Oh yeah!  Two more Phish shows on the current summer tour and I get to end up at my home venue, Merriweather.  For one thing I was so happy I wouldn’t have to travel all day to see a show or sleep in a hotel room.  The trip to Merriweather would only take me an hour or so and I could sleep in my own bed after each show.  It seemed like only last week that I was seeing Phish up in Saratoga Spring, oh wait I did.  ;)

June 26th – warming things up

Phish summer 2010 MMP poster

For the Saturday show I gave myself plenty of time to arrive at the venue and do a little tailgating.  Unfortunately I forgot how close Nancy is to the venue and traffic was not an issues so I arrived about three hours before show time.  No worry I just went to Columbia Mall and walked around for awhile and stuffed my face full of food while I was there.  Getting bored with the mall I decided to head in and get a good seat close on the lawn.  This meant spending over an hour in the hot sun and high humidity.  I took the opportunity to just lay out without trying to move.  I just covered my face with my hat and attempted to get a quick nap.  Plus laying out afforded me more space as the lawn filled in closers to the show start.  With show time fast approaching I couldn’t be more excited.

The set opener was a mediocre choice with Crowd Control, not my favorite but a good one.  They quickly followed it up with Kill Devil Falls and one of my favorites from Joy, Sugar Shack.  Mike seemed to flub the words and his voice cracked, on the current tour the song has not been played much but I love to bass line.  After Sugar we got a Tube which yet again was another fan request.  Trey again mentions how he can’t understand what the audience is yelling out and this is what they will play when ever the crowds start yelling.  It was great to see another request, even though it was the same song as requested at nTelos for the first set opener.  Stash was good, another old song from long ago as well as NICU.  Another new song from Joy they played was Backwards Down the Number Line.  This is another song I really dig from the new album but I got the feeling the crowd didn’t care much or the new stuff.  They certainly dug the old stuff and wanted more of the hits but we can’t always get what we want.  Suzie closed the first set out and we got another glow stick war during the “Suzie….Suzie” part which kicks ass.  I remember my first show and the glow stick war during Harry Hood, ever since then I love the fights.  To look up into the stary night and see the florescent lights streaking across the sky is cool.

Trey@MMW (copyright Keith)

Set two started with another Rock and Roll, this time with a Columbia jam according to the official release.  As I looked over the set list I was writing down, comparing it the previous two shows I attended on this tour, they looked strikingly similar.  Not only was some of the songs the same, but even the order in which they where played was the same.  That being said the show so far was full of energy and some great song selections.  Like always the sets are interspersed with slow songs that just kill the momentum, as a whole they have been very very good.  Some of the best in years.

As the set rolled on they played Sparkle which was a great upbeat tune and then busted out with a Tweezer.  After the show opener and closer Tweezer Reprise at SPAC, I was pretty certain on another Reprise at the end of the night.  In two consecutive shows I saw, Tweezer Reprise was played three times, pretty good odds of you ask me.  The audience knew about the opening and closing Reprise and was juiced for tonight’s encore.  Next up was Horse > Silent in the morning which I had not heard in years, rather slow, but the guitar work at the end by Trey is always a highlight.  The set quickly rolled on to Wolfman’s and ended with Tweezer Reprise.  Something we all knew was coming, but I didn’t expect it till the encore.  The choice for the encore could have been better in my opinion.  I would have rather heard Tweezer Reprise there and Good Times, Bad Times as set 2 closer.  The Show of Life was just two slow…..booooo.  Good Times brought things back again to end the night on a high note.

Leaving the show I took the long way back to the car.  I had to park in the business garages on the back side of the venue meaning I had to pass all the official lots as people streamed out on their way home.  In under an hour I was back home and in a comfortable bed to dream about the show I just witnessed and let my mind run wild with what would happen on Sunday.

