It's Not Big, It's LARGE.
Aug. 22nd, 2010 09:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gonzaiHere I am, to recap yesterday at Hot August Blues to the best that I can, given how utterly wiped I am right now.
I went later intentionally, the temperature was well over 90 and it was humid so I figured the only chance I had of surviving was to pass on all of the early bands and just go for Keb'Mo' and Lyle Lovett. Naturally it took no time at all to get there, park and get in, so The Bridge were just finishing and I wound up hearing all of Black Joe Lewis. The Bridge were fine, but Black Joe does nothing for me. While I was able to pass on my extra ticket at the gate, the person behind me also offered an extra for $10, so I had to take $10 for mine as well. And by the time I got in there, I was so hot and tired I bought a giant snowball and spent the first hour nursing that bad boy on a pavilion (in the shade) while listening to Black Joe. Then I hiked up to the potties...which left me toasted all over again. I resolved to stay on the pavilion until Keb'Mo' came on, and except for stopping by WTMD to thank them for the tickets, I did.
Just before he went on, I picked out a tiny space just below the walkway which had just enough room to spread a towel. I was there for pretty much the next 5+hours, so fortunately it turned out to be a good spot with fairly reasonable neighbors. I say fairly reasonable, because it turned out that about 15 feet away were six men who smoked cigars the whole time. (There were an awful lot of smokers there, very annoying.) I still smell like cigar tonight. The spot was about 100 feet from the stage, from the artists' perspective I'd have been at about 2 o'clock. This matters because I shot photos all night until my camera batteries died. Get used to that angle, kids.
Keb'Mo' played solo. Just him and his guitars, and the occasional harmonica. And man, can he play the Delta blues. Fabulous guitar work to go with the pleasant voice and songs. He sang one song, 'Be Yo'self', where he sang "You don't have to shave your legs for me." Snerk. I said out loud that I wished he'd mentioned that this morning and the woman in front of me was in giggles the rest of the song. Keb also made numerous comments about the, um, cabooses of the some women walking past the stage, then decided to 'stay out of trouble' and made comments about some of the men's cabooses. He sighted someone he knew, 'Arlene', in the audience and made her come up on stage and sing. She was quite good! We danced to the last couple of songs, and then Keb took his leave.
Between Keb'Mo' and Lyle, I made another hike to the potty, stopped to talk to a Roots Cafe acquaintance, got dinner (a crab cake and a bottle of ice tea) and stopped by the backstage entrance to see what was up. Keb'Mo' was chatting with some people backstage, and a couple were by the entrance trying to get his attention. They succeeded, and he signed a half dozen autographs at the gate, including one for me :) Well-timed on my part.
Back to my towel, because I'm a hoopy frood who really knows where her towel is. The Large Band started 10 minutes early, without Lyle, and started with a rocking rendition of...'Walk The Dinosaur'. Seriously, they did. Turns out one of the backup singers was the lead singer on the original single, hence the selection. Then they played a jam wherein all took solos. THEN Lyle came out, and we all danced for two hours straight. (Except for those so drunk they fell on people instead. Lovely.) He told us we were 'the most talented audience on the tour', because we were the only one to start dancing before he even got on stage. Everyone in the large band received multiple intros, multiple solos, and at least one solo vocal during the encore - a very democratic arrangement. I knew all but one or two songs, which was a relief as I hadn't reviewed beforehand. And oh yeah, I took photos.
Now, Oregon Ridge Park is not particularly amenable to trying to get back out after an event, so I took my time leaving. I picked up a 'Natural Forces' t-shirt ("home is where my horse is", you can see why I like the sentiment) and decided what the heck, I'll hang by the bus and see if I can get some autographs on the CD I'd brought. I failed to recognize some of the band members (the ones towards the back) and was turned down by a couple, but Lovett's longtime bassist said he 'would be honored' to sign the CD. A couple walked past me on their way out and asked what I was up to, I explained trying to get any band member who'd played on 'Joshua Judges Ruth' to sign it, they wished me luck. Later I saw the woman peek out of the backstage, see me, and go back in. By that time the parking lot was clear so I got ready to leave...and Lyle came out, looking specifically for me. He apologized for making me wait so long for him! I of course said no problem, I'd been chatting with some of the band. He asked where I was from, I told him I'd seen him play a couple times before at Pier Six and the show was awesome, he signed the CD, shook my hand and patted me on the shoulder. I thanked him again, and we both departed. On my way out, I discovered that the only two cars in the parking lot were two cars apart from each other...and the other one belonged to the couple I had talked to. I passed them on the way out and stopped to thank them for sending Lyle out. They were surprised I knew they must have mentioned me, but they've known Lyle for some time and they said he's very nice, but very shy. For 1 or 2 people, he's glad to say hi and sign stuff, but doesn't deal well with a crowd. So I'd done it exactly right. We took our leave, and I scooted on home, getting back just before midnight. Today, everything hurts and I'm exhausted. I suppose I'll have to start working out to go to concerts!
