Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Last Dance with Mary Jane
Aesthetically, I have always loved Austin, Texas. But it's never been home, and much to my chagrin something about it has never quite felt right for me. I guess there's just some places you're not supposed to spend too much time, and Austin could just be one of those places for me. Not in the stars. But that doesn't mean that from time to time I can drop in, have a look around.
So that's what I did over the weekend, for what will probably be the last time for a long while. At least until next years' ACL Fest. Because I'm sold; I'm a fan, and I don't even know where to begin.
We caught Gnarls Barkley on Friday afternoon and then hit up some Thievery Corporation, who were amazing with their featured artisits from all around the world. A rare occurance to hear the sitar and turntables mixed together. Van Morrison finished the night. As he came out and started playing the harmonica, in suit and fedora, and made his way into "Back On Top" everyone around me just stood there and I know we were all thinking the same thing: "Wow. That's Van Morrison."
Saturday Ben Kweller got a nosebleed and did some unmentionable things to try and stop it, although he eventually cut it short after squeezing in "Falling" and bleeding all over the keyboards. The Shins thrilled the crowd, Aimee Mann gave us goosebumps, String Cheese jammed and Explosions in the Sky, well, exploded.
They went on stage around 6:3o in the evening. It had been hot but nothing in comparison to last years' 108. And by this time the sun was beginning to make it's decent behind some clouds and had begun to paint the sky with it's array of Texas sunset colors. I took a few minutes and reclined down onto the grass and just soaked in the feeling. It was a feeling you don't get living in the heart of a city like Providence. It was a true Texas feeling. Texas--the Hill Country--at sunset is not a feeling you ever forget. I can't describe it. I won't try.
There are few things that could have topped that experience, and one was about to occur at the stage behind me. As the sun dissapeared I found myself climbing over people to move as close as I could to the stage for the main event of Saturday night: Willie. Willie did what he does, and he did it amazingly. His guitar playing is like none other. His set list on Saturday included a lot of standards like 'All of Me', 'Blue Skies' and 'Georgia' as well as two really funny new tunes. Age gracefully and with a sense of humor, and continue living life loving every minute. Stay true to yourself. That's the Willie way.
Sunday was another full day. I was there for one reason, the one act that sold me on coming halfway across the country to attend all 3 days of the festival. My favorite artist, headlining the night. But that would come later. At noon when we arrived it began storming and we stood in front of the stage for Anathallo and got drenched and clapped and sang along. What a great start for the show! Later, once the sun was out, Matisyahu hit the stage with his reggae-rap praising God was quite an experience. It takes a strong soul to be a white, NYC-born Hasidic-reggae/rap artist. And it takes an even stronger one to be taken from a small club to be performing songs of praise and adoration in front of a, shall we say, spirited festival crowd.
The Flaming Lips. What can I say? If the women and children dressed as Santa and aliens wasn't enough, there was always the inflatable spaceman and aliens and the fake blood and the confetti. Plus some pretty fun sing-alongs and an amazing accompaniment to the sun sinking for the day behind a massive, UFO-shaped cloud. I am an instant fan.
Some of the gang I was with came and went throughout the day, but I opted to stay put and save our seats for the main event. And finally as darkness set in and all the other acts finished up, it was time. Lightning flased around us, an ominous sign but none of us took the warning. And neither did Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Walking out into the darkness they tuned up their instruments and flew right into 'Listen to Her Heart.' We swooned. Petty jammed. He jumped around on stage like he was Benny Goodman, leading the orchestra...I mean audience an unforgettable experience known as 'Learning to Fly.' I can't wait to download the show from I-Tunes when it comes avaliable.
What else about the weekend? Bar-B-Q. Breakfast tacos. So many breakfast tacos. Crashed at Seaberg's new place, saw his new car, new office, new life. That was good times. Didn't really see Sherry too much, or anyone else for that matter. Had some time to think though, which is usually worthwhile. Read Dylan's memoir on the plane. Continued my study of The Book of Acts throughout the weekend. Saw the spectacular Detroit Airport, and the not so thrilling Cleveland one. In a way this kind of served as my Summer vacation, and for the most part it was a success. For the most part.
Oh, Austin.
No I don't suppose I'll ever live there. I missed my chance for that dance, and it's ok, because it's not what was planned for me. So here I am in Rhode Island, building my life; halfway across the country from Austin (I got a USA map in my National Geographic yesterday at the airport!). Still, when it comes to the end of the day, there really is nothing quite like it...