Set 1:
01. Crowd Control
02. Kill Devil Falls
03. AC/DC Bag
04. Sugar Shack
05. Tube
06. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
07. Stash
08. Backwards Down the Number Line
09. NICU >
10. 46 Days
11. Suzy Greenberg

Set 2:
01. Rock and Roll >
02. Columbia jam >
03. Free
04. Fast Enough for You
05. Sparkle >
06. Tweezer
07. The Horse >
08. Silent in the Morning >
09. Wolfman’s Brother >
10. Slave to the Traffic Light >
11. Tweezer Reprise

encore:
12. Show of Life
13. Good Times Bad Times

Note:
Prior to the start of the first set, Mike teased Do You Feel Like We Do. This show featured the Phish debut of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel).

June 27th – the best got better

must be the start of set 1 (http://blackmuddyblog.blogspot.com/)

Having arrived way to early the previous night I took my time leaving and arrived at what I would say was just in time.  I got into the pavilion at 7:30, the ticketed show start time.  But this is Phish and the show time printed on the ticket is never right, you can always add thirty minutes to that as the actual time the band will walk out on stage.  In years past the delay was not always so well defined.  They would always start late, you just couldn’t be sure how long you would have to wait.  It always pays to arrive early to the venue because you never know what traffic will be like as I found out the first time I saw Phish at Merriweather.

But I digress, back to modern times.  The weather on Sunday was not much better than Saturday, in fact it was a bit warmer but thankfully a little less humid.  As the sun was setting quickly I was hoping for things to cool off rapidly and become a pleasant evening.  In the end once the music started I didn’t even realize how hot it was, I just didn’t care any more.

The show opened with Walfredo which for me was a bust out.  I know it has been played several times over the course of Phish’s 25+ years and certainly 131 shows is not that long.  But wow what a opener!  I knew something was up when the band comes walking out on stage and immediately proceeded to different instruments (see show notes).  I kept saying to myself “this is going to be good.”  Just when I thought things couldn’t get better they played Mellow Mood by Bob Marley.  The last time I saw this performed was at IT second night, in fact it was the last time it was performed before the second night of Merriweather.  The opening of the show was very strong.

As the set rolled on other favorites and songs long put to rest made their appearance including Tela which I first heard at my first show.  Divided Sky had a great pause in the middle, it went on so long I just though the band might walk off for their set break.  Had some great blues action with My Soul.  Other set one highlights included Bathtub Gin which I remember as the classic old school lights-literally-go-out-glow-stick-war-in-sues song, love that one.  To end one of the best sets of the tour was Antelope which contained a tease from Brian and Robert.

Tela request, which they played (http://blackmuddyblog.blogspot.com/)

During the set break I was amped and ready to rock!  The sunset was beautiful to watch over the top of the trees and the temperatures were finally breaking to something mildly comfortable.  As soon as the second set started things started to heat up again.  It was pretty much a none stop roller coaster ride of kick ass songs and great playful jams.  Wilson got things going with a little crowd participation straight into Meatstick with Japan lyrics, something I remember them doing frequently during 2000 after they went to Japan for several shows.  I Saw it Again was next up and during the remainder of the set lyrics would be interjected into various songs, in fact they did an I Saw it Again reprise after Jumpin’ Jack Flash.  Old school songs Piper and Ghost flowed effortlessly from the boys as they played a new debut, Jumpin’ Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones.  At this years Halloween concert in Indio, CA their musical costume was Exile on Main Street by the Stones.  They even played two Stones songs for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as part of that shows week long tribute to the Stones reissue of Exile on Main Street album.  That was a kick ass song that literally had people jumping out of their seats.  Then back to I Saw it Again with things cooling off a little with Contact.

I couldn’t believe the set so far and welcomed the short break while they figured out what to play next.  Thankfully they picked a great song as the set closer, one that has a tradition spot here, YEM.  So far on this tour I had not heard it and it was a good 20 minute space odyssey.  Well actually it didn’t get to spacey, but it did have alternate lyrics from I Saw it Again (“Boy man I saw it again”) with some great lead guitar work by Trey and a slight hint of leading from Mike.  It ended with the traditional vocal jam and accompanying light work from Kuroda.  The bombed dropped at the start of the set finally exploded with the high energy lights and vocals.  After the short ovation period, it was so weak from the lawn I thought they would never come out, they busted out Fire and knocked the shit out of it for four minutes.  Jimmy would have been proud.

