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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

Friday was the second straight show of Medeski, Martin and Wood I was going to see.  Of the two this was definitely the one I was most looking forward to.  Yeah the Lewis Ginter was a new venue for me, but the last time I saw MMW at Rams Head Live it totally kicked ass.  Plus it was a Friday in Baltimore so that was it’s own fun right there.  For this show I planned on doing a little drinking and there is always Sabatino’s for some after show dessert and coffee.

Medeski, Martin and Wood

Unlike last nights show, this one started at a more reasonable hour.  The doors didn’t open until 7 where as with the Lewis Ginter show, by 7 MMW was getting ready to take the stage.  The extra time allowed me to put in a full day of work with plenty of travel time before the show started.  I couldn’t leave work till 6pm but even at this late hour traffic was not an issue and I was in Baltimore just after 8.  When I got into the venue The Wood Brothers were already on stage, but only a couple of songs into their set.   Not my favorite band.  They play really well and it was certainly different just having a due on stage.  I like to call it hard core bluegrass, it was mostly time to get drinks and mingle with the other fans.

Trying to find other fans turned into a little bit of an issue as NO ONE showed up!  That is not entirely true, probably 400-500 people showed up for the show.  The last time I saw them at the Rams Head Live back in 2005 the placed was packed and I was hoping for the same amount of people.  Baltimore has got a great scene when it comes to live music and I was expecting the hoards of people to flood into the inner harbor and support the band.  Even on a Friday night and still no one showed up.  So as showtime approached I was a little apprehensive on how good the show was going to be.

Another beer and it was time to find my permanent spot on the floor to enjoy the show.  Because of the low turnout the upstairs area was closed off, so I took  a spot dead center about 20′ away.  There I meet two really cool people from Annapolis, Gretchen and Michal.  A couple of young people who were well traveled when it came to seeing concerts.  We all reminisced about various concerts we had been to and the upcoming Phish shows we were going to see.  When the lights went down the fun was about to begin.

Rams Head Live!

The quick and dirty is that the show was 10,000 times better than last nights.  Having such a small crowd did not diminish the vibe.  The boys were on fire this night performing many of their new songs from Radiolarians II.  They also threw in some new new stuff that should appear on the third installment of this series.  The energy during the entire show was well maintained throughout.  Reliquary starts off the first set and had this building quality to it.  It sounds as if at any moment they are just going to breakout into this crazy bizarre jam without limits.  Riffin’ Ed continued in the same way.  When they got to the third song, a new one, they changed direction into something a little mellower that flowed right into Junkyard and back into an uptempo beat.  For the set closer it was all energy with two more songs from their recent album, ijiji > Flat Tires.  This left the crowd on a high and me wanting more, that second set couldn’t get here fast enough.

One last run to the bar for beer, I am responsible you know so no more drinking once the second set starts, and then to procure more real estate.  This time I was able to get within a few feet of the stage, everyone else was not as quick at getting the last beer like I was.  While waiting for the second set I meet Jennifer, now what I am about to say sounds straight out of a porno, but it is not.  She is a airline stewardess out of Detroit who was in Baltimore for the night just to see the show.  A real lovely woman to talk to and a true music fan like myself.  I don’t know many people that will travel such a great distance just to see a band.  When the lights went out and MMW stepped onto the stage it was time for my attention to shift.

copyright Tim

The second set was a little more adventurous in it’s tone and arrangement.  Set highlights included three new songs, including one for the encore and another great version of Amber Gris which I have been really digging from their new album.  Right in the middle of the set they change temp and pull out Baby Let Me Follow You Down.  Not sure why when they were rocking hard they felt the need to slow things waaaaay down.  Fortunately once it was over it was time to get back to the funk and boogie.  When the set ended the crowd was pretty tired and I doubted they would be able to pull the guys out for an encore.  Fortunately we didn’t have to wait long for them to bust out a new funky jam to leave us all on a high.

