-radio selections
like the ominous “Gouge Away,” “Debaser,” and “Where is My Mind” (often still
synched for TV, movies and commercial use). Pixies got really loud crowd
responses for big alt-rock radio hits “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” ‘Here Comes Your
Man,” and a ferocious “Head On.” Guitarist Joey Santiago’s influence was proved
time and again, especially when he took the guitar jack out and made quivering
sounds.
In 2025, Rilo
Kiley reunited after 15+ years apart. The LA indie pop band still sounded tight
onstage. Sporting a leopard print dress, classy singer Jenny Lewis, moved
between bass and keyboards. She mostly let the music do the talking. Lewis’ gorgeous
vocals shined most during “Spectacular Views,” a seductive “The Moneymaker,” the
throwback pop stylings of “I Never” and snappy “Silver Lining.” Unfortunately,
a crowd emergency cut the set short, but Rilo Kiley did get to close with endearing,
xylophone-accented gem “With Arms Outstretched.”
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| Dusana Karam for Ohana |
Another welcome
indie rock reunion from the 2000s came via Arizona’s The Format (pictured), which
put out Boycott Heaven, its first studio album in 20 years last January.
Gregarious singer Nate Ruess (ex-fun.) projected a genuine, vulnerable presence
onstage. He and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means, plus three touring musicians fared
best on a joyous, yet anguished “Tie the Rope,” the acoustic guitar-driven “The
First Single (You Know Me),” and the music hall dynamic of “Dog Problems.”
All three
newer tunes – a high flying “Holy Roller” - recently top 20 at alt-radio – the totally
relevant “Leave it Alone” (key lyric: “when all the kids in Gaza are dying to
go home”) and direct title track were highlights.
Villanelle, led by Gene Gallagher, kicked off
Sunday’s Ohana stage proceedings with some cool grunge/heavy alternative rock-leaning tunes that
recalled Nirvana and Foo Fighters, especially during “Hinge” and “Measly
Means.” Gallagher’s delivery bore traces of his famous father Liam’s penchant
for drawing out vowels. The melodic “Squeeze” was a highlight.
Photos courtesy of Ohana Fest/C3 Presents.
