edger

In the event the politics forum is overlooked...with an election looming...
 
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/vanishing-canada-why-were-all-losers-in-ottawas-war-on-data/
 

Always dig the artwork on their posters. Not able to swing it this labour day but a fun looking weekend ahead

I had a great time, despite it being a relatively short stay.  Due to work didn't get there til late Friday afternoon and had to leave on Sunday.  Second set on Sunday in particular looked like a great time...was sorry to miss it, but good in terms of shortening my necessary recovery time!
 
This was my first phish fest.  The weather was great.  Ended up on the outskirts...the hike multiple times a day was a little taxing but it made for really quiet sleeping conditions which I was more than happy about. I found the venue to be spacious.  They easily could have held another 10,000 or more, but to be honest I was happy that it wasn't any further rammed, especially in the concert bowl.
 
Lines for food and drinks were more than reasonable...same with the bathrooms.  That kind of nitty gritty stuff was well taken care of from my vantage point.
 
They played great.  My favourite sets of the weekend overall were Saturday.  Top highlights included Undermind, Tweezer, and definitely the Possum into Cities!!  Normally I find glowsticks to be just short of annoying...but have to say there were some pretty impressively aligned tosses that lit up the whole sky and resulted in some amplified eye candy.  
 
The other MAJOR highlight for me...a lifesaver really was the morning yoga sessions.  Incredible energy to draw from...a quirky, sometimes comical instructor that clearly enjoyed himself each night prior, and some gospel inspired Jerry floating in the background.  It was well worth getting my butt moving and was the perfect start to each day.
 
Only real complaint is I found the sightlines to be pretty limiting...especially if you were anywhere in the left side off the venue.  I really don't know why they wouldn't invest in even a small screen.  The entire Friday I don't think I caught but a glimpse of a single member of the band. and we were relatively close.  Saturday found some better pockets but felt that could be improved upon.  Sound was good though and that is most important.
 
So great to hear them sounding so healthy and charged!

Finally finding a moment to reflect on an absolutely incredible weekend...
 
Started out with five of us driving down in my friend's VW bus (how fitting) which prooved to be a spacious and comfortable ride.  The trip couldn't have been smoother in terms of border crossing and traffic and the bus behaving and staying cool.  Upon arrival into Chicago mid-day Thursday we had to go to will call (because ticketmaster couldn't manage to get our tickets to us in time....ggrrrrr) and we lucked out big time.  We happened to pull up as close as we could to Soldier's field and luckily for us all the fences were not up yet, will call was right there, and we were able to secure our tickets with no wait at all. I suspect those that arrived on the Friday would have had a far more difficult scenario as it seemed like you couldn't even really get access to will call unless you already had a ticket, or at the very least your confirmation in hand (credit card didn't seem to be enough) and from what I understood will call was located on the "inside".
 
The only real, I wouldn't go so far to say "negative", but "odd" and somewhat disappointing part of the whole weekend is the set-up really precluded any kind of full fledged shakedown from springing up.  I honestly thought it was going to be one of the largest shakedowns ever, but great efforts were made to co-opt that space and generate profit.  I'm sure security concerns also factored in, particularly in terms of controlling the numbers that didn't have tickets, so I can understand the approach to a degree but it felt a little foreign.  Basically you couldn't really get near the stadium at all without a ticket, and most of the food, merch, etc. was on the "inside".  A great illustration of this would be when we decided to buy a round of grill cheese for all of our friends before the first show...and much to our surprise that bill came to more than $70!!!  We are talking kraft single slices grilled cheese for like $10 a pop.  Corporate shakedown?  Come on now... The second day we ventured over to the lots that were some distance from the venue and even there it didn't feel like a "usual" shakedown....tailgate party perhaps, but very very little in the way of home-made merch, eats, etc.
 
Friday night's show was by FAR the most "out there" and exploratory of the three.  The crew I was with was just soaring.  We were way up in the 400s and literally felt like we were sitting on top of the world up there.  I thought I was going to be itching to find a way down onto the floor or pit as that is where I  normally like to be, but to my pleasant surprise I absolutely loved floating amongst the cosmos up top.  It was amazing to be so close to the big huge orange moon the first night (a beautiful tip of the hat complement to the Santa Clara rainbow), have a great angle on the stage and psychedelic screens and be able to see the magnitude of life surging through that entire stadium.  Certainly got my exercise in schlepping up and down those stairs...I'm sure for many it was a significant challenge.
 