At the close of the show it was not exactly time for me to drive home.  I was hungry for some dessert and besides, I needed to sober up a little.  On my way to Sabatino’s I ran across this woman throwing an orange around and I just had to ask what she was doing.  Being the gentleman I am I couldn’t just let her walk alone in the city this late at night.  When we reached Sabatino’s however we parted ways, she headed home and I was headed for tiramisu and a cappuccino.  I don’t know what it is about this combination, but it totally kicks ass and is but one reason I like coming to Baltimore for concerts.

Sober from the evenings concerts and still jamming to the tunes in my head it was time for the long drive home to my nice comfortable bed.

Set 1 9:38
Reliquary
Riffin’ Ed
unknown >
Junkyard >
ijiji > Flat Tires

set ends at 10:41

Set 2 11:13
Sweet Pea Dreams
unknown
Amber Gris
Baby Let Me Follow You Down
Amish Pintxos
unknown

encore 12:03
unknown

show ends at 12:11

I have been listening to the Soulsearching podcast with Michael Rutten for almost two years.  I found the podcast by accident while listening to Raute Musik’s Lounge station from Germany.  Michael has introduced me to a ton of good music and when I can find it on iTunes I get it.  One of the band that he has played several time is The New Mastersounds from Leads in England.  They have this jazz/soul/funk sound that just wont stop.  The few songs I heard on his program are funky with a rhythm and beat that wont quit.  After checking their website I found they would be touring the United States in January with a local stop in Baltimore at The 8×10.  With a kick ass band doing a US tour at a local venue and tickets only $12 it was a sign.  I needed to go to this concert.

The show was on Friday January 9th so it was a no brainer to make it an evening in Baltimore.  I left work about 6:30 to get up there.  I was a little worried about crossing the Woodrow Wilson bridge, but with the redesign getting across was a piece of cake.  Finding a parking spot in Federal Hill turned out to be a problem.  The one parking deck they have was filled up.  So I spent the next 45 minutes driving around the narrow streets looking for a parking space.  The ones that I did find were to small so I started to expand my circle looking for a spot.  I eventually found a spot about 8 blocks away near a high school.  After that long walk I was really hungry for some food.

Walking down the street I found this great little Thai place called Ten-O-Six, exactly what I was looking for.  When I walked by the front window I could see the chef cooking, that was what drew me to the restaurant.  When I walked in it was a tiny little place that was packed for a Friday night.  Being just one person I took a seat at the bar where I could see the chef work.  I ordered a duck dish that was amazing.  It came with some vegetables in a good sauce and rice.  Being Thia it was spicy, but a good level of spice.  Nothing to weak and not to strong, just the right amount.  And for $13 the price couldn’t be beat.  For desert I had the creme brulee that was fantastic.  I stumbled across this restaurant and I thoroughly enjoy the place, I highly recommend the place if you are in the Federal Hill area of Baltimore.

After a great meal it was time to head to the club.  I was running late, because of my parking situation, but didn’t mind.  The food more than made up for it and I was only missing the opening act, Higher Hands.  I saw them once opening up for Soulive back in August at the Rams Head Live also in Baltimore.  They are pretty good, but not high on my list of bands to watch.  So when I got there I got a beer and stacked out a spot.  Higher Hand only played a few songs and they where off, hell it didn’t even take long before The New Mastersounds came to the stage.

These guys played two sets that night and kicked ass.  They brought the funk all the way from Leads in England to this little venue in Baltimore and I was completely blown away by them.  The venue was packed with people dancing to the music.  Many of the songs I recognized from their album This Is What We Do.  The rest of them were just as good.  I wish I knew the setlist better because the second to last song ending the first set was great.  The jam in the middle was put together perfectly at the right time.  All I can say is if they come to your town make the trip to see them, you will not be disappointed.

After a long night it was time to head home.  I was thinking about heading over to Sabatino’s in Little Italy for a cappuccino and tiramisu, but getting back to my car at 2am all I wanted to do was get home.  I could barely make it home I was so tired.  When I finally did make it, it was lights out the moment my head hit the pillow.  My chance to see them again will happen soon.  They are announcing a three week US tour for March and I am pretty sure they will be back to Baltimore.  I will see you all there!

