Review: Truck America – Full Moon Resort, NY

The first ever Truck Festival landed this past weekend in Upstate New York. The three day festival is taking place at the off the grid Full Moon Resort. And by “off the grid” I mean no TV, no wi-fi, no cellphone reception… nothing. This made for a truly, er, ‘distraction-free’ weekend – it was going to be just about the bands.

The lineup was full of a lot of surprises including Willy Mason and Joan As A Policewoman. However, the true highlight of the weekend was Mercury Rev’s dreamy performance accompanied by a chamber orchestra. The band performed a mystical two hour set that had everyone captivated. The Dig and The Joy Formidable were the other two acts that really blew me away during the festival. I had already been high on The Joy Formidable’s debut record but couldn’t have foreseen their blistering live set.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, such as forgetting the battery for my camera, I was unable to get any quality shots during the show. But the added lack of technology seemed to add to the experience. The festival was in such a remote and intimate location that it turned out to be more of a secret weekend retreat more than a full blown event. For its first go around, the weekend was impressive. As with anything new there are room for tweaks and enhancements but Truck is something that we desperately need in the Northeast and hopefully this becomes a weekend we can all mark in red year after year.