Fallen Thoughts

:: 7.15.2002 ::

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 [+] ::

[===]