I woke up in the park and got my stuff together and headed north through the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York. I stopped at Taughannock Falls State Park and drove up to the overlook. The falls were absolutely gorgeous, dropping 215 feet to the valley below, making them the tallest in the area. They carved out a huge gorge that was hundreds of feet below me, and I could see the people walking below me. After spending some time there, I continued onward. All along the Finger Lakes are winery', and I stopped by a few, but my favorite was Sheldrake Point Winery on Cayuga Lake. I purchased two bottles from there to give as gifts, and then continued on. I got to Canadaigua a little after noon, and since lot wasn't open I looked around town and found a brewery called The Naked Dove. They had several different kinds of beer, but my favorites were the IPA and a blackberry ale. I ended up buying a growler of the blackberry ale and then went to wait in line for lot to open. I ran into my friend Jenn there and we hung out til lot opened at almost 4. It had the worst lot of all the shows, people just didn't seem into the lot scene as much at this show. I spent most of my time hanging out around my car, and ended up making two new friends, Jason and Drew, who needed a ride to the next show. I cleaned out some space in my car, and they loaded their stuff up. By then it was time for the show to start, so I headed in.
They opened with "Golden Road" which is what they opened with on my birthday, and is one of my favs to start a show with. Next was "Beat It On Down the Line" and "Promised Land", which is one of my favorites because it is about moving to California, which is what I am fixing to do. Next was "Tons of Steel" which is the first time I have heard Furthur play it. "Dark Hollow" and "They Love Each Other". "Dark Hollow" was a highlight of the night, and so was the next song, a Clash cover, "Train in Vain". I knew it was a Clash song, but wasn't sure which one until after the show. "Big Railroad Blues" ended the set, and it was fitting because the set seemed to have a trains theme running through it. Most of the songs in the set mention trains in some way. After a typical long set break, the second set started off with a great "Truckin'", which just so happens to be my dad's favorite Dead song since college. That flowed into "Smokestack Lightening". Then was an AMAZING cover of the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". This will definitely prove to be a highlight of the tour, they killed it!!! After the awesomeness that is the Beatles, they played "New Potato Caboose", continuing with the trains theme. Then was the entire "Dark Star", and this time the crowd remained standing, instead of sitting like at Jones Beach. The next song was "Uncle John's Band", another classic. "Black Peter" was another highlight of the night, as was "Gimmie Some Lovin". They played another song from my birthday night, "Goin Down the Road Feeling Bad". They ended the set the same way they did at my first show, with "Bid You Goodnight". This time wasn't quite as emotional as the first show, but it still managed to bring a tear to my eyes. The encore was "Lazy River Road", which Jerry wrote but didn't have a chance to record before he died. It had many of the old heads tearing up.
I went back to the lot, and the cops had already made the vendors take down their stuff, which is the first time this has happened on tour. I waited around for Jason and Drew to make it to my car, and we drove south to find a hotel, since they wanted one. We got to Watkins Glen and stayed at the Seneca Lodge, which was beautiful, and very reasonably priced. We had our own little cabin, but no TV or the like. We went pretty much straight to bed once we got settled.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Vibes Sunday
Sunday morning we woke up and hung around camp for a while, and I spent part of the day selling stickers and necklaces. Vibes doesn't allow people to camp Sunday night, so we all packed up camp Sunday afternoon before heading into the stage area. I made it in right as Dr. John and the Lower 911 was coming on. He of course played numerous New Orleans songs, and was the funkiest band of the weekend. The Lower 911 featured a guitarist, a bassist, a trombone, and a drummer, along with Dr. John on Keys and vocals. The song "Save our Wetlands" was awesome, and had a great message behind it. After seeing him twice this summer, Dr. John has become one of my new favorites.
The Rhythm Devils were up next, and consisted of the Dead drummers, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, along with Steve Kimock and Keller Williams on guitar, and Reed Mathis on bass. They opened up with "Not Fade Away" and during the song Mathis broke a string, but kept on playing while he was changing it. They flowed from that into "Franklin's Tower", which Kimock killed. This went into a song I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's a Keller original, followed by another of his, "Gotta Get to Your House". The Devils really jammed on this next one, a cover of The Kinks' "Ape Man" and Keller's vocals were great. Next was a Rhythm Devils original, written with the great Robert Hunter, called "Next Dimension". It goes 'Love is the ocean and time is the tide...' I hadn't heard this song before, but it was incredible, and great to hear a new Hunter tune. They went back into the Dead after this, with "Scarlet Begonias" into "Fire on the Mountain" to end the set. They came back on for an encore of "Samson and Deliah", which is one of the two songs I was really hoping to hear the Devils play. It is some of the best drumming of any of the Dead songs, and it was obvious that neither Bill or Mickey have lost steam over the years.
