How do I love thee ProgDay? Let me count the ways.
There's a number of annual progressive rock music festivals in North America. I've been to a bunch of them: east coast, west coast, Mexico, Canada. They all follow the same basic format - mix of relatively unknown independent bands with some better known prog bands.
ProgDay is the only outdoors festival I've been to. You wouldn't think just the fact of an outside venue would make much of a difference. But it does, and it makes ProgDay my favorite of the fests. It's also the first festival I ever attended, and my first year was one of the best. In the past, I've been an underwriter for the festival, helped the band selection committee, driven bands around, and worked the front gate. In fact, (if you're reading this, you probably know this already) Roy and I got married at ProgDay five years ago. Reasons 1-3 help explain why.
1. The time between the bands relates the colour to the scenes. It's so laid back. Some of our same friends attend a number of different fests, but ProgDay gives us the most time to socialize. The festival ends at sunset (7 or 8pm) each day, and we can have a relaxed dinner and hanging-out time. Other fests have a dinner break between bands where it always seems like you're in a rush to get back. I never get the feeling I didn't get enough time with people at ProgDay. You can grab a bite to eat at the fest and still be "inside the venue" and not miss any music. You never have to leave the seated area; after the band ends, stay in your seat for another half hour and chat.
2. It has a small, but very loyal audience. I feel like we know everyone there. I've seen kids grow up, families grow. It's a very friendly, welcoming environment.
3. The venue, Storybook Farm, is such a part of the fest. It is a beautiful setting. I believe it used to be a camp, where the bunks and other buildings were converted to apartments. While the area in front of the stage is out in the sun, you can sit along the edge of the trees or under the pavilion and still hear the music just fine.
4. It sounds bad to some when I say this, especially given how many concerts I go to, but the best thing about ProgDay is that you don't have to pay 100% attention to the performances. IT CAN BE BORING LISTENING TO LIVE MUSIC. Some people can get off on watching any live music performance. Me, I've thought about this and I need something more, even if I like the music.
The best way to draw me in is:
- play something I know
- play something accessible enough that I can dance or bop my head to
- be mindblowingly good.
If a band is playing something unfamiliar/inaccessible, there has to be something in the performance itself. They need to be:
- charming
- enthusiastic, have their fun rub off on me
- energetic
- theatrical, or
- experienced and professional.
Most any professional touring band fits these requirements. But too many bands at these festivals just don't have enough on-stage experience. I might like their music, but they don't hold my attention live. At other festivals, you are watching a band in a dark theater. Your options are to sit in the dark theater and be bored or leave and miss all the music. At ProgDay, it's outdoors, it's daylight, you can move away from the stage, read, shop, eat, without bothering anyone else but still be able to hear the music. It always feels weird to me to walk out on a band, but in a theater, there's not much else to do if they're not doing much for me. It's a relief to take a break and multi-task, but not miss any of the music.
5. The sound is so much better at Storybook Farm. You'd think it would be worse outdoors, but I never have any complaints on the mix. All the instruments are clear. This is so different than some other venues, where vocals can be low in the mix or inaudible, the mix is mushy, and the keyboards get this weird feedback sound. Some venues just have bad acoustics, other times, bands insist on using their own soundman who pushes the sound too loud for the venue.
6. I mentioned that the vibe is friendly and laid back and that you don't have to leave the venue while the bands change sets. I can't stress enough how wonderful it is not to "hurry up and wait". There are times we've rushed back from dinner only to spend hours sitting in front of the venue while a band sets up and soundchecks. We can't leave, or we risk missing part of the show. At ProgDay, with its outdoor venue, you never have to leave or miss anything.
7. We enjoy visiting the Chapel Hill area every year. We always go to downtown Franklin Street, with record shops, music venues, great pizza at Peppers, Ben & Jerry's. We had our wedding reception at Spanky's, at the corner of Franklin and Columbia. It's right by UNC-Chapel Hill, so the people-watching is great too.
There are some downsides to ProgDay, and I think these scare too many people away.
1. The weather - it can rain or be too hot. My first ProgDay, I wasn't prepared for it. I fell to heat exhaustion. Since then, I've been much more careful about keeping hydrated, moving to the shade, bringing a fan, wearing a hat, etc. It's all about being prepared. I prefer rain to the heat.
2. Porto-potties. Ewwww.
3. ProgDay just can't afford the really well-known bands that some of the other fests can bring in. Some years, it seems like there's no real headliner. But most of us come every year regardless of the bands. And the unknown bands lead to the biggest surprises.
So that's ProgDay and why I love it.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Sleepy and Creepy
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Creepy Crawl
St. Louis, MO
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Opening Act: Tub Rink
General Admission
$12.00
What is it about live music that's so exciting? When it's on, it's worth the late nights, smoky venues, all this stuff I would never subject myself to otherwise. And sometimes a band that I enjoy live is not one that I'd listen to at home. They just add that something extra in their live performance that makes the experience greater than the music.
Roy and I have seen Sleepytime Gorilla Museum twice now, I don't get exactly what their shtick is. Are they supposed to be demons? Aliens? Whatever it is, they are different but friendly. They all dress in weird costumes and makeup. The singer even appeared in a donkey head. It's a full package, with the visuals and lights tying into the music, all theatrical and dark. Song titles include "The Donkey-Headed Adversary of Humanity Opens the Discussion" and "Sleep is Wrong".
I don't know how to describe their sound. It's definitely heavy, with violin and percussion along with the usual guitar, bass, and drums. So there's some different sounds and layering going on. At this show, the singer described the event as "electronic doom". I think we have their debut album, but it didn't do much for me. I quite like an album by one of their associated groups, Charming Hostess. Lots of vocals with off-kilter harmonies.
I first saw Sleepytime at Nearfest a few years back. It was 2003, which had one of the strongest lineups on paper, but worst sound and enjoyment of any festival I've been to. SGM opened Day 2. It wasn't really a good slot for them timewise, too early and comfortable for their ambience.
I was open to seeing them again. They were scheduled to play in St. Louis a few years back, but the show was canceled at the last minute. They played in Columbia, a couple hours away. I know someone from the area who went, but we weren't that interested. This time, they were booked at the Creepy Crawl, an all ages venue that usually features metal. I've been to a lot of dives and I didn't want to know what this place was going to be like.
Creepy Crawl recently moved from downtown to Grand Center, an area with lots of "nice" cultural venues. We had dinner at a nearby pizza place. The doors were supposed to open at 7, but it got pushed back at least an hour. We went to a nearby museum in the meantime. When we got back to the club, there were quite a few people there, including our friend Rich. We'd be seeing him at ProgDay in a few days as well. We talked to him, and since he was near the end of the line, we just stayed with him until the doors opened. I was happy to see there were some places to sit, even if it was bar stools that are too high for me. The club was a long, narrow box with a stage at the end and not much else. We sat at the bar in the small over-21 section and chatted some more.
Most of the audience was just hanging out, but when the opening act Tub Rink started, they moved to the front. Hey, I want to be in the front too! Or at least standing where someone wasn't blocking my view. I moved up to the stage, watching the band from between the shoulders of people in front of me. I get the feeling I enjoyed this band more being so close and being part of the crowd, rather than observing it from farther away. It was a high energy set. I was probably the oldest person up there and I was surprised the kids were singing along with the band. I'd never heard of them. They played about 45 minutes, which was enough for me.
Roy joined me up front in between the sets and we got a spot right at the stage. SGM took a while to set up their gear and do a soundcheck. Their set started around 10pm, my usual bedtime. SGM gets described as a "love 'em or hate 'em" type band, but I am pretty much in the middle. I enjoyed their set. Their stage show and presentation even more than the music itself. I can't really write much about the details of the music, it didn't worm its way into my head. I do remember the visual elements, like the red light shining underneath helped them look more satanic.
The show had an abrupt ending. I've never seen anything like this. It's an all ages venue on a weeknight. Apparently there's an 11PM curfew for the minors. At one point, the soundperson told the band they had 17 minutes until the kids had to leave. ok. What I didn't realize (nor the band, apparently) was that the show was ending when the kids left. Later on, they got a two-minute warning, and that's when the soundlady said the show had to end. She let them do one more song and that was it. The bar was still open for hours, but they had to stop playing. I thought the lack of communication was awful - the band should have been told about this before starting their set. It did work out well for me, since it wasn't too late a night and could have been worse. We talked to a couple bandmembers, said see you in a couple days to Rich, and headed home.
Creepy Crawl
St. Louis, MO
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Opening Act: Tub Rink
General Admission
$12.00
What is it about live music that's so exciting? When it's on, it's worth the late nights, smoky venues, all this stuff I would never subject myself to otherwise. And sometimes a band that I enjoy live is not one that I'd listen to at home. They just add that something extra in their live performance that makes the experience greater than the music.
Roy and I have seen Sleepytime Gorilla Museum twice now, I don't get exactly what their shtick is. Are they supposed to be demons? Aliens? Whatever it is, they are different but friendly. They all dress in weird costumes and makeup. The singer even appeared in a donkey head. It's a full package, with the visuals and lights tying into the music, all theatrical and dark. Song titles include "The Donkey-Headed Adversary of Humanity Opens the Discussion" and "Sleep is Wrong".
I don't know how to describe their sound. It's definitely heavy, with violin and percussion along with the usual guitar, bass, and drums. So there's some different sounds and layering going on. At this show, the singer described the event as "electronic doom". I think we have their debut album, but it didn't do much for me. I quite like an album by one of their associated groups, Charming Hostess. Lots of vocals with off-kilter harmonies.
