festivals

Grey Fox into Tweed River

Grey Fox this year was incredible. Anne Marie is building a real community around her. In addition to the group of people who frequent jams and hang out, we actually had some groupies. There were two neighbors of ours who camped specifically near us, after seeing us last year. I think that’s legitimately fantastic. As always, we made new friends, and visited old friends, and the group grows. We’ve officially overtaken my parents’ camp in number – I’m hoping they’ll join us next year.

There was a week of downtime, in which I tried to focus on work. I tried to remind myself that I’m working so I can not work. But it’s hard to reject that instant gratification that comes with festivals.

Tweed River was this past weekend, and it was marvelous as well. It’s growing, around 1,500 people came this year. We’re meeting more and more of the people who organize and run the festival, and that is definitely a good thing. That festival has an aggressively good vibe. It’s hard to resist.

I’m excited to see what festivals will be like in Anne Marie 2.0.

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival

Fest Recap

Wakarusa, in Ozark, Arkansas, is a wonderful festival. It was the first of this summer, and the best so far. The venue is a great mix of open field and sparse forest. Waka also had a great mix of large and small stages, so if you felt like dancing or felt like sitting, there was always a place for you to go. But what made Wakarusa such an incredible festival for us was the people who attended. There was such a sense of camaraderie among the festival goers, it was hard not to love it. The easiest way I can explain it is that everyone there was already friends with everyone else, they just hadn’t met everyone yet.

Bonnaroo was Bonnaroo. That is, big and obnoxious. The crowd is very different there, but the people we worked with were great, and helped me make it through that festival without losing it. Bonnaroo does have spectacle though. During the Primus show, though I think it was actually for the end of My Morning Jacket’s set at the main stage, a group of skydivers descended on the crowd, dropping glitter and tiny LED helicopters in their wake. Easily one of the more amazing things I’ve ever seen.

We spent some time in Memphis and Chicago, which were both great cities where we met great people, but the next destination was Electric Forest. The crowd at the forest was a little closer to Wakarusa, but not quite right. We had fantastic neighbors for Electric Forest, who made the whole experience that much better. The heart of the forest is an actual forest (since we still camp in fields) with lights, art, interactive installations and a music stage. No pictures I can take can do it justice, but they’re worth seeking out.

Onward to Grey Fox and Tweed River.

On To Grey Fox

Just as the next Census operation is kicking off, I’m leaving for Grey Fox. The bus is receiving some TLC to make living a little more comfortable, and things are looking good. This will be my first year with my own camp at Grey Fox, so I’m really looking forward to that. I love the camp I grew up with, but the current members are quite different from those of twenty years ago, and I’m not sure they would appreciate us jamming well into the night. Anywise, it looks to be a good year, and I’m looking forward to being back.

Bonnaroo 365 Video

I usually try to catch Bonnaroo sets at AT&T’s blueroom, because they’re pretty good. But since it streams live, if you miss it, you miss out. Bonnaroo is starting to stream videos of previous sets from their own website, and I’m pretty happy about it. The Raconteurs set from ’08 is up, and there is supposed to be more on the way.

Journeyman by New Monsoon
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/nm2004-03-13.shnf/newmonsoon20040313d1t3_64kb.mp3]

So it looks like waka gave me the cold shoulder. They’ve emailed the folks who they want to volunteer, and I didn’t get an email. Pretty sure it didn’t get spammed either, so that’s a bummer. I applied again, just in case, but I’m not really expecting anything. It’s weird because I remember last year, a week before the festival they were still looking for people. Guess things picked up. Or they really don’t like me.

So I’ve been looking at other potential festivals. I’ve ruled out Bonnaroo because its huge, and I was there last year, but honestly its still better than a lot of alternatives. The only thing really keeping me away from there is the volunteer deposit they require (so you don’t take your wristband and ditch). I don’t have money, which is why I’m volunteering. Summer Camp requires a deposit as well, and 10,000 Lakes doesn’t even seem to have volunteers. Gathering of the Vibes is close, and is accepting volunteers without a deposit, but the lineup sucks (so far), so I don’t really have a reason to go. All Good is looking like the best option right now, so I’m waiting for them to send out volunteer apps. All Good is the week before Grey Fox, so that would be a solid two weeks of festivals, without stop. Cool.

Bonnaroo 2008

One Rabbit Race by Brothers Past
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/bp2006-06-10.dpa4022.flac16/bp2006-06-10dpa4027d1t01_64kb.mp3]

If I wasn’t certain before, I am now. There is no way I’ll be going this year. Led Zeppelin is headlining this year. This means two things: tickets will cost more, and the atmosphere will be even farther from what I’m looking for. Last year, it was pretty bad with lots of people going exclusively for Tool, but Zeppelin will draw an even larger crowd.

That isn’t even taking into account that they’re likely not even worth seeing anymore. I would have loved to see them in their prime, but I’m not so sure it would be worth seeing them today. The Police were absolutely unimpressive last year, and I honestly don’t expect much more from Zeppelin.