After this kick ass show I drove home in amazement.  Of the four shows (previous 1, 2) I saw this was certainly the best.  There were several bust outs and songs that are not generally played.  The selection of songs that are more often than not played were killer and accompanied the set perfectly.  I loved the playfulness of I Saw it Again lyrics in various songs and the reprise of it after the debut of Jumpin’ Jack Flash, that was just brilliant.  The following day when the show was available from Live Phish I immediately purchased it and have listened to the full concert numerous times.  What a great show, in fact a great summer tour, a very solid performance from the band and one of the best in years.  Currently they are on hiatus before hitting the Greek Theatre in Berkley for three night and a mini-festival at Telluride Town Park .

Set 1:
01. Walfredo
02. Mellow Mood
03. Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan >
04. The Divided Sky
05. Tela
06. My Soul
07. Ginseng Sullivan
08. Sample in a Jar
09. Bathtub Gin
10. Brian and Robert
11. Run Like an Antelope

Set 2:
01. Wilson >
02. Meatstick >
03. I Saw It Again >
04. Piper >
05. Ghost >
06. Jumpin’ Jack Flash >
07. I Saw It Again >
08. Contact
09. You Enjoy Myself

encore:
10. Fire

Notes:
This show featured the first Walfredo since September 30, 2000 (131 shows). Jon on bass, Trey on keys, Mike on guitar, and Page on drums.  Antelope contained Brian and Robert teases, a It Was a Very Good year tease from Trey, and an alternate “Michael Esquandolas” lyric. Meatstick contained Japanese lyrics. Jumpin’ Jack Flash was a Phish debut. Piper, Ghost, Contact, YEM and Fire all contained Saw it Again quotes. YEM also contained Jumpin’ Jack Flash teases and, in the vocal jam, quotes of Saw It Again and Surfin’ Bird (The Trashmen). The lyrics to Fire were changed to “Let Jon Fishman take over.”

Photo Gallery of blizzard

Long before the Skins season began, Nancy and I got tickets to two games.  Nancy picked the Bronco’s game which turned out fantastic.  We arrived with plenty of time to tailgate and the weather was perfect all afternoon.  It was a rather warm winter day.  I wanted to see a division game and the obvious choice, Cowboys was taken so I picked the Giants.  Without looking at the date it turned out to be a Monday Night game.  I was so looking forward to it, even being a night game on a work night.

I couldn’t wait to leave work early and cook some good food in the freezing cold.  The weather had other plans by game night for the entire Washington area.  Mother nature on Saturday blanketed the area in an average 20+ inches of snow.  Approximately 25 million pounds of snowed had to removed from the stadium alone.  The entire region was trapped in a day long blizzard that was just crazy.  For nearly 24 hours, it snowed constantly and was great.

Come game day the parking lots where nearly cleared, but not completely.  In fact two whole lots where never plowed and those ticket holds were funneled into other lots.  This caused a huge backup of traffic.  Matt and I got off the beltway around 7pm.  This was nearly 1:30 hours before kick off and a time I thought was sufficient to make it into the stadium.  Parking proved to be a nightmare taking nearly 2 hours before we parked the truck.  When we arrived at our seats it was almost the end of the 2nd quarter and we where loosing badly.  Listening on the radio didn’t prepare for what we saw.

I took the half time to use the restroom and grab another beer.  By the time I got back to my seat the 3rd quarter had already begun.  In short work the Giants scored another touchdown.  At one point Campbell was well into his own end zone and decides to throw an interception that was promptly returned for 6 points.  Did I mention this was the first down of the possession.  I turned to Matt just to make sure I saw what I did.  Things never got any better, even though we scored 12 points in the quarter, we were to far behind.

this game was horrible

What the little hope I had left for a victory faded quickly in the 4th quarter with another Giants touchdown.  Matt and I left.  All night the stadium was pretty empty.  With each score by the Giants, more and more people walked out on the team.  It was just not worth it watching the abysmal game any longer.  Not when the lots would be a mess, taking hours to get back to the highway.  By the time we left it was mostly New York fans left, a lot in fact.

