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I just got back from a simply immense weekend at the Creekside Jamboree in Forksville, PA. Summer festivals in general are really cool, but this one was particularly memorable. It was SO chilled out, SO laid back, and SO mellow. I took pages and pages of notes, which I scribbled (and boy do I mean scribbled) over the course of the weekend, some of which I'll include here. There's no theme or intention; I'm posting them for no other reason than to share one fucked up person's thoughts with the world. ;-) ULU: This was a cool band. They played on Saturday, before the Slip. I really enjoyed their set; this is what I wrote about them: It's amazing how good they suddenly got. They played for an 1 hour with a more or less generic Jam Band set, then suddenly broke out into an absolutely amazing funk jam. Coincidentally, Andrew came on stage and joined in on drums right then. I shouldn't say that their sudden shift to greatness was due to him, but what an amazing transformation it was. I could clearly hear the African undertones in his playing, and it seemed to energize both the band and the audience. Kudos to you, Andrew; you made a real difference. The Slip finally went on stage shortly afterwards, at exactly 6:32pm. Don't ask me why I wrote that down. There was a whopping NINE people under the tent (much less than this, even.) Here's my best guess at the setlist. Pei-Yi and I worked on it together, although coherence was rapidly fading by then. ;-)
The rest of the bands that night were ok, but I don't think any Slip fan can truthfully admit that they really enjoyed it. Nothing quite compares to BAM. We're spoiled. Therefore, many Slip fans (I'd say there were about 10-12 hardcore ones there) retired to the campground for most of the night. We all kind of hovered around the same area, which made for a lot of fun. The night got real hazy after that. Someone broke out the tequila, complete with lime & salt, and there was no looking back. All I know for sure is that I woke up the next morning. Sunday started very slow. I was up by 8 or so, one of the first ones. It was so peaceful. I took a walk around the grounds and silently watched as people slowly emerged from tents & teepees to start the day. There was in incredible creek right there (hence the name Creekside Jamboree (duh)) and many of us jumped in for a bracing swim. I returned to my tent, and seeing that I had a good 2-3 hours before the first Sunday band started, sat in my lawn chair, soaked in the sun, and become deeply engrossed in a book. Ok, so it was a computer book, but I enjoyed myself immensely nevertheless. Learned all about DNS and BIND. I also witnessed some memorable things- a family of hawks playing in the air, small children having the time of their life, a morbidly fascinating, almost painful courtship ritual, and a perfect, cloudless sky ringed by a lush, dark green valley. Anyway, the bands eventually started (somewhere around 11:45) and the day could finally be said to have officially begun. First up was a Grateful Dead cover band. Nice way to start the day- some chilled out Dead washing over the campground, gently drawing people to The Tent. The Miracle Orchestra appeared on stage at some point, which was a surprise to me, as I thought they played on Friday and that was it. Man they rip. The Slip FINALLY came on, the last band of the day. Sometime around 4. I left my notepad at work today, so I can't give you the setlist, although it's not very complete anyway. Various "things" prevented my ghostwriter friend and I from writing much. Hence, I'll add what I have later, but it won't be too complete. Suffice it to say for now that it was once again mind blowing. Sadly, the show eventually ended at about 6:45 and it was time to go home. Just before the show ended, someone passed around a mason jar of moonshine with something surprisingly dissolved in it, unbeknownst to me until after I took a couple of big swigs. It made for a most interesting ride back to Boston. It was nevertheless, uneventful, with my mind more than filled with memories of an absolutely fantastic weekend. Anyway, special thanks to the organizers, the MO, the Slip, and you wonderful fans who made it waaaaaaaaaay out to Forksville. Awesome time.
Peace, |
