Fallen Thoughts

:: 7.28.2002 ::

I had to cut in the Bonnaroo story to get this out:

I've never had to deal with someone close to me being murdered before. I got "the call" yesterday around 11AM. I haven't slept much since then.. it's a feeling like none I've ever experienced before. it opens your eyes so wide to a world that can be so very cold. it makes me wish I could blink and erase such cruelty.

Thomas was the kind of guy that you could meet once and feel like you'd known him forever. I was fortunate enough to meet him and have him as a friend. a great friend. I just wanted to tell all of you great people who read daily, stop by now and again, or even just happen to drop by - please send all of your positive energy to Thomas' family and friends. and to all of my friends who may be reading - much love to all of you.

please remember that no one is promised tomorrow.. speak your mind, follow your heart, reach as high as you must to grab your dreams and bring them down so that you may bring them to life. treasure the time we have together..

"I can't tell you how many ways that I've sat
And viewed my life today, but I can tell you
I don't think that I can find an easier way
So if I see you walking hand in hand in hand
With a three armed man, you know I'll understand

But you should have been in my shoes yesterday
You should have been in my shoes yesterday"

- Blind Melon, 'St. Andrew's Fall'

:: posted by Michael at 3:50 PM (0) comments [+] ::

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I woke up for day two feeling much better than the day before. being cracked out from lack of sleep isn't the best of feelings. I came around at about 10 or 11 AM. when the sun rose in the morning, the tents turned into little ovens, which made it pretty hard to sleep very late. this was a good thing, though, as there was always music going on. can't enjoy the music with your head buried in a sleeping bag.

Chris showed up at our camp around noon. we snapped a few pictures of the camp and hit a good bowl, then walked over to his camp to see what was shakin' in Barbarino. they didn't bring a tarp with them, so the girls were baking in the afternoon heat. knowing the value of shade, we decided to set them up a little makeshift roof with the rain cover from their tent. worked like a charm. I sat and enjoyed the fruit of our labor for a bit and then headed back over to my camp to see what Kev and ME were up to. after a bite to eat and a couple of beers, we packed up the cooler and went back to meet the Barbarino kids. we got everything together and then struck out for the Stadium and Ben Harper.

the performance at Bonnaroo was the first time I'd seen Ben in over a year, last seeing him and the Innocent Criminals at Music Midtown in May 2001. it was also the first time I'd seen a solo set from him. as we approached the entrance to the Stadium, we saw a massive sea of people channeling through the small gates like sand through an hourglass. we stopped for a moment, thinking we might just head back over to the Arena and catch Robert Randolph's set with a much smaller crowd. when we were just about to head back, the gate security saw their dilemma and decided to give in. they stopped checking bags and whatnot and took a step back, letting the waiting crowd pour through the gates and in to the show. we joined right in and made our way through the crowd to a nice spot mid-stage.

the show kicked off with a new version of an old song, 'Steal My Kisses'. after a beautiful string of acoustic songs, the crowd was treated to a song off of Ben's upcoming album called 'When It's Good'. this was another first, being my first time hearing it played. just before, during 'Please Bleed', I got up and made my way a bit closer to try and get some decent pictures with my not-so-decent camera. in my carelessness I got lost from my spot, but I realized that getting lost at Bonnaroo was about as easy as blinking. so I got a few shots and wandered around for a while, just taking in the music and the crowd - such a great, great crowd. after a bit I found my crew again and sat back on our blanket to enjoy the rest of the show. about the time I got back, Leon Mobley came out to join Ben for 'Burn One Down > My Own Two Hands', 'The Woman In You', 'Forever', and 'Mama's Got A Girlfriend Now'. Ben closed out the set with 'Sexual Healing' and then came back on with a beautiful 'Pleasure & Pain' for the encore. when he was done, he thanked the crowd and told everyone he'd see them over at Jack Johnson.