After that great show came the John Butler Trio, which consists of John Butler on guitar, Nicky Bomba on drums, and Bryan Luthier on Bass. They opened with a song I didn't recognize, but the second song they played was the classic "Used to Get High". That went into an amazing "One Way Road" with John on slide guitar. Michael Keys came up as a guest on piano, and John told everyone that its his brother-in-law, and so is Nicky Bomba. He sat in for "Gonna be a Long Time", and it sounded awesome with the addition of keys. Luthier pulled out an upright bass and a didgeridoo for "Treat Yo Momma" and did a great job with em. After "Momma" the band left, and John pulled out his 12 string and played his trademark song, "Ocean". I swear that each time I hear that song it gets more and more beautiful. I still stand by my opinion that he is the best 12-string player touring. The band came back out for "Revolution" and "Don't Wanna See Your Face". There had been tons of little tennis ball sized foam balls thrown around the crowd, and at this point lots of them had made it on stage, and instead of getting mad, they began throwing em at each other and at the crowd. Lots of energy, and everyone jumping around. They also kept great stage banter, telling how Justin Bieber and Lady GaGa are their idols. John brought out his banjo and played a new instrumental called "Never Eat Acid on a Stage full of Balls" or something like that. The instrumental jam flowed nicely into "Better Than". Brother Michael came back up with a guest percussionist for "Zebra", and they were an awesome addition to the song. John then started scatting his voice and led the crowd in a chant/scat. The last song he dedicated to everyone's ass, hoping to get it moving like a disco. The song was "Close to You", and it definitely had everyone shaking their ass. There was so much dancing, a cloud of dust was rising over the crowd. There were extra drums for this song as well, and all 3 members played the drums for an amazing drum solo to end the set. For the encore just John came out, and played "Losing You" dedicated to all loved ones. The band came back on for "Funky Tonight" which featured another drum solo. The encore was super long, and after over 15 minutes I left to head to my car so I make it to Dave's before too late. I'll have to hear the rest of the set on a recording.
I left Vibes and headed to Dave's and made it there around 9:30 and started washing some clothes and then went to bed. The next morning I awoke and chilled around the house until around 11 when I hit the road for the next Furthur show in Canadaigua. Last night I made it to Ithica and found a park to sleep in where I could plug in my computer. I am gonna head up towards the show and stop by the finger lakes for a while on the way.
The Rhythm Devils were up next, and consisted of the Dead drummers, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, along with Steve Kimock and Keller Williams on guitar, and Reed Mathis on bass. They opened up with "Not Fade Away" and during the song Mathis broke a string, but kept on playing while he was changing it. They flowed from that into "Franklin's Tower", which Kimock killed. This went into a song I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's a Keller original, followed by another of his, "Gotta Get to Your House". The Devils really jammed on this next one, a cover of The Kinks' "Ape Man" and Keller's vocals were great. Next was a Rhythm Devils original, written with the great Robert Hunter, called "Next Dimension". It goes 'Love is the ocean and time is the tide...' I hadn't heard this song before, but it was incredible, and great to hear a new Hunter tune. They went back into the Dead after this, with "Scarlet Begonias" into "Fire on the Mountain" to end the set. They came back on for an encore of "Samson and Deliah", which is one of the two songs I was really hoping to hear the Devils play. It is some of the best drumming of any of the Dead songs, and it was obvious that neither Bill or Mickey have lost steam over the years.
After that great show came the John Butler Trio, which consists of John Butler on guitar, Nicky Bomba on drums, and Bryan Luthier on Bass. They opened with a song I didn't recognize, but the second song they played was the classic "Used to Get High". That went into an amazing "One Way Road" with John on slide guitar. Michael Keys came up as a guest on piano, and John told everyone that its his brother-in-law, and so is Nicky Bomba. He sat in for "Gonna be a Long Time", and it sounded awesome with the addition of keys. Luthier pulled out an upright bass and a didgeridoo for "Treat Yo Momma" and did a great job with em. After "Momma" the band left, and John pulled out his 12 string and played his trademark song, "Ocean". I swear that each time I hear that song it gets more and more beautiful. I still stand by my opinion that he is the best 12-string player touring. The band came back out for "Revolution" and "Don't Wanna See Your Face". There had been tons of little tennis ball sized foam balls thrown around the crowd, and at this point lots of them had made it on stage, and instead of getting mad, they began throwing em at each other and at the crowd. Lots of energy, and everyone jumping around. They also kept great stage banter, telling how Justin Bieber and Lady GaGa are their idols. John brought out his banjo and played a new instrumental called "Never Eat Acid on a Stage full of Balls" or something like that. The instrumental jam flowed nicely into "Better Than". Brother Michael came back up with a guest percussionist for "Zebra", and they were an awesome addition to the song. John then started scatting his voice and led the crowd in a chant/scat. The last song he dedicated to everyone's ass, hoping to get it moving like a disco. The song was "Close to You", and it definitely had everyone shaking their ass. There was so much dancing, a cloud of dust was rising over the crowd. There were extra drums for this song as well, and all 3 members played the drums for an amazing drum solo to end the set. For the encore just John came out, and played "Losing You" dedicated to all loved ones. The band came back on for "Funky Tonight" which featured another drum solo. The encore was super long, and after over 15 minutes I left to head to my car so I make it to Dave's before too late. I'll have to hear the rest of the set on a recording.
I left Vibes and headed to Dave's and made it there around 9:30 and started washing some clothes and then went to bed. The next morning I awoke and chilled around the house until around 11 when I hit the road for the next Furthur show in Canadaigua. Last night I made it to Ithica and found a park to sleep in where I could plug in my computer. I am gonna head up towards the show and stop by the finger lakes for a while on the way.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Jane Says its Vibes Saturday
After the long night of partying, I slept all day, and woke up at 5 in time to catch the end of Deep Banana Blackout. I had really been excited for them, but only ended up getting to hear one song, but that one song rocked. I'll catch them again somewhere else. After that moe. came on, and I stayed under Riki Jee's Tree of Love to listen from the back, and ended up falling back asleep. I slept through lots of Elvis Costello as well, but woke up in time to hear him cover the Dead's "Must have Been the Roses". He did a great job on "Roses", and the sound was impeccable for all the songs I heard.
