Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Nateva Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday morning I was able to sleep until 11:30 because it didn't get hot enough to turn my tent into a greenhouse. I woke up and sat around camp charging my phone and taking the pictures from the previous day off my camera. Kelci met up with me at my campsite around this time, and after getting everything I would need for the day packed up, we headed for the Maine Stage area around 1 o'clock to grab a spot for Furthur. I set up my mat in front of the camera boom between the two stages, so I was about 10 yards back right between the two stages. The giant NATEVA letters on the the hill had been painted to resemble an American flag for Independence Day, which I thought was pretty cool! I got settled down towards the end of Mark Karan's Jemimah Puddleduck, and they were pretty good, kinda a melting pot of musical styles. After Mark Karan was Moonalice, and they surprised the hell out of me. They were incredible musicians, and they really knew how to work the crowd. I would definitely recommend seeing Moonalice if you ever get the chance, you won't be disappointed! All of their music is available for free on their website. After the show they came down and said hi to all the fans, and they were giving away two different free posters in the merch tent. I got both posters and went back to my mat for Max Creek. Max Creek was good, but the most impressive thing about them is that they've been playing for nearly four decades. I'd go see them again if it didn't conflict with another artist I wanted to see, but they didn't wow me nearly as much as Moonalice. Zappa Plays Zappa was next, and I lost my notes of what all he played, but I do remember that it was a great show, and the crowd loved it. I believe I remember hearing Peaches En Regalia, but I can't be too sure until I find a setlist online. I do remember him walking around stage shirtless and that it was a great show. After Zappa was George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. It took about 30 minutes before George Clinton came on, and when he did, no one knew it. Everyone was asking "which one's George" He no longer has the colorful hair, and the all he did onstage was dance around and say "we want the funk" like ten times. At one point he had his granddaughter come out and start rapping about how much she likes dirty sex, and he was right next to her cheering her on. I heard that they had to have two security guards around the production food tent to prevent P-Funk's crew from coming and stealing all the food to bring to their buses. Overall I was very underwhelmed with the performance, but I guess George is just getting old, and all that crack he's smoked is getting to him. It's kind of disappointing, but oh well. Kelci left sometime during George Clinton to go back to her camp to get everything for the night, but I wasn't about to loose my spot for Furthur. After P-Funk was Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, and while they were great, I was hoping for at least one Allman Brothers' song, but didn't get it. The slide guitar was incredible though, and Susan Tedeschi's voice was awe inspiring. Kelci made it back just before the set was over with Adam and Jen and Max and Sam. The sun was starting to set, and every minute the colors would change. It is the most gorgeous sunset I have ever seen. Furthur opened with "Celebration" which is the first time they have played it since travelling as Furthur, and what a celebration it was!!!! After that they went into "Samson and Delilah" then "Mississippi Half Step". I loved singing along to "Half Step", and then they went into "Cold Rain and Snow". Next was "Ramble on a Rose" followed by "When I Paint My Masterpiece". "Masterpiece" was incredible, and we put our arms around each other's shoulders and just swayed to the song. This was followed by "Cumberland Blues" and "Casey Jones". "Casey Jones" ended the first set, and we all set down, and I started drawing on my mat with a broken glowstick until someone brought out body crayons and I started drawing on Kelci's shoulder, and I drew some kind of spiraling sun. Then I started drawing on Sam's arm and did a really cool eye. After what seemed like forever Furthur came back on and we all got up! They opened the second set with "St. Stephen" which I was not expecting!! "Jack Straw" was next, followed by "Dear Mr. Fantasy". Then they started playing "Eyes of the World" and it brought tears to my eyes. I was turning to everyone and hugging them and saying how lucky we are to be here. "Eyes" was followed by "Days Between" and "Help on the Way" into "Slipknot!". This was followed by "Franklin's Tower" which is another of my favorites! The whole crowd was singing along and it was just a magical experience. Next was "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad" which was anything but bad. Next was "And We Bid You Goodnight" when I heard this song start, I literally started bawling. Nothing else in the whole world mattered at that point, and I knew it was their last song, and I just couldn't help myself. Hearing Phil and Bob sing A Capella was just breathtaking. I was turning to people I didn't even know and giving them hugs, kissing my friends on the cheek, and just listening in complete awe. After they all went off stage Phil came back out to tell everyone that the reason he is alive today is because someone told a loved one "hey I want to be an organ donor" and he asked everyone in the crowd to tell a loved one that they too want to be an organ donor. I am proud to say that I have been an organ donor ever since the day I got my license. After his donor speech Bobby and the the rest came out and played a very appropriate tune for Independence Day. This tune was "US Blues" and there were well over 100 American Flags being waved in the crowd just like the song says "Wave that flag, wave it wide and high". As soon as they were done playing fireworks started, and went on for about 15 minutes. Also after they were done they put on the song "Fur Elise" by Beethoven and I couldn't help but grab everyone and dance along. We stayed in the same spot for a good 30 minutes after Furthur had gone off, we just didn't want to leave. After taking some group pics and helping to pick up trash we headed out. There was a rumor floating around that GPGDS was playing a surprise set at one of the vendors, so we went to see if its true or not. We went and heard Giant Panda playing, but couldn't find out where. Turns out they were just blasting a live GPGDS set from speakers so that people would think GPGDS was playing live, which was pretty mean and funny at the same time. Another booth had some DJ playing dubstep beats and I went and danced for a little bit while Kelci sat down. After that we walked around looking for a drum circle, but I heard The Dude's voice, and followed it to find The Big Lebowski playing on a big screen with bleachers in front. We stopped and watched for about 30 minutes before heading back to her campsite to drink some sangria. After finishing the box of wine and getting everyone's contact info we went to sleep as the sun was coming up. It was an AMAZING end to an AMAZING weekend. Without a doubt Sunday at Nateva was the highlight of my trip, and I am an absolute Furthur fan now, and I think everyone should have the opportunity to see them at least once.