Highlights for 1st set, 1st night for me was when Trey tore into Jack Straw indicating that he would be a force to reckon with from the get go, and then the Crazy Fingers into Music Never Stopped was a GREAT way to close out that set.  Soaring higher higher and just when you think you can't go any higher...higher still.  Set break involved roaming around in mass confusion...the crowd certainly seemed to get a better handle on navigating the place as the weekend went on.  Slowest beer lines EVER! Returned to my seat quite some time before they started playing and a memorable moment was just sitting on top of the world watching the amazing imagery and old videos of the band in their own element...Casal and company's accompiniment ta boot.  My favourite parts were the scuba diving footage.  I had seen most of that before but it resonated so differently for me in that moment.  I can't really capture or articulate fully why here, and not sure I even want to try...perhaps it was just one of those intensely profound moments that is only meant to be fleeting. Somehow intensely personal yet simultaneously collective in terms of consciousness.
 
Scarlet Fire was dynamite and then it seemed like the Drum>Space that followed right after almost lead into a mini second set break.  It wasn't a standard night by any means by my recollection.  I have never paid so close attention to drum>space as I have this past weekend.  And every night.  The imagery combined with the crazy sounds and vibrations were just such a crazy trip.  That Mickey is a full on alchemist, and it was such a pleasure to see the Rhythm Devils at work again.  What a set-up!!  That first night I watched Kreutzman rather intently...perhaps because I was reading his book at the time (pick it up!).  He seemed to oscillate back and forth between moments of intense looking sorrow on his face to bursts of energy and knowing bliss.  I felt humbled to share those moments. Perhaps it was my state of mind but all in all I felt like all the guys were working through their own psychological baggage that night, finding themselves, finding each other, finding their collective sound...the space that was explored throughout second set was a huge testament to that.  I kept thinking to myself I wonder how this is coming across for those at home watching the live stream?  It felt like a "you had to be there" kinda show.
 
The departure out at the end of night one was a complete gong show.  There seemed to be zero security anywhere and the throngs of people we were following out ended up having to climb a fence to get out and avoid being crushed.  That was a little more excitement than I was needing at that point, but we survived, and managed to get past the nitrous web without getting sucked into that black hole.  So grateful that the wigged out kid walking right through the heart of speeding traffic and drag racers didn't get killed right into front of our very eyes.  I couldn't even look.  Just one foot in front of the other.  Had a couple night caps back at the hotel once we finally made it back and then headed off to catch the latter half of moe. who delivered a fantastic psychedelic set that helped me slowly slowly come back down to earth.  All gentle like.
 
Saturday day...little rough.  Took some time to turn around.  I just needed the antidote (i.e. the music) to start to get myself back into a good place.  I had a sense that night 2 was going to be a WAY different experience and that the boys would come out swinging and they sure did. Shakedown!  (Although admittedly I generally like to hear that later in the show). I agree Booche Liberty is an underrated song.  The Standing on the Moon....brought me to full on tears.  Just such as beautiful song.  Anyone who has loved and missed and lost and hoped...I get choked just thinking back on it.  The Tennessee Jed was dynamite and I was delighted that they chose to repeat Cumberland from Santa Clara.  Set break was far less disorienting this night and the Birdsong to welcome us back was just blissful.  Foolish Heart into a raw and tribal drum space with a Stella Blue on top was another huge highlight.  My pit dwelling friends made the trek all the way up top to be with us for that song...no idea how they found us but that was a beautiful moment of solidarity.  Then bring on the fireworks.  "Fuck ya America!!" A nice display to be sure, and the background music that for me seemed to be somehwere between Gershwinesque and Disney Carousel made for an almost comical close to another fantastic night.  We had the giggles.  We kept it "relatively" tame post show after a nice (but a little too far for my collapsing feet) walk along the water.
 