I first saw Sleepytime at Nearfest a few years back. It was 2003, which had one of the strongest lineups on paper, but worst sound and enjoyment of any festival I've been to. SGM opened Day 2. It wasn't really a good slot for them timewise, too early and comfortable for their ambience.
I was open to seeing them again. They were scheduled to play in St. Louis a few years back, but the show was canceled at the last minute. They played in Columbia, a couple hours away. I know someone from the area who went, but we weren't that interested. This time, they were booked at the Creepy Crawl, an all ages venue that usually features metal. I've been to a lot of dives and I didn't want to know what this place was going to be like.
Creepy Crawl recently moved from downtown to Grand Center, an area with lots of "nice" cultural venues. We had dinner at a nearby pizza place. The doors were supposed to open at 7, but it got pushed back at least an hour. We went to a nearby museum in the meantime. When we got back to the club, there were quite a few people there, including our friend Rich. We'd be seeing him at ProgDay in a few days as well. We talked to him, and since he was near the end of the line, we just stayed with him until the doors opened. I was happy to see there were some places to sit, even if it was bar stools that are too high for me. The club was a long, narrow box with a stage at the end and not much else. We sat at the bar in the small over-21 section and chatted some more.
Most of the audience was just hanging out, but when the opening act Tub Rink started, they moved to the front. Hey, I want to be in the front too! Or at least standing where someone wasn't blocking my view. I moved up to the stage, watching the band from between the shoulders of people in front of me. I get the feeling I enjoyed this band more being so close and being part of the crowd, rather than observing it from farther away. It was a high energy set. I was probably the oldest person up there and I was surprised the kids were singing along with the band. I'd never heard of them. They played about 45 minutes, which was enough for me.
Roy joined me up front in between the sets and we got a spot right at the stage. SGM took a while to set up their gear and do a soundcheck. Their set started around 10pm, my usual bedtime. SGM gets described as a "love 'em or hate 'em" type band, but I am pretty much in the middle. I enjoyed their set. Their stage show and presentation even more than the music itself. I can't really write much about the details of the music, it didn't worm its way into my head. I do remember the visual elements, like the red light shining underneath helped them look more satanic.
The show had an abrupt ending. I've never seen anything like this. It's an all ages venue on a weeknight. Apparently there's an 11PM curfew for the minors. At one point, the soundperson told the band they had 17 minutes until the kids had to leave. ok. What I didn't realize (nor the band, apparently) was that the show was ending when the kids left. Later on, they got a two-minute warning, and that's when the soundlady said the show had to end. She let them do one more song and that was it. The bar was still open for hours, but they had to stop playing. I thought the lack of communication was awful - the band should have been told about this before starting their set. It did work out well for me, since it wasn't too late a night and could have been worse. We talked to a couple bandmembers, said see you in a couple days to Rich, and headed home.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Feelin' Alright? Bit of a stiff neck myself
Dave Mason
Harrah's Casino Voodoo Lounge
Maryland Heights (St. Louis), MO
Thursday, August 16, 2007
General Admission
$26.64
I have relationships with songs just like I have them with people. The more times you listen to a song, the better you know it (the deep ones, anyway). Sometimes when a song doesn't click with me immediately, after I see it live, it's like hanging out with someone and seeing a different side of them. Warming up to someone you didn't get at first.
Feelin' Alright from Traffic has been my insightful friend whom I turn to for advice. I had always liked this song and bought the 45 back in high school. I made a monumentally bad decision of where to go to college my freshman year. Small, close-minded, treated you like kids, way out in the boonies. It was so different than my brief college experience of living on Penn's campus when I was 16. That was freedom! The first verse summed up my feelings so well.
Seems I got to have a change of scene
Every night I have the strangest dream
Imprisoned by the way it could have been
Left you on my own or so it seemed
I got to leave before I start to scream
But someone locked the door and took the keys
The next year, I left Ursinus and transferred to Penn, my dream school. I also "broke up" with my longtime best friend A. She alienated a lot of her old friends, and I tried to stick with her. But I finally saw that she wasn't really my friend and hadn't been for a long time. The second verse of Feelin' Alright took on new meaning.
Boy, you sure took me for one big ride
And even now I sit and I wonder why
Then when I think of you, I start myself to cry
Just can't waste my time, I must get by
Gotta stop believin' in all your lies
'Cause there's too much to do before I die
Feelin' Alright was written by Dave Mason. There have been many different versions, but my favorite is the original, recorded by Traffic when Mason was in the band. This was the first Traffic song I ever loved. I had an epiphany about Traffic a couple years ago at a Steve Winwood concert, and they're one of my favorite bands now. But back when I was a teenager, I got to see Dave Mason when he was briefly a member of Fleetwood Mac in the 1990s. (Oddly enough, I saw the Traffic reunion tour 8 days earlier at the same venue.) Mason had a solo spotlight, and I was so hoping he'd do Feelin' Alright, but he did We Just Disagree instead.
I'm sure I had plenty of other chances to see him over the years, but I didn't care. But now, I was curious to see this other facet of early Traffic. Mason's songs with the band are so different than the ones by Winwood and Capaldi, not nearly as compelling, aside from Feelin' Alright.
We bought tickets to see Mason last year at a casino, but there was an ice storm the day of the show. I wasn't leaving the house that day, but I think the show took place. Thankfully, he came back less than a year later. We bought tickets again.
What can I say about this venue? It was the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah's Casino. It was general admission. We had dinner at the casino and were among the first ten people in line. As I was sitting there before the show started, I thought it was going to be the worst venue ever. We walked in, and there were rows of chairs facing the bar. I didn't get it. "Where was the stage?", I actually had to ask someone.
Wow, the stage was way up above in the bar, in a second floor loft-type space. There were seats on the floor by the bar, raised booths behind them that were all reserved for casino VIPs. Behind there was another raised area with more tables. The viewing angle would be better from back there, but further away. Instinct took over, and we chose front row seats. Only a few front row seats were taken, I didn't know if they would suck or not until the show started.
It turned out not to be that bad. Unusual, but still a good view.
Mason came out right around 8. I didn't know what to expect, and all I expected to know was any Traffic songs and We Just Disagree. Roy knew a lot more of his solo material, from hearing it on the radio. Roy tells me he opened with "Let It Go, Let It Flow". Mason talked to the audience, mentioning the stage setup was strange and that he was gonna do a song from the second Traffic album. The woman two seats over from me had been in line with us, and she and I both cheered. Her friend, sitting next to me, turned and said it was like hearing it in stereo coming from both sides like that.
The Traffic song was 40,000 Headmen. I knew this was a Winwood song, but I was surprised to read the liner notes that Mason is credited with nothing on the song - he didn't play at all on the studio version. Winwood did all the vocals, guitars, keyboards. Hearing this song so soon in the set was almost a relief, there were going to be Traffic songs. This version was pretty good, with the keyboard player getting a big role. At the angle we were to the stage, I could only see the keyboard player's head and I couldn't see the drummer at all. Mason did a good job, but he clearly doesn't have a voice as good as Steve Winwood's. Roy thought Mason's singing style and phrasing reminded him of Winwood's in places.
There were some more songs that Roy recognized that I didn't. Some new songs too. Most of the songs were new to me, and the newly written ones fit right in. I know I've mentioned here how hard it can be to listen to a lot of unfamiliar material. That just wasn't the case this night. Very well paced, eclectic set, with music ranging from country rock to guitar jams. He kept my attention the whole show. They played We Just Disagree midway through the set. Good version of All Along the Watchtower. I learned that Mason played on Hendrix's classic version of this song.
Dave said he was going to play another Traffic song. It was Dear Mr. Fantasy. Very different version than Winwood's, the melody was reworked a little and Mason spoke-sang the lines. He also played around with the phrasing on the vocals, and it kind of annoyed me because it was hard to sing along to. The women next to me got up to dance. I didn't want to block people's views, but what the hell. I danced for the second half of the song. Big cheers for this one.
The set was fairly short, and the band came back out to do Feelin' Alright. Yes!!! It was nice to finally hear this one live. I think it was closer to the Joe Cocker version than the original laid-back Traffic one. One of the band members gestured for us to stand up, and we all did. I think my favorite song of the evening was Dear Mr. Fantasy.
Was that it? The concert started at 8 and it was only 9:20. We didn't leave our seats in case there was a second encore. No, that was it. The show seemed like a good length, there were plenty of songs and no filler. Nice to be done at a show so early on a work night. Some of the band members had come out, but no sign of Mason. Roy asked the woman at the merchandise table, and she said Mason comes out to meet fans sometimes, but not this night. We headed out. Roy drove me back to my car, which I left at my office, and we both drove home.
Harrah's Casino Voodoo Lounge
Maryland Heights (St. Louis), MO
Thursday, August 16, 2007
General Admission
$26.64
I have relationships with songs just like I have them with people. The more times you listen to a song, the better you know it (the deep ones, anyway). Sometimes when a song doesn't click with me immediately, after I see it live, it's like hanging out with someone and seeing a different side of them. Warming up to someone you didn't get at first.
Feelin' Alright from Traffic has been my insightful friend whom I turn to for advice. I had always liked this song and bought the 45 back in high school. I made a monumentally bad decision of where to go to college my freshman year. Small, close-minded, treated you like kids, way out in the boonies. It was so different than my brief college experience of living on Penn's campus when I was 16. That was freedom! The first verse summed up my feelings so well.
Seems I got to have a change of scene
Every night I have the strangest dream
Imprisoned by the way it could have been
Left you on my own or so it seemed
I got to leave before I start to scream
But someone locked the door and took the keys
The next year, I left Ursinus and transferred to Penn, my dream school. I also "broke up" with my longtime best friend A. She alienated a lot of her old friends, and I tried to stick with her. But I finally saw that she wasn't really my friend and hadn't been for a long time. The second verse of Feelin' Alright took on new meaning.