By this point I was wide awake to make sure I didn't miss Jane's Addiction, and we made our way up near the front. There was a giant tarp blocking the stage from view, and all of the sudden it dropped right as they started playing. They started putting on a great show right away, with girls swinging from ropes around the stage, and blow up dolls as tall as the stage. Perry Ferrell did a great job as the front man, and Dave Navarro absolutely killed on guitar. Stephen Perkins was on Drums, and I think Chris Chaney is the Bassist. They did a cover of Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh", and also an instrumental "Sparks" by The Who. They teased Floyd again right before going into "Been Caught Stealing" and "Summertime Rolls". Those 3 songs were the highlight of the night for me. There was also an awesome drum solo near the end of the set. Throughout the night Perry Ferrall kept saying in not so subtle ways that he wanted someone to throw him a joint, saying things like "glowsticks are hard, joints are soft" and "i'd really like a smoke right now, but I don't have any". He finally got some when they came on for the encore, and thanked whoever threw it. The encore was an acoustic "Jane Says" and was phenomenal. Epic end to an epic set. I went into the show liking Jane's Addiction, but not really a fan, and just hoping for a good show overall, but I left the show a converted fan. They were incredible live, and I will be seeing them again if I get the chance. Perpetual Groove was playing late night, but we all walked back to camp to settle down for the night.
By this point I was wide awake to make sure I didn't miss Jane's Addiction, and we made our way up near the front. There was a giant tarp blocking the stage from view, and all of the sudden it dropped right as they started playing. They started putting on a great show right away, with girls swinging from ropes around the stage, and blow up dolls as tall as the stage. Perry Ferrell did a great job as the front man, and Dave Navarro absolutely killed on guitar. Stephen Perkins was on Drums, and I think Chris Chaney is the Bassist. They did a cover of Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh", and also an instrumental "Sparks" by The Who. They teased Floyd again right before going into "Been Caught Stealing" and "Summertime Rolls". Those 3 songs were the highlight of the night for me. There was also an awesome drum solo near the end of the set. Throughout the night Perry Ferrall kept saying in not so subtle ways that he wanted someone to throw him a joint, saying things like "glowsticks are hard, joints are soft" and "i'd really like a smoke right now, but I don't have any". He finally got some when they came on for the encore, and thanked whoever threw it. The encore was an acoustic "Jane Says" and was phenomenal. Epic end to an epic set. I went into the show liking Jane's Addiction, but not really a fan, and just hoping for a good show overall, but I left the show a converted fan. They were incredible live, and I will be seeing them again if I get the chance. Perpetual Groove was playing late night, but we all walked back to camp to settle down for the night.
Vibes Furthur Friday
A heat wave hit Vibes Friday, and the temperatures went above 100 for a good part of the afternoon. Due to the heat we stayed in camp resting most of the day. I wanted to catch the Tedeschi Trucks Band, but it was too hot, and the set was being played on the radio, so we sat in camp and listened to them play. They were good, but I just wish he'd play an Allman Brothers song or two. I started heading down to the stage right when Levon Helm was scheduled to come on, and I only missed a few songs. Levon Helm was the Drummer for The Band, in case you didn't know. Levon's band was huge, with several singers and guitarists and a whole horn section. Shortly after I made my way to the front, Levon welcomed Joe Russo, Furthur's drummer, to the stage. He sat in on "Mississippi Queen" and several others before Levon called Bob Weir on stage. Bobby sang "Deep Ellum Blues", and then went into "Attics of My Life". For "Attics", Levon wasn't even on the stage, but it was the highlight of the show. The A Capella singing was incredible. The song right after "Mardi Gras Day" I don't know the name of, but the female singer sang it with such soul, and I can't wait to download the show to see what song it was. After a few more songs with Levon back on the drums, he introduced the band, which seemed more like a family than a band. His pregnant daughter was a vocalist, and the leader of the band was Larry Campbell, and Howard Johnson the jazz player was the saxophonist. The encore had the whole band back out, and had both Joe and Levon on the drums for "The Weight", which is arguably The Band's most popular song.
After what seemed like forever to wait, Furthur came on and opened with "Minglewood Blues". Then JK killed "Friend of the Devil" sounding incredibly like Jerry. They then played "Mama Tried", a Hank Williams song that DSO covered the night before. "Dire Wolf" was next, and jammed on this for a long time before playing "Sugaree", which had the whole crowd shakin'! Next was an impressive "Deal" followed by another cover DSO played the night before, Cash's "Big River". Hearing both country songs that DSO played the night before was really cool, and begs the question of if they maybe played them because DSO played them, since John used to be a part of their band. Either way it was cool. The last song of the set was a rarity, "Mason's Children". this was a song off Workingman's Dead that was rarely played.
The second set started off with a blast on "St. Stephen" and then into "The Eleven". Then they played a Furthur original, "Mountain Song", which is my second favorite original behind "Colors of the Rain". They did a great job with it, showing that they can still write fantastic songs after all these years. That was followed by another song DSO played, "I Know You Rider". "Golden Slumber" into "Carry that Weight" was one of the highlights of the night, with everyone harmonizing nicely. Then came "Let It Grow" which they played a few nights before at Jones Beach. Then came "Stella Blue" which again had JK channeling Jerry's spirit. The awesomeness continued on into "Sugar Magnolia", and I found a dance partner for this song who was really cute and really topless. The last song of the show was "Around and Around", continuing the trend of playing songs from the DSO set. The encore was an absolute tearjerker, "Ripple". Incredibly emotional way to end the set, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Highlights were Mamma, Sugar, slumber>weight, and ripple.
