So the rain finally let up as Face and I were driving back into the parking area.

We got back in time to collect our bearings, and to catch a little bit of The Vessel on the Camping Stage. They were…annoying. Just about everything I hate in a band. Meandering jams, annoying vocals…and nothing special (Yes, I do realize I am at Summer Camp, and I should like jam bands, but good jam bands do not have meandering jams. They go places).

Zmick fans march towards the “Camping Stage” at the Summer Camp Festival in Chillicothe, Ill., to see the band. -Aaron Facemire

After that Urbana’s Zmick came on the same stage. I know these guys have talent, but their set was subpar. I have no doubt they have talent, but they do not use it in the right way. A good band does not merely copy, and there are already too many Phish in the sea.

Finally came the Chicago Afrobeat Project. Face and I photographed the band, and we were both impressed. For a bunch of people from the Midwest, these people knew how to play Afrobeat quite well. The drums had swinging tempos, the guitar was choppy and the horns were plentiful. The band is, in my eyes, currently the best thing that will relate to anything Fela Kuti did. They have talent.

I was able to sit down (more like stand up) and interview a few members of the band as well. That is forthcoming. Stay tuned…