Boy, you sure took me for one big ride
And even now I sit and I wonder why
Then when I think of you, I start myself to cry
Just can't waste my time, I must get by
Gotta stop believin' in all your lies
'Cause there's too much to do before I die
Feelin' Alright was written by Dave Mason. There have been many different versions, but my favorite is the original, recorded by Traffic when Mason was in the band. This was the first Traffic song I ever loved. I had an epiphany about Traffic a couple years ago at a Steve Winwood concert, and they're one of my favorite bands now. But back when I was a teenager, I got to see Dave Mason when he was briefly a member of Fleetwood Mac in the 1990s. (Oddly enough, I saw the Traffic reunion tour 8 days earlier at the same venue.) Mason had a solo spotlight, and I was so hoping he'd do Feelin' Alright, but he did We Just Disagree instead.
I'm sure I had plenty of other chances to see him over the years, but I didn't care. But now, I was curious to see this other facet of early Traffic. Mason's songs with the band are so different than the ones by Winwood and Capaldi, not nearly as compelling, aside from Feelin' Alright.
We bought tickets to see Mason last year at a casino, but there was an ice storm the day of the show. I wasn't leaving the house that day, but I think the show took place. Thankfully, he came back less than a year later. We bought tickets again.
What can I say about this venue? It was the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah's Casino. It was general admission. We had dinner at the casino and were among the first ten people in line. As I was sitting there before the show started, I thought it was going to be the worst venue ever. We walked in, and there were rows of chairs facing the bar. I didn't get it. "Where was the stage?", I actually had to ask someone.
Wow, the stage was way up above in the bar, in a second floor loft-type space. There were seats on the floor by the bar, raised booths behind them that were all reserved for casino VIPs. Behind there was another raised area with more tables. The viewing angle would be better from back there, but further away. Instinct took over, and we chose front row seats. Only a few front row seats were taken, I didn't know if they would suck or not until the show started.
It turned out not to be that bad. Unusual, but still a good view.
Mason came out right around 8. I didn't know what to expect, and all I expected to know was any Traffic songs and We Just Disagree. Roy knew a lot more of his solo material, from hearing it on the radio. Roy tells me he opened with "Let It Go, Let It Flow". Mason talked to the audience, mentioning the stage setup was strange and that he was gonna do a song from the second Traffic album. The woman two seats over from me had been in line with us, and she and I both cheered. Her friend, sitting next to me, turned and said it was like hearing it in stereo coming from both sides like that.
The Traffic song was 40,000 Headmen. I knew this was a Winwood song, but I was surprised to read the liner notes that Mason is credited with nothing on the song - he didn't play at all on the studio version. Winwood did all the vocals, guitars, keyboards. Hearing this song so soon in the set was almost a relief, there were going to be Traffic songs. This version was pretty good, with the keyboard player getting a big role. At the angle we were to the stage, I could only see the keyboard player's head and I couldn't see the drummer at all. Mason did a good job, but he clearly doesn't have a voice as good as Steve Winwood's. Roy thought Mason's singing style and phrasing reminded him of Winwood's in places.
There were some more songs that Roy recognized that I didn't. Some new songs too. Most of the songs were new to me, and the newly written ones fit right in. I know I've mentioned here how hard it can be to listen to a lot of unfamiliar material. That just wasn't the case this night. Very well paced, eclectic set, with music ranging from country rock to guitar jams. He kept my attention the whole show. They played We Just Disagree midway through the set. Good version of All Along the Watchtower. I learned that Mason played on Hendrix's classic version of this song.
Dave said he was going to play another Traffic song. It was Dear Mr. Fantasy. Very different version than Winwood's, the melody was reworked a little and Mason spoke-sang the lines. He also played around with the phrasing on the vocals, and it kind of annoyed me because it was hard to sing along to. The women next to me got up to dance. I didn't want to block people's views, but what the hell. I danced for the second half of the song. Big cheers for this one.
The set was fairly short, and the band came back out to do Feelin' Alright. Yes!!! It was nice to finally hear this one live. I think it was closer to the Joe Cocker version than the original laid-back Traffic one. One of the band members gestured for us to stand up, and we all did. I think my favorite song of the evening was Dear Mr. Fantasy.
Was that it? The concert started at 8 and it was only 9:20. We didn't leave our seats in case there was a second encore. No, that was it. The show seemed like a good length, there were plenty of songs and no filler. Nice to be done at a show so early on a work night. Some of the band members had come out, but no sign of Mason. Roy asked the woman at the merchandise table, and she said Mason comes out to meet fans sometimes, but not this night. We headed out. Roy drove me back to my car, which I left at my office, and we both drove home.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
California Guitar Trio
California Guitar Trio
Blueberry Hill - Duck Room
University City (St. Louis), MO
Sunday, August 5, 2007
General Admission
On the Guest List! :-)
The California Guitar Trio are three former students of Robert Fripp's Guitar Craft school, Paul Richards, Bert Lams, and Hideyo Moriya. They've been together for 16 years now, and play a wide mix of music - classical, rock covers, surf guitar, original pieces, and Fripp-inspired music. They have a pretty good following in Philly, but are still building an audience here in St. Louis.
I first saw CGT when they opened for King Crimson on the THRAK tour in 1995, multiple times. I counted it out, and I think I've seen them a total of 15 times or roughly once a year. They're always nice to see live and they consistently put on a good show. I got burnt out on them and started skipping some shows when I lived in Philly. They played St. Louis for the first time a year after I moved here, and it was nice to see someone familiar in town. Now, the shows feel more like seeing old friends. These days, I would not miss a show intentionally. Plus, Roy and I have been helping them out by manning their merchandise table at the local shows. That's been fun too.
Some of the fun of CGT is the other people they play with. Two of the times I saw them were with Tony Levin on bass, and he is one of my favorites. CGT are also working with Jon Anderson!!! on a guitar concerto. We traveled to San Francisco last year to see CGT perform it with an orchestra. We were hoping Jon would be there too, but no such luck.
CGT had not played locally in a couple years, but they booked a show at Blueberry Hill. We made a day out of it, inviting our friend Dirk over to hang out at our place and then walked over to BBH for dinner. We were sitting in the "new" section of the restaurant, which is also the entrance to the basement club, The Duck Room. We saw Paul Richards walk up from the club. He saw us and came over to chat for a bit. They had just arrived a half hour earlier and he was too busy to join us for dinner. I felt pretty pleased with myself - what could be cooler than the musician you've gone to see walk over to talk to *you*?
Ralph couldn't join us earlier, but he came by before we finished dinner. We all talked for a while. At 6:30, we were due down at the club to set up the merchandise area. There was a guy in line already, but no staff there and the door was unlocked, so we walked right in. On our way down to the club, someone did ask what we were doing there. Oh, I'm doing merchandise for the band. And that was it. I brought a printout of Bert's e-mail detailing the time as "proof", but it wasn't needed.
CGT weren't ready for us yet, they were still soundchecking. In other words, oh my god, we just got to mosey in and sit down to watch the soundcheck! They were playing the end of one piece which I thought sounded like a reworking of Blind Faith's Can't Find My Way Home. Roy thought I might be right after I pointed it out. (Maybe I just have that song in my head since we saw Winwood and Clapton do it last week. It turned out to be a new song called Andromeda.) They also did part of Tubular Bells (which Roy recognized before me), and the opening notes of Echoes. But still, we were there and we belonged there. We got to see about 15 minutes of our private show. If they ever tour with Jon Anderson, I have to do this again!
Hideyo gave me his digital camera and asked me to take some pictures of them during the soundcheck. Unfortunately, the light was too low and the shots looked pretty bad. You can see for yourself. He used one of these shots in his tour diary at http://cgtrio.proaudiowebsites.com/cgi/viewroadcam.paw?465.
After the soundcheck, Bert came over. We had about 10 minutes to get set up before the doors opened. I inventoried the CDs and tshirts. Their sound guy Tyler organized the table display. They only brought three of the CDs to sell and limited sizes on the tshirts. Literally only one XL sized shirt. It went first. People started filing in before we were really ready. Also before we had received any money to use as change! Roy gave someone some of his own money as change before Bert brought over some fives for us. They were doing something different this time around - recording their show and burning copies of the live CDR after the show. It was $15 and the best seller by far. We were set and the guys went upstairs for dinner.
I enjoyed talking to people coming up to the merch table. One guy had only heard of them through the radio program Echoes and had never seen them live or heard any of their albums. Another came with a friend and bought the live CD before he had ever heard a note of music. Another was visiting from Costa Rica and was excited to find out they were playing here this night. Roy and Ralph started talking about some comic book movie coming out and I shooed them away from the table - I couldn't play the extroverted salesperson if I had to talk over them.
The show started around 8:30. CGT opened with Yamanashi Blues from their first album. Some other familiar songs were Eve, Miserlou (the Dick Dale song used in Pulp Fiction), and Whitewater. The crowd seemed pretty attentive. They also played a classical piece using a method called circulation - each guitarist kept the melody going by playing every third note.
Their show featured four rock covers - Tubular Bells, Echoes, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Freebird. I'm torn on this. I really like the songs, how they sound, hearing stuff that's familiar, but I'm afraid doing so many will make them look like a novelty act. All of us in the crowd sure seemed to like them.