After the show I went and checked out Big Gigantic before I realized that they don't play their own music anymore, and just remix songs. Dom used to be incredible, and still is, but I want to hear his music, not other people's. So I went back to the camp and partied there for a while before heading to the silent disco with my friend Ryan. We danced there until the sun came up, and he went back, but I went down to the beach to make more friends. By the time I finally went back to the camp I had been skinny dipping in the ocean, walked a long ways down the beach, danced my ass off to a car alarm, and found lots of cool shells. When I finally stumbled back into camp I passed out instantly, and slept ALL day.
After what seemed like forever to wait, Furthur came on and opened with "Minglewood Blues". Then JK killed "Friend of the Devil" sounding incredibly like Jerry. They then played "Mama Tried", a Hank Williams song that DSO covered the night before. "Dire Wolf" was next, and jammed on this for a long time before playing "Sugaree", which had the whole crowd shakin'! Next was an impressive "Deal" followed by another cover DSO played the night before, Cash's "Big River". Hearing both country songs that DSO played the night before was really cool, and begs the question of if they maybe played them because DSO played them, since John used to be a part of their band. Either way it was cool. The last song of the set was a rarity, "Mason's Children". this was a song off Workingman's Dead that was rarely played.
The second set started off with a blast on "St. Stephen" and then into "The Eleven". Then they played a Furthur original, "Mountain Song", which is my second favorite original behind "Colors of the Rain". They did a great job with it, showing that they can still write fantastic songs after all these years. That was followed by another song DSO played, "I Know You Rider". "Golden Slumber" into "Carry that Weight" was one of the highlights of the night, with everyone harmonizing nicely. Then came "Let It Grow" which they played a few nights before at Jones Beach. Then came "Stella Blue" which again had JK channeling Jerry's spirit. The awesomeness continued on into "Sugar Magnolia", and I found a dance partner for this song who was really cute and really topless. The last song of the show was "Around and Around", continuing the trend of playing songs from the DSO set. The encore was an absolute tearjerker, "Ripple". Incredibly emotional way to end the set, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Highlights were Mamma, Sugar, slumber>weight, and ripple.
After the show I went and checked out Big Gigantic before I realized that they don't play their own music anymore, and just remix songs. Dom used to be incredible, and still is, but I want to hear his music, not other people's. So I went back to the camp and partied there for a while before heading to the silent disco with my friend Ryan. We danced there until the sun came up, and he went back, but I went down to the beach to make more friends. By the time I finally went back to the camp I had been skinny dipping in the ocean, walked a long ways down the beach, danced my ass off to a car alarm, and found lots of cool shells. When I finally stumbled back into camp I passed out instantly, and slept ALL day.
Vibes Thursday
We met up with Riki and his friend Harry and his two sons in a WalMart parking lot and everyone loaded up on food and supplies. Harry was going to be staying in a hotel, but wanted to be able to hang with us, so I took his EZ UP and some other stuff in so that they wouldn't have to walk it in. We hit the road for Vibes and got to Bridgeport and almost as soon as we got off Interstate we were in a line. The line moved super slow, and we didn't make it to the wristband station until after 2. Once we had our wristbands we had to go the other way towards the security check, and that took another 2 hours. Along the way someone had set up a box of free CDs, and I grabbed a Dead show, a Phil & Friends show, and left a Furthur show. Once through security we all regrouped our cars and headed in. They parked us in the very very back, right up by the back road. We were also parked extremely close to each other, not leaving us very much room to set up. We made friends with our neighbors and began setting up our camp, and by 6 had everything set up. I wanted to go down and catch Dumpstafunk, but no one else would make the trek to the stage, so I stayed there with everyone else drinking beer and getting ready for Dark Star Orchestra. We made it to DSO right as they were ending "China Cat Sunflower" and into "I Know You Rider". Then Donna Jean Godchaux came out for "Jack Straw" and "Loose Lucy". Then came "Passenger". I thought they played "Brown Eyed Women" next, but on the site it says "Blow Away", but I remember hearing Brown Eyed. Then came a nice country section with a Hank Williams cover then Johnny Cash cover, "Mama Tried" and "Big River". Donna came back out to end the set with "The Harder They Come" and "Around and Around".
The second set opened with a fury going from "Help on the Way" into "Slipknot!" into "Feel Like a Stranger" and back into "Help". Donna came back out to sing one of my all time favorites, "Sugar Magnolia", and she sounded just as good as she did 40 years ago. She stayed on for an awesome rendition of "Fire on the Mountain", and "Playing in the Band" followed. Next was an epic "drums>space", which gave the crowd a long time of super psychedelic jamming that flowed into "St. Stephen". It was amazing to get to hear drums>space, and it sounded like the drums>space's from the late 60's. That flowed into "Alligator". Rob Barraco on keys sounded amazingly like Pigpen on this song, and its the closest I've heard since Pigpen died. "Morning Dew" flowed into a reprise of "Playing in the Band" to end the set. Donna came back for the encore, which was "My Sisters and Brothers" which I hadn't heard before, but was an awesome song. One of the cool things about DSO is that they will re-play old Dead setlists from back in the day, but this was an entirely original set.