So it looks like Wakarusa this year. I’m looking forward to it, since it seems to be more of a jam scene, with folks more my speed. Its also a festival more my size (80k-100k is really too much). I’m planning on volunteering…anyone interested in coming with?

Rhythm and Roots

Circus of Dreams by Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams
[audio:http://www.slambovia.com/mp3s/07_Bootleg_Middle_Earth_3-11-06/Circus_of_Dreams.mp3]

Went to Rhythm and Roots today (just for the day). Probably the last festival of the year, but I saw a lot of friends there (R&R is the sister festival of Grey Fox) including Jim, who didn’t make it to Grey Fox this year.

Jim is a very cool guy. He is the person who taught me to cook fries that first year I manned the deep fryer. He’s nearly 80 years old, never married, has no kids. He used to teach art, and is incredibly interesting to talk to. I was a bit worried after he didn’t show up at Grey Fox that his health may have deteriorated, but he’s still as good as ever.

Good bands all around this year (including the band at the top of this post), but the highlight was Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. I’ve only seen them once or twice before, and they put on a really cool show. Fantastic artists.

Also, sometime this afternoon I fell asleep in the sun and my face melted. In case you see me, I’m not really embarrassed, its just burnt.

Burning Man Burned Early

If you haven’t heard yet, the man was torched early this year. I had pretty mixed feelings about this, but was more or less indifferent. People take the event far too seriously. In any case, I hadn’t planned on posting anything about this until I read this letter from the dude who *allegedly* did it:

Hi, folks. This is the *alleged* arsonist/douchebag/attention whore himself, writing you from Fernley, NV, where I have been chilling out for a couple of days.

Having read your various comments, a few things should be addressed. First, this operation was extensively planned well in advance, and the number one thing to Black Rock Intelligence was that NO ONE be hurt. If you people actually knew us, you’d know that we have an extensive background in doing things exactly like this. In fact, we were on the ground for some thirty minutes before ascent, scoping the scene and clearing people in order to minimize any possiblity of injury to others. We were aided by several people who were recruited on the playa the night of this burn (BRI has no idea who they are, so don’t bother asking).

Second, the operation was planned in conjunction with the lunar eclipse because Black Rock Intelligence knew that another event at the trash fence would draw the bulk of lunatics to it, rather than to the Man. In fact, one of our peripheral operatives aided in getting as many people to the fence event as possible to help BRI achieve its goal of zero injuries.

Third, word went out across the playa days in advance that Black Rock Intelligence was pulling this op. This word continued to go out right up to the moment that our chief operator began the arduous climb up the guide wire. As you can all see from the results, BRI performed flawlessly in this regard.

We could give a fuck less what you all think of us for doing this. Most of you are newbies who have been drawn in by the semi-religious nature of the event, or maybe just the easy drugs and easier sex. You have nothing to offer the event other than your fucking money and obedience. You spend the rest of your lives in mortal fear of everything that insurance companies tell you to fear, and pretend that you’re free and clear because you spend four days at a desert bacchanal where spinelessness is not only encouraged but genetically replicated for implementation in successive generations. In short, you are the swine of which Thompson spoke. Get over yourselves.

Some of us live quite well without fear. Doing so requires the ultimate in what Burning Man used to represent: personal responsibility and individual liberty. That’s all been lost in the last decade of Burning Man’s history. Consider this operation a history lesson that was desperately needed.

One final note: Black Rock Intelligence has been permanently disbanded. All other operatives have made the ultimate sacrifice by swallowing their L-pills to avoid being captured alive. I am the sole surviving member of BRI and ask that you respect my mourning period for those who gave their lives so that this operation was a complete success.

Paul D. Addis
Fernley, NV

Rock on, Paul D. Addis.

Fests

Lots of Drops of Brandy by The Chieftains
[audio:http://robin.paloch.net/Irsk%E1%20hudba/The%20Chieftains%20-%20Lots%20of%20drops%20of%20brandy.mp3]

I’ve finally uploaded my pictures from Bonnaroo. You can see them here: http://flickr.com/photos/somjuan/sets/72157600844666808/

Most of those pictures suck, but there is the occasional worthwhile shot. There are also a couple shots of Hopper in there for anyone interested. All those pics were taken on disposable cameras, so the quality is a bit grainy (although a good deal of that isn’t the camera, but the dust in the air). I also haven’t quite figured out what every picture is of. Most of the pics were of bands I saw, because that was a good deal of my time at ‘roo.

That said, I’ll be leaving for Grey Fox tomorrow morning. So its doubtful you’ll hear from me for at least a week. I realized earlier today that I’ve gone and done this huge write up about Bonnaroo, and I’ve never written anything about Grey Fox/Winterhawk. I hope I remember that, because as time keeps going on, the little memories that make the place special go with it.

Maybe I’ll do that when I get back.