Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Last stop on tour..

On the way to Alpharetta I saw someone hit a possum, but I didn't have the song to play :(
I got to Alpharetta and used the directions my dad gave me to get to Outback Steakhouse to use up the last of my giftcard and get a good meal. I ordered a steak with snow crab and baked potato, and it was absolutely delicious. The bartender took good care of me, she poured my drinks strong after I asked her to, and I left her a nice tip before I headed to Wills Park to camp. I got there and there were horse trailers everywhere, so I guessed that there was some sort of equestrian event going on there. I set up my trailer in the same spot I had for Phish and went to sleep fairly quickly. The next morning I woke up and hung out in my camper til Chris and Keith hit me up or until Charlie from Phish came. I watched this cool new show called Wilfred which was quite original. A little after noon Chris and Keith hit me up and headed my way. We explored the park a bit before deciding to hang in the A/C of their hotel room. We sat around talking about what songs we wanted to hear them play, and Keith wanted Wharf Rat or Half-Step, Chris wants Ruben and Cherise every show I go to with him, but he hasn't gotten it yet, and I wanted Magnolia Mountain, more beatles, and I've been saying they'll end the tour with Terrapin Station for a long time. The song everyone wanted but was a long shot was Fool in the Rain. We hung out there for a while until I got a text from Charlie saying they had made it to Wills Park, so we headed there. By the time we got there they had left for food, so we headed to the lot. We got parked and walked around, and since I was low on money I was looking for ways to make money. I happened to find 5 hat pins on a piece of cardboard on the ground, and I walked around and sold 3 of them by the time the show was about to start. I headed up to the venue to try and get a miracle, and there was a group of 5 people standing in a chalk circle with signs that said "We need a big ass miracle". They were getting people to step in their circle for good luck, so I stepped in, and ended up making friends with them and staying there to try and get a ticket too. They had already gotten one miracle, and only needed 4 more for the rest of the group. Once the show started they realized that they might not all get a ticket, so since they all couldn't go in, they traded me the ticket for one of the hat pins, but I gave em both that I had left.
I hurried in to the show as "Not Fade Away" was playing and found my seat down in the Orchestra Pit. "New Speedway Boogie" was next and flowed smoothly into "I Need A Miracle". "Miracle" was special for me because I had gotten a miracle to get into the show. During this song I was looking around the crowd and saw Keith and Chris a little ways away, so I made my way over there and sat with them right as "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" came on, with Phil on vocals. It was ironic, because just a few hours before when talking about what they might play Keith said he didn't really want any more old obscure Dlyan tunes, but we all agreed that more Beatles would be great. Even though it wasn't what we wanted, this was prob the best "Tom Thumb" that I have heard them play. "Magnolia Mountain" by Ryan Adams is quite possibly my favorite cover I've ever heard Furthur play, and I had been hoping for one all tour, and finally got one tonight! It was amazing to hear this song again, and it was enough to bring tears to Keith's eyes. JK did a great job singing it. Next was a Jerry Band tune, "Mission In the Rain". Furthur performed this for the first time earlier this tour, at one of the shows I missed, and I was Grateful to be able to hear it. When they started playing the first notes of the next song Keith got excited and I looked over and then Chris realized what song it was and his face was priceless, because he was finally going to get to hear "Ruben and Cherise". JK sang this one too, and they really jammed out. They kept jamming right into "Deal" to end the set, with Jeff Chimenti really shining on keyboards.
The second set opened with a bang on "Samson and Delilah" which had Jeff and Joe really jamming and stealing the spotlight. I got another one of my wishes when the next song came on, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" off Abbey Road by the Beatles, and JK did a great job wit the Beatles vocals as always. Another Jerry Band song came next, "Bird Song", and Phil sang this one and did a good job at it. "Bird Song" was super crazy and then continued straight into "Terrapin Station Suite". I was to the point of tears during this song, and it lasted over 20 minutes. Joe Russo grew another set of arms while he was playing the drums on this son, that's the only way he could have done it. And JK killed the vocals until Bobby came in and started singing. After that greatness came "Unbroken Chain" which Phil really did great on, both vocals and bass, and at one point the tempo really picked up and they played it super fast. That flowed into "Standing on the Moon" which I hadn't heard from them before and really enjoyed. Then came "China Cat Sunflower" into "I Know You Rider" which is known to heads as China Rider. The crowd was really great on "Rider" and at points you could hear the crowd singing over Bobby. They then went back into what they started with, going into verse 3 of "Not Fade Away", and when they were done the crowd kept clapping and chanting until Phil came up to give his Donor Rap before the encore.
The encore was "U.S. Blues", which had also been the encore of the first night of tour other than festivals at Bethel. They then kept going into another Beatles tune, "The End".
Overall this show was the best of the tour, and I told Chris and Keith that. We went back to the lot and walked around and got some food and I waited on Charlie to see if they needed a ride, but they had walked back to Wills Park, so we headed there and Chris shared one beer before they left for the hotel, and Charlie, Leotis and I were all that was left there. We stayed up talking until I fell asleep.