After DSO, That 1 Guy was supposed to be playing, but no one could find the stage, and the map didn't help. After 30 minutes of looking, we headed back to camp to party until we went to sleep
The second set opened with a fury going from "Help on the Way" into "Slipknot!" into "Feel Like a Stranger" and back into "Help". Donna came back out to sing one of my all time favorites, "Sugar Magnolia", and she sounded just as good as she did 40 years ago. She stayed on for an awesome rendition of "Fire on the Mountain", and "Playing in the Band" followed. Next was an epic "drums>space", which gave the crowd a long time of super psychedelic jamming that flowed into "St. Stephen". It was amazing to get to hear drums>space, and it sounded like the drums>space's from the late 60's. That flowed into "Alligator". Rob Barraco on keys sounded amazingly like Pigpen on this song, and its the closest I've heard since Pigpen died. "Morning Dew" flowed into a reprise of "Playing in the Band" to end the set. Donna came back for the encore, which was "My Sisters and Brothers" which I hadn't heard before, but was an awesome song. One of the cool things about DSO is that they will re-play old Dead setlists from back in the day, but this was an entirely original set.
After DSO, That 1 Guy was supposed to be playing, but no one could find the stage, and the map didn't help. After 30 minutes of looking, we headed back to camp to party until we went to sleep
SPAC to Vibes
On the way from Jones Beach I decided to avoid toll roads, and that's hard to do getting out of NYC, and it required me to drive through the city. It took me more than 3 hours to get on the other side of NYC, and then it was smooth sailing until I got to just south of Albany and had a flat tire. Luckily it was right by an Advance Auto Parts, and I was able to talk to them and find a Walmart nearby to get a new tire at. Walmart had the right tire, but my card wasn't working, so I had to wait til the next morning to call and get it taken care of. JB and I slept in the car in the parking lot, and I woke up and got the tire changed and on the road by 11.
We got to Saratoga Spa State Park, which is where Saratoga Performing Arts Center is, around 1 or 2 and found out that they weren't opening the lot until 5, but there was a Dead tribute band playing in one of the park's pavilions. I paid the $10 to get in and parked by the pavilion. A band called The Garcia Project was playing, and they were pretty sweet. They played a while and I sat on the grass and listened with sam and JB and some other friends. After The Garcia Project played, another band called the Stella Blues Band came on and played, then then played together, and then back to another set of the Garcia Project. They were both great bands, and together played most every popular Dead song. I spent some time exploring the beautiful park, and went down to a creek and sat by it for a while. The entire park is prob the most beautiful venue I've been to yet. Once five o'clock came, I moved my car to another lot closer to the venue and then walked towards shakedown street, which was over the highway. I spent some time walking around lot and found a ticket quickly. Once showtime came I went to my seat, and it was pretty good, Jeff's side about 25 seats or so back, right in front of the expensive box seats. I got to meat my neighbors, the guy on the right was an old deadhead, in maybe his middle 60s, and the guy on the right was who I bought the ticket from.
Furthur opened with a cover of the Beatle's "Here Comes the Sun", which reminds me of my sister Rachel, as that is her favorite Beatles song. Then came a nice "Cosmic Charlie" and "Pride of Cucamonga" which I had to ask what song it was, but I still enjoyed it. Then while I was in the bathroom they went into "Hell in a Bucket", which is one of my favorite Bobby songs, and he sang it great! "So Many Roads" followed, and was one of the highlights of the night, with everyone singing along and dancing. That segued into a great "Lost Sailor", one that I can't wait to hear again. They kept jamming right into "Saint of Circumstance" which I had been wanting to hear for a while. The last song of the set was "Casey Jones", and they built the song up into a blazing fury bringing the tempo up faster and faster. This has become a Furthur signature on this song, and this was the fastest one I have heard from them yet. It was a great way to end the set and leave us hungering for more.
During the second set I talked with the old Deadhead the entire time and traded stories until the band came back on. On my setlist I have the first 3 songs out of order and one of them is completely wrong. The first 30 or so minutes was solid jamming, and I got confused with the order. They opened with "Born Crosseyed" into "Caution (Do Not Stop On the Tracks)" which Phil killed, and then into "Cryptical Envelopment". That jam continued into "The Other Ones" which has such great lyrics. "Wharf Rat" was next, and another great lyrical song. They then did another cover, this time the final track from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, "Eclipse". It was awesome getting to finally hear Furthur cover Floyd, especially a Dark Side song. Next was "Mountains of the Moon" which is another great ballad, followed by the classic "Uncle John's Band". The last song of the set was "Viola Lee Blues", and again this time John absolutely killed it. It is creepy how much he sounds like Jerry on this song. The encore was "Box of Rain", which Phil Lesh wrote for his dying father. It was a great way to end the night on a peaceful note.
I then walked to the car to try and find JB, but he hadn't found where I moved the car yet. He doesn't have a cell phone, so I walked all around trying to find him, and finally found him after walking around for a while. He had someone else with him named Lee who needed a ride to Gathering of the Vibes, so I cleared out some room and we all headed on. We got to the campsite where all the heads were staying, but they wanted $20 per person, so we decided to keep on, and I drove until we were just south of Albany and we parked behind a K-Mart to sleep.
