I think I left most of my dance moves in the mountainous fields of Winter Park during the Divide Music Festival that occurred July 22-24, 2016. With performances stretching from local to national, the musical junkie has been fully satiated if they camped out under the sweltering sun and wintry moon. Friday was kicked off by Kayla Marque, her soulful voice spiraling through the mountains. I could detail the entire line-up for you, scratch it out under your eyes, but I want your belly to eat up those precious moments that all us festival-goers will surely remember.
The first being Cake. They sure did like to talk about politics, dedicating “Opera Singer” to Donald Trump. Of course, no one took the satirical band seriously. “He’s conflicted, terribly,” lead singer John McCrea joked, “But we don’t want it to be Armageddon.” They then entered the song “Bound Away,” a song that can make warm fuzzies pop up in any hippie’s heart. From there, they kept digging on their bass, touting their trumpet and jiving on the percussion. “Love You Madly,” “Frank Sinatra” and “Sheep Go To Heaven” came from the funky instrumentalists.
It wouldn’t be a Cake show without Crea’s dry, monotone humor. “I wrote this in a very tall building,” he stated, explaining the song “Guitar.” He did the same with “Stickshifts and Safetybelts,” (it was written in an automobile.) Often going onto tangents about the American life, one man scoffed, “Shut Up,” to the band, and Crea pointed him out for all to hear and laugh at. He made good points, however; he stated musical gatherings are one of the last places people can go to without hating one another — a poignant comment that came through a smile. Ending with “Sick of You” and “Jolene,” the crowd left perhaps a little befuddled but appreciative of the dirty purity that can only be derived from a true alt-rock group.