In what was to be the swan song of the H.O.R.D.E. Festival, the organizers
made a concerted effort to broaden the appeal of the talent while remaining
true to its original concept of bands that put on a good live show. With this
in mind, the announcement came early in January that Barenaked Ladies and Ben
Harper and the Innocent Criminals had signed on as headliners for the full
tour. The former band had enjoyed popularity north of the border in their
homeland of Canada for years, but had not made much of a touring dent in the
United States beyond the northern states. As they had done with Sheryl Crow,
Joan Osborne and Dave Matthews Band before, H.O.R.D.E. introduced a talent to
the masses that would soon explode into popularity.
Also joining the bill were longtime friends Gov't Mule, recently officially
separated from the Allman Brothers Band. The Battle of the Bands extended its
reach to every stop on the tour, providing an opening slot in every city to a
deserving local band. Several of these are now opening for larger acts across
the country, including Ray's Music Exchange, Conehead Buddha and Average Joe.
The tour got a big boost in the central states when Billy Corgan came through
on a promise to John Popper made at the 1997 Bridge School Benefit and signed
Smashing Pumpkins on for five dates. Several other bands not fitting the "jam
band" mold joined on as well, including Cherry Poppin' Daddies, the Mighty
Mighty Bosstones [though future date conflicts would cancel their appearances]
and King Norris, fronted by Howard Stern writer Fred Norris. Again, an official
site was hosted at http://www.hordefestival.com; while this site is defunct,
Dave Mallick's H.O.R.D.E. news page has a history of
the news as it broke and much not mentioned here.
The tour itself was not without a few hitches and interesting developments -
H.O.R.D.E. went international with a date in Toronto, and it reached several
states it had never played before, including Idaho among others. The original
starting date, July 9th at Harriet Island in Minnesota, ended up being canceled
due to a combination of poor ticket sales and a lack of preparation on the
venue's part. An overzealous video cameraman led to all taping being disallowed
for half of the show at Concord Pavilion on August 29th, but the issue was
resolved before taping was endangered for the remainder of the tour. The
experimental third stage, which had hosted occasional impromptu jams and
acoustic sets from Neil Young in 1997, became a full-blown feature at every
show, hosted by Spin Doctors lead singer Chris Barron. This stage featured the
collaborative spirit of HORDE, as jams would include anywhere from two to
fifteen people onstage at once, jamming out on blues standards or on nothing in
particular. And even as disaster struck Florida in the visage of raging
wildfires, H.O.R.D.E. managed to find the silver lining and donate all proceeds
of their date at Live Oak's Suwanee Music Park on August 19th to disaster
relief funding.
At the last show on September 5th, John Popper upheld a long-standing tradition
of sitting in with every band, amounting to seven hours of running around and
playing harmonica. With the final stop at Portland Meadows, the curtain fell
on H.O.R.D.E. for the last time, and the end of an era was at hand.
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The Music: Headliners
- Blues Traveler
- Barenaked Ladies
- Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
- Alana Davis
Other talent
- Agents of Good Roots (08/09-08/19)
- Alisia Carroll (07/21-07/22)
- Bare Jr. (07/14-07/17)
- Box Set (08/27)
- Bran Van 3000 (08/25-09/05)
- Catatonia (07/30-08/09)
- Cherry Poppin' Daddies (08/20-08/23)
- Chris Stills (07/18-07/28)
- Col. Bruce Hampton and Fiji Mariners (08/08-08/23)
- Coolbone (07/11-07/12)
- Cowboy Mouth (08/18-08/23)
- David Garza (07/09-07/17)
- Derek Trucks (08/12-08/16)
- Dowdy Smack (08/11-08/12)
- Emmet Swimming (07/09-07/14)
- Fastball (08/14-09/05)
- The Fool (07/26)
- Getaway People (07/31-08/04)
- Galactic (08/28-09/05)
- Gov't Mule (07/09-08/05)
- Guster (08/28-09/05)
- Huffamoose (07/15-07/19)
- King Norris (07/31, 08/08)
- Leroy (08/07)
- Marcy Playground (07/21-08/02)
- Michael Parrish Band (07/09-07/10)
- New Orleans Klezmer All Stars (07/24-07/25)
- Pat McGee Band (08/15 and more)
- Paula Cole (07/11-07/12, 07/24-08/24)
- Rene Lopez (08/05 and more)
- Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise (08/05-09/05)
- Smashing Pumpkins (07/09, 07/14-15, 07/21-22)
- To the Moon Alice (08/07)
- Underdogs (08/27)
Battle of the Bands winners
- Honey Wagon (Minneapolis, MN) (07/09)
- Ditch Pig (Milwaukee, WI) (07/10)
- Strain Busy Sky (Chicago, IL) (07/11, 07/24)
- Jonny Mosh (Columbia, MO) (07/12)
- Danger Bob (Lawrence, KS) (07/14)
- Steamroller (Austin, TX) (07/15)
- Homunculus (Bloomington, IN) (07/17)
- Surfin Pluto (Detroit, MI) (07/18-07/19)
- Third Wish (Cleveland, OH) (07/21)
- Ray's Music Exchange (Cincinnati, OH) (07/22)
- PUSH (Pittsburgh, PA) (07/25)
- Jiggle the Handle (Boston, MA) (07/30)
- Decadent Royals (Saratoga Springs, NY) (08/02)
- Smoke the Prophet (New Haven, CT) (08/04)
- Conehead Buddha (New York, NY) (08/05)
- Johny Vegas (Buffalo, NY) (08/07)
- Fathead (Philadelphia, PA) (08/08)
- Average Joe (Orlando, FL) (08/11)
- Urban Grind (Atlanta, GA) (08/16)
- Calico (Los Angeles, CA) (08/27)
- Honey Child (Tempe, AZ) (09/02)
- The Undulating Band (Dallas, TX)
- Blew Willie (San Francisco, CA)
- Moses Guest (Houston, TX)
- Napier's Bones (Seattle, WA)
- Chola (Salt Lake City, UT)
- Emma Gibbs Band (Raleigh, NC)
- Kerosene Dream (Portland, OR)
- Dead Girls and Other Stories (Washington, DC)
- Rudy (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
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The memorabilia:
Promotional CD:
This CD was released for every migration of the H.O.R.D.E. between
1993 and 1998. The track listing can be seen
here.