The next morning we woke up and I drove JB to Hartford, CT where I dropped him off so that his brother could pick him up. He had some sort of family problem he had to take care of, so it left just Lee and I. My friend Riki from Nateva last year arranged for me to crash at his friend David's house, and I got permission from him for Lee to stay the night as well. While there I borrowed his car ramps to change the oil on my car without spending the money for a mechanic. We went to bed fairly early after talking and watching some TV. I woke up in the morning and took a shower and helped load up the car. We then all headed south to meet up with Riki in a Walmart Parking lot.
We got to Saratoga Spa State Park, which is where Saratoga Performing Arts Center is, around 1 or 2 and found out that they weren't opening the lot until 5, but there was a Dead tribute band playing in one of the park's pavilions. I paid the $10 to get in and parked by the pavilion. A band called The Garcia Project was playing, and they were pretty sweet. They played a while and I sat on the grass and listened with sam and JB and some other friends. After The Garcia Project played, another band called the Stella Blues Band came on and played, then then played together, and then back to another set of the Garcia Project. They were both great bands, and together played most every popular Dead song. I spent some time exploring the beautiful park, and went down to a creek and sat by it for a while. The entire park is prob the most beautiful venue I've been to yet. Once five o'clock came, I moved my car to another lot closer to the venue and then walked towards shakedown street, which was over the highway. I spent some time walking around lot and found a ticket quickly. Once showtime came I went to my seat, and it was pretty good, Jeff's side about 25 seats or so back, right in front of the expensive box seats. I got to meat my neighbors, the guy on the right was an old deadhead, in maybe his middle 60s, and the guy on the right was who I bought the ticket from.
Furthur opened with a cover of the Beatle's "Here Comes the Sun", which reminds me of my sister Rachel, as that is her favorite Beatles song. Then came a nice "Cosmic Charlie" and "Pride of Cucamonga" which I had to ask what song it was, but I still enjoyed it. Then while I was in the bathroom they went into "Hell in a Bucket", which is one of my favorite Bobby songs, and he sang it great! "So Many Roads" followed, and was one of the highlights of the night, with everyone singing along and dancing. That segued into a great "Lost Sailor", one that I can't wait to hear again. They kept jamming right into "Saint of Circumstance" which I had been wanting to hear for a while. The last song of the set was "Casey Jones", and they built the song up into a blazing fury bringing the tempo up faster and faster. This has become a Furthur signature on this song, and this was the fastest one I have heard from them yet. It was a great way to end the set and leave us hungering for more.
During the second set I talked with the old Deadhead the entire time and traded stories until the band came back on. On my setlist I have the first 3 songs out of order and one of them is completely wrong. The first 30 or so minutes was solid jamming, and I got confused with the order. They opened with "Born Crosseyed" into "Caution (Do Not Stop On the Tracks)" which Phil killed, and then into "Cryptical Envelopment". That jam continued into "The Other Ones" which has such great lyrics. "Wharf Rat" was next, and another great lyrical song. They then did another cover, this time the final track from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, "Eclipse". It was awesome getting to finally hear Furthur cover Floyd, especially a Dark Side song. Next was "Mountains of the Moon" which is another great ballad, followed by the classic "Uncle John's Band". The last song of the set was "Viola Lee Blues", and again this time John absolutely killed it. It is creepy how much he sounds like Jerry on this song. The encore was "Box of Rain", which Phil Lesh wrote for his dying father. It was a great way to end the night on a peaceful note.
I then walked to the car to try and find JB, but he hadn't found where I moved the car yet. He doesn't have a cell phone, so I walked all around trying to find him, and finally found him after walking around for a while. He had someone else with him named Lee who needed a ride to Gathering of the Vibes, so I cleared out some room and we all headed on. We got to the campsite where all the heads were staying, but they wanted $20 per person, so we decided to keep on, and I drove until we were just south of Albany and we parked behind a K-Mart to sleep.
The next morning we woke up and I drove JB to Hartford, CT where I dropped him off so that his brother could pick him up. He had some sort of family problem he had to take care of, so it left just Lee and I. My friend Riki from Nateva last year arranged for me to crash at his friend David's house, and I got permission from him for Lee to stay the night as well. While there I borrowed his car ramps to change the oil on my car without spending the money for a mechanic. We went to bed fairly early after talking and watching some TV. I woke up in the morning and took a shower and helped load up the car. We then all headed south to meet up with Riki in a Walmart Parking lot.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Furthur!!!! Bethel and Jones Beach
Saturday morning we woke up and hung around camp until it was time to head to the show. I got on lot around 2 and it was pretty slow then, so I made some food and ate and took a short nap. When I awoke a little while later there were more people, and I walked around selling my necklaces and water. I got some cool new hat pins, and helped all the other vendors out by buying their beer. While walking around I ran into my neighbor Jenn from SuperBall, and turns out she was parked like 3 cars down from me again. Once I had made enough money for a ticket and it was show time, we walked up and I bought a lawn ticket.