Sunday I managed to get up and do some yoga.  Was determined to feel less leacherous than I did on Saturday throughout the day and set the tone for maximum energy exchange for the final hurrah.  Ate really well that day too which was a good move.  China>Rider>Estimated Prophet....woooheeee!  I heard one reviewer knocking estimated and I couldn't have disagreed more.  It was slow, raunchy, groovey, and twisted.  It put me right in my place.  Even Built to Last...that was one of the best versions I could really recall hearing, and I LOVED the whimsical layers and interplay throughout Mountains of the Moon.  Cassidy, Althea, TERRAPIN  were the highlights of my night.  Bobby delivered a sincere and moving Days Between and the crowd was bumpin' for Not Fade Away.  Attics was a beautiful closer. Perfect sentiment.  Ended the night by heading back to House of Blues to catch Melvin Seals, Kimock, Jackie Green, and crew.  Perfect way to wind things up and then down one more time.  Managed to get a somewhat respectable amount of sleep before getting up to head home to my little boy who I was missing very much.   
 
I am so grateful that I get to experience such life altering experiences in life that make you fall in love with so much of humanity.  Chicago is a beautiful inspiring city, but there were many moments that served as stark reminders of how privileged I am, how lucky we all are, and what little joy and opportunity some people have in their lives, or how little love and compassion ever get showered their way.  Some of those images I will never shake.  I felt it all.

Finally finding a moment to reflect on an absolutely incredible weekend...
 
Started out with five of us driving down in my friend's VW bus (how fitting) which prooved to be a spacious and comfortable ride.  The trip couldn't have been smoother in terms of border crossing and traffic and the bus behaving and staying cool.  Upon arrival into Chicago mid-day Thursday we had to go to will call (because ticketmaster couldn't manage to get our tickets to us in time....ggrrrrr) and we lucked out big time.  We happened to pull up as close as we could to Soldier's field and luckily for us all the fences were not up yet, will call was right there, and we were able to secure our tickets with no wait at all. I suspect those that arrived on the Friday would have had a far more difficult scenario as it seemed like you couldn't even really get access to will call unless you already had a ticket, or at the very least your confirmation in hand (credit card didn't seem to be enough) and from what I understood will call was located on the "inside".
 
The only real, I wouldn't go so far to say "negative", but "odd" and somewhat disappointing part of the whole weekend is the set-up really precluded any kind of full fledged shakedown from springing up.  I honestly thought it was going to be one of the largest shakedowns ever, but great efforts were made to co-opt that space and generate profit.  I'm sure security concerns also factored in, particularly in terms of controlling the numbers that didn't have tickets, so I can understand the approach to a degree but it felt a little foreign.  Basically you couldn't really get near the stadium at all without a ticket, and most of the food, merch, etc. was on the "inside".  A great illustration of this would be when we decided to buy a round of grill cheese for all of our friends before the first show...and much to our surprise that bill came to more than $70!!!  We are talking kraft single slices grilled cheese for like $10 a pop.  Corporate shakedown?  Come on now... The second day we ventured over to the lots that were some distance from the venue and even there it didn't feel like a "usual" shakedown....tailgate party perhaps, but very very little in the way of home-made merch, eats, etc.
 
Friday night's show was by FAR the most "out there" and exploratory of the three.  The crew I was with was just soaring.  We were way up in the 400s and literally felt like we were sitting on top of the world up there.  I thought I was going to be itching to find a way down onto the floor or pit as that is where I  normally like to be, but to my pleasant surprise I absolutely loved floating amongst the cosmos up top.  It was amazing to be so close to the big huge orange moon the first night (a beautiful tip of the hat complement to the Santa Clara rainbow), have a great angle on the stage and psychedelic screens and be able to see the magnitude of life surging through that entire stadium.  Certainly got my exercise in schlepping up and down those stairs...I'm sure for many it was a significant challenge.
 
Highlights for 1st set, 1st night for me was when Trey tore into Jack Straw indicating that he would be a force to reckon with from the get go, and then the Crazy Fingers into Music Never Stopped was a GREAT way to close out that set.  Soaring higher higher and just when you think you can't go any higher...higher still.  Set break involved roaming around in mass confusion...the crowd certainly seemed to get a better handle on navigating the place as the weekend went on.  Slowest beer lines EVER! Returned to my seat quite some time before they started playing and a memorable moment was just sitting on top of the world watching the amazing imagery and old videos of the band in their own element...Casal and company's accompiniment ta boot.  My favourite parts were the scuba diving footage.  I had seen most of that before but it resonated so differently for me in that moment.  I can't really capture or articulate fully why here, and not sure I even want to try...perhaps it was just one of those intensely profound moments that is only meant to be fleeting. Somehow intensely personal yet simultaneously collective in terms of consciousness.
 