During the show, we didn't need two people manning the table. Roy sat in front with Dirk and Ralph. He came back to relieve me midway through and I took his seat. Bohemian Rhapsody is usually a highlight, with the crowd singing along. But the crowd wasn't singing. Hideyo turned the microphone towards the audience and gestured to encourage us to sing. Ralph and I sang, but not too loud, because well, I know the words, but have trouble with notes and timing and a lousy voice and those things. Most of the rest of the crowd was silent. I headed back to the merchandise table before the encore.
After the show, we were busy. Lots of people were buying the live CD and lining up to wait for the CDs to be burned. I get the feeling the band has been doing their own merchandising at some of the other shows this time. Hideyo was working the CDR duplicator keeping track of how many CDs were sold while he was signing autographs. Paul was handing out the discs. I could have helped with that. There was now a big bottleneck by the table and exit to the club. The CDs were $15 and so many people were paying with $20s that we were running out of fives again. I sent Roy over to the bar to get some more. I felt weird pulling this big wad of money out of the purse to search for change, and I began to keep my hand on the money purse at all times so it would be safe.
I was eyeing the live CDs. There were three left. I figured they'd give me one as a thank you, but I didn't want them to run out first! Hideyo handed me one and said "For you". I thanked him. When I asked Bert to sign it, he said "You didn't pay for this, did you?" He also gave me their new best of compilation Highlights and the last remaining live CD. I had been telling Ralph to buy it, but now I just handed it to him.
The crowd thinned out. Bert and I started to do the inventory. At all the shows where I've done merchandise, I've always worked with Bert on it. I guess that's his part of the duties. He offered to do the accounting at the end, but seemed relieved when I said I'd do it. We counted up everything and I calculated what we should have earned. Then I counted the money. We were off by $10 in our favor. Damn. Bert said it was close enough.
We chatted a while; it's nice to be in a situation when you actually have time to get to know someone better and aren't just making small talk. Bert moved to my home state of Pennsylvania in an area I know well - my dad used to have business trips to this town and I have some good friends who live nearby. I asked him about his work with Jon - they e-mail every once in a while and did a show together last year. He said it was nice to visit with Jon, very mellow. I don't know how long we talked, but afterwards, Roy asked me just what we were talking about. He wanted to join in, but was standing around talking to Ralph during that time.
As everything was wrapping up, I found Paul to get his autograph on my new Highlights CD. He asked me what I thought of the new songs. I'm so bad with song titles and knowing what's what. I mentioned liking Andromeda, and that when they were playing it during the soundcheck, I thought it was Can't Find My Way Home. He said he knew the song and would listen for that next time.
We are so lazy. Ralph wanted to borrow a CD from us, so he drove us home, all three blocks, and Roy ran upstairs to get it for him. It was still only about 11pm, pretty early for a concert night, but I was pretty excited by the whole night and it took me an hour until I was ready for bed. I told work I would be in late the next day, but I woke up before the alarm went off and got in only a half hour later than usual.
There is a downside to getting into a concert for free. I didn't receive a ticket stub to add to my collection! I have stubs for every concert going back 20 years. I can only think of once that I even lost a stub. Ralph kindly mailed me his. I will add it to my scrapbook.
ETA: Paul Richards has corrected me on my songs. The song in the soundcheck I thought sounded like Blind Faith was really a song they were rehearsing but did not play in concert. It is Monte Montgomery's Six String Wooden Friend. Thanks Paul!
Blueberry Hill - Duck Room
University City (St. Louis), MO
Sunday, August 5, 2007
General Admission
On the Guest List! :-)
The California Guitar Trio are three former students of Robert Fripp's Guitar Craft school, Paul Richards, Bert Lams, and Hideyo Moriya. They've been together for 16 years now, and play a wide mix of music - classical, rock covers, surf guitar, original pieces, and Fripp-inspired music. They have a pretty good following in Philly, but are still building an audience here in St. Louis.
I first saw CGT when they opened for King Crimson on the THRAK tour in 1995, multiple times. I counted it out, and I think I've seen them a total of 15 times or roughly once a year. They're always nice to see live and they consistently put on a good show. I got burnt out on them and started skipping some shows when I lived in Philly. They played St. Louis for the first time a year after I moved here, and it was nice to see someone familiar in town. Now, the shows feel more like seeing old friends. These days, I would not miss a show intentionally. Plus, Roy and I have been helping them out by manning their merchandise table at the local shows. That's been fun too.
Some of the fun of CGT is the other people they play with. Two of the times I saw them were with Tony Levin on bass, and he is one of my favorites. CGT are also working with Jon Anderson!!! on a guitar concerto. We traveled to San Francisco last year to see CGT perform it with an orchestra. We were hoping Jon would be there too, but no such luck.
CGT had not played locally in a couple years, but they booked a show at Blueberry Hill. We made a day out of it, inviting our friend Dirk over to hang out at our place and then walked over to BBH for dinner. We were sitting in the "new" section of the restaurant, which is also the entrance to the basement club, The Duck Room. We saw Paul Richards walk up from the club. He saw us and came over to chat for a bit. They had just arrived a half hour earlier and he was too busy to join us for dinner. I felt pretty pleased with myself - what could be cooler than the musician you've gone to see walk over to talk to *you*?
Ralph couldn't join us earlier, but he came by before we finished dinner. We all talked for a while. At 6:30, we were due down at the club to set up the merchandise area. There was a guy in line already, but no staff there and the door was unlocked, so we walked right in. On our way down to the club, someone did ask what we were doing there. Oh, I'm doing merchandise for the band. And that was it. I brought a printout of Bert's e-mail detailing the time as "proof", but it wasn't needed.
CGT weren't ready for us yet, they were still soundchecking. In other words, oh my god, we just got to mosey in and sit down to watch the soundcheck! They were playing the end of one piece which I thought sounded like a reworking of Blind Faith's Can't Find My Way Home. Roy thought I might be right after I pointed it out. (Maybe I just have that song in my head since we saw Winwood and Clapton do it last week. It turned out to be a new song called Andromeda.) They also did part of Tubular Bells (which Roy recognized before me), and the opening notes of Echoes. But still, we were there and we belonged there. We got to see about 15 minutes of our private show. If they ever tour with Jon Anderson, I have to do this again!
Hideyo gave me his digital camera and asked me to take some pictures of them during the soundcheck. Unfortunately, the light was too low and the shots looked pretty bad. You can see for yourself. He used one of these shots in his tour diary at http://cgtrio.proaudiowebsites.com/cgi/viewroadcam.paw?465.
After the soundcheck, Bert came over. We had about 10 minutes to get set up before the doors opened. I inventoried the CDs and tshirts. Their sound guy Tyler organized the table display. They only brought three of the CDs to sell and limited sizes on the tshirts. Literally only one XL sized shirt. It went first. People started filing in before we were really ready. Also before we had received any money to use as change! Roy gave someone some of his own money as change before Bert brought over some fives for us. They were doing something different this time around - recording their show and burning copies of the live CDR after the show. It was $15 and the best seller by far. We were set and the guys went upstairs for dinner.
I enjoyed talking to people coming up to the merch table. One guy had only heard of them through the radio program Echoes and had never seen them live or heard any of their albums. Another came with a friend and bought the live CD before he had ever heard a note of music. Another was visiting from Costa Rica and was excited to find out they were playing here this night. Roy and Ralph started talking about some comic book movie coming out and I shooed them away from the table - I couldn't play the extroverted salesperson if I had to talk over them.
The show started around 8:30. CGT opened with Yamanashi Blues from their first album. Some other familiar songs were Eve, Miserlou (the Dick Dale song used in Pulp Fiction), and Whitewater. The crowd seemed pretty attentive. They also played a classical piece using a method called circulation - each guitarist kept the melody going by playing every third note.
Their show featured four rock covers - Tubular Bells, Echoes, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Freebird. I'm torn on this. I really like the songs, how they sound, hearing stuff that's familiar, but I'm afraid doing so many will make them look like a novelty act. All of us in the crowd sure seemed to like them.
During the show, we didn't need two people manning the table. Roy sat in front with Dirk and Ralph. He came back to relieve me midway through and I took his seat. Bohemian Rhapsody is usually a highlight, with the crowd singing along. But the crowd wasn't singing. Hideyo turned the microphone towards the audience and gestured to encourage us to sing. Ralph and I sang, but not too loud, because well, I know the words, but have trouble with notes and timing and a lousy voice and those things. Most of the rest of the crowd was silent. I headed back to the merchandise table before the encore.
After the show, we were busy. Lots of people were buying the live CD and lining up to wait for the CDs to be burned. I get the feeling the band has been doing their own merchandising at some of the other shows this time. Hideyo was working the CDR duplicator keeping track of how many CDs were sold while he was signing autographs. Paul was handing out the discs. I could have helped with that. There was now a big bottleneck by the table and exit to the club. The CDs were $15 and so many people were paying with $20s that we were running out of fives again. I sent Roy over to the bar to get some more. I felt weird pulling this big wad of money out of the purse to search for change, and I began to keep my hand on the money purse at all times so it would be safe.
I was eyeing the live CDs. There were three left. I figured they'd give me one as a thank you, but I didn't want them to run out first! Hideyo handed me one and said "For you". I thanked him. When I asked Bert to sign it, he said "You didn't pay for this, did you?" He also gave me their new best of compilation Highlights and the last remaining live CD. I had been telling Ralph to buy it, but now I just handed it to him.
The crowd thinned out. Bert and I started to do the inventory. At all the shows where I've done merchandise, I've always worked with Bert on it. I guess that's his part of the duties. He offered to do the accounting at the end, but seemed relieved when I said I'd do it. We counted up everything and I calculated what we should have earned. Then I counted the money. We were off by $10 in our favor. Damn. Bert said it was close enough.