Fortunately in short order we arrived back to my truck and took a back exit out of the parking lot.  This saved us a ton of time when you consider how far back in the lot we actually where.  The road back to the highway was long but free of traffic.  Once on the beltway there was an accident that slowed our progress even further.  I was so upset at the game, I just wanted to get home and sleep.

Late in the evening I finally did make it home.  Miserable, I went straight to bed.  I couldn’t believe I spent all that money and time going to the game.  It was not the weather or the cold that pissed me off so much, I was able to deal with mother nature.  It was the lack of parking guidance and delays getting into the stadium that flipped me over the edge.  Being such a blow out didn’t help the situation any.

I am not sure if I will be buying tickets for next years games after this experience.  I have seen several games of many years and never have they been as bad as this.  If I get tickets for next season it wont be early.  I would rather just buy tickets from a scalper closer to game day so I can make sure things turn out.  It is just not worth it when I can watch it from the comfort of my couch.  Lets hope during the off season the team can get their act together and perform better next year.

Photo Gallery

My birthday weekend was great.  It started with dinner Saturday night with my Dad, Pat, Nancy and Jeremy at Coastal Flats.  I love this place.  It is a part of Great American chain of restaurants and the location at the Fairfax Government Center is perfect.  After dinner you can get some desserts, grab a cup of coffee or see a movie at the theatre.  There is just so much to do there, plus they have an REI!

On Sunday Nancy and I had tickets Skins vs. Broncos game up at FedEx Field.  I was looking forward to getting up there early and doing some tailgating.  I managed to score a green parking pass at a good price on eBay and spent all Saturday afternoon preparing food for the festivities.  Nancy and I got a late start to the field, but made it to the stadium in about an hour.  The green lot we parked in was pretty empty when wee arrived so we took a spot close to the exit.  The weather Sunday afternoon was going to be perfect as well.  The sun was shinning, the skies where blue and the temp didn’t get much above 70.  For a mid-November afternoon you couldn’t beat it.

scoring drive

Minutes after arriving I fired up the grill to get cooking.  We spread out some chairs and cracked open our first beer.  I packed the cooler with four 6-packs and I was not looking forward to lugging that crap back home with me.  We spend the next several hours enjoying the weather and eating a ton of food.  Fortunately we parked near a porto john so trips to the bathroom were painless.  I know it sounds weird, but I love talking to people in line waiting for the bathroom.  Usually at events like this people are drunk and very friendly.  On one of my excursions to the restroom I meet these two ladies from Maryland.  One just moved to the area and the other was a lifer like myself.  Add alcohol and people just start spilling their guts to complete strangers.

We started to loose track of time as the afternoon went on.  We got so engrossed with food, drinking beer and talking we almost forgot about the game.  My sister Tracy and her husband Bobby were at the game and we were suppose to meet them for a little tailgating in the Platinum lot before the game, but that didn’t happen.  He called back saying he and Tracy were going in but he had club level seats if we wanted them, hell yeah hook it up.  We had lower level already, but I would much rather be on the club level.  After Nancy and I quickly cleaned up we headed off to the box office to get our tickets.

packed lounge

After fighting long lines getting into the stadium, by the time we reached our seats it was just in time to watch the Broncos score their first touchdown.  I hadn’t even sat down yet and things were not looking good, a mere 3 minutes into the game and we already were behind.  As the first quarter went on things didn’t look so good, Denver score another touchdown and all we managed to come back with was a single touchdown.  But it was a touchdown and not a field goal at least.  By the end of the first half we closed the gap to only three points.  Things were actually looking good, however we were coming close to our average per game score of 17 and that wouldn’t be enough to win this one.

During halftime we took the time to walk around, hit the head, and for me grab another beer.  We also stopped by the cigar lounge to see who was working, but talked with some random drunk people that were pretty cool.  After the short break it was back to the seats for another half of smash mouth football.