The New Mastersounds
The 8×10 – Baltimore, MD
Friday, January 9th, 2009

Set 1 (10:47 start)
01. Zambezi
02. Carrot Juice
03. All I Want (Right Now)
04. Miracles
05. Thermalbad
06. Coming Up Roses
07. Brother Soul
08. Baby Bouncer
11:45 end

Set 2 (12:08 start)
01. Thirty-Three
02. Hole In The Bag
03. Fastman
04. Six Underground
05. Turn this Thing Around
06. 3 on the B
07. You’ve Got It All
08. Eazin Down
09. Quantico VA
10. Nervous (remix)

Encore
12. One Note Brown (with jam intro)
1:35 end with encore

Photo Gallery

So it was my birthday the other day and my kick ass girlfriend got me tickets for the Skins vs. Cowboys at FedEx Field.  I was floored when I saw the tickets, this is the game of all games.  What made the tickets that much better was the parking pass she got me too!  The first game I saw this season was Skins vs. Cardinals, I had tickets and no parking pass.  This turned into a cluster fuck before and after the game.  The cash lot is $40 and it takes forever to ride the bus to the stadium.  You have to fight the same traffic as everyone else getting into the stadium.  Getting out is more of the same.  As for walking, bring your hiking boots you will need them.  So when I got tickets to the Skins vs. Steelers for a Monday night game with no parking pass…….I skipped the game.

So having that parking pass and the ability to tailgate I was ecstatic.  I have wanted to tailgate all season long and I always find it to be one of the most enjoyable parts of going to see the Skins play.  If I just wanted to watch the game I can do that from the comfort of my home.  Where there are no lines to the bathroom, beers are endless, and nobody wants to pick a fight.  I took Jeremy with me to the game and we left my house at about 3:30 to get to the stadium.  Surprisingly enough there was no traffic getting to Landover.  Not crossing the bridge or near the stadium.

Jeremy and I tailgating

When we arrived at about 4:30 the lots were still pretty empty.  I guess the 40 degree weather and constant 15mpg wind was enough to keep most people away, at least for tailgating.  So with the ability to pick just about any space we wanted we parked near the front of the orange lot that was closest to the exit.  Here we setup camp.  Well I put the tailgate down and turned on my Colman stove.  We had some pre-game food and tried to stay warm.  My body was pretty warm, it was my hands that were freezing.  Having no gloves will do that.

So after a few hours in the parking lots both Jeremy and I gave up.  It was too cold to be outside any longer and since we had club level tickets it was worth it to go inside.  We headed in and decided to take up residency at Club Macanudo.  It is an indoor smoke lounge with giant leather chairs and tvs all over the place.  What a better place to chill while we waited for the start of the game.  Here I ran into Frank from General Cigars and also Gary, my boss.  If you want to meet some cool, and sometimes powerful people, the cigar lounge at FedEx Field is a good place to start.

By the time we finished smoking it was almost time for kick off at 8:15.  So we headed to our seats to watch the spectacle that is the National Football League.  The game started off rather well for us.  The Skins were able to hold the Cowboys off and score a few points themselves.  The problem was the Skins could not put enough points on the board.  At one point the kicker missed a 37 yard field goal by being 5 yards short.  It was heart breaking.  The skins would march down the field and couldn’t score any points.  The only bright spot was that the defense was holding the Cowboys at bay.

great seats!

By the end of the first half the Skins were up 10-7.  We were going to start with the ball and the crowd was psyched.  Even with the extreme cold and wind blowing the crowd stuck around.  We won the first meeting down in Dallas and we had the lead going into the second half so things looked good.  Unfortunately things bogged down.  Nobody scored in the third quarter.  The skins started to look worse.  They were getting fewer and fewer yards each time they had the ball and the Cowboys were getting more and more yards per possession.  They changed their play book and it was working.

So when the fourth quarter came and it was still 10-7 things didn’t look to good for the Skins.  As the last quarter went on things started to look worse.  The Skins just couldn’t get any where and the line couldn’t hold back the Cowboys.  So our only hope of winning was to hold onto the lead we built early in the game.  Unfortunately this didn’t happen and with only a few minutes left on the clock the Cowboys scored the touch down they needed to take the lead.