We chatted a while; it's nice to be in a situation when you actually have time to get to know someone better and aren't just making small talk. Bert moved to my home state of Pennsylvania in an area I know well - my dad used to have business trips to this town and I have some good friends who live nearby. I asked him about his work with Jon - they e-mail every once in a while and did a show together last year. He said it was nice to visit with Jon, very mellow. I don't know how long we talked, but afterwards, Roy asked me just what we were talking about. He wanted to join in, but was standing around talking to Ralph during that time.
As everything was wrapping up, I found Paul to get his autograph on my new Highlights CD. He asked me what I thought of the new songs. I'm so bad with song titles and knowing what's what. I mentioned liking Andromeda, and that when they were playing it during the soundcheck, I thought it was Can't Find My Way Home. He said he knew the song and would listen for that next time.
We are so lazy. Ralph wanted to borrow a CD from us, so he drove us home, all three blocks, and Roy ran upstairs to get it for him. It was still only about 11pm, pretty early for a concert night, but I was pretty excited by the whole night and it took me an hour until I was ready for bed. I told work I would be in late the next day, but I woke up before the alarm went off and got in only a half hour later than usual.
There is a downside to getting into a concert for free. I didn't receive a ticket stub to add to my collection! I have stubs for every concert going back 20 years. I can only think of once that I even lost a stub. Ralph kindly mailed me his. I will add it to my scrapbook.
ETA: Paul Richards has corrected me on my songs. The song in the soundcheck I thought sounded like Blind Faith was really a song they were rehearsing but did not play in concert. It is Monte Montgomery's Six String Wooden Friend. Thanks Paul!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
A Spreeful Noise
The Polyphonic Spree
w/ Videology
The Pageant
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, August 4, 2007
General Admission
$18.00
I'm still not sure what I think of the Polyphonic Spree. Roy and I first heard of them a few years ago. They opened for David Bowie and were getting a lot of press. We had a different opening act for our local Bowie show, but Roy was curious. He bought their album. I watched the live DVD included with their CD and thought it looked interesting.
I think they played here a couple years ago, but my parents were visiting then so we didn't go. They came back, and to the Pageant. Just down the road and across the city limits into St. Louis from our home in University City.
I've been through enough uncomfortable shows with smoking and bad sitelines that I have a whole slew of coping mechanisms. The Pageant can be bad when it's set up for limited seating and smoking - I only really enjoy it if I'm in the front row of the pit or up in the balcony. The raised front row of the seated section is alright, as long as I'm sitting at the end and not next to a smoker. I like to breathe, people! The line for over-21 early entry seating is in the bar and opens at 5. We got there a little after 6 and were first in line. I guess they weren't expecting too big a crowd, because the balcony was closed. We grabbed a space in the front row of the seated section. I had to admit, they do a decent job with air circulation, but I still wish it would just go non-smoking.
I'm still confused about the opening act. The show was billed as Polyphonic Spree with Videology. There was no opening act, but there was a screen showing 1980s-current alternative music videos. We saw Beck, Bjork, and the Buggles. I enjoyed them, but they got draining after a while because of the bass turned up so loud. Apparently this was Videology. But I went to Videology's myspace page, and it listed the Pageant show as postponed due to illness. I wonder what we missed. I was thinking that I wished this music had been considered dance music rather than the thumping-bass stuff which leaves me cold. And it was cool to see all the college kids singing along with Trevor and Geoff on Video Killed the Radio Star.
I guess the other fans knew what to expect. There were not a whole lot of people there after the doors opened. I was worried about the turnout. But more people showed up, so the seats were mostly full and the dance floor was crowded. The doors opened at 6:30pm and the band finally went on after 9pm. That was a long wait.
I wanted to like Polyphonic Spree better than I did. My friend Kathy saw them in Philly and said they were amazing. She also said they reminded her of Yes, although she doesn't like Yes. She described it as a "fullness of sound" and agreed with my comparison of multi-part harmonies and happy major key sound.
But I got bored. Maybe it was too soon to go to another concert of unfamiliar music. The band did have a full sound, but I don't think that was a good thing, it was a wall of sound and hard to discern what was being played. There were about 20 people on stage, and I kept mentally comparing this to Brian Wilson's Smile tour with a similar number of musicians and type of instruments and music played. But Smile had the best sound I had ever heard at a concert - you could look at every musician and hear them discernably in the mix but also hear the impact of the full band. The sound at this concert was so different. At first I blamed the venue sound, but Roy thinks they were going for this effect. He liked it a lot better than I did. I didn't like the singer's voice either.
The show seemed to end kind of early, only an hour. I was kind of happy about this. They came back for an encore and I found myself singing along. Wait a minute! I don't know any Polyphonic Spree songs. Scanning the lyrics through my head, this was Nirvana's Lithium. This was seriously weird. It sounded like a happy singalong. This is not supposed to be a happy song, but I was getting into it anyway. The lyrics to their other songs are such the opposite, happy positive things like Reach for the Sun. I didn't understand the juxtaposition lyrically or why they needed to make Nirvana sound happy.
Roy said he liked the whole presentation as well as the music. It was a spectacle. There were some parts he thought were predictable, but it didn't bother him. For me, musically, the sound needed more dynamics. They did put out a lot of energy and it seemed sincere, but it left me cold.
The encore section lasted as long as the main set. It also included the chorus of Ride Captain Ride. The show ended at 11:20pm. We walked home. Thankfully it wasn't as hot as it was when we walked there during the day.
w/ Videology
The Pageant
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, August 4, 2007
General Admission
$18.00
I'm still not sure what I think of the Polyphonic Spree. Roy and I first heard of them a few years ago. They opened for David Bowie and were getting a lot of press. We had a different opening act for our local Bowie show, but Roy was curious. He bought their album. I watched the live DVD included with their CD and thought it looked interesting.
I think they played here a couple years ago, but my parents were visiting then so we didn't go. They came back, and to the Pageant. Just down the road and across the city limits into St. Louis from our home in University City.
I've been through enough uncomfortable shows with smoking and bad sitelines that I have a whole slew of coping mechanisms. The Pageant can be bad when it's set up for limited seating and smoking - I only really enjoy it if I'm in the front row of the pit or up in the balcony. The raised front row of the seated section is alright, as long as I'm sitting at the end and not next to a smoker. I like to breathe, people! The line for over-21 early entry seating is in the bar and opens at 5. We got there a little after 6 and were first in line. I guess they weren't expecting too big a crowd, because the balcony was closed. We grabbed a space in the front row of the seated section. I had to admit, they do a decent job with air circulation, but I still wish it would just go non-smoking.
I'm still confused about the opening act. The show was billed as Polyphonic Spree with Videology. There was no opening act, but there was a screen showing 1980s-current alternative music videos. We saw Beck, Bjork, and the Buggles. I enjoyed them, but they got draining after a while because of the bass turned up so loud. Apparently this was Videology. But I went to Videology's myspace page, and it listed the Pageant show as postponed due to illness. I wonder what we missed. I was thinking that I wished this music had been considered dance music rather than the thumping-bass stuff which leaves me cold. And it was cool to see all the college kids singing along with Trevor and Geoff on Video Killed the Radio Star.
I guess the other fans knew what to expect. There were not a whole lot of people there after the doors opened. I was worried about the turnout. But more people showed up, so the seats were mostly full and the dance floor was crowded. The doors opened at 6:30pm and the band finally went on after 9pm. That was a long wait.
I wanted to like Polyphonic Spree better than I did. My friend Kathy saw them in Philly and said they were amazing. She also said they reminded her of Yes, although she doesn't like Yes. She described it as a "fullness of sound" and agreed with my comparison of multi-part harmonies and happy major key sound.
But I got bored. Maybe it was too soon to go to another concert of unfamiliar music. The band did have a full sound, but I don't think that was a good thing, it was a wall of sound and hard to discern what was being played. There were about 20 people on stage, and I kept mentally comparing this to Brian Wilson's Smile tour with a similar number of musicians and type of instruments and music played. But Smile had the best sound I had ever heard at a concert - you could look at every musician and hear them discernably in the mix but also hear the impact of the full band. The sound at this concert was so different. At first I blamed the venue sound, but Roy thinks they were going for this effect. He liked it a lot better than I did. I didn't like the singer's voice either.
The show seemed to end kind of early, only an hour. I was kind of happy about this. They came back for an encore and I found myself singing along. Wait a minute! I don't know any Polyphonic Spree songs. Scanning the lyrics through my head, this was Nirvana's Lithium. This was seriously weird. It sounded like a happy singalong. This is not supposed to be a happy song, but I was getting into it anyway. The lyrics to their other songs are such the opposite, happy positive things like Reach for the Sun. I didn't understand the juxtaposition lyrically or why they needed to make Nirvana sound happy.
Roy said he liked the whole presentation as well as the music. It was a spectacle. There were some parts he thought were predictable, but it didn't bother him. For me, musically, the sound needed more dynamics. They did put out a lot of energy and it seemed sincere, but it left me cold.
The encore section lasted as long as the main set. It also included the chorus of Ride Captain Ride. The show ended at 11:20pm. We walked home. Thankfully it wasn't as hot as it was when we walked there during the day.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Crossroads Guitar Festival
Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival
Toyota Park
Bridgeview (Chicago), IL
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Section 125, Row 14, Seat 20
$90.00
If you asked me five years ago what I thought of Steve Winwood, I would say I really liked Traffic. I saw them live on their 1994 reunion tour. But his solo stuff, nah. I remember once waiting in line overnight for tickets to see Yes at the Tower Theater and Winwood was playing that night. I didn't have any interest. But a few years ago, I read a review of his 2003 album About Time that said it had a real Traffic vibe to it. Really liked the album. Added him to my list of people I'd like to see live sometime. We almost saw him in 2004 in Florida in between two Yes shows, but the timing didn't work out.