One last picture :)
I went later intentionally, the temperature was well over 90 and it was humid so I figured the only chance I had of surviving was to pass on all of the early bands and just go for Keb'Mo' and Lyle Lovett. Naturally it took no time at all to get there, park and get in, so The Bridge were just finishing and I wound up hearing all of Black Joe Lewis. The Bridge were fine, but Black Joe does nothing for me. While I was able to pass on my extra ticket at the gate, the person behind me also offered an extra for $10, so I had to take $10 for mine as well. And by the time I got in there, I was so hot and tired I bought a giant snowball and spent the first hour nursing that bad boy on a pavilion (in the shade) while listening to Black Joe. Then I hiked up to the potties...which left me toasted all over again. I resolved to stay on the pavilion until Keb'Mo' came on, and except for stopping by WTMD to thank them for the tickets, I did.
Just before he went on, I picked out a tiny space just below the walkway which had just enough room to spread a towel. I was there for pretty much the next 5+hours, so fortunately it turned out to be a good spot with fairly reasonable neighbors. I say fairly reasonable, because it turned out that about 15 feet away were six men who smoked cigars the whole time. (There were an awful lot of smokers there, very annoying.) I still smell like cigar tonight. The spot was about 100 feet from the stage, from the artists' perspective I'd have been at about 2 o'clock. This matters because I shot photos all night until my camera batteries died. Get used to that angle, kids.
Keb'Mo' played solo. Just him and his guitars, and the occasional harmonica. And man, can he play the Delta blues. Fabulous guitar work to go with the pleasant voice and songs. He sang one song, 'Be Yo'self', where he sang "You don't have to shave your legs for me." Snerk. I said out loud that I wished he'd mentioned that this morning and the woman in front of me was in giggles the rest of the song. Keb also made numerous comments about the, um, cabooses of the some women walking past the stage, then decided to 'stay out of trouble' and made comments about some of the men's cabooses. He sighted someone he knew, 'Arlene', in the audience and made her come up on stage and sing. She was quite good! We danced to the last couple of songs, and then Keb took his leave.
Between Keb'Mo' and Lyle, I made another hike to the potty, stopped to talk to a Roots Cafe acquaintance, got dinner (a crab cake and a bottle of ice tea) and stopped by the backstage entrance to see what was up. Keb'Mo' was chatting with some people backstage, and a couple were by the entrance trying to get his attention. They succeeded, and he signed a half dozen autographs at the gate, including one for me :) Well-timed on my part.
Back to my towel, because I'm a hoopy frood who really knows where her towel is. The Large Band started 10 minutes early, without Lyle, and started with a rocking rendition of...'Walk The Dinosaur'. Seriously, they did. Turns out one of the backup singers was the lead singer on the original single, hence the selection. Then they played a jam wherein all took solos. THEN Lyle came out, and we all danced for two hours straight. (Except for those so drunk they fell on people instead. Lovely.) He told us we were 'the most talented audience on the tour', because we were the only one to start dancing before he even got on stage. Everyone in the large band received multiple intros, multiple solos, and at least one solo vocal during the encore - a very democratic arrangement. I knew all but one or two songs, which was a relief as I hadn't reviewed beforehand. And oh yeah, I took photos.
Now, Oregon Ridge Park is not particularly amenable to trying to get back out after an event, so I took my time leaving. I picked up a 'Natural Forces' t-shirt ("home is where my horse is", you can see why I like the sentiment) and decided what the heck, I'll hang by the bus and see if I can get some autographs on the CD I'd brought. I failed to recognize some of the band members (the ones towards the back) and was turned down by a couple, but Lovett's longtime bassist said he 'would be honored' to sign the CD. A couple walked past me on their way out and asked what I was up to, I explained trying to get any band member who'd played on 'Joshua Judges Ruth' to sign it, they wished me luck. Later I saw the woman peek out of the backstage, see me, and go back in. By that time the parking lot was clear so I got ready to leave...and Lyle came out, looking specifically for me. He apologized for making me wait so long for him! I of course said no problem, I'd been chatting with some of the band. He asked where I was from, I told him I'd seen him play a couple times before at Pier Six and the show was awesome, he signed the CD, shook my hand and patted me on the shoulder. I thanked him again, and we both departed. On my way out, I discovered that the only two cars in the parking lot were two cars apart from each other...and the other one belonged to the couple I had talked to. I passed them on the way out and stopped to thank them for sending Lyle out. They were surprised I knew they must have mentioned me, but they've known Lyle for some time and they said he's very nice, but very shy. For 1 or 2 people, he's glad to say hi and sign stuff, but doesn't deal well with a crowd. So I'd done it exactly right. We took our leave, and I scooted on home, getting back just before midnight. Today, everything hurts and I'm exhausted. I suppose I'll have to start working out to go to concerts!
One last picture :)