---
Hey, the leaves are turning up here. Fall is creeping in daily and it's starting to gently rain outside my window. School is back in session, the city's buzzing with life. Autumn is officially here starting Saturday. I'm so excited! ¶ 9/19/2006 06:40:00 PM
So that's what I did over the weekend, for what will probably be the last time for a long while. At least until next years' ACL Fest. Because I'm sold; I'm a fan, and I don't even know where to begin.
We caught Gnarls Barkley on Friday afternoon and then hit up some Thievery Corporation, who were amazing with their featured artisits from all around the world. A rare occurance to hear the sitar and turntables mixed together. Van Morrison finished the night. As he came out and started playing the harmonica, in suit and fedora, and made his way into "Back On Top" everyone around me just stood there and I know we were all thinking the same thing: "Wow. That's Van Morrison."
Saturday Ben Kweller got a nosebleed and did some unmentionable things to try and stop it, although he eventually cut it short after squeezing in "Falling" and bleeding all over the keyboards. The Shins thrilled the crowd, Aimee Mann gave us goosebumps, String Cheese jammed and Explosions in the Sky, well, exploded.
They went on stage around 6:3o in the evening. It had been hot but nothing in comparison to last years' 108. And by this time the sun was beginning to make it's decent behind some clouds and had begun to paint the sky with it's array of Texas sunset colors. I took a few minutes and reclined down onto the grass and just soaked in the feeling. It was a feeling you don't get living in the heart of a city like Providence. It was a true Texas feeling. Texas--the Hill Country--at sunset is not a feeling you ever forget. I can't describe it. I won't try.
There are few things that could have topped that experience, and one was about to occur at the stage behind me. As the sun dissapeared I found myself climbing over people to move as close as I could to the stage for the main event of Saturday night: Willie. Willie did what he does, and he did it amazingly. His guitar playing is like none other. His set list on Saturday included a lot of standards like 'All of Me', 'Blue Skies' and 'Georgia' as well as two really funny new tunes. Age gracefully and with a sense of humor, and continue living life loving every minute. Stay true to yourself. That's the Willie way.
Sunday was another full day. I was there for one reason, the one act that sold me on coming halfway across the country to attend all 3 days of the festival. My favorite artist, headlining the night. But that would come later. At noon when we arrived it began storming and we stood in front of the stage for Anathallo and got drenched and clapped and sang along. What a great start for the show! Later, once the sun was out, Matisyahu hit the stage with his reggae-rap praising God was quite an experience. It takes a strong soul to be a white, NYC-born Hasidic-reggae/rap artist. And it takes an even stronger one to be taken from a small club to be performing songs of praise and adoration in front of a, shall we say, spirited festival crowd.
The Flaming Lips. What can I say? If the women and children dressed as Santa and aliens wasn't enough, there was always the inflatable spaceman and aliens and the fake blood and the confetti. Plus some pretty fun sing-alongs and an amazing accompaniment to the sun sinking for the day behind a massive, UFO-shaped cloud. I am an instant fan.
Some of the gang I was with came and went throughout the day, but I opted to stay put and save our seats for the main event. And finally as darkness set in and all the other acts finished up, it was time. Lightning flased around us, an ominous sign but none of us took the warning. And neither did Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Walking out into the darkness they tuned up their instruments and flew right into 'Listen to Her Heart.' We swooned. Petty jammed. He jumped around on stage like he was Benny Goodman, leading the orchestra...I mean audience an unforgettable experience known as 'Learning to Fly.' I can't wait to download the show from I-Tunes when it comes avaliable.
What else about the weekend? Bar-B-Q. Breakfast tacos. So many breakfast tacos. Crashed at Seaberg's new place, saw his new car, new office, new life. That was good times. Didn't really see Sherry too much, or anyone else for that matter. Had some time to think though, which is usually worthwhile. Read Dylan's memoir on the plane. Continued my study of The Book of Acts throughout the weekend. Saw the spectacular Detroit Airport, and the not so thrilling Cleveland one. In a way this kind of served as my Summer vacation, and for the most part it was a success. For the most part.
Oh, Austin.
No I don't suppose I'll ever live there. I missed my chance for that dance, and it's ok, because it's not what was planned for me. So here I am in Rhode Island, building my life; halfway across the country from Austin (I got a USA map in my National Geographic yesterday at the airport!). Still, when it comes to the end of the day, there really is nothing quite like it...
---
Hey, the leaves are turning up here. Fall is creeping in daily and it's starting to gently rain outside my window. School is back in session, the city's buzzing with life. Autumn is officially here starting Saturday. I'm so excited! ¶ 9/19/2006 06:40:00 PM