during Jack's show, ME took off to meet some friends at Disco Biscuits and the Barbarino girls found a nice spot to put a blanket down. Kev ran into some folks he knew and held our ground with them. Jack has only been touring a little over a year, starting his touring days opening for Ben & the Criminals in early 2001, and has one album, 'Brushfire Fairytales', under his belt. he and his band got quite a nice turnout for their Bonnaroo set and they did not disappoint. Jack got tuned up and played a couple of songs solo to start out the set. then he invited a special guest on stage - an audience full of smiling faces watched the cutest little 9 year old girl make her way onto the stage. Jack introduced her as Scarlet and said she was going to play the drums for us. Jack and Merlo (the bass player) then joined her for 'Three Is A Magic Number', after which she recieved a rousing applause. (just IMAGINE being 9 years old and playing in front of 30,000 - 40,000 people. amazing.) just after a nice 'Sexi Plexi' that featured a little tease of Paul Simon's 'Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard', Jack invited DJ Logic out to scratch on 'Stepping Stones' > 'Rodeo Clowns'. nearing the end of the set, Jack got the crowd pulsing with a long medley of covers, including 'Who Do You Love?', 'Trenchtown Rock', and 'Garden Grove' among others. after 'Mudfootball', he brought out his good friend Ben Harper to sit in with him for the Band Of Gypsies tune 'Who Knows', and then ended the set with Harper on 'Flake'. he got a great response from the audience and although I was the only one of our group that had seen him before, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show.

when Jack's set was over, String Cheese Incident had already started, so we took off back towards the Stadium to catch the rest of their set. I've only had the pleasure of seeing SCI once before, so I'm still pretty new to their music, but I knew what to expect. I'm not good with song titles at all, but I think we walked up during 'It Is What It Is'. when we established a spot to watch the show, Nershi introduced a "new friend" of the band that was going to join them on stage. Steve Winwood came out and played with the boys on 'Latinissmo' > 'I'm A Man'. the latter track was a nice treat for the fans, as it was the first time the band had covered the song live and it brought out another special guest, Karl Denson. a couple of members of Denson's Tiny Universe came out for the next couple of songs, followed by the set ending 'Black Clouds' > 'Kashmir' > 'Black Clouds'. the group came back out to begin the encore with the always a treat 'Search > Drums > Search'. the Disco Biscuits set was ending about this time and Kev thought we should try and go hook back up with ME, so we made our way out of the Stadium to the sounds of the drums. I danced my way out, fresh off of another wonderful show from SCI. I look forward to seeing them again as soon as possible..

as me, Kev, and Chris (not sure what happened to our girls during this time - that part's pretty hazy) were walking past the Arena to go find ME, we were sucked in by the sounds of the band onstage. the sounds were that of old-school hip-hop and they were courtesy of the band Jurassic 5. after hearing a recording of the full show, I found that we walked up right after they played two of my favorite tracks, but nevertheless, we got DOWN for the remainder of the set. we walked up, sat the cooler down, and danced our white asses off. it was such a nice change of pace to hear some good old-school style hip-hop.. I just wish I had pictures of our faces during that last half-set. I'm not too familiar with all of their music so it's tough to throw out any song names, but regardless, it was a blast! I'll surely be familiarizing myself with the group and their music in the years to come. when the music stopped and we had our damn-that-was-great smoke, we found the cooler empty and we had about an hour until it was time to Panic again.