The Skins tried hard to get that lead back but stick a fork in the Skins, they are done.  With just under two minutes left on the clock and the Cowboys getting the first down they needed to successfully kill the clock to zero Jeremy and I walked out.  The stadium was dead, the life completely sucked out of of everyone.  I couldn’t believe we lost, and to the Cowboys of all teams.  Jeremy and I hung our heads and walked back to my truck.

I guess the only good part about the game was getting out of the stadium.  Usually traffic is so bad it is not worth it to leave when you get to your car.  It is better to fire up the grill and have some more food and another beer.  This time getting home was like arriving, took just an hour.  I was home and in my bed by 12:30.  I could start to forget about that crappy game.

The tickets from Nancy was a great surprise and the best gift I got from any body.  To bad the Skins had to loose.  Thanks again Nancy for this wonderful gift.

On Saturday we had our La Gloria Cubana BBQ with Ernesto.  So that means that Gary was hanging around all day to “entertain.”  We were looking for items to give away for a raffle and Gary mentions he has tickets to the Skins game on Sunday.  But he is not sure if he wants to throw them in with the other raffle items.  We should a good number of tickets, but not really enough to justify giving away a $2,500 humidor AND club level seats to a skins game.  So I of course offer to take the tickets off his hands.  Surprisingly he says yes, “I would rather give them to someone I know will enjoy them than raffle them off.”

So I immediately call Nancy and let her know there was a change of plans for Sunday, what ever we were doing we are not any more.  We are going to a Skins game, club level, and FREE!  I was very excited about this.  Any time I get to see my team play its a good day, even when they loose, its still good to be at a game watching them play.  This would also be my first time on the club level.  My seats have generally been in the upper ring way far away.  This time around I would get good seats and all the amenities of the club level.  Shorter lines for food and drink, nice bathrooms, and the cigar lounge.

We unfortunately got a late start for the day, not leaving my house till just after 10 o’clock.  By the time we got up there it was just after noon.  So no time to meat up with my brother and Matt or Nancy’s friend Nichole and her group.  Hell we barely had enough time to get from the car to our seats for kick off.  Since we didn’t have a parking pass we used the off site cash lots and took a Metro bus to the stadium.  And efficient system, if it were not for all the traffic.  I was pulling my hair out waiting in line.  I really wanted to get together with my brother and Matt who just happened to be there.  Never had my brother seen a game in person and it had been a while since we talked to each other.  We didn’t even have time to meet with Nichol.

Luckily we got to our seats in time for the kick off and a wonderful afternoon of football.  The weather was perfect and our seats were in the shade the whole time.  When we did need some food it was a quick trip to the concession stands for food and beer.  Even the beer guys came around often, unfortunately they only had crappy domestic in bottles.  Beggars can’t be choosy when they are bringing beer to you.

During the half time we took a moment to visit the cigar lounge which my company sponsors and say hello to Gary.  It was the least we could do to thank him for the tickets.  When we walked in I was shocked to see how few people were in the club.  I had heard stories of it being standing room only in seasons past.  But since Maryland passed a strict non-smoking law the club is now empty.  You can still smoke in the club, you can’t serve food or drink in the club.  So most patrons are avoiding it and sitting at their seats.  When you pay that kind of money for season tickets why would you want to sit in a bar and watch the game on tv?  I never got that.

The game was a great one.  Lots of good defense and offense.  At times the Skins would lead and then the Cardinals would take it form them, with the skins quickly coming back.  They hung in there till the very end.  By the end of the third quarter it was tied 17 all.  Late in the fourth quarter the skins score another touch down to take the lead and held the Cardinals off.  Skins win!  Skins win!  Final score was 24-17.

Now that I was on cloud 9 it was time to leave the stadium and head to my dad’s house for Sunday dinner.  If I thought getting in was a headache leaving was much worse.  The traffic in and around the stadium was not that bad this time.  The real problem was the beltway.  From the time we got onto the highway till we crossed the Woodrow Wilson bridge it was bumper to bumper, it took 2:30 hours to get to Springfield.

Even with all the traffic it was a great day that both Nancy and I enjoyed very much.  I hope to get more tickets from Gary in the future.  The Skins play the Cowboys at home my birthday weekend.  It’s a long shot, but I could get free tickets to that game.