He came to St. Louis in 2005. I saw it, and I ended up going to four of his concerts that year. He's that good. Winwood is hardly "new", but he's newly added to my list of favorite musicians. I think he's the first new addition since college. It's fun to get excited by someone new. Last year, he toured again, but I had just started a new position at my company and couldn't easily take off. This year, he did a short tour nowhere near St. Louis, but he was going to play at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Playing with Eric Clapton for the first time since Blind Faith. Doing Blind Faith songs. I was so there. After the show was announced, Clapton joined Winwood at a festival show in England. So this was really the second performance they've done since Blind Faith.
The concert was held in Toyota Park near Midway Airport outside of Chicago. The floor was general admission and the tiered seats were reserved. There was no way I was going to do standing general admission for this concert, it was reserved or nothing. We were successful, but the seats were about 2/3 of the way back. We were lucky to get seats. Toyota Park's website says they have a seating capacity of 28,000 for concerts and it sold out in less than a half hour.
The line-up for the festival was really incredible. I was just telling a neighbor about it and listing famous name after famous name.
Eric Clapton
Jeff Beck
Doyle Bramhall II
Robert Cray
Sheryl Crow
Vince Gill
Buddy Guy
BB King
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Sonny Landreth
Albert Lee
Los Lobos
John Mayer
John McLaughlin
Willie Nelson
Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Robbie Robertson
Hubert Sumlin
The Derek Trucks Band with Susan Tedeschi
Jimmie Vaughan
Johnny Winter
Steve Winwood
The festival organization at Toyota Park was great in that parking was easy and free. Also, they had a revolving stage - the second band could set up while the first band was playing, so there was only a 5-10 minute layover between bands. It also sucked in many places - the schedule was never published, so we had no idea what band was about to go on until they were announced. The sound was spotty at times.
There were no in and out privileges so we were stuck there all day for an eleven hour concert once we entered. No food or beverages (even bottles of water) were allowed in on a July day. We snuck in some contraband - two baggies of peanuts and raisins and my umbrella. We walked up a raised pavilion to get to our seats, and it had extra vendors and real bathrooms. I read some horror stories online about the porto-potties and places running out of bottled water and food. We didn't have any trouble like that.
I learned at this festival that I didn't know as much about music as I thought I did. Looking at the list of bands playing, it seemed very diverse, but it ended up being primarily a blues rock festival. I don't mind the genre, but I don't know it very well. I totally didn't notice that I was seeing Robbie Robertson, I didn't hear the announcement that he was joining Clapton on stage and I didn't recognize him or the Band song he did. I also told Roy the show would have been better with some cover songs, but then I read online that there were lots of covers, just few that I recognized.
The show started a little early, around 11:50am. Bill Murray was the master of ceremonies and he introduced most of the bands. He had a guitar and said there was only one song he knew how to play on it. Gloria. He started playing it, badly, and then Eric Clapton joined him and started playing along. Clapton introduced the first act, Sonny Landreth, and later joined him for a song. It looked like Clapton watched most of the festival from the side of the stage, but he only joined a couple bands.
This was my first time hearing Sonny Landreth. I paid attention and liked it alright. Next up was someone I was really looking forward to - John McLaughlin. Roy knows more about his music than I do, but even I owned a Mahavishnu album before we moved in together. His set was noodly and never came together. It was nice to have a keyboard player also doing lead lines, and this set might have been a good change of pace later on. Here, I was expecting a lot and was disappointed.
I knew from other festivals that there was no way I could sit and listen to so much music. Roy and I both brought books to whip out when we weren't all that interested in watching the acts. An outdoor concert is really flexible, because we could hear everything and look up whenever we wanted to. I had planned to start reading for the third act, but it was Alison Krauss and Union Station and I wanted to see them. I'm not going to run out and buy her albums, but it was nice to listen to and watch.
After that started a string of blues rock acts. Some people from Clapton's band played their own sets, like Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II. I read and barely looked up.
BB King did three songs and had the whole audience in the palm of his hand. Just excellent communicating with us, as if he were playing in a small club and making eye contact with everyone. He played a couple songs I didn't recognize and The Thrill is Gone.
Roy got up and went for a walk when Vince Gill came out. His music didn't bother me, but it was just background music to me. Then he brought Sheryl Crow out. I know she can be a controversial figure because of way back with Kevin Gilbert and the way Tuesday Night Music Club was recorded, but I like that album. I saw her in concert back then. She did one song I didn't recognize, then If It Makes You Happy. Alison Krauss came back on stage and they dueted on Strong Enough from the Music Club album.
The audience had a real mix of people. You could tell the music fans from the partyers pretty easily. The music fans were all wearing hats for sun protection and comfortable clothing and drinking water. The partyers were talking through most of the bands and were already drunk by 1pm. I had a father and son (I think, the boy looked high school aged) next to me and they were listeners. The dad seemed really into Alison Krauss. They asked me when Steve Winwood would be on, after hearing me mention that he was my number one reason for being there.
Unfortunately, the people in front of us were partyers. This group of women talked and laughed loudly amongst themselves during some of the bands. A few of them were smoking. I hold a special hate for people who smoke in non-smoking areas, but I wasn't going to say anything until it got personal. They kept on filing out and coming back sitting in different arrangements. The smoker was now right in front of me and I got a breath full of her rudeness. An usher had already told them to stop smoking, so I just got an usher again. I think they tried to say something rude to me afterwards during a band, but I had earplugs in so I didn't find out. I did hear them calling me "narc girl" and pointing out all the other smokers later on. And the people behind me thanked me.
It sounds funny, but I really enjoyed the day even though I didn't like a lot of the bands. There was lots of people watching to do, it was a nice day to be outside, the atmosphere was nice, book was good, music playing in the background. Roy found a very refreshing treat - cut up watermelon in a cup mixed with lemonade. We had a few of those during the day.
Jeff Beck started, and we paid attention. This was Roy's favorite act of the day. He had a strong band with him, especially the young woman on bass. It just stood out so much from everything before it. He played A Day in the Life from the Beatles and his guitar was so lyrical. We sang along. Beck played longer than anyone before him, close to an hour.
At this point, I was wondering when Winwood would be on. I had read different things, that he'd definitely be playing with Clapton but I didn't know if he'd be playing with his own band or not. Before Jeff Beck was announced, I was hoping that would be his spot. Hopefully his solo spot would be on next. I left right after Beck's A Day in the Life to run to the bathroom so I wouldn't miss anything from the next act.
But no Winwood yet. The next slot was taken by Clapton himself. Uh oh. Does this mean Steve would only be out for the Blind Faith songs? Would I get to hear any Traffic songs tonight? Would it have been better for me to travel to one of his solo shows? He was doing the Blind Faith songs with his own band to practice for this big show.
Eric Clapton came out and did more blues rock. Roy described this as sounding just like all the music he had heard all day, except now it was dark and he couldn't read. He was "bored silly" and went on a walk for a little while. I've read reviews of people that just loved his setlist in the first half of the set, but I didn't know the songs. Clapton even did a George Harrison song that I didn't recognize. (Lots of breadth, little depth is my unfortunate standing.) He brought out someone, who I later found out was Robbie Robertson, to do a tribute to Bo Diddley, Who Do You Love. They also did a song I didn't recognize.
And then, my reason to be here. Eric brought out Steve with a nice introduction, saying they were old friends. Eric said he's been wanting to play again with Steve for 25 years (Blind Faith was 38 years ago, so there was either some bad math going on or he didn't want to play with Steve for the first dozen years after Blind Faith.) (Edited to add: I've been informed they did play together in 1983 at the ARMS charity concert. Woops. Please disregard my previous comment about bad math.)
Steve sat down at the organ. And started Pearly Queen! From Traffic! Relatively obscure! With Eric Clapton playing lead guitar on it! I was happy, but I was also relieved. Winwood really had an honored spot at this concert, not just being brought out to sing the Blind Faith songs. They didn't do Pearly Queen at their show together last spring. This was new and history making. The next song was Blind Faith's Presence of the Lord, with Steve and Eric traded off singing the verses. I turned to Roy and asked him if this wasn't a million times better than what came before.
Steve strapped on a guitar and they played Can't Find My Way Home. Steve sang lead and Eric did some backing vocals. They both played guitar. Then was Had to Cry Today. Steve sounded great and still could hit all the high notes. One of the best voices all day. He was a powerhouse on vocals on this song. These were the three Blind Faith songs they did live last spring, so I was expecting them.
Eric Clapton left the stage for the next song. So did all the other backing guitarists in his band. For one of the first times during this concert (the first?) there was only one guitarist on stage. With a pared down version of Clapton's band on drums, backing vocals, and keyboards, Winwood played Dear Mr. Fantasy. Those of us fans know that he plays the same solo every time. It's scripted, not improvised. But it's very cool. But the other 28,000 people there tonight either knew Winwood from his pop hits in the 80s or knew him as a keyboard player. Maybe their expectations were low. Or maybe it was just great to hear a set of real rock songs. But he wowed everyone. The applause for that song was the longest of almost anyone that day, maybe just except for BB King.
The review in the Chicago Tribune from music critic Greg Kot was glowing.
"His soul-dipped vocals elevated "Presence of the Lord" and "Can't Find My Way Home," and his underrated guitar-playing came to the fore on a spiraling version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy." Was it possible? A musician best known as a singer and keyboardist also walked away with the day's best guitar solo?"