Scarlet Fire was dynamite and then it seemed like the Drum>Space that followed right after almost lead into a mini second set break.  It wasn't a standard night by any means by my recollection.  I have never paid so close attention to drum>space as I have this past weekend.  And every night.  The imagery combined with the crazy sounds and vibrations were just such a crazy trip.  That Mickey is a full on alchemist, and it was such a pleasure to see the Rhythm Devils at work again.  What a set-up!!  That first night I watched Kreutzman rather intently...perhaps because I was reading his book at the time (pick it up!).  He seemed to oscillate back and forth between moments of intense looking sorrow on his face to bursts of energy and knowing bliss.  I felt humbled to share those moments. Perhaps it was my state of mind but all in all I felt like all the guys were working through their own psychological baggage that night, finding themselves, finding each other, finding their collective sound...the space that was explored throughout second set was a huge testament to that.  I kept thinking to myself I wonder how this is coming across for those at home watching the live stream?  It felt like a "you had to be there" kinda show.
 
The departure out at the end of night one was a complete gong show.  There seemed to be zero security anywhere and the throngs of people we were following out ended up having to climb a fence to get out and avoid being crushed.  That was a little more excitement than I was needing at that point, but we survived, and managed to get past the nitrous web without getting sucked into that black hole.  So grateful that the wigged out kid walking right through the heart of speeding traffic and drag racers didn't get killed right into front of our very eyes.  I couldn't even look.  Just one foot in front of the other.  Had a couple night caps back at the hotel once we finally made it back and then headed off to catch the latter half of moe. who delivered a fantastic psychedelic set that helped me slowly slowly come back down to earth.  All gentle like.
 
Saturday day...little rough.  Took some time to turn around.  I just needed the antidote (i.e. the music) to start to get myself back into a good place.  I had a sense that night 2 was going to be a WAY different experience and that the boys would come out swinging and they sure did. Shakedown!  (Although admittedly I generally like to hear that later in the show). I agree Booche Liberty is an underrated song.  The Standing on the Moon....brought me to full on tears.  Just such as beautiful song.  Anyone who has loved and missed and lost and hoped...I get choked just thinking back on it.  The Tennessee Jed was dynamite and I was delighted that they chose to repeat Cumberland from Santa Clara.  Set break was far less disorienting this night and the Birdsong to welcome us back was just blissful.  Foolish Heart into a raw and tribal drum space with a Stella Blue on top was another huge highlight.  My pit dwelling friends made the trek all the way up top to be with us for that song...no idea how they found us but that was a beautiful moment of solidarity.  Then bring on the fireworks.  "Fuck ya America!!" A nice display to be sure, and the background music that for me seemed to be somehwere between Gershwinesque and Disney Carousel made for an almost comical close to another fantastic night.  We had the giggles.  We kept it "relatively" tame post show after a nice (but a little too far for my collapsing feet) walk along the water.
 
Sunday I managed to get up and do some yoga.  Was determined to feel less leacherous than I did on Saturday throughout the day and set the tone for maximum energy exchange for the final hurrah.  Ate really well that day too which was a good move.  China>Rider>Estimated Prophet....woooheeee!  I heard one reviewer knocking estimated and I couldn't have disagreed more.  It was slow, raunchy, groovey, and twisted.  It put me right in my place.  Even Built to Last...that was one of the best versions I could really recall hearing, and I LOVED the whimsical layers and interplay throughout Mountains of the Moon.  Cassidy, Althea, TERRAPIN  were the highlights of my night.  Bobby delivered a sincere and moving Days Between and the crowd was bumpin' for Not Fade Away.  Attics was a beautiful closer. Perfect sentiment.  Ended the night by heading back to House of Blues to catch Melvin Seals, Kimock, Jackie Green, and crew.  Perfect way to wind things up and then down one more time.  Managed to get a somewhat respectable amount of sleep before getting up to head home to my little boy who I was missing very much.   
 
I am so grateful that I get to experience such life altering experiences in life that make you fall in love with so much of humanity.  Chicago is a beautiful inspiring city, but there were many moments that served as stark reminders of how privileged I am, how lucky we all are, and what little joy and opportunity some people have in their lives, or how little love and compassion ever get showered their way.  Some of those images I will never shake.  I felt it all.

Finally finding a moment to reflect on an absolutely incredible weekend...
 