Nateva Saturday!!

Saturday morning I woke up later than usual, around 10:45. I went to Nick's tent and hung out there for a little while before going to see Roots of Creation at the Music Hall. We left and headed for the end of Ryan Montbleau on the Maine Stage. John Brown's Body played next, and they were fun to listen to. They played "Among Them" which I enjoyed. Halfway through JBB I went to check out The McLovins. The McLovins are 15-17 years old, and they can cover Phish songs incredibly well. They were way to good to be that young! Kelci was done with her WET shift, so we met up in the Chair Room and headed back to her campsite so she could change and so we could grab some beers. We got back and ended up hanging out with the whole group in the campsite for a couple of hours, and I missed the entire Drive-By Truckers set, which I really wanted to catch, but I had fun! We made it just as She & Him started playing. She & Him were incredible yet again, of all the sets at Nateva, She & Him was probably the loudest. Zooey was looking just as beautiful as ever, and she rocked out to Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven". After She & Him Grizzly Bear opened with "Southern Point". I was right up front for Grizzly Bear with Sam and Max, and about halfway through the set Kelci came up and tapped me on the shoulder and I went back and joined her and Adam and Jen around the camera boom area. Grizzly Bear played Lullaby into Knife, which was incredible. It was amazing to see how much soul they put into their music, and its impressive just to listen to the things they can make their voices do. We left Grizzly Bear a little early to get front row for Sound Tribe Sector 9. STS9 opened with "Twilight" just as the sun began going down which was impressive in itself, and the show only got better from there. They had the best sound quality of the entire weekend, which was great after the disappointing sound at Waka. They played a good mix of old and new stuff, which I was excited about. This show was one of the highlights of the weekend for sure. The Flaming Lips were on after Sound Tribe, and Kelci and I went to get good spots while Sound Tribe was on their last song. We were on the left side of the stage about ten people back. They opened with "The Fear" with the naked girl dancing on the screen behind them, and Wayne and the rest walked out of the screen from her "flaming red lips". There was confetti everywhere, and massive balloons floating about the crowd. Wayne got into his giant hamster ball to roll around the crowd again, and Sam later told me that she got kneed in the face by Wayne as he was rolling about(Edit: it was actually Maxine who got kneed). They played "She Don't Use Jelly" into "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" which was very cool. They of course played "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" and followed this with "See the Leaves". They played lots of songs off their new album Embryonic, but mixed in lots of old favorites. They played "Taps" like they do at every concert until the war is over, and they ended the set with "Convinced of the Hex". For the encore they played "Do You Realize" again, I think this is their standard encore. Overall an incredible show, and everyone was surprised that hadn't seen them live before. After the show was over we went to meet up with everyone and see Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad play late night in the Port City Music Hall. GPDS was good once again, and EOTO was scheduled to play after. I left a before EOTO started to go get a good position for Toubab Krewe. I met up with Nick, James, and Abhi front row for Toubab Krewe. We were close enough to touch the instruments. Toubab Krewe was amazing! They're most well known for the instrument Justin plays called a Kora, which is a 21-string harp-lute from Africa. He also plays a smaller harp-lute with 12 strings. During the first song they couldn't get enough sound from the Kora, we could barely hear it being right in front of it. It turns out there was some sort of technical difficulty, and the Kora didn't work the whole night. This is the equivalent of say seeing Phish without anyone playing lead guitar. But Toubab Krewe was still able to put on an amazing show, and everyone left thinking that that was how it was supposed to be. They are amazing musicians, and I can't wait to see them again. I was dog tired during the set, so about halfway through I went and sat in the back for a little while before checking out EOTO for about ten minutes and going back to my tent to go to sleep. I was able to listen to Toubab Krewe from my tent as I fell asleep, which was very nice.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Nateva Friday!!