I have yet to read a bad word about Winwood's performance. His section was far and away the highlight of the day for me. You never know how these reunions will go. It wasn't that this was the most mind-blowing performance of my life, but it was so special. And he clearly blew people's expectations away. I am so happy for him!
After the thundering applause for Dear Mr. Fantasy, Clapton and the rest of his band returned to the stage. They performed Cocaine, with Winwood getting a solo in. Then was Crossroads, with Clapton and Winwood sharing vocals. The two of them recorded this way back in 1966 under the name from Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse before Cream recorded it. I've seen Winwood do it solo as well.
They all bowed and left the stage quickly. Was that it? We could see people on the general admission floor leaving. I thought there would be a big song with everyone joining in.
Roy and I went through the listed performers and we still hadn't seen Buddy Guy. He came out next, totally anti-climatic. He did a few songs, then brought out Clapton and some other people, but not Winwood, and jammed on a song. I didn't know any of them. Then it was over. I feel like it should have ended on everyone playing a well known song like Sunshine of Your Love or Gimme Some Lovin' or Purple Haze. Maybe they were playing well known blues songs? And that was it. I wonder if this was the first concert where Winwood didn't play Gimme Some Lovin' since he was a teenager?
Roy and I went back to the hotel. On Sunday, we stopped at the airport to pick up my luggage. It was just sitting there, with no security. At least it was there. I was exhausted, so Roy drove all the way home. I took a vacation day the next day to catch up after being away from home for nine days.
I've been able to relive the concert very easily this time. The whole concert is streaming online at http://music.msn.com/crossroads. I watched the Winwood section again and it was still wonderful. :-)
I'm looking forward to a nice quiet weekend next week. Oh, that's right. Polyphonic Spree on Saturday at the Pageant and we're working the merchandise table for California Guitar Trio on Sunday at Blueberry Hill. At least these are both walking distance from home, no more far away concerts for a month.
Toyota Park
Bridgeview (Chicago), IL
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Section 125, Row 14, Seat 20
$90.00
If you asked me five years ago what I thought of Steve Winwood, I would say I really liked Traffic. I saw them live on their 1994 reunion tour. But his solo stuff, nah. I remember once waiting in line overnight for tickets to see Yes at the Tower Theater and Winwood was playing that night. I didn't have any interest. But a few years ago, I read a review of his 2003 album About Time that said it had a real Traffic vibe to it. Really liked the album. Added him to my list of people I'd like to see live sometime. We almost saw him in 2004 in Florida in between two Yes shows, but the timing didn't work out.
He came to St. Louis in 2005. I saw it, and I ended up going to four of his concerts that year. He's that good. Winwood is hardly "new", but he's newly added to my list of favorite musicians. I think he's the first new addition since college. It's fun to get excited by someone new. Last year, he toured again, but I had just started a new position at my company and couldn't easily take off. This year, he did a short tour nowhere near St. Louis, but he was going to play at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Playing with Eric Clapton for the first time since Blind Faith. Doing Blind Faith songs. I was so there. After the show was announced, Clapton joined Winwood at a festival show in England. So this was really the second performance they've done since Blind Faith.
The concert was held in Toyota Park near Midway Airport outside of Chicago. The floor was general admission and the tiered seats were reserved. There was no way I was going to do standing general admission for this concert, it was reserved or nothing. We were successful, but the seats were about 2/3 of the way back. We were lucky to get seats. Toyota Park's website says they have a seating capacity of 28,000 for concerts and it sold out in less than a half hour.
The line-up for the festival was really incredible. I was just telling a neighbor about it and listing famous name after famous name.
Eric Clapton
Jeff Beck
Doyle Bramhall II
Robert Cray
Sheryl Crow
Vince Gill
Buddy Guy
BB King
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Sonny Landreth
Albert Lee
Los Lobos
John Mayer
John McLaughlin
Willie Nelson
Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Robbie Robertson
Hubert Sumlin
The Derek Trucks Band with Susan Tedeschi
Jimmie Vaughan
Johnny Winter
Steve Winwood
The festival organization at Toyota Park was great in that parking was easy and free. Also, they had a revolving stage - the second band could set up while the first band was playing, so there was only a 5-10 minute layover between bands. It also sucked in many places - the schedule was never published, so we had no idea what band was about to go on until they were announced. The sound was spotty at times.
There were no in and out privileges so we were stuck there all day for an eleven hour concert once we entered. No food or beverages (even bottles of water) were allowed in on a July day. We snuck in some contraband - two baggies of peanuts and raisins and my umbrella. We walked up a raised pavilion to get to our seats, and it had extra vendors and real bathrooms. I read some horror stories online about the porto-potties and places running out of bottled water and food. We didn't have any trouble like that.
I learned at this festival that I didn't know as much about music as I thought I did. Looking at the list of bands playing, it seemed very diverse, but it ended up being primarily a blues rock festival. I don't mind the genre, but I don't know it very well. I totally didn't notice that I was seeing Robbie Robertson, I didn't hear the announcement that he was joining Clapton on stage and I didn't recognize him or the Band song he did. I also told Roy the show would have been better with some cover songs, but then I read online that there were lots of covers, just few that I recognized.
The show started a little early, around 11:50am. Bill Murray was the master of ceremonies and he introduced most of the bands. He had a guitar and said there was only one song he knew how to play on it. Gloria. He started playing it, badly, and then Eric Clapton joined him and started playing along. Clapton introduced the first act, Sonny Landreth, and later joined him for a song. It looked like Clapton watched most of the festival from the side of the stage, but he only joined a couple bands.
This was my first time hearing Sonny Landreth. I paid attention and liked it alright. Next up was someone I was really looking forward to - John McLaughlin. Roy knows more about his music than I do, but even I owned a Mahavishnu album before we moved in together. His set was noodly and never came together. It was nice to have a keyboard player also doing lead lines, and this set might have been a good change of pace later on. Here, I was expecting a lot and was disappointed.
I knew from other festivals that there was no way I could sit and listen to so much music. Roy and I both brought books to whip out when we weren't all that interested in watching the acts. An outdoor concert is really flexible, because we could hear everything and look up whenever we wanted to. I had planned to start reading for the third act, but it was Alison Krauss and Union Station and I wanted to see them. I'm not going to run out and buy her albums, but it was nice to listen to and watch.
After that started a string of blues rock acts. Some people from Clapton's band played their own sets, like Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II. I read and barely looked up.
BB King did three songs and had the whole audience in the palm of his hand. Just excellent communicating with us, as if he were playing in a small club and making eye contact with everyone. He played a couple songs I didn't recognize and The Thrill is Gone.
Roy got up and went for a walk when Vince Gill came out. His music didn't bother me, but it was just background music to me. Then he brought Sheryl Crow out. I know she can be a controversial figure because of way back with Kevin Gilbert and the way Tuesday Night Music Club was recorded, but I like that album. I saw her in concert back then. She did one song I didn't recognize, then If It Makes You Happy. Alison Krauss came back on stage and they dueted on Strong Enough from the Music Club album.
The audience had a real mix of people. You could tell the music fans from the partyers pretty easily. The music fans were all wearing hats for sun protection and comfortable clothing and drinking water. The partyers were talking through most of the bands and were already drunk by 1pm. I had a father and son (I think, the boy looked high school aged) next to me and they were listeners. The dad seemed really into Alison Krauss. They asked me when Steve Winwood would be on, after hearing me mention that he was my number one reason for being there.
Unfortunately, the people in front of us were partyers. This group of women talked and laughed loudly amongst themselves during some of the bands. A few of them were smoking. I hold a special hate for people who smoke in non-smoking areas, but I wasn't going to say anything until it got personal. They kept on filing out and coming back sitting in different arrangements. The smoker was now right in front of me and I got a breath full of her rudeness. An usher had already told them to stop smoking, so I just got an usher again. I think they tried to say something rude to me afterwards during a band, but I had earplugs in so I didn't find out. I did hear them calling me "narc girl" and pointing out all the other smokers later on. And the people behind me thanked me.
It sounds funny, but I really enjoyed the day even though I didn't like a lot of the bands. There was lots of people watching to do, it was a nice day to be outside, the atmosphere was nice, book was good, music playing in the background. Roy found a very refreshing treat - cut up watermelon in a cup mixed with lemonade. We had a few of those during the day.
Jeff Beck started, and we paid attention. This was Roy's favorite act of the day. He had a strong band with him, especially the young woman on bass. It just stood out so much from everything before it. He played A Day in the Life from the Beatles and his guitar was so lyrical. We sang along. Beck played longer than anyone before him, close to an hour.
At this point, I was wondering when Winwood would be on. I had read different things, that he'd definitely be playing with Clapton but I didn't know if he'd be playing with his own band or not. Before Jeff Beck was announced, I was hoping that would be his spot. Hopefully his solo spot would be on next. I left right after Beck's A Day in the Life to run to the bathroom so I wouldn't miss anything from the next act.
But no Winwood yet. The next slot was taken by Clapton himself. Uh oh. Does this mean Steve would only be out for the Blind Faith songs? Would I get to hear any Traffic songs tonight? Would it have been better for me to travel to one of his solo shows? He was doing the Blind Faith songs with his own band to practice for this big show.
Eric Clapton came out and did more blues rock. Roy described this as sounding just like all the music he had heard all day, except now it was dark and he couldn't read. He was "bored silly" and went on a walk for a little while. I've read reviews of people that just loved his setlist in the first half of the set, but I didn't know the songs. Clapton even did a George Harrison song that I didn't recognize. (Lots of breadth, little depth is my unfortunate standing.) He brought out someone, who I later found out was Robbie Robertson, to do a tribute to Bo Diddley, Who Do You Love. They also did a song I didn't recognize.
