I spent many days for night travelling the US in search of the smallest, coolest club in which to see them and that I could get in to at that time (I was 16 through 18). Although The Hip didn't spend much time hanging around the clubs in the late afternoons following sound checks, The Rheostatics did and they were oh so cool and kind to us wayward hosers. There were more than a few afternoons that we hung around that old Delta 88, scarfing down the remains of the deli trays and cookie platters. I learned about life on those trips, I learned about heroes and I learned about friendship.
My favourite memory of Gord is from the REM show in 1995 at the Molson Ampitheater. Long after REM had left the stage and the crowd thinned out, I was walking with my brother up through the 200s when I heard my name called out. To this day I still cannot believe that Gord had remembered me, especially amidst a crowd of 1000s, and was saying hello and introducing me to his wife and to Mike Myers (!). That was near the peak of the popularity and he had recalled my name and I will never forget that moment. Neither will my little brother who was 14 at the time. At that moment I had ascended into legendary older brother territory and he got more than a few miles out of that story over the years.
This shot is from the Chameleon Club in Syracuse on Apr 27, 1995:
To paraphrase the man himself: We are all richer for having known him.
Here's my shorter review.
Kimock was awesome, great to see Andy Hess playing again. Magpie Salute was easily the best black crowes cover band I have ever seen (I have never seen a black crowes cover band). I'm going to disagree with edger on this one and say they were 100% going for the classic crowes sound and did an amazing job of recreating it. Hearing Marc Ford and rich together again was awesome. If Eddie could have been there would have been perfect. Lead singer does an admirable Chris imitation. But nothing beats the original.
Greensky bluegrass were cool. I found cabinet painfully boring whereas bluesky are actually interesting to listen to.
My Morning Jacket rocked. Great set. Lettuce were awesome and play like motherfuckers. Really cool to see Chaka Khan. Pink talking fish seemed kinda shitty by comparison. Why the fuck do people wanna hear so much cover music? We needed 2 different dead cover bands for this fest.
The tribute to Gregg and butch was good but I agree with edger that les brer were better. Just tighter group better sound. Marcus king was good and that 22 year old can shred like a motherfucker but that is it. Shred shred shred sing like Warren Haynes a bit and shred some more. Def got skills but after 20 minutes I was bored. Try playing a slow guitar solo. Kimock said more in 5 minutes of playing than that kid did in 1.5 hours. Again, he's got crazy skills but no soul. Course at 22 who the fuck has soul?
Widespread were great and umphreys late night was awesome. Forgot how good they are when they play like they got something to prove.
I also enjoyed the record company. Fun blues rock 3 piece. Good energy. Seeing joe bonamassa was interesting. Not as much of a shredder as you might expect and has solid tone. But his attempt to move blues somewhere more interesting usually ends up sounding kinda cheesy but I give him credit for having an engaging and varied set.
All in all its a very relaxed fun atmosphere. Everyone from staff and security, to fans, were very chill and had a respectful and easy going vibe. That rain sucked and camping on the side of the mountain was a bit of a pain. But we had a fun time and i would certainly recommend it as a good festival destination.
And where was this massage place? If i had known that was around would have def taken part.
Just like to add the week before peach fest I caught Jimmy herring and the invisible whip. Holy shit balls was that an incredible night of music. With Jeff sipe, Matt slocum, and Jason crosby those guys played at a level I'm not sure I've seen in a long long time. Just face melting jams and fantastic songs. Musicianship does not get better than this. I highly recommend checking them out.
What another incredible time leaving it all up on the mountain.
Traveled with a reliable, experienced, hilarious, debaucherous, adventurous, music loving crew. Made the essential decision to roll in Wednesday night so we could get on the mountain first thing in the morning to set up. We did the same last year. It really is the difference between landing a spot amidst the trees, on as reasonably flat ground as you will find on a mountainside, outside of any gullies as opposed to baking your onion in the early morning sun or dealing with a torrential river flowing through your tent as the mountain rains move through. Was grateful for the cozy comfort.
First day of music started with Cabinet. I've really grown to love this band due to the few times I have now crossed their path at festivals. Raucous, bluegrassy, jammy Appalachia at its finest. Getting to take this band in after a dip in the on-site wave pool, booze cruise along the lazy river and romp or two down the waterslides definitely put us all in the right frame of mind. After that we geared up for JRad. If you have not seen them yet or checked out what they do you absolutely have to. They were definitely one of the highlights of the weekend, straight out of the gates...exploring the very outer reaches of the dead, soaring into their own infectious and expansive grooves and just when you think you've lost your place in space and time entirely...whammo back into the groove. Seen these boys about 5 times or so now and they absolutely kill it every time. Stuck around for a few songs of Dopapod accompanied by Turkuaz horns on the way out of the grounds and past the Mushroom stage. They were sounding good to my ears but it was only Thursday night with another three nights to go so opted to semi pace ourselves and head back to home-base shennanigans.