Started out with five of us driving down in my friend's VW bus (how fitting) which prooved to be a spacious and comfortable ride.  The trip couldn't have been smoother in terms of border crossing and traffic and the bus behaving and staying cool.  Upon arrival into Chicago mid-day Thursday we had to go to will call (because ticketmaster couldn't manage to get our tickets to us in time....ggrrrrr) and we lucked out big time.  We happened to pull up as close as we could to Soldier's field and luckily for us all the fences were not up yet, will call was right there, and we were able to secure our tickets with no wait at all. I suspect those that arrived on the Friday would have had a far more difficult scenario as it seemed like you couldn't even really get access to will call unless you already had a ticket, or at the very least your confirmation in hand (credit card didn't seem to be enough) and from what I understood will call was located on the "inside".
 
The only real, I wouldn't go so far to say "negative", but "odd" and somewhat disappointing part of the whole weekend is the set-up really precluded any kind of full fledged shakedown from springing up.  I honestly thought it was going to be one of the largest shakedowns ever, but great efforts were made to co-opt that space and generate profit.  I'm sure security concerns also factored in, particularly in terms of controlling the numbers that didn't have tickets, so I can understand the approach to a degree but it felt a little foreign.  Basically you couldn't really get near the stadium at all without a ticket, and most of the food, merch, etc. was on the "inside".  A great illustration of this would be when we decided to buy a round of grill cheese for all of our friends before the first show...and much to our surprise that bill came to more than $70!!!  We are talking kraft single slices grilled cheese for like $10 a pop.  Corporate shakedown?  Come on now... The second day we ventured over to the lots that were some distance from the venue and even there it didn't feel like a "usual" shakedown....tailgate party perhaps, but very very little in the way of home-made merch, eats, etc.
 
Friday night's show was by FAR the most "out there" and exploratory of the three.  The crew I was with was just soaring.  We were way up in the 400s and literally felt like we were sitting on top of the world up there.  I thought I was going to be itching to find a way down onto the floor or pit as that is where I  normally like to be, but to my pleasant surprise I absolutely loved floating amongst the cosmos up top.  It was amazing to be so close to the big huge orange moon the first night (a beautiful tip of the hat complement to the Santa Clara rainbow), have a great angle on the stage and psychedelic screens and be able to see the magnitude of life surging through that entire stadium.  Certainly got my exercise in schlepping up and down those stairs...I'm sure for many it was a significant challenge.
 
Highlights for 1st set, 1st night for me was when Trey tore into Jack Straw indicating that he would be a force to reckon with from the get go, and then the Crazy Fingers into Music Never Stopped was a GREAT way to close out that set.  Soaring higher higher and just when you think you can't go any higher...higher still.  Set break involved roaming around in mass confusion...the crowd certainly seemed to get a better handle on navigating the place as the weekend went on.  Slowest beer lines EVER! Returned to my seat quite some time before they started playing and a memorable moment was just sitting on top of the world watching the amazing imagery and old videos of the band in their own element...Casal and company's accompiniment ta boot.  My favourite parts were the scuba diving footage.  I had seen most of that before but it resonated so differently for me in that moment.  I can't really capture or articulate fully why here, and not sure I even want to try...perhaps it was just one of those intensely profound moments that is only meant to be fleeting. Somehow intensely personal yet simultaneously collective in terms of consciousness.
 
Scarlet Fire was dynamite and then it seemed like the Drum>Space that followed right after almost lead into a mini second set break.  It wasn't a standard night by any means by my recollection.  I have never paid so close attention to drum>space as I have this past weekend.  And every night.  The imagery combined with the crazy sounds and vibrations were just such a crazy trip.  That Mickey is a full on alchemist, and it was such a pleasure to see the Rhythm Devils at work again.  What a set-up!!  That first night I watched Kreutzman rather intently...perhaps because I was reading his book at the time (pick it up!).  He seemed to oscillate back and forth between moments of intense looking sorrow on his face to bursts of energy and knowing bliss.  I felt humbled to share those moments. Perhaps it was my state of mind but all in all I felt like all the guys were working through their own psychological baggage that night, finding themselves, finding each other, finding their collective sound...the space that was explored throughout second set was a huge testament to that.  I kept thinking to myself I wonder how this is coming across for those at home watching the live stream?  It felt like a "you had to be there" kinda show.
 
