Eaux Claires IV review: Day 1 music

Erin Richards | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

EAU CLAIRE - With a last-minute reveal of bands that ultimately featured many familiar faces and no "big get" legendary musician, the Eaux Claires Music and Arts Festival still delivered an array of eclectic music on its first day Friday. Some highlights:

Big Red Machine

Longtime partners in ideas and artistic expression, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner of The National showcased songs from their new collective album Friday night.

Vernon and Dessner are the ideas men behind the 4-year-old festival in Vernon’s hometown, and, working together as Big Red Machine, they experimented with some new material at last year's Eaux Claires. Their collective had released only a few songs publicly as of this weekend, but fans got to hear an album's worth of Vernon’s signature falsetto and folktronica dilations combined with Dessner’s guitar and vocals.

The band headlined on a much-hyped "stage in the round" designed specifically for this year's festival and intended to offer a 360-degree viewing experience. But part of the stage’s circumference was obstructed by equipment, which forced more people to one area of the circle and extended the crowd down the hill. That served to cut off all views of the musicians entirely for many people in the back, because the stage wasn't tall enough and there wasn't a screen to project close-ups of the action on stage.

Field Report

If there was ever a welcoming setting to hear the approachable new album from nationally known Milwaukee band Field Report, a wooden stage on a bluff above the Chippewa River surrounded by brilliant sun and ample shade was certainly it.

Guitarist and lead singer Chris Porterfield exuded folksy charm as he and his bandmates, including Milwaukee’s Devin Dobka on drums and Tom Wincek on keyboards, cruised through songs from their new album, Summertime Songs.

Porterfield has become a father and gotten sober since his last record, and the new album embraces a new sound with more roots and shimmering pop hooks. The popular track, “Never Look Back” felt like driving into better days with the volume up and the windows down.

“I feel like this is a safe place from the rest of the world,” Porterfield said to the crowd, in a speech that hinted at the turbulent times outside of the Eau Claire forest. “The world is so large and there are so many messes we’ve made. But if person to person we can be kind, be loving, be curious; if we a can do all that, I think that energy will be multiplied.”

Phil Cook

Singer-songwriter Phil Cook, a Chippewa Valley native, has a new album that engages listeners with trappings of jazz, blues and soul, especially on the toe-tapping "Miles Away," a duet featuring Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath.

Cook also brought up electronic musician Nick Sanborn of Milwaukee, who makes up the other half of synthpop dance duo Sylvan Esso. Sanborn and Meath, whose careers have taken off since they played the inaugural Eaux Claires in 2015, will play back-to-back, sold-out shows in Milwaukee at the end of the month. Some fans came sprinting to the stage as Cook, Sanborn and Meath performed a stripped down version of Sylvan Esso’s latest hit, "PARAD(w/m)E" — or rather, "Parade with me." But the cake-topper was the whole gang ending with a joyous cover of (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) "Higher and Higher," setting off an exuberant barefoot and sweaty dance party on the concrete below.

More: Eaux Claires Day 1 recap: The 'mystery' lineup is released, and some reply, 'Meh'

Julien Baker

In the midst of a crowd that lacked energy and wasn't quite sure what to make of what many considered an underwhelming lineup, indie-folkster Julien Baker proved herself to be a highlight of Friday afternoon at Eaux Claires.

The Memphis-bred artist stood alone on the stage with a guitar in hand — an understated performance was clearly her intention. Without the dramatic light shows that became commonplace later into Friday evening, Baker's voice, clear and pure, rang out across the thousands. It was an organic, simple performance that reminded veteran Eaux Claires attendees of where the festival started four years ago.

serpentwithfeet

Discovering musicians like Brooklyn-based experimental pop and gospel singer Josiah Wise, known as serpentwithfeet, is one of the big reasons people become repeat attendees of the Eaux Claires festival. Alone on the stage except for his keyboard and at times a red pompom he flipped around at emotional moments, Wise spoke-sang about queer love and matters of the soul, prompting at least a few fans to raise both hands, praise-style, on the sunny afternoon.

Contact Erin Richards at erin.richards@jrn.com or on Twitter at @emrichards.

Reporter Samantha West contributed to this story.