We missed the first song, "Feel Like a Stranger" while in line for a ticket, and as we were walking through the gardens in the venue they played "Crazy Fingers". We made it to the lawn while they were playing "Cumberland Blues". "Bird Song" was next, and John Kadlecik played it incredibly well. Around this time I started to get a headache, but fought through the pain as "Cassidy" came on. This song always reminds me of Red Rocks and Chris getting a text about his cat Cassidy right as the song came on. Next was "Built to Last" during which I went to get a burger, and I missed this song on my setlist. Then was "Big Bad Blues", which is a new Furthur song written by Bob Weir and Bob Hunter. I didn't realize it was an original until after the show, I assumed it was a Ratdog song or something. The last song of the set was "Playin In the Band", and they really jammed this song. During set break my headache got worse, and Jenn gave me some Advil and I lay down on the ground. When they came back on, I didn't get up, and listened laying down on the ground. The second set opened with "The Music Never Stopped" and went into "Golden Road". "Golden Road" is one of my favorites, and always a treat to hear live. "Eyes of the World" was next, and I sang along from my bed on the lawn looking up at the stars. The next 30 or so minutes was solid jamming consisting of "Help on the Way" > "Slipknot!" > "The Eleven" > "Franklin's Tower". An interesting progression, and the first time I heard "The Eleven" thrown into help/slip/franklin's. They then brought the tempo down for "Comes a Time" and had the whole crowd swaying or sitting back to just listen to the beautiful notes cascading down to our ears. This was definitely the highlight of the night. The last two songs of the set were "St. Stephen" and "One More Saturday Night". I was glad when they ended the first set with "Saturday Night" because I didn't want to hear it as another encore on Saturday night. The second set was really heavy with Bobby tunes, and he did lots of singing. The encore was "U.S. Blues", which was the encore at my first Furthur show. When it came on I started walking back to the car and listened on the way. I just felt to bad to stick around. I got to the car and as soon as I got in the seat I fell asleep and took a good hour long nap, and woke up feeling much much better. Right as I was pulling away JukeBox and our friend Sam rolled up and told me they needed a ride. They had left me a note, but I didn't even see it, but they caught me just at the right time. We went to Hector's where the afterparty was, and I went in and bought a beer for Sam and I and we sat by the fire talking with all the other heads. I went back to the car to go to sleep, and she stayed there. JukeBox had been asleep in my car and said the cops told him that the car needed to be moved, so we drove back to the flea market and fell asleep in the car there.
The next morning we woke up and stopped and thanked the owner, Loyd, for his hospitality and I gave him a little money for letting us stay. We found a burger king where I could plug in and get directions to the show and hit the road. The next show was at Jones Beach on Long Island, and we had to drive through NYC to get there. We got to the show around 2:30, and went to check out the beach. There were people everywhere at the beach, I hadn't seen a beach so crowded before. I waded out a little ways just to get my feet wet and then we went back to Shakedown Street. I spent some time walking around selling my necklaces and checking out all the goods on Shakedown. Before I knew it, it was time for the show, and I went in around 7. I walked around the venue for a while making new friends and talking with people for the hour before the show started. I found a good seat left of center just behind the sound tent. This was to be the first time I've seen Furthur from stadium style seating, most shows have been in amphitheaters. When they came on the stands were still surprisingly empty.
They opened with one of my favorites, "Samson and Deliah", which really let the drummer, Joe Russo, shine. This was followed by "Dear Mr. Fantasy" which was originally a Traffic song, but has been a Dead staple for many years. The vocals started a little shaky, but by the second verse they were sounding great. The next song was one of Bob Weir's old solo songs, "Black Throated Wind". I hadn't heard this song before and remembered it, but it something about it caught me. It was absolutely beautiful. That was followed by "Jack-a-Roe" which was alright, but not their best work. Then was a Dlyan cover, "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues". They always shine on Dlyan covers, and this was no exception. Phil's bassline was outrageous during this song, and kept me boogieing on. "Brown Eyed Women" was next and followed by another of my favorites "Throwing Stones", which was incredible as always, and let Bobby shine. The last song of the set was "Shakedown Street", and it has to be the best Shakedown I've heard from them. They jammed out the whole song, especially Jeff Chimenti, and the whole crowd was dancing and moving. There was even a little vocal jam that I hadn't heard from Furthur before. It was a great end to the set. The second set started really strong with the entire "Weather Report Suite" followed by "Let It Grow". These two were incredible, and got the second set started of on a roll. "Mississippi Half-Step" was next, and was a great sing-a-long. That flowed into a long and really jammy "He's Gone" which is always a crowd pleaser. "Dark Star" was next and the highlight of the night. It was like the Dark Star's of the 70's, long and really spacey. Much better than the short Dark Star we got at Red Rocks last year. During this song almost the whole crowd sat down to just watch and listen, but I stayed on my feet swaying to the beat. This flowed seamlessly into "Unbroken Chain" which Phil sang absolutely beautifully. This went into "The Wheel" which didn't slow down and went right into "Good Lovin'" to end the set on a high note. After Phil came out and gave his Donor Rap speech the rest of be band came on for the encore of "Brokedown Palace". I love the way Bobby sings this, and the deep voice I feel is more suited to the style of song than the original. He did great singing it, but forgot a line, but the crowd just cheered him on. Brokedown was a great way to end the night and left us feeling great.
I got back to the car and found JB and we headed out. I couldn't find camping, and didn't want to drive through NYC at night, so we found a neighborhood to pull off and sleep in. Now we're in Starbucks on Long Island getting ready to head onward to the next show at Saratoga Springs.
Gonna try and meet up with Sam and some other friends in the Allegheny Mountains today and camp until the show tomorrow.