we struck out for Barbarino to go take a break from it all and re-up for the rest of the night. after a short rest and a cooler cram, we were back on the road to the Stadium. on the way back Chris wasn't feeling that great, but we could hear the show getting started and he was determined to make it. once we arrived at the Stadium, we made our way to a great little place on the right side of the stage. after stellar versions of 'Blue Indian' and 'Pigeons', the boys broke into 'Happy Child'. as they were segueing into 'Ain't Life Grand', Dottie Peoples and her choir made their way onto the stage to help out with 'Ain't Life Grand' > 'Tall Boy' > a RARE 'Testify'. the harmony of the choir brought so much to the songs, giving them wonderful layers of vocals. they exited as Panic brought it back to 'Tall Boy' and closed out the first set. and talk about dancin'.. whew! I was almost glad to see the first set come to an end for fear of my legs giving out. during the first set, we met a great group of kids beside us from Arkansas(?). Holly and Tom come to mind, but then again I could be completely wrong. we also met a very nice girl named Gray Moore who ended up giving us a copy of the setlist after the show. thanks! regardless of my lack of recollection, they were great concert neighbors and it wouldn't be the last time we'd see them.. the second set opened with a nice medley of 'Disco' > 'Thought Sausage' > 'This Part Of Town'. soon after, George McConnell (see: Kudzu Kings) joined the stage for 'Stop Breakin' Down Blues'. for their next trick, the band brought out two more good friends - Athens native Randall Bramblett got in on the act and Steve Winwood hopped on the keys. Winwood led the way through a first for Panic - a cover of 'Glad', written by Winwood with his band Traffic. then they segued seamlessly into another Winwood-penned tune, 'Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys'. Winwood's vocals and soft keys blending with JoJo, along with Bramblett's subtle sax made for an excellent 'Low Spark'. they seemed to think so as well, extending the song into a long jam before leaving the stage to let Sunny do his thing on 'Drums'. as if we hadn't already been treated to a multitude of talented special guests, Ben Harper percussionist Leon Mobley and DJ Logic took the stage to join Sunny for a riveting drum display. after the intense first set and the songs with Winwood, much of the crowd took a seat at the beginning of 'Drums'. but almost as soon as they were down, most everyone came back to their feet thanks to the glowing stage presence of Mobley. with only his djembe in tow, Mobley put on an amazing display keeping rhythm with the superb percussion work of Mr. Ortiz. Logic made himself known from the shadows of the sidestage, layering his scratches over the onslaught of percussion. one-by-one, the band made it's way back on stage to fall into 'Vacation', and then ended the set with 'Space Wrangler' > 'Love Tractor'. after a short break, they returned for a great 3-song segue encore of 'Visiting Day' > 'Arleen' > 'City Of Dreams'.

during some part of the second set, Chris took off and said he'd be right back. famous last words.. me and Kev waited around for a bit after the show to try and find him, but we finally decided to just join our new Arkansas friends and walk over for the late-night Galactic set. when we got to the tent, it was already packed out and the Galactic funk was in full effect. Kevin made his way into the tent, but I couldn't deal with the crowd, so I found a place just outside and got down to the funk. I was pretty out of it so I can't recall what part of the show I heard - I do remember a song with Les Claypool and another soon after with Michael Kang of SCI. finally I got so tired that I just walked away from Kev and the Galactic tent as they were doing a wild rap medley. I made my way over to the other tent to see what was going on with moe.'s set. their tent seemed to be even more jammed, so I filed in behind a little security golf cart and made it through the crowd and out to the campgrounds.

with hopes of getting off of my feet as soon as possible, I headed to the closest camp. when I got to the Barbarino Kids' camp, I found the elusive Chris sleeping HARD in his tent. I'm still not sure how or when he got there, but it was obvious that he had done the right thing. I took a load off and had a smoke while listening to the music still pouring from CenteRoo. after a few minutes Amanda, Kayla, and Kate showed up and we caught up on the evenings events. it wasn't long before Kate and Amanda had joined Chris in the tent, so Kayla and I sat and had a great conversation while watching the fireworks and hearing the bands behind us. we finally decided to make the walk over to my camp and fell asleep to the sounds of Bonnaroo..

stay tuned..

:: posted by Michael at 7:04 AM (0) comments [+] ::

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as we pulled onto the campgrounds, the reality of it all began sinking in like an anvil in quicksand. this would be our home for the next four days. and oh what an amazing four days it would be. as we came through the gate, we were supplied with a Bonnaroo CD (the sweet sounds vol. 2 - but, where is vol. 1?), a wristband, and a map of the site. looking around, we found ourselves in the midst of a huge sea of people, cars, RVs, and tents - just beautiful. it was around 9 or 10 AM when we went in, so naturally, we had to head to the back to find a nice spot to camp. after riding for a while, scoping out a few sites, running into Mary Ellen's brother, and just taking it all in, we found a cozy little spot off of 8th Ave. in Camp Tootie.

the organizers of the event chose to set the campsite up in a sort of grid, with eight avenues running across the camps and three or four roads running perpendicular to them. each block was a different camp, which were all named for various TV characters from over the years. while there were many great names for the different camps - Camp Tubbs, Camp Rosco P. Coltrane, Camp Apu, and Camp Re-Run come to mind - we decided to call Camp Tootie home. we only had a couple of hours or so until the first of the music started, so we decided to unload some stuff and get our site set up. we set up my big tent (thanks Kevin's mom) beside my car and the little tent just above it. soon after, we realized that a tarp was necessary, as did most every other camp there. we draped the tarp from my car over to the big tent, giving us a nice area beside the car to relax and stay in the shade.

