Winter Werk Out Review & Photos
Feb 3-4, 2017, The Bluestone, Columbus, OH
Written by Elise Olmstead
Photos by Zachary Beecher
The Werks are one of my favorite bands, and The Werk Out is my favorite festival, so you can imagine my reaction when I heard there would be a Winter Werk Out. The lineup hadn’t even been dropped, and they had me at “hello.” Once they announced The Floozies, it was all over. I practically tripped over myself on the way to pack my suitcase. The event took place February 3rd and 4th at The Bluestone in Columbus, with a pre-party February 2nd at Woodlands Tavern.
Jake Goldberg, The Werks
The pre-party was an awesome kick-off to the celebration, with music from SassafraZ, Conscious Pilot, and The Werks’ “WERKTRONIC” set. The dynamic sounds of the opening rock-tinged jam bands both perfectly complimented The Werks, and the WERKTRONIC set was a funky instrumental exploration of some of their signature songs. When I found a sign on the green room door that said “Knowing Kenny Does Not Grant You Access Beyond This Point,” I knew the weekend had officially begun.
Weird Music Stage
The two night extravaganza that was the Winter Werk Out included music from The Floozies, Moon Hooch, Lespecial, Electric Orange Peel, and so many more, spanning over two stages in the huge building. The Bluestone is a converted church, with intriguing architecture, stained glass windows, and three floors, making it an amazing music venue. The “Weird Music Stage” was in an upstairs room and featured amazing bands all night until The Werks’ headlining set at 11:15PM. The green room downstairs was like a smaller club on its own, with tall ceilings, a bar, and a DJ booth! I enjoyed exploring the building over the weekend and still didn’t see nearly all of it.
The Floozies
Each night began with some of the best beatboxing I’ve ever seen, from Honeycomb Friday night and LethalFx on Saturday. On Friday Mihali Savoulidis of Twiddle sat in with The Werks featuring Dino Dimitrouleas, former Werks bass player, for a “Twerks” 70s tribute set that was unforgettable. Saturday had a more electronic feel at the Main Stage, starting out with two-man DJ act Ghost Garden into two-man talent powerhouse The Floozies (who I just learned this weekend are brothers). The floor was so crowded that I ended up corralled against the live artists, but it’s my comfort zone, so I wasn’t complaining. Some of my favorite artists created that weekend including Vince DiBiaso, Zane Pringlez, Gavin Gonzo, Vince Krivda, Tom Reed, and Chris Riddler.
Saturday night ended with an “Onslaught” encore that completely slayed my face, so I made sure to thank Chris Houser for the shreds. I didn’t want the weekend to end, I was feeling so revived by the amazing music and being surrounded by good friends. I hope The Werks continue these kinds of events, and I’m tempted to make it out their Werk Out West event March 17-19 in Colorado just to be with them again. As if I needed another reason to love this band — they diligently post their set lists. So if you missed some of the magic you can check it out below.
Set list from Werktronics set, Woodlands Tavern, Columbus, OH 2/2/17:
Heading South remix>
Sandstorm
Chillin’ (Burnin’) Groove
Rollin’> Get Lucky (Daft Punk)>
Rollin’
Sane Remix> Robot Rock (Daft Punk)>
Girlfriend is better Remix> Robot Rock.
Set list for The Twerks 70s set.
War Pigs
Loving Cup
Shake, Shake, Shake
Benny And The Jets
Black Betty
Let’s Get It On
Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys
LA Woman
Comfortably Numb
Song Remains The Same
[1] with Dino Dimitrouleas on bass and vocals and Mihali Savoulidis on guitar.
Set list from Winter Werk Out night 1 at the Bluestone, Columbus, OH
2/3/17:
Better Than Before
Find Your Way
Cruel Stone Blues[1]
Fall
Drop> Bluestoned Jam
Fire Eater
Hard to Find
E: Duck Farm
Set list from Winter Werk Out night 2 at The Bluestone, Columbus, OH. 2/4/17:
Slab[1]
OG
Inside A Dream
G-Funk[2]
Cloud Hopper> Lights Out>
Cloud Hopper> Psycho Killer>
Cloud Hopper
The Answer
E: Plain White Toast
Onslaught
[1] Werks Debut
[2] With Matt Hill (Floozies) on guitar/talk box
Click below to view all the photos from Winter Werk Out:
(After clicking photo, click the arrows to view as slideshow, or click “Back to Photostream” to view as gallery)
