Halloween and Lake Street Dive

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic Halloween weekend like I did. My boyfriend came up from Davis, and a group of our friends dressed up as characters from Star Wars. In Ashland we have a traditional Halloween parade in which the entire town is dressed to the nines walking down the main street with our local Samba drumming group leading the way.

It’s a great way to show off your costume and run into old friends. It made me extremely happy to share this childhood tradition with my man. Although he and I spent the rest evening at home taking care of his fever, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

©Autumn Micketti

The following night my family walked over to Southern Oregon University to see Lake Street Dive. Originally from Boston, MA., Lake Street Dive started making music in 2004 and have picked up fans from around the world with their upbeat tunes, groovy bass lines, and the amazing vocals of Rachael Price. I had heard their name several times over the past few years but it wasn’t until last year when I was working at the Folks Festival in Lyons, CO. that I was really exposed to them. Lake Street Dive headlined the second night of the festival and although I was working at one of the gates into the festival, checking wrist bands and backpacks, I could hear them perfectly. These four musicians are absolutely amazing in person. Rachael Price has the classic soul voice that is surprising coming out of a petite white woman. I always get really excited when a band has a female bass player and Lake Street Dive’s Bridget Kearney doesn’t disappoint. She works that upright bass like no one I’ve ever seen before. With McDuck Olson on the trumpet and guitar and Mick Calabrese rocking the drums, the four of them make a sleepy audience jump on their feet and start dancing.

I was very excited to finally see Lake Street Dive live and actually see them this time. They filled the auditorium with fantastic guitar riffs and gut wrenching vocals. Along with playing songs from their older albums, the four of them treated the audience to some new songs that will be on a new album that’s set to come out early sometime next year. Lake Street Dive met while attending the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and their love for one another is easily seen when they perform. They tease each other between songs and their chemistry is palpable. I was pleased to hear that they were in Ashland for Halloween and were able to witness the craziness of my town when costumes are introduced. Price said that she told the other band members that she could move to Ashland, that she really liked the vibe that it had going on.

One of the great things about seeing bands in your home town rather than traveling to see them is that you get to share your home with them, in a way. I love hearing bands talk about what they did on their time off, and the places they explored while passing through. Hearing that Price loved Ashland so much made me glow with pride. I love my little town and I’m so glad to share it with Lake Street Dive as well as the other travelers that come here.

Lake Street Dive is finishing up this tour with four more shows in California. I’m very excited to hear more about their new album and I hope that I get see them again soon.

©Zachary Mule