we went for a walk to try and establish our whereabouts and whatnot. we soon found that Kevin's sister and a group of her friends were camping in the same camp as us, and I walked across the street into Camp Barbarino and found another group of friends who'd drove up the day before us - Chris, Amanda, Kate, and Kayla. later, when we found out where the folks were that Esther was meeting, it ended up being just a bit down 8th from our camp, so everything looked to be going perfectly so far.

after Esther found her people, we decided to pack a cooler and go hear some music. we got a bit of a late start, so the first show we hit up was Soulive at the Arena. I'd heard about these guys after getting a show of theirs from Conner, and I really liked what I heard. they have a nice jazzy groove and love to jam. Kevin and ME (short for Mary Ellen; not an egotistical attempt at drawing attention to myself - that's why I have a blog) had also been listening to them a bit lately, so all three of us were pumped for the show. the original three members of the group - Neal Evans, Al Evans, and Kras - took the stage and set things off right with a fiery rendition of 'Steppin''. next up was 'Turn It Out', during which their newest member, saxophonist Sam Kininger, joined them for the remainder of the set. after a few songs, Al asked the crowd for requests. there were a few 'Jesus Children's and 'Shaheed's called out, but of course the loudest would call out for 'Steppin''. Al replied with something along the lines of "well, we would play that one, but we opened the set with it.. didn't someone say 'Jesus Children'?", and they ripped into a blazing medley of 'Jesus Children > Who Knows > Drum Solo > Who Knows > Jesus Children'.

the show was everything I had expected from this foursome. naturally, you would expect me to be ecstatic after my first Soulive show and eagerly anticipating the next show from Gov't Mule. and I was, but there was one small problem - I hadn't slept yet. since I left home. there I was about 30 hours later, of which about 11 or 12 were spent driving, in the mist tent (aka - heaven) wondering how much longer I'd be able to go on.. I'd had a couple of beers and smoked a bit, which I found didn't mix well with sleep deprivation, 12 hours on the road, heat exhaustion, and dehydration. before long, I started walking towards the campgrounds, almost unknowingly. I wanted more than anything to stay for Mule, but I just couldn't take it anymore. as I trodded through the campsites, I realized that I didn't know where in the hell our camp was. so I walked. and I walked some more. I thought I would surely blackout a few times, but I just kept walking. I finally found a nice place to lay down and I passed out for a bit - after a brief nap, I moved on and finally found our camp. I then proceeded to pass out with authority, not to mention a roof over my head.

Kev and ME came back to the camp and woke me from my two-hour power nap. though it may not sound like much, I was literally a new person after those two wonderful hours. we headed back to the musical mecca and prepared to Panic. true to form, we missed the first few of songs of the first set, but we managed to find a few familiar faces and got a nice place at the Stadium to watch the show. the first surprise came with the appearance of Randall Bramblett on sax, sitting in for 'Down' and 'Sometimes', after which the boys closed out the first set with 'Imitation Leather Shoes'. the remainder of the show was awesome. I'd heard Another Joyous Occasion and a few other random shows featuring The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, but I'd yet to see the two collaborate live. that is, until now. after an amazing 'Driving > Porch > Driving > Breathing Slow', the DDBB came on for 'Red Hot Mama' and 'Fishwater'. they were followed by a nice 'Drums', which featured Matt Abts of Gov't Mule. the encore brought things to a close with a moving 'Old Joe' and the sounds of 'Travelin' Light'. the show was full of energy and surprises, thanks to the brass sounds of Bramblett and the DDBB and the pulsing drums of Mr. Abts. after the show, with the help of the Clean Vibes crew, the remaining crowd cleaned up the ENTIRE Stadium area, which wasn't small by any means. I thought it was amazing how such a small group of people could clean such a large area in just a few minutes. it was the first time I'd seen this done at a show and I hope it won't be the last.. "noooow that you're goooone, baby I'm sooober every night.. I caaan't get hiiigh, oh, can't get it right." sorry, got stuck in the moment. and I can't get out of it. heh.