Friday morning I woke up and walked around talking to people and eventually made my way over to the WET tent to pick up some promo. I talked to the staff for awhile and left to go put the posters up. I put up posters all over the camping area, and when the Maine Stage area opened I went and put posters on every single porta potty in there! I met some other WET members who were putting up posters inside the porta potties, and they told me I could take pictures of them for my street team points. :) While I was putting up the posters I was able to listen to Greensky Bluegrass and the beginning of Felice Brothers. I headed back to the campsite to drop off some stuff and pick up some things and headed back for the end of Felice Brothers. Umphrey's McGee played next, and they rocked it!! Keller Williams followed up Umphrey's, and I was very impressed. He walked around barefoot playing one instrument and looping the sound, then another, then another until it sounded like a whole band was playing. He is soo much fun to watch play, and its very obvious that he LOVES what he does. Al Schnider of moe. came out and played a few songs with him. He also played Breathe, which is one of my favorite songs ever! During Keller's set the crowd spelled out "LOVE" for an ariel photo, but I didn't make it quite in time to be in the letters. Jakob Dylan & Three Legs were up next, and they were suprising. They jammed more than I expected them to, and the women sounded amazing. I headed to Nick's tent real quick and caught some of The Heavy Pets at the Port City Music Hall Stage. After a little Heavy Pets I went to check out Jackie Greene. I made it back just as he started playing "Scarlett Begonias". Passion Pit followed Jackie Greene and drew a large crowd. They played "Moth's Wings" which is my favorite song by them. They also played "Sleepyhead" of course. They ended their set with "Little Secrets". Ghostland Observatory was next, and I made my way right up to the front. They put on an amazing show as always, and the entire crowd was surprised. They ended up being the sleeper set of the weekend. They played "Sad Sad City", "Vibrate", and many other songs I knew. Aaron was a dancing machine as always, and their laser show was incredible. Ghostland has one of the best laser shows I've ever seen, Trans-Siberian Orchestra is the only thing that comes close. The lasers were during the entire show too, so it was nonstop laser action!! After the show I walked around and set down near the middle of the crowd for moe. I wasn't right up by the front, but I could see everything just fine. While waiting on moe. to come on I started talking to the guy in front of me wearing a Chewbacca costume. I went and set down with them and found out that they were all vounteers at the festival. Chewie's name was Adam, and the rest were Kelci, Jen, Cessie, Dave, Samantha, and Maxine. I think I got everyone...but I know I missed someone. Moe. put on an awesome show, and I really want to see them again sometime. They played Captain America, which I was really excited about, and they played Rebubula! Since its moe.'s 20th anniversary they were all wearing suits. Keller William's joined moe. onstage, and he was decked out in a suit, which is very weird to see Keller in. He was still barefoot though! After moe. I walked with my new family of friends and we went back to their campsite to drink sangria. Since they were WET voulenteers their camping was in a different place. It was farther away than my campsite, but it was in a nice secluded area, and it was dead quiet back there, which was nice. We drank some sangria, and then all got in Kelci's tent since it was getting quite chilly. We took turns drawing on her tent, I drew the stylized moe. logo. Jess did a really cool drawing of a mushroom and a martian. We named the mushroom Millie and the Martian Mark. We left after a little while to catch some of Big Gigantic at the Port City Music Hall. Big Gigantic killed it again, they never fail to impress. After a little while, I went back to my tent to go to sleep.

Nateva Thursday!!