Did myself the favour of getting up and at em ish the next morning to take part in a yoga session. Some of my favourite yoga moments have been at festivals...extra special energy exchange. Could have been more restorative as opposed to workout for my tastes after a night of dancing and partying but it still help to reset things. Musically started the day off with Steve Kimock & Friends. Made extra sure not to miss this once we found out that one of the surprise friends was none other than Jeff Chimenti. A nice surprise indeed. From there headed on over to the main stage for Magpie Salute. This was my first time seeing or even really hearing what they are up to, and I really enjoyed it. I believe they had 9 people up on stage with them. A nice soulful, jammy full sound that stands up well to the legacy of the Black Crowes, yet enough departure to keep things interesting. It was a nice mix of soulful covers, new originals and Crowes tunes. I know Chris Robinson has called them a Black Crowes cover band. Their lead singer certainly sounds a lot like Chris, but I still found it "fresh" (as my son would say) and smooth and easy to groove to. I hope not to have to miss them again the next time they come around closer. After Magpie it was Greensky Bluegrass, also another one of my favourite sets of the weekend. I have been wanting to catch these guys for forever and they didn't disappoint. Things heated up at an exponential pace as their set trucked along. They were very connected to and observant of their crowd. I hope they have many many years ahead of them. This was followed by Dark Star Orchestra. What can I say, always an easy good time. Having said that what are the odds of hearing two Alligators in two days (between DSO & JRAD)...gotta say, not my favourite song and there aren't many in that vast catalog that are misses for me. But amusing nonetheless. Baracco had a bit of an awkward attempt at a "sexy" pigpen rant...that went nowhere for me but other than that an uplifting set. It was pissing rain throughout all of these shows and we learned from last year's forecast the benefits of staking out territory under the pavilion so there weren't no flies on us. Managed to walk part of the way back without getting too wet and to remind ourselves that food is a good idea. The plan all along was to split our late night up between Lettuce with Chaka Khan and Pink Talking Fish, but the rain just came down harder and harder...relentless really. Once we made it back to our site our enthusiasm for venturing back up and down the muddy mountain had waned. I'm also dealing with shoddy ankles and was feeling it so opted to have our own hilarious DJ party. Thank you c-towns for the deep pulls and knowing just what was needed. Was able to hear some of Pink Talking Fish from our site...it sounded great. I regret missing it on some levels, but again multiple days in the thick of it requires some picking and choosing especially as a I get longer in the tooth.
Saturday it was a godsend to have the wave pool. We were all feeling pretty clammy, muddy and beat up from the previous day rain and that just took care of everything. Having Eric Krasno band wailing in the background was icing on the cake. Was a little bit later getting out to the stages that day. Started things off with Umphrey's afternoon set. It was great, but I really prefer my Umphrey's late night and was excited for their return to the stage that was to come at the end of the day. Was hoping to catch some of Spafford for the first time but I got voluntold to save our seats at the main stage. So that was fine, just spaced out there for a bit until Gov't Mule, Scofield & Friends came on. Have to say I'm not the biggest Mule fan in the world but I really enjoyed their set, and I mean anything that Scofield touches just soars. The absolute highlight however was when Jimmy Herring, John Bell & Schools came out for a wicked rendition of Cortez the Killer. Mule was followed by the tribute to Gregg Allman & Butch Trucks. This was my mostly highly anticipated set given my love for the Allmans and all of the loss and such. It was a touching tribute that consisted of a lot of 2nd generation family members. I have to say every time I seen Duane Trucks on the drums he sounds more and more commanding. It reminded my of just how untouchable the Allman's sound and swing really is, turn on a dime, gospel grit power. Jack Pearson has REALLY caught my attention in recent months. I really need to dig up more of what he has been involved with. I was pleasantly surprised that Dickey Betts' son Duane (from the Dawes) came up for Jessica. It struck me a few times how sad it must be for Jaimoe... but having Oteil and Quinones there and Trucks it was grounding and robust. Lamar Williams Jr. did a commendable jobs on the vocals. I really can't imagine this music not continuing to be played. I hope someone in the extended family carries the torch in some shape or form... Warren, Herring, Bell, Schools, Marcus King were among the other guests throughout. After the tribute was finished it was followed by Widespread Motherfuckin' Panic. God damn these guys always balls out rock my soul. Jimmy....my silverfox But as c-towns eluded to earlier one of the absolute highlights of their Saturday night set was getting to watch 14 year old (he looks about 12) Brandon 'Taz' Neiderauer just STEP to Jimmy and shred the hell out of his guitar. Watching them trade licks back and forth set both my wholesome mom and wild wanderer sides afire. It felt like a moment in history to me. I was in the right frame of mind. Seriously though you may know this kid or recall his presence and solo on stage the evening that Colonel Bruce Hampton followed the light at his own birthday show...if you don't know who he is, you probably should, because I suspect he will rock us into our graves over the decades to come. And then Saturday night to close was another long balls to the wall set from Umphrey's. Their light show is top notch and I am always blown away at how tight they are despite the desperation of their jams.