The second half was definitely better than the first.  We managed to score another 13 points in the fourth quarter while the Bronco couldn’t put any more points on the board.  Final score was 27 to 17.  With about 2:30 minutes left in the game Denver tried to make another drive but failed near the goal and suddenly it was our position.  With that Nancy and I headed back to the truck for a little more tailgating.  I had plenty of food and even though we were near an exit, we were in no hurry to head home.  The lot around us emptied rather quickly, but I fired up the grill once again and put on some burgers that were oh so delicious.  Top that off with a victory beer and I was feeling good.

good times

After the game Bobby and Tracy came over to hanged out for a while which was really cool.  We couldn’t believe we won the game, and by such a large margin at that.  As the sun set was snapped a last photo, said goodbye and headed our separate ways.  It took Nancy and I several hours to get home because of traffic across the bridge, but that didn’t matter.  We had good tunes on the radio and the Skins won so we were in high spirits.

I have a set of tickets for the Skins game against the Giants on Monday just before Christmas.  I am sorta looking forward to it.  I think it will be  hard game that we will probably loose, but it should still be a lot of fun.  I can’t wait to tailgate again and freeze my ass off during a crisp winter night.  Lets hope the Skins can give me an early Christmas presents and deliver a victory against one of our division rivals on December 21st.

I was able to catch two shows on the reunion tour early in the summer, Knoxville and Pittsburgh.  After they announced a second leg of their summer tour I of course wanted to score some tickets.  I was hoping to do a four show run, but decided on a more reasonable Merriweather and SPAC.  These two shows happened on a Saturday and Sunday, so less time off from work and were the last two shows of the tour.  Fortunately I lucked out and scored my tickets via mail order so I didn’t have to mess around with getting my tickets via TicketBastard.

copyright: Dave Vann

Merriweather was the place I saw my first Phish show back in 1998 and I have always had great shows here, I was excited they were coming back to this great venue.  Jeremy and I planned on tailgating so I purchased a mini grill to cook up some great tailgate food.  We arrived to late to get a spot in the lot and were forced to park in an over flow parking garage near Columbia Mall.  This meant we were not allowed to tailgate as security came around several times telling us we couldn’t tailgate, finally the cops came around and forced everyone out.  We couldn’t even sit in chairs.  We had all this time to kill and some great food to cook but were stuck doing nothing.

As the show time approached we made our way to the venue entrance to grab a good spot on the lawn.  Security was a none issue getting in, however later I read that 31 were arrested for various offenses.  Non of which made the front page like they did with the three night reunion show in Hampton.  The weather was hot but with the quickly setting sun things were starting to cool off, if we could only get ride of the humidity things would have been perfect for a concert on the lawn.

When the show started both of us were pumped!  It was great to finally have my boy out on the road with me and our hopes where high.  Memories of Sabotage (8/8/1998), Harry Hood (8/8/1998, 7/9/1999), glow stick wars, 2001 (8/8/1998), Fluffhead (9/17/2000), Rock and Roll (9/17/2000), the list goes on and on.  One of the best shows in my life was my first Phish show at Merriweather 8/8/1998.  The boys always crush it when they play here, so my hopes where very high for this show.

copyright: Dave Vann

After giving this show such a huge buildup, now it’s time for the actual show.  In short I was very disappointed with the performance.  I had heard that the night before in Hartford was off the hook and I was expecting a similar performance tonight.  Not only because the band should have been running on a high but the pedigree the venue brings to Phish shows.  Looking back the performance was a solid one, but I was expected a more upbeat show then what was delievered.  They played a ton of new songs, some of which I am a fan, others I am not.  There was just a lack of energy that night and Trey was also pretty horrible on the guitar.  Both Jeremy and I noted off key playing, missed notes, simply sloppy playing in songs like HA HA HA and Party Time.  I guess they were saving themselves for the tour closers in Saratoga.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some great highlights including another great version of Foam that was jammed out again, HA HA HA I had not heard live, a new Fishman song called Party Time (crazy vocals, the man just can NOT sing), a version of Tube which was good but waaay to short.  The second set opened strong with Tweezer that lead into Taste, I don’t get that combo.  A long version of 46 Days which was played well and a long running Merriweather staple, Harry Hood as the set closers.  That was the song I wanted to hear, at least I got that.  Jeremy was hoping for a Down with Disease, but we later found out they played that in Hartford so there was no chance of it at Merriweather.  The encore was decent, they played Tweezer Reprise, which was a surprise because of my short memory I forgot they played that as the set opener so it is always a safe bet to get the reprise some time later in the set.

copyright: Steve Moyles

On the long drive home we reflected on the performance and although we were not that satisfied with the song selection and the lack of tailgating, we agreed it was still a great trip.  Even the worst Phish show beats any other day.  I was just hoping for a killer set Sunday night in Saratoga to make up for this poor performance.