Abhi and I left Boston around 3pm to head to Nateva. We stopped to get gas about 20 miles south of the venue, and I met lots of people headed to the festival. One of the guys I met told me he was working security for the festival, and we talked for awhile. We got to Oxford, ME later that night and were put in a line of cars. The line wasn't moving at all for a good hour or two, and when it finally started moving the lines kind of disappeared and it turned into a funnel of cars going into the 4 gates. Once we got up to the gates the same guy that I had met at the gas station came to check my car and my ticket. He just opened my ice chest to make sure there was no glass, and waved me on through, which saved a good bit of time. We got up to the actual gate and they ran out of wristbands, so we had to wait for more. Every other line had wristbands, and ours wasn't moving at all. People were starting to get mad and yell at the workers, so I invited them over to talk, and told them that I knew it wasn't their fault and that voulenteers shouldn't be treated that way. Once they got the wristbands they didn't even ask me for an RV pass since I had been so nice to them. We were directed to a spot with no other campsites at all, and by the end of the night there were only like 6 tents and cars in my area. We got camp set up and met our neighbors who shared a few microbrews with us. It was freezing, at one point it got down to 45 degrees according to my car's thermometer. We missed the entire Lotus show, but we wandered around the venue and I bought one of each of the limited edition posters. We made it over to Nick's campsite and met his neighbors and then went back to the tent to go to sleep.

Ringo Starr and Boston

Monday morning we woke up rather late, around 11:30 and began packing up our stuff. The cleaning lady came by to tell us that it was past check out time, so we really had to hurry. After getting everything loaded we went to grab a bite to eat and hit the road. Nick and James were heading up to Maine to get their tickets for Nateva, and I was heading to Boston to meet up with my friend Abhi, who goes to Berklee College of Music. Getting from Maryland to Boston cost me over $63 in tolls, one of which was $25 alone. I told him to get lost, that I'm not paying that, so he said the camera would take a pic of my license plate and mail me a ticket. Lucky me, I have temporary tags, hopefully they can't read them. Once I finally got to Boston after getting stuck in NYC 5 o'clock traffic and construction traffic on one of the toll roads, I had hell trying to find a parking place. Once I finally found one Abhi came out to meet me and we walked around for a little while before heading up to his dorm to go to sleep.
I spent the next day updating my blog and walking around Boston. Nick and James got into Boston later that afternoon, and I met them at a Best Buy parking lot so I could park my car and trailer to go to the show. Abhi couldn't make the show because he had to study for midterms, so Nick, James, and I headed for the Bank of America pavillion to see Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. As we pulled up we could hear Ringo starting to play, so we hurried and parked and headed to the venue. We were towards the back, but it didn't really matter because most everyone was sitting down and we wanted to stand up and dance. Ringo Starr's All Starr Band included Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, Rick Derringer, Richard Page, Wally Palmar, and Gregg Bissonette. They played "Yellow Submarine" and had some really cool visulizers for that song. Then Edgar Winter played "Frankenstein" which was mind-blowing. They also played "What I Like About You", and Rick Derringer played "Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo". They ended with "Give Peace a Chance" and I think "Let It Be". It was a great performance, and amazing to get to see so many talented musicians playing together on one stage. After the concert I waited in line to get posters while James and Nick went to pick up the car. Once we were in the car we went to Boston Commons to walk around the park and relax until Abhi was done studying. Once he was done studying we met him and walked to another park close to his dorm. We walked around and played on the swings for a while before Abhi had to be back and we needed to find a place to stay. Abhi didn't have room for all of us there, so the three of us went to Wompatuck State Park about 30 minutes south of Boston to spend the night. We got camp set up and went straight to sleep.
I woke up the next morning before Nick and James, so I walked around the campgrounds for awhile and went up to the main entrance and flirted with the girl that was working there for awhile, and she told me about a natural spring with drinking water in the park, and after we got packed up we stopped to fill our jugs with the cool spring water. We then headed back to the Best Buy parking lot, and when we got there my car was gone. We figured out that it had been towed, and I was furious. After spending $150 to get my car out we parted ways again. Nick and James wanted to get to Nateva as early as possible, so they headed up to maine to camp out in a state park near Oxford, ME so they could get there early Thursday morning. I had to stay in Boston to wait on Abhi because he had a test that was over at 2 Thursday afternoon. I stayed in his dorm again that night and the next day when his test was over we hit the road.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Home!!!!

I'm home now, safe and sound!! That means that I have internet access and time to catch up my on what I've done the past two weeks!! I'm going to just keep the updates coming, but it will probably take me a couple of days to get caught up.
Once this is caught up I have the daunting task of going through the 30gb worth of pictures and videos that I took!! That will take me a little longer to do, but once I have them all labeled I'll upload them.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Sorry for the lonnnggg delay...I haven't had Internet. A full update will be made tomorrow