We missed the first song, "Feel Like a Stranger" while in line for a ticket, and as we were walking through the gardens in the venue they played "Crazy Fingers". We made it to the lawn while they were playing "Cumberland Blues". "Bird Song" was next, and John Kadlecik played it incredibly well. Around this time I started to get a headache, but fought through the pain as "Cassidy" came on. This song always reminds me of Red Rocks and Chris getting a text about his cat Cassidy right as the song came on. Next was "Built to Last" during which I went to get a burger, and I missed this song on my setlist. Then was "Big Bad Blues", which is a new Furthur song written by Bob Weir and Bob Hunter. I didn't realize it was an original until after the show, I assumed it was a Ratdog song or something. The last song of the set was "Playin In the Band", and they really jammed this song. During set break my headache got worse, and Jenn gave me some Advil and I lay down on the ground. When they came back on, I didn't get up, and listened laying down on the ground. The second set opened with "The Music Never Stopped" and went into "Golden Road". "Golden Road" is one of my favorites, and always a treat to hear live. "Eyes of the World" was next, and I sang along from my bed on the lawn looking up at the stars. The next 30 or so minutes was solid jamming consisting of "Help on the Way" > "Slipknot!" > "The Eleven" > "Franklin's Tower". An interesting progression, and the first time I heard "The Eleven" thrown into help/slip/franklin's. They then brought the tempo down for "Comes a Time" and had the whole crowd swaying or sitting back to just listen to the beautiful notes cascading down to our ears. This was definitely the highlight of the night. The last two songs of the set were "St. Stephen" and "One More Saturday Night". I was glad when they ended the first set with "Saturday Night" because I didn't want to hear it as another encore on Saturday night. The second set was really heavy with Bobby tunes, and he did lots of singing. The encore was "U.S. Blues", which was the encore at my first Furthur show. When it came on I started walking back to the car and listened on the way. I just felt to bad to stick around. I got to the car and as soon as I got in the seat I fell asleep and took a good hour long nap, and woke up feeling much much better. Right as I was pulling away JukeBox and our friend Sam rolled up and told me they needed a ride. They had left me a note, but I didn't even see it, but they caught me just at the right time. We went to Hector's where the afterparty was, and I went in and bought a beer for Sam and I and we sat by the fire talking with all the other heads. I went back to the car to go to sleep, and she stayed there. JukeBox had been asleep in my car and said the cops told him that the car needed to be moved, so we drove back to the flea market and fell asleep in the car there.
The next morning we woke up and stopped and thanked the owner, Loyd, for his hospitality and I gave him a little money for letting us stay. We found a burger king where I could plug in and get directions to the show and hit the road. The next show was at Jones Beach on Long Island, and we had to drive through NYC to get there. We got to the show around 2:30, and went to check out the beach. There were people everywhere at the beach, I hadn't seen a beach so crowded before. I waded out a little ways just to get my feet wet and then we went back to Shakedown Street. I spent some time walking around selling my necklaces and checking out all the goods on Shakedown. Before I knew it, it was time for the show, and I went in around 7. I walked around the venue for a while making new friends and talking with people for the hour before the show started. I found a good seat left of center just behind the sound tent. This was to be the first time I've seen Furthur from stadium style seating, most shows have been in amphitheaters. When they came on the stands were still surprisingly empty.
They opened with one of my favorites, "Samson and Deliah", which really let the drummer, Joe Russo, shine. This was followed by "Dear Mr. Fantasy" which was originally a Traffic song, but has been a Dead staple for many years. The vocals started a little shaky, but by the second verse they were sounding great. The next song was one of Bob Weir's old solo songs, "Black Throated Wind". I hadn't heard this song before and remembered it, but it something about it caught me. It was absolutely beautiful. That was followed by "Jack-a-Roe" which was alright, but not their best work. Then was a Dlyan cover, "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues". They always shine on Dlyan covers, and this was no exception. Phil's bassline was outrageous during this song, and kept me boogieing on. "Brown Eyed Women" was next and followed by another of my favorites "Throwing Stones", which was incredible as always, and let Bobby shine. The last song of the set was "Shakedown Street", and it has to be the best Shakedown I've heard from them. They jammed out the whole song, especially Jeff Chimenti, and the whole crowd was dancing and moving. There was even a little vocal jam that I hadn't heard from Furthur before. It was a great end to the set. The second set started really strong with the entire "Weather Report Suite" followed by "Let It Grow". These two were incredible, and got the second set started of on a roll. "Mississippi Half-Step" was next, and was a great sing-a-long. That flowed into a long and really jammy "He's Gone" which is always a crowd pleaser. "Dark Star" was next and the highlight of the night. It was like the Dark Star's of the 70's, long and really spacey. Much better than the short Dark Star we got at Red Rocks last year. During this song almost the whole crowd sat down to just watch and listen, but I stayed on my feet swaying to the beat. This flowed seamlessly into "Unbroken Chain" which Phil sang absolutely beautifully. This went into "The Wheel" which didn't slow down and went right into "Good Lovin'" to end the set on a high note. After Phil came out and gave his Donor Rap speech the rest of be band came on for the encore of "Brokedown Palace". I love the way Bobby sings this, and the deep voice I feel is more suited to the style of song than the original. He did great singing it, but forgot a line, but the crowd just cheered him on. Brokedown was a great way to end the night and left us feeling great.
I got back to the car and found JB and we headed out. I couldn't find camping, and didn't want to drive through NYC at night, so we found a neighborhood to pull off and sleep in. Now we're in Starbucks on Long Island getting ready to head onward to the next show at Saratoga Springs.
Gonna try and meet up with Sam and some other friends in the Allegheny Mountains today and camp until the show tomorrow.
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