The departure out at the end of night one was a complete gong show.  There seemed to be zero security anywhere and the throngs of people we were following out ended up having to climb a fence to get out and avoid being crushed.  That was a little more excitement than I was needing at that point, but we survived, and managed to get past the nitrous web without getting sucked into that black hole.  So grateful that the wigged out kid walking right through the heart of speeding traffic and drag racers didn't get killed right into front of our very eyes.  I couldn't even look.  Just one foot in front of the other.  Had a couple night caps back at the hotel once we finally made it back and then headed off to catch the latter half of moe. who delivered a fantastic psychedelic set that helped me slowly slowly come back down to earth.  All gentle like.
 
Saturday day...little rough.  Took some time to turn around.  I just needed the antidote (i.e. the music) to start to get myself back into a good place.  I had a sense that night 2 was going to be a WAY different experience and that the boys would come out swinging and they sure did. Shakedown!  (Although admittedly I generally like to hear that later in the show). I agree Booche Liberty is an underrated song.  The Standing on the Moon....brought me to full on tears.  Just such as beautiful song.  Anyone who has loved and missed and lost and hoped...I get choked just thinking back on it.  The Tennessee Jed was dynamite and I was delighted that they chose to repeat Cumberland from Santa Clara.  Set break was far less disorienting this night and the Birdsong to welcome us back was just blissful.  Foolish Heart into a raw and tribal drum space with a Stella Blue on top was another huge highlight.  My pit dwelling friends made the trek all the way up top to be with us for that song...no idea how they found us but that was a beautiful moment of solidarity.  Then bring on the fireworks.  "Fuck ya America!!" A nice display to be sure, and the background music that for me seemed to be somehwere between Gershwinesque and Disney Carousel made for an almost comical close to another fantastic night.  We had the giggles.  We kept it "relatively" tame post show after a nice (but a little too far for my collapsing feet) walk along the water.
 
Sunday I managed to get up and do some yoga.  Was determined to feel less leacherous than I did on Saturday throughout the day and set the tone for maximum energy exchange for the final hurrah.  Ate really well that day too which was a good move.  China>Rider>Estimated Prophet....woooheeee!  I heard one reviewer knocking estimated and I couldn't have disagreed more.  It was slow, raunchy, groovey, and twisted.  It put me right in my place.  Even Built to Last...that was one of the best versions I could really recall hearing, and I LOVED the whimsical layers and interplay throughout Mountains of the Moon.  Cassidy, Althea, TERRAPIN  were the highlights of my night.  Bobby delivered a sincere and moving Days Between and the crowd was bumpin' for Not Fade Away.  Attics was a beautiful closer. Perfect sentiment.  Ended the night by heading back to House of Blues to catch Melvin Seals, Kimock, Jackie Green, and crew.  Perfect way to wind things up and then down one more time.  Managed to get a somewhat respectable amount of sleep before getting up to head home to my little boy who I was missing very much.   
 
I am so grateful that I get to experience such life altering experiences in life that make you fall in love with so much of humanity.  Chicago is a beautiful inspiring city, but there were many moments that served as stark reminders of how privileged I am, how lucky we all are, and what little joy and opportunity some people have in their lives, or how little love and compassion ever get showered their way.  Some of those images I will never shake.  I felt it all.

Finally finding a moment to reflect on an absolutely incredible weekend...
 
Started out with five of us driving down in my friend's VW bus (how fitting) which prooved to be a spacious and comfortable ride.  The trip couldn't have been smoother in terms of border crossing and traffic and the bus behaving and staying cool.  Upon arrival into Chicago mid-day Thursday we had to go to will call (because ticketmaster couldn't manage to get our tickets to us in time....ggrrrrr) and we lucked out big time.  We happened to pull up as close as we could to Soldier's field and luckily for us all the fences were not up yet, will call was right there, and we were able to secure our tickets with no wait at all. I suspect those that arrived on the Friday would have had a far more difficult scenario as it seemed like you couldn't even really get access to will call unless you already had a ticket, or at the very least your confirmation in hand (credit card didn't seem to be enough) and from what I understood will call was located on the "inside".
 