Ticket Stubs:
- 7/10/98 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
(H.O.R.D.E.)
- 7/11/98 World Music Theater, Tinley
Park, IL (H.O.R.D.E.)
- 7/17/98 Deer Creek, Noblesville, IN
(H.O.R.D.E.)
- 7/18/98 Pine Knob, Clarkston, MI
(H.O.R.D.E.)
- 7/19/98 Pine Knob, Clarkston, MI
(H.O.R.D.E.)
- 7/26/98 Finger Lakes Performing Arts
Center, Canandaigua, NY (H.O.R.D.E.)
- 7/28/98 Molson Stadium, Toronto,
Ontario (H.O.R.D.E.)
- 7/31/98
PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ (H.O.R.D.E.)
- 8/4/98
Meadows Music Center, Hartford, CT (H.O.R.D.E.)
- 8/7/98 Darien Lake Amphitheater,
Darien Center, NY (H.O.R.D.E.)
- 8/15/98
Blockbuster Pavilion, Charlotte, NC (H.O.R.D.E.)
- 8/29/98
Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA (H.O.R.D.E.)
Posters:
Backstage passes:
The shows:
7/10/98 Alpine Valley, East
Troy, WI (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/11/98 World Music Theater,
Tinley Park, IL (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/12/98 Riverport
Amphitheater, Maryland Heights, MO (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/14/98 Sandstone
Amphitheater, Bonner Springs, KS (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/15/98 All Sports Stadium,
Oklahoma City, OK (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/17/98 Deer Creek,
Noblesville, IN (H.O.R.D.E)
7/18/98 Pine Knob, Clarkston,
MI (H.O.R.D.E)
7/19/98 Pine Knob, Clarkston,
MI (H.O.R.D.E)
7/21/98 Blossom Music Center,
Cuyahoga Falls, OH (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/22/98 Riverbend
Amphitheater, Cincinnati, OH (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/24/98 Polaris Amphitheather,
Columbus, OH (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/25/98 Starlake Amphitheater,
Burgettstown, PA (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/26/98 Finger Lakes
Performing Arts Center, Canandaigua, NY (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/28/98 Molson Stadium,
Toronto, ONT (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/30/98 Great Woods,
Mansfield, MA (H.O.R.D.E.)
7/31/98 PNC Bank Arts Center,
Holmdel, NJ (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/1/98 Montage Mountain,
Scranton, PA (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/2/98 Saratoga Performing
Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY (H.O.R.D.E)
8/4/98 Meadows Music Center,
Hartford, CT (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/5/98 Jones Beach, Wantagh,
NY (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/7/98 Darien Lake PAC,
Darien Center, NY (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/8/98 Blockbuster E-Center,
Camden, NJ (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/9/98 Nissan Pavilion,
Bristow, VA (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/11/98 Virginia Beach
Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, VA (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/12/98 Walnut Creek
Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/14/98 Starwood Amphitheater,
Antioch, TN (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/15/98 Blockbuster Pavilion,
Charlotte, NC (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/16/98 Lakewood Amphitheater,
Atlanta, GA (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/18/98 Coral Sky
Amphitheater, West Palm Beach, FL (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/19/98 Suwanee River Park,
Live Oak, FL (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/20/98 Oak Mountain
Amphitheater, Birmingham, AL (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/22/98 Southpark Meadows,
Austin, TX (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/23/98 Starplex Amphitheater,
Dallas, TX (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/25/98 Desert Sky Pavilion,
Phoenix, AZ (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/28/98 Shoreline
Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA (H.O.R.D.E.)
8/29/98 Concord Pavilion,
Concord, CA (H.O.R.D.E.)
9/4/98 The Gorge, George, WA
(H.O.R.D.E.)
9/5/98 Portland Meadows,
Portland, OR (H.O.R.D.E.)
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