Sigh...if you're still with me and getting tired, just one more day to go. Sunday we woke up and packed down our camp to get ourselves ready to depart later that night after the music was all over and spend our last night from the comfort of a hotel with showers, real beds and quiet. I made a point of being sure that I made it out to the stage in time to take in Les Brers. This was their last show, and to be honest I found this even more touching and intimate than the full out Allmans tribute. The core of the line-up was the same, but I really enjoyed just focusing in on them and taking in so many of my most favourite formative songs in one last (although I hope its not the last) time. Oteil was visibly choked. The Whipping Post was one for the ages... and Will the Circle Be Unbroken had me putting my shades on to hide my tears. There was a lot of presence if you looked for it. After that Mike Gordon was up. By this point my energy levels were plummeted. I stuck around for most of his set. It was good, but nothing special to my weary ears. I knew I wanted to have the stamina to rock it out again to Panic later, so I opted to depart for the last couple of songs and head to a massage station where they rubbed my worries away with the added pleasure of a hot oily cayenne CBD oil based salve. Felt pretty dam good after that. We opted to miss Joe Bonamassa in order to truck all of our stuff down the mountain and into the car before we headed back in to catch the final Panic set and then departed for the night. Panic is coming off of the road, or at least won't be touring in any substantial way anymore so they say....another sad blow, although all must pass I suppose. Having said that I don't think its my final waltz with them just yet.
So will they do Peach next year? I haven't really heard any chatter about that. But I sure do hope so. Both years that I have been to were fantastic line-ups, great setting, beautiful lush mountains, efficiently run (at least from my experience, but if you show up late I think it may be a different story). I highly recommend.
The run is so epic because every show is hot! So many great moments. I love the goofiness throughout the run too, such fun.
Most Events Aren't Planned was pretty awesome.
We arrived in NYC on Tuesday, the donut flavour was Maple, and we got an O Canada opener (which we called, of course).
what in the world... It was an awesome moment for us and so perfect to kick off our little run. I heart Phish :-*
Man, love the It's Ice jam from last night. Yeah Page!
So I am making up some shirts for my friends doing the run. If anyone wants one just let me know (probably be around $10)
have fun everyone!
The lineup was just announced on the radio, but the festival didn't update their website yet, sooo....
Kenny Rogers, Feist, Maceo Parker, Bad Plus, Bill Frisell are names I heard. I think there might have been a Scofield mention?
Toronto date on the next tour... and looking like he may be at NOLA jazzfest since he's in the south around then..
4/14-15 - The Capitol Theatre - Port Chester, NY
4/20 - The Fillmore Charlotte - Charlotte, NC
4/21 - Sweetwater 420 Festival - Atlanta, GA
4/29 - Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater - Austin, TX
4/30 - House of Blues Houston - Houston, TX
5/2 - Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK
5/3 - The Pageant - St. Louis, MO
5/5 - Egyptian Room - Old National Centre - Indianapolis, IN
5/6 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Royal Oak, MI
5/7 - Danforth Music Hall - Toronto, ON
5/25 - The Fillmore Philadelphia - Philadelphia, PA
5/31- Red Rocks Amphitheater - Morrison, CO (w/Vulfpeck)
6/3 - Big Sky Brewery - Missoula, MT
So happy and satisfied with the shows i saw this summer. My Phish cup is full!
great to have such a big Ottawa crew down at the show on sunday. And what a gorgeous view!
last 3 shows were redic. Get ready west coasters!
One crazy thing that happened was a bunny hopped by me in the field, came out from near the stage and hopped towards the back. This was right when charlie was telling a story about a guy named blue steel, who could turn into a rabbit when he needed to get away. There is no way charlie saw that bunny and the timing was so weird. It was like blue steel appeared!
phorbesie reacted to Northern Wish in In memory; Favourite Hip/Gord moments
phorbesie got a reaction from bouche in Roger Waters tour
phorbesie got a reaction from Booche in Baker's Dozen favorites
phorbesie got a reaction from DevO in Trey Antipasto - Paper Wheels (stream)
phorbesie got a reaction from HaMike in Harvest Picnic - Dundas, ON : Sat August 27th