And then, my reason to be here. Eric brought out Steve with a nice introduction, saying they were old friends. Eric said he's been wanting to play again with Steve for 25 years (Blind Faith was 38 years ago, so there was either some bad math going on or he didn't want to play with Steve for the first dozen years after Blind Faith.) (Edited to add: I've been informed they did play together in 1983 at the ARMS charity concert. Woops. Please disregard my previous comment about bad math.)
Steve sat down at the organ. And started Pearly Queen! From Traffic! Relatively obscure! With Eric Clapton playing lead guitar on it! I was happy, but I was also relieved. Winwood really had an honored spot at this concert, not just being brought out to sing the Blind Faith songs. They didn't do Pearly Queen at their show together last spring. This was new and history making. The next song was Blind Faith's Presence of the Lord, with Steve and Eric traded off singing the verses. I turned to Roy and asked him if this wasn't a million times better than what came before.
Steve strapped on a guitar and they played Can't Find My Way Home. Steve sang lead and Eric did some backing vocals. They both played guitar. Then was Had to Cry Today. Steve sounded great and still could hit all the high notes. One of the best voices all day. He was a powerhouse on vocals on this song. These were the three Blind Faith songs they did live last spring, so I was expecting them.
Eric Clapton left the stage for the next song. So did all the other backing guitarists in his band. For one of the first times during this concert (the first?) there was only one guitarist on stage. With a pared down version of Clapton's band on drums, backing vocals, and keyboards, Winwood played Dear Mr. Fantasy. Those of us fans know that he plays the same solo every time. It's scripted, not improvised. But it's very cool. But the other 28,000 people there tonight either knew Winwood from his pop hits in the 80s or knew him as a keyboard player. Maybe their expectations were low. Or maybe it was just great to hear a set of real rock songs. But he wowed everyone. The applause for that song was the longest of almost anyone that day, maybe just except for BB King.
The review in the Chicago Tribune from music critic Greg Kot was glowing.
"His soul-dipped vocals elevated "Presence of the Lord" and "Can't Find My Way Home," and his underrated guitar-playing came to the fore on a spiraling version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy." Was it possible? A musician best known as a singer and keyboardist also walked away with the day's best guitar solo?"
I have yet to read a bad word about Winwood's performance. His section was far and away the highlight of the day for me. You never know how these reunions will go. It wasn't that this was the most mind-blowing performance of my life, but it was so special. And he clearly blew people's expectations away. I am so happy for him!
After the thundering applause for Dear Mr. Fantasy, Clapton and the rest of his band returned to the stage. They performed Cocaine, with Winwood getting a solo in. Then was Crossroads, with Clapton and Winwood sharing vocals. The two of them recorded this way back in 1966 under the name from Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse before Cream recorded it. I've seen Winwood do it solo as well.
They all bowed and left the stage quickly. Was that it? We could see people on the general admission floor leaving. I thought there would be a big song with everyone joining in.
Roy and I went through the listed performers and we still hadn't seen Buddy Guy. He came out next, totally anti-climatic. He did a few songs, then brought out Clapton and some other people, but not Winwood, and jammed on a song. I didn't know any of them. Then it was over. I feel like it should have ended on everyone playing a well known song like Sunshine of Your Love or Gimme Some Lovin' or Purple Haze. Maybe they were playing well known blues songs? And that was it. I wonder if this was the first concert where Winwood didn't play Gimme Some Lovin' since he was a teenager?
Roy and I went back to the hotel. On Sunday, we stopped at the airport to pick up my luggage. It was just sitting there, with no security. At least it was there. I was exhausted, so Roy drove all the way home. I took a vacation day the next day to catch up after being away from home for nine days.
I've been able to relive the concert very easily this time. The whole concert is streaming online at http://music.msn.com/crossroads. I watched the Winwood section again and it was still wonderful. :-)
I'm looking forward to a nice quiet weekend next week. Oh, that's right. Polyphonic Spree on Saturday at the Pageant and we're working the merchandise table for California Guitar Trio on Sunday at Blueberry Hill. At least these are both walking distance from home, no more far away concerts for a month.
Can't Find My Way to Chicago
I had a good time in Philly. The workshop was sometimes frustrating, but we accomplished some good things. Some of the guys from the Philly site were about Roy's age and had seen Yes before, so we talked about music. I took a few people to my favorite places to eat downtown, and I seemed to know more about the city than people who were local but lived in the suburbs. All the travelers started asking me for recommendations.
One night, I got together with my parents. On Friday, the conference ended at one, so my dad and I got together for lunch. He's retired and my mom still works. It's the first time I saw him alone and one of the few times I even talked to him alone since I moved to St. Louis. We ate at Allegro's on Penn's campus. We had a good talk and then he suggested we walk around my old neighborhood. That's one of my favorite hobbies, maybe that's where I get it from. Plus, it moved the conversation from tense family stuff to architecture and what shops used to be where.
He dropped me off at the airport just before 5. My flight was supposed to leave at 7. I generally have good luck traveling - I don't miss things due to delayed flights. My memories of canceled or late flights are from when Roy and I lived apart, and they meant extra time together before one of us had to leave for home. I was tempted to try to fly out earlier, but I didn't. I was on my way to Chicago for a music festival. I would fly into Midway airport and take a shuttle to the hotel. Roy would drive up and meet me there.
It all seemed fine when I got there. Then the flight got delayed to 8, then 9. They didn't know for sure, because the plane hadn't left Pittsburgh yet. I was worried the flight would get canceled, so I called my job's travel line and they gave me options. I could fly USAir to O'Hare airport. But they were leaving only a half hour before my flight was now supposed to, and then I'd have to deal with my luggage being elsewhere and a different airport.
The flight still hadn't taken off from Pittsburgh and was now due to leave at 10pm. Did I mention that I woke up at 4:30 that morning because the workshop was starting early? Then I saw someone from the conference at the airport, someone who was supposed to be on the 5pm flight to Chicago?! Doug told me their flight had just been canceled. They had been on the plane for three hours and they pulled back into the gate. He missed his connection and would change his flight to tomorrow and go to a hotel. But the airport hotels were booking up. He left.
And then, a miracle happened. Doug's 5pm flight to Midway was resurrected. He had already left, and so had a lot of other people. They reboarded. And then they opened the remaining seats up to those of us waiting for the next two flights at Midway. I decided, I don't give a shit about my luggage. I need to get to the concert and I have the ticket with me. That's all that's important.
The 5pm flight left around 10pm. It got into Midway at 11:30pm local time. The airport monitor didn't even list my original flight on the arrivals screen, Had it even left Philly yet? Did it get canceled? That's where my luggage was. Amazingly, I had asked Roy to bring up another pair of pants for me and I borrowed the t-shirt he planned to wear home on Sunday. The hotel shuttle didn't run that late and Roy was too tired after his long solo drive to pick me up, so I sprung for a cab. We had a nice reunion when I got in. It was a loooong day, but I made it.
One night, I got together with my parents. On Friday, the conference ended at one, so my dad and I got together for lunch. He's retired and my mom still works. It's the first time I saw him alone and one of the few times I even talked to him alone since I moved to St. Louis. We ate at Allegro's on Penn's campus. We had a good talk and then he suggested we walk around my old neighborhood. That's one of my favorite hobbies, maybe that's where I get it from. Plus, it moved the conversation from tense family stuff to architecture and what shops used to be where.
He dropped me off at the airport just before 5. My flight was supposed to leave at 7. I generally have good luck traveling - I don't miss things due to delayed flights. My memories of canceled or late flights are from when Roy and I lived apart, and they meant extra time together before one of us had to leave for home. I was tempted to try to fly out earlier, but I didn't. I was on my way to Chicago for a music festival. I would fly into Midway airport and take a shuttle to the hotel. Roy would drive up and meet me there.
It all seemed fine when I got there. Then the flight got delayed to 8, then 9. They didn't know for sure, because the plane hadn't left Pittsburgh yet. I was worried the flight would get canceled, so I called my job's travel line and they gave me options. I could fly USAir to O'Hare airport. But they were leaving only a half hour before my flight was now supposed to, and then I'd have to deal with my luggage being elsewhere and a different airport.
The flight still hadn't taken off from Pittsburgh and was now due to leave at 10pm. Did I mention that I woke up at 4:30 that morning because the workshop was starting early? Then I saw someone from the conference at the airport, someone who was supposed to be on the 5pm flight to Chicago?! Doug told me their flight had just been canceled. They had been on the plane for three hours and they pulled back into the gate. He missed his connection and would change his flight to tomorrow and go to a hotel. But the airport hotels were booking up. He left.
And then, a miracle happened. Doug's 5pm flight to Midway was resurrected. He had already left, and so had a lot of other people. They reboarded. And then they opened the remaining seats up to those of us waiting for the next two flights at Midway. I decided, I don't give a shit about my luggage. I need to get to the concert and I have the ticket with me. That's all that's important.
The 5pm flight left around 10pm. It got into Midway at 11:30pm local time. The airport monitor didn't even list my original flight on the arrivals screen, Had it even left Philly yet? Did it get canceled? That's where my luggage was. Amazingly, I had asked Roy to bring up another pair of pants for me and I borrowed the t-shirt he planned to wear home on Sunday. The hotel shuttle didn't run that late and Roy was too tired after his long solo drive to pick me up, so I sprung for a cab. We had a nice reunion when I got in. It was a loooong day, but I made it.
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