The only real, I wouldn't go so far to say "negative", but "odd" and somewhat disappointing part of the whole weekend is the set-up really precluded any kind of full fledged shakedown from springing up.  I honestly thought it was going to be one of the largest shakedowns ever, but great efforts were made to co-opt that space and generate profit.  I'm sure security concerns also factored in, particularly in terms of controlling the numbers that didn't have tickets, so I can understand the approach to a degree but it felt a little foreign.  Basically you couldn't really get near the stadium at all without a ticket, and most of the food, merch, etc. was on the "inside".  A great illustration of this would be when we decided to buy a round of grill cheese for all of our friends before the first show...and much to our surprise that bill came to more than $70!!!  We are talking kraft single slices grilled cheese for like $10 a pop.  Corporate shakedown?  Come on now... The second day we ventured over to the lots that were some distance from the venue and even there it didn't feel like a "usual" shakedown....tailgate party perhaps, but very very little in the way of home-made merch, eats, etc.
 
Friday night's show was by FAR the most "out there" and exploratory of the three.  The crew I was with was just soaring.  We were way up in the 400s and literally felt like we were sitting on top of the world up there.  I thought I was going to be itching to find a way down onto the floor or pit as that is where I  normally like to be, but to my pleasant surprise I absolutely loved floating amongst the cosmos up top.  It was amazing to be so close to the big huge orange moon the first night (a beautiful tip of the hat complement to the Santa Clara rainbow), have a great angle on the stage and psychedelic screens and be able to see the magnitude of life surging through that entire stadium.  Certainly got my exercise in schlepping up and down those stairs...I'm sure for many it was a significant challenge.
 
Highlights for 1st set, 1st night for me was when Trey tore into Jack Straw indicating that he would be a force to reckon with from the get go, and then the Crazy Fingers into Music Never Stopped was a GREAT way to close out that set.  Soaring higher higher and just when you think you can't go any higher...higher still.  Set break involved roaming around in mass confusion...the crowd certainly seemed to get a better handle on navigating the place as the weekend went on.  Slowest beer lines EVER! Returned to my seat quite some time before they started playing and a memorable moment was just sitting on top of the world watching the amazing imagery and old videos of the band in their own element...Casal and company's accompiniment ta boot.  My favourite parts were the scuba diving footage.  I had seen most of that before but it resonated so differently for me in that moment.  I can't really capture or articulate fully why here, and not sure I even want to try...perhaps it was just one of those intensely profound moments that is only meant to be fleeting. Somehow intensely personal yet simultaneously collective in terms of consciousness.
 
Scarlet Fire was dynamite and then it seemed like the Drum>Space that followed right after almost lead into a mini second set break.  It wasn't a standard night by any means by my recollection.  I have never paid so close attention to drum>space as I have this past weekend.  And every night.  The imagery combined with the crazy sounds and vibrations were just such a crazy trip.  That Mickey is a full on alchemist, and it was such a pleasure to see the Rhythm Devils at work again.  What a set-up!!  That first night I watched Kreutzman rather intently...perhaps because I was reading his book at the time (pick it up!).  He seemed to oscillate back and forth between moments of intense looking sorrow on his face to bursts of energy and knowing bliss.  I felt humbled to share those moments. Perhaps it was my state of mind but all in all I felt like all the guys were working through their own psychological baggage that night, finding themselves, finding each other, finding their collective sound...the space that was explored throughout second set was a huge testament to that.  I kept thinking to myself I wonder how this is coming across for those at home watching the live stream?  It felt like a "you had to be there" kinda show.
 
The departure out at the end of night one was a complete gong show.  There seemed to be zero security anywhere and the throngs of people we were following out ended up having to climb a fence to get out and avoid being crushed.  That was a little more excitement than I was needing at that point, but we survived, and managed to get past the nitrous web without getting sucked into that black hole.  So grateful that the wigged out kid walking right through the heart of speeding traffic and drag racers didn't get killed right into front of our very eyes.  I couldn't even look.  Just one foot in front of the other.  Had a couple night caps back at the hotel once we finally made it back and then headed off to catch the latter half of moe. who delivered a fantastic psychedelic set that helped me slowly slowly come back down to earth.  All gentle like.
 
Saturday day...little rough.  Took some time to turn around.  I just needed the antidote (i.e. the music) to start to get myself back into a good place.  I had a sense that night 2 was going to be a WAY different experience and that the boys would come out swinging and they sure did. Shakedown!  (Although admittedly I generally like to hear that later in the show). I agree Booche Liberty is an underrated song.  The Standing on the Moon....brought me to full on tears.  Just such as beautiful song.  Anyone who has loved and missed and lost and hoped...I get choked just thinking back on it.  The Tennessee Jed was dynamite and I was delighted that they chose to repeat Cumberland from Santa Clara.  Set break was far less disorienting this night and the Birdsong to welcome us back was just blissful.  Foolish Heart into a raw and tribal drum space with a Stella Blue on top was another huge highlight.  My pit dwelling friends made the trek all the way up top to be with us for that song...no idea how they found us but that was a beautiful moment of solidarity.  Then bring on the fireworks.  "Fuck ya America!!" A nice display to be sure, and the background music that for me seemed to be somehwere between Gershwinesque and Disney Carousel made for an almost comical close to another fantastic night.  We had the giggles.  We kept it "relatively" tame post show after a nice (but a little too far for my collapsing feet) walk along the water.
 