Set 1: 7:38pm start
1. Crowd Control
2. Kill Devil Falls
3. The Sloth
4. Beauty Of A Broken Heart
5. Axilla I
6. Foam
7. Esther
8. Ha Ha Ha
9. Party Time*
10. Tube
11. Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan
12. Strange Design
13. Time Turns Elastic

set 1 ends at 9:02pm

Set 2: 9:31pm start
1. Tweezer >
2. Taste
3. Alaska
4. Let Me Lie
5. 46 Days
6. Oh! Sweet Nuthin’
7. Harry Hood

set 2 ends at 10:44pm

encore: 10:46pm start
8. Good Times Bad Times
9. Tweezer Reprise

show ends at 10:55pm

notes:
*first time played

Photo Gallery

For several years now I have seen Baltimore’s Artscape come and go, never being able to make it.  This year I was determined as ever to catch “the largest free outdoor art festival” in the country.  Every year they get hundreds of artists together and close several city blocks for all the booths and stages.  Not only do they have traditional artists, but dance troops and what I was mostly interested in the local and national musicians together as well for free concerts on several different stages.  This years artists included Cake and Robert Randolph.  With Cake making an appearance it didn’t take any arm twisting to get Jeremy to come with me.  For the first time in years I was finally getting to Artscape.

Jeremy and I got together in the early afternoon to start our trek to Baltimore.  I had never been to Artscape nor the part of town it was located in.  Needless to say we were going to be winging it, just like so many adventures from our youth.  When we got close to the festival we found a garage that was only a couple blocks from the festival and followed the throngs of people towards the festival grounds.  When we arrived it was a giant mass of people walking down the closed streets.  I just couldn’t get over how many people were there.  But I guess being right in the middle of a large city and a free event, brings out the people.

Our first priority was bathroom, drink,  and food, in that order.  We hit one of the “food courts” to grab some grub and found huge lines of people waiting.  It was nice to have all the food in one spot, lots to choose from, but everyone had to go to the same spot to eat.  Instead of picking what we wanted, we settled for the shortest line, a Greek place.  After waiting only 15 minutes or so we placed our order with the lady and promptly got our food.  For some reason she couldn’t take our money and told us to see the guy next to her.  So we cut in line and paid.  He told us $23 for the food and drinks for which we quickly gathered our money and got $2 change.  While looking for some napkins the lady start yelling at us to pay, saying we owed her $20 for the food.  The guy starts yelling at us asking for more money, so we just walked away.  We paid in full and apparently got ripped off for doing so.  Food vendors can be some shady people.  With food and drink secured we found a nice shady spot under a tree and joined the hundreds of other festival goers in eating some food.  For being over charged it was rather good too.

After lunch Jeremy and I parted company.  Jeremy took the recording gear and headed to the pit to secure a spot.  I headed to one of the other stages to catch Higher Hands for a few songs before meeting back up with Jeremy.  On the way to and from the Festival Stage I stopped by many of the booths to check out the art work.  I was very impressed by what I saw from most of the vendors.  I would have actually bought some of the pieces but the prices were to steep for my pockets, so instead I just marveled at what I saw.  I have always been impressed with artists, of all kinds.  I have always been a little jealous of artists actually.  The fact that these people create something and display it for the world to see has been something I wish I could do.  I wish I could create something beautiful the way these people do.  The closes I come right now is with my photography.  What I do might be called creative, but I think of it mostly as being at the right place at the right time.  Nature has done all the work by creating the world around me, I just take the pictures.