after Panic, we were running low in the cooler department and were pretty hungry. we decided to head back to camp to re-up and grab a bite to eat and then return for the Keller Incident and KDTU. we got back to camp and Kevin decided to cook up a few chicken quesadillas with the tortillas and chicken tenders we acquired on the way up. little did I know, I was about to enjoy the best meal of the weekend. needless to say, the quesadilla hit the spot, leaving us all full and satisfied - and TIRED. after ME had fallen asleep, Kev and I figured we could get a short nap in and then head back for some music. alas, with the closing of our eyes came the end of night one, a beautiful beginning to a weekend I'll never forget.

to be continued..

:: posted by Michael at 6:24 AM (0) comments [+] ::

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now that I've had a week to let it all sink in, my thoughts on last weekend remain the same. Bonnaroo was amazing! in the weeks leading up to it, I tried to not anticipate it too much so as to not build myself up for a (hardly possible) letdown. when it came time to head out, I was pretty much beside myself, but I kept it cool.. gotta get there first.

the day started out with a trip over to North Pearl to pick up Kevin. he'd stayed up late the night before catching up with his old roommate and had to be up at 8 AM for an important appointment. of course he was exhausted, so he decided to catch a quick nap - about 10 minutes before I showed up to pick him up. so I sat impatiently waiting for a good 2 hours when I decided I should probably go ahead and take care of a couple of things around town and give him a chance to wake up. I got back about an hour later and there he was, sleeping like a baby. he came around pretty soon and we got on the road around 3 PM and headed out to Savannah to pick up Mary Ellen and a few things for the weekend.

while on the way there, we found out that Mary Ellen's bags had been lost somewhere on her flight from California. it didn't necessarily slow our trip, but she had to rummage through years of old clothes to find something to take for the weekend. by the time we got to her house, she was all ready to go, but of course her mom didn't think so. after about 30 minutes of cleaning out her kitchen, she felt we were prepared and we said goodbye.

next stop, Kevin's house. of course when we get there, his mom has a full course meal waiting on us.. bless her. we sat down and ate and then it was HER turn to be a mom. she filled the den with so much stuff - it was like being in a sporting goods store. being the nice guys we are, Kevin and I decided it'd be best to go outside and throw the frisbee while the women did all of the packing. so we got all the stuff in the Honda and we were off again. we made a quick run to the Savannah Airport in hopes of Mary Ellen's bags being there, but no luck. so now it was on to Atlanta to pick up Esther, who had been waiting at her hotel for us to pick her up for WAY too long.

after getting lost for a bit, we finally made it to Esther's hotel. I walked in and caught a dirty look from the doorman, quickly reaffirming my guilt for leaving her waiting for a good half-day. I looked across the lobby and saw her sleeping quite uncomfortably with all of her bags surrounding her. guilt trip #2. I woke her up and gave her a big hug and helped her with her things. she gave a warm goodbye to the doorman and the woman working the front desk, which I couldn't help but find hilarious. I'd left her waiting so long that she was now on a first name basis with the ENTIRE hotel staff. as we're packing her things in the car, she shows me the things she brought for me - a variety of beer, a pack of dutch camel lights, and a great smile. guilt trip #3. we somehow managed to fit everything in the car (Kevin and Mary Ellen could pack a family of ten in a dorm fridge, I swear.. - and what's even funnier is that I brought one bag of clothes, a loaf of bread, and a jar of peanut butter. you do the math.) and we were truly Bonnaroo bound. sure, it was 2 AM and we were just leaving Atlanta, but hey, we're going to Bonnaroo!

after a short drive, we reached the exits for Manchester. well not actually.. we got about a half-mile from the exit ramp and came to a standstill mid-interstate. little did we know, we'd be watching the sunrise from this very spot. about 4 hours and a mile later, we made it to the convenience store. woo! a little stretching, a little breakfast, a little bad coffee, and we were back in the procession to the gate. about an hour later, the gates came into vision. we made it! the guys at the gate checked our tickets, gave us our wristbands, did a brief (and I mean BRIEF) check of the trunk, and we were in. Bonnaroo, at last!

to be continued..

:: posted by Michael at 3:30 AM (0) comments [+] ::

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