Brokedown, and not in a Palace

We woke up in the hotel and got everything ready to leave and followed Jess and Dlyan to a Bojangles to eat and then hit the road. We decided it would be better to split up so I didn't hold them back since my trailer won't do more than 70. We hit the road and made it almost to Winston-Salem when my car started slowing down and acting up. I drove along the shoulder to get off Interstate and see what was wrong. It felt like the transmission was acting up, as I had no power in the higher gears. We got the car pulled off and looked at it, and there was no quick fix, so I called roadside assistance and arranged a tow. Since Drew and Jason had to make it to the show to keep finding rides, I called Jess and had them turn around to come pick them up. The tow truck came like a half hour after Jess picked them up, and my trailer wasn't covered under the roadside assistance, so I found someone on the street I had pulled onto who let me keep my trailer there for $5 a day. After arranging that, we took the car to the Acura dealership, but by that point it was too late for them to look at it, so they took me to a hotel, and I stayed the night. The next morning I woke up and hung out in the hotel room until a little after noon when I talked to the dealership and found out that it was the catalytic converter, and not the transmission, but they wanted 1,600 to fix it, so I thought for a while and figured that I could just take the converter off and it should drive fine. The guys at the dealership agreed that that would work, but they couldn't legally let me drive off without a catalytic converter, so I had to take it off my self. After walking to the dealership to get my car, I drove it to AutoZone to try and take it off, but was having trouble getting it off. Someone in the parking lot ended up helping me, and instead of taking the whole cat off, he just took out the O2 sensor and that gave a big enough hole to allow my car to drive. I then set off for Alpharetta.

Hanging with Roanokins

We woke up in the morning and hit the road south to Roanoke, where my friend Jess lives. After a long drive we made it to Roanoke and met her and her friends at a coffee shop, and hung out there for a while before going to her friend Dylan's house to stay the night. We partied there for a while til we all finally went to sleep. The next morning we woke up and most everyone had already left, and Jess was getting ready for work. We said goodbye and hit the road for Raleigh. The show was originally supposed to be at Time Warner Pavilion where Phish played, but due to poor ticket sales the venue was changed to the Raleigh Amphitheater. We had a little trouble finding it, but once we did we were surprised to see how small it was. The way it was set up the parking lot was directly behind the show with a view of the stage and everything. The parking lot was like a giant lawn that you didn't have to pay for. I immideatly decided that I wasn't even going to look for a ticket, and just enjoy the show from the lot. All the shows I've seen so far I have been able to make it in, but I've always wanted to stay on lot for a show. This was a perfect chance to do that. I walked around lot and eventually met up with Dylan and hung out with him while he was waiting on Jess to arrive. We got spots where we could see the show and sat on the ice chest full of beer and waited for the show.
Furthur opened with "Alligator" and "Gloria", both of which were songs I hadn't heard them play before, and they did a great job with them. Listening to the show from lot was quite different, as I spent lots of time talking and making friends instead of just listening to the show. "Ramble on Rose" was followed by a Phil and Friends song written by Phil and Robert Hunter called "No More Do I". I hadn't ever heard that song before, and no one around me could place what song it was. Next was a Bobby song, "Hell In a Bucket" followed by the great "Row Jimmy". The last song of the short set was "A Hard Rain a-Gonna Fall" which is an old Bob Dlyan tune.
I spent the whole set break walking around making friends and drinking beer. The second set opened with "Good Lovin'" which got things off to a roll. Next was a Viola Lee sandwich, starting with the first verse of "Viola Lee Blues" and going into "Bertha" back into "Viola Lee" into "Next Time You See Me" and finally back into "Viola Lee". "Bertha" was the highlight of the sandwich, but all the "Viola Lee's" were great. Next was a "Crypitcal Envelopment" sandwich, with "The Other Ones" stuck in the middle. This is also known as "That's It for the Other One". "Morning Dew" was followed by a great "Mountains on the Moon" which Phil killed. "Let it Grow" and "Sugar Magnolia" were the last two songs of the set, and by this point I was pretty drunk from all the lot beer. "Johnny B Goode" by Chuck Berry was the encore, and I was running around dancing in the street all during the song. When the people started to come out I stood by the exit looking for familiar faces and passing out flyers for some guy.
I eventually found Drew and Jason and let Jason drive because he was sober, and I got in touch with Dlyan and Jess and we found the hotel they were staying at and we got a room too. We wandered around the hotel checking out different rooms before I finally went to sleep.