Cake copyright: Kathleen Hill

Higher Hands was not finished with their set before I needed to head over to the main stage for Cake.  When  I arrived the tiny amphitheatre was packed with people.  Jeremy said he was down in the pit near the stage right corner, now I just needed to find one man in a crowd of thousands.  When I got to the pit I quickly ran into a wall of people that made it near impossible to get to him.  He was about 20′ from me but because he was taping I was unable to get his attention, yelling would have been a bad idea.  And besides even if he knew I was there I couldn’t get any closer.  So I took up my spot and just enjoyed the show, only missing two songs of the set.  From my vantage point I could barely see the stage, but I certainly could hear them play.  The photo to the right is a good approximation of my limited view of the stage.

As the set progressed Cake played many of their hit songs, which I recognized, and even a song from their as yet unreleased album.  John McCrea said there is no official release date and they would release it when they wanted.  They currently don’t have a major record label and are taking their new found freedom from “the man” to its fullest, which seems to suit them very well.  Every now and then I would see John poke his head out.  With my limited view of the stage it allowed me to do a lot of people watching which I love to do.  Quite a diverse group of fans made it to see them play.

Once the set was over the crowd quickly dissipated which allowed Jeremy and I to take up a much better position on the hill.  We managed to snag a spot about half way up the hill just left of center, right next to the tapers.  Up next was Robert Randolph and the Family Band.  A rockin’ soul/funk/fusion band that is hard to describe, you just have to see them.  The band does a good job of getting the crowd into the music and their shows are always a party.

Robert Randolph copyright: Jeff Quinton

They came out and rocked the house with their brand of funk and the audience ate it up.  They played a ton of covers, two from Michael Jackson who recently passed away, Man in the Mirror and Billie Jean.  For Billie Jean a young kid, maybe 10 or 11, came on stage and stole the show with his break dancing skills.  The whole show was like this……good.  By the time the band walked off stage at the end of the set it was almost 10pm.  But you see the guys milling around next to the FOH board deciding what they are going to play and a few minutes later come out for an encore.  With the clock marching towards 10pm there was not much time to squeeze in the two song encore.  As they played on I saw coming up the stage stairs a police or fire chief and he looked pissed.  The sound guy and he talk real quick and the sound man gets a panic look on his face.  The city takes their curfew very seriously but Robert didn’t care about any curfew, he just wanted to play.  The crowd was digging the music and he wanted to give them everything he had.  Eventually the band members slowly walk off stage leaving Robert playing a melody on his guitar.  Slowly he walks off stage, still playing, and has a pow wow with the chief.  Then just stops playing, there was no more show.  I definitely thought the power would have been cut mid-song or the chief walking on stage and pulling the cord from Robert’s guitar, something like that.  But I was glad to see them playing as long as they did.

After the show we filtered out with the rest of the crowd.  It was great seeing variety of people that attended the festival as we walked back to the car.  When we got back it was off to Sabatino’s for some midnight grub.  I for one was hungry and thirsty.  I had visions of tiramisu and cappuccino dancing in my head.  When ever I am in Baltimore I stop by Sabatino’s for some late night eats, usually to sober up too.  When we arrived I was hungrier than I thought and ordered a bowl of mussels along with my usual.  Everything was so good, what a way to cap off the night.  After food and a little time to rest we headed back home to Virginia.

CAKE
1. Stickshift and Safetybelts
2. War Pigs
3. Ruby Sees All
4. Love You Madly
5. Frank Sinatra
6. Wheels
7. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle
8. Sheep Go to Heaven
9. Daria
10. Short Skirt/Long Jacket
11. Comfort Eagle
12. Untitled*
13. Mexico
14. Never There

Note:
* – John McCrea said Cake may or may not release a new album with this song on it.

Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Start time 8:32pm
1. Sunshine Of Your Love jam
2. Deliver Me
3. I Need More Love >
4. Wanna Be Starting Something jam >
5. I Need More Love
6. The March
7. jam >
8. Man In The Mirror
9. Shake Your Hips
10. Jesus Is Just Alright
11. Gilligan
12. Billie Jean
13. I Don’t Know What You Come To Do

encore:
14. Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That
15. Thrill Of It

walked off stage 10:02pm