Sunday I managed to get up and do some yoga.  Was determined to feel less leacherous than I did on Saturday throughout the day and set the tone for maximum energy exchange for the final hurrah.  Ate really well that day too which was a good move.  China>Rider>Estimated Prophet....woooheeee!  I heard one reviewer knocking estimated and I couldn't have disagreed more.  It was slow, raunchy, groovey, and twisted.  It put me right in my place.  Even Built to Last...that was one of the best versions I could really recall hearing, and I LOVED the whimsical layers and interplay throughout Mountains of the Moon.  Cassidy, Althea, TERRAPIN  were the highlights of my night.  Bobby delivered a sincere and moving Days Between and the crowd was bumpin' for Not Fade Away.  Attics was a beautiful closer. Perfect sentiment.  Ended the night by heading back to House of Blues to catch Melvin Seals, Kimock, Jackie Green, and crew.  Perfect way to wind things up and then down one more time.  Managed to get a somewhat respectable amount of sleep before getting up to head home to my little boy who I was missing very much.   
 
I am so grateful that I get to experience such life altering experiences in life that make you fall in love with so much of humanity.  Chicago is a beautiful inspiring city, but there were many moments that served as stark reminders of how privileged I am, how lucky we all are, and what little joy and opportunity some people have in their lives, or how little love and compassion ever get showered their way.  Some of those images I will never shake.  I felt it all.

This is kinda cool.
http://m.billboard.com/entry/view/id/130939

I think of it as more of a loose collective...Friends and friends of friends. I haven't known perhaps the majority of people yet somehow do on some level by the time I leave. Yes numbers and capacity and avoiding sketch factor and maintaining respect for the land, and a good balance between the element of free let 'er hang shake it out expression while ensuring children are in a positive environment are all ongoing concerns. Careful disclosure (or lack thereof) of location is a big part of that. I don't really anticipate the documentary resulting in an onslaught of riff raff that would cause problems or a volume issue that is way beyond control. And at least if it ever gets to that we have Tonin and his brand of ruthless security to shut that down...Afroman style... Plus Joni carries a chainsaw with her at all times to cut people down to size if need be.

Bwahahaha. I wouldn't know what you're talking about. You mean this drink?

I'd love to see some of you folks out at the screening and at jamland...I think you would really dig just how special it is.  So much of all of the best things that we love and talk about on this board are captured in this little piece of space and time.  So happy for you Mark that this is all coming to light!

I think this could be your golden ticket Mark!

Next Saturday Feb 21st the acousticats (acoustic fat cats) will be playing at the winchester arms in Dundas. Ricky neu is joining them on the drums. they will likely go on around nine. Haven't verified but pretty positive there is no cover.
Always a nice night. ..

That's deep DB...that's deep

I went for it too. I sure hope I did everything right... Bank. is. broken.

That menu looks pretty good actually and a few seem interested in going for a skate too . BTW hope it works out for you PoG

Yes they had a great turn out. Going into it I was surprised they would book at a venue of that size. First time seeing them...I was low on energy but it was fun. They definitely have some chops. I had to move back due to the blinding annoying lights tho. Nice to be at a jam show full of people I'd never really even seen before. That's positive

You guys better take advantage of this while it is still optional...the next move is automatic uploading to your iTunes

You guys better take advantage of this while it is still optional...the next move is automatic uploading to your iTunes

You guys better take advantage of this while it is still optional...the next move is automatic uploading to your iTunes

You have to fight for your right to party

Thanks for sharing Mark.  This "kid" sure missed being there this time round.  I love the venue and the festival and I thought that the line-up shaped up to be very solid over time.  Having the ocean is just so great.  Would have loved to see Fogerty.  Definitely on the radar for next year, and don't worry pops we'll get you out to one of the late night shows again I know you still have it in you