i love this new john mayer. a lot. it's fucking great. lyrically, it leaves a little to be desired, but that's ok.

that said, i just remembered that not only did i have intense dreams about the members of nickel creek last night, but i ALSO apparently ran into mayer and discussed with him in depth just exactly how much of a love-hate relationship we've had, and how glad i am that it's in a "love" phase right now.

as for nickel creek...well, we were camping, but had to get to vancouver for a show where i was apparently standing in for sarah(as i'd apparently done before), and we were all just great friends.

i love my brain.

pain throws your heart to the ground
love turns the whole thing around

Friday, September 15, 2006

if you give...


current likes.

that should be said with more emphasis, so what i meant was

CURRENT LIKES:

1.) life. liiiiiiiiiiife. ayeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
2.) I HAVE A JOB. i got a job. the only job i applied for and a job that i really really really wanted. it is not emp. it's meaningful. it's doing something fantastic for my community. it's a non-profit. it's afternoons 5 days a week. the pay is great. the benefits are great. it all works out.
3.) how it all works out. it really does.
4.) dmb. dmbdmbdmbdmb. and that does not stand for DUMB, believe it or not. that band and the music and the people i know through it energize my life in the most unbelievable ways. and, you know what? I LOVE ENERGY!
5.) i'll be in charlottesville in one week. because i know the most amazing people and because it all works out.
6.) the fact that in the past two weeks, i have seen so many dear, dear friends.
7.) the fact that in the next week and a half i will be seeing almost every other dear, dear friend i have.
8.) the green, green desert.
9.) did i mention that i really like life?
10.) did i mention that i love meeting new people and that there are so many attractive men everywhere and that every man that i know and meet just makes every man that i know and meet that much better?

p.s. - i also really like the central park dvd. please watch it soon. loud. and dance around.


Monday, September 18, 2006

do not throw balls at her!


hm.

i've been home a combined total of 4 days in september. and i'm leaving again in two. this is weird. i know i've mentioned a lack of reality, but...one week ago i was in cali. in the past 2 days i've been in az, utah, idaho, oregon and washington. landscapes both mental and physical have seen such tremendous upheaval...

i started a new job today. complete with tb test - nothing like a first day at work complete with needles, which i strongly hate. but i think it will be good. very good. money is always good. my supervisor is apparently super organized and most likely anal. she also likes to wear her sweater tied around her neck...which...well, i shouldn't be judgemental. but that has got to be my least favorite clothing position of all time. i'm sure to bring something unique to my 3 person team. yuuuuuuup!

i'm going to be leaving again for a week, and then when i get back i will head to work and then school. because school starts again soon.

as i've said ten thousand times - i have no idea what's going on. and it's good. really really good.

oh, and? with all the places i've gone recently, it sure is good to return to the most beautiful of them all - my home in seattle. this city is beyond inspirational.

oh, and again? let's hear it for cool, cool, semi-dreary weather.




Wednesday, September 20, 2006

lalalalaa


i'm leaving in 15 minutes to catch a red eye to cincy.

i need to pack.

i need to finish this rum and coke.

i need to

um

well

hm

bring something to do so i don't lose it in the airport and planes over night tonight?

and

um

well

hm.

i'm going to charlottesville. it's been 5 long years. the first, oh wait, ONLY time i was there was the FIRST TIME i'd gone to a show with fellow freaks. our love was a new love. now it's old and rugged and weathered and kinda sloppy and squishy yet firm and hard and

what?

right.

let's hear it for the end of tour!

oh, and for school starting one week from right now.

RIGHT.



BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

again.

for the 17th time this month.


Sunday, September 24, 2006

trenchcoat, eh?

apparently it was a weekend made for the dmb myth books. for a few different reasons for a few different people. i wasn't aware, however, that the comical and oh-so-entertaining world of the message boards and what have you would put such different limits on what deserves to be mythical and what does not.

i had so many reactions this weekend that i was just not aware were on tap or really even slightly probable.

at all.

but, alas, i am still in the midst of it all, so i suppose i will update later.

i do miss my west coast, however. while i'm not wishing my time away here, i will be estatic once i am once again safe on west-of-the-cascades soil.



Wednesday, September 27, 2006

first day of classes.


all i have to say is:

please god, please let me marry a cute professor. and let us have a beach house with big windows by which both of us will write and tangle and...

now, you have to understand that that statement is funny both because i believe neither in god nor marriage, but GOD DAMN i always have cute professors.

we shall be wedded in academic bliss.

p.s. - i'll admit it. i'm in love with the new mayer. fucking hell.


9:22 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove


the best of what's around


i should be sleeping. and i have way too much to say to make this functional at all. but...

to my dearest, dearest dmb family:
they say that people often times see themselves as they are reflected through the eyes of others. i have always been fortunate to have a wide network of extremely loving, supporting friends who help the good in me shine through while constantly making me improve myself. because i have so many different groups, and i tend toswitch consistently between observer and active participant, i think everyone gets a different twist on who i am. however, i do think it's important that you all know that i am so glad to have realized that your particular version of me is the one that has blossomed and developed the most, because i am the most myself when i'm with you and you make me so extremely grateful to be living life in the ways that i am. the version of me that i've grown into has so much to do with you all, and within it is the greatest acceptance, open mindedness and love for life. i'm glad you won. i love you guys so much. thank you for seeing all the good in me and providing such an amazingly passionate environment in which i can always sing and dance and TOTALLY play for you tonight the thrill of it all. i'm so glad i have you guys as a backbone and as a 100% chosen family.

to everyone i've visited in the past 26 days - i have no idea what's going on, but i sure am glad i was able to hit all 12 states and see virtually everyone i love.

to my seattle friends-
I AM SO FUCKING GLAD I AM HOME. i love seattle. i love seattle. i love the west coast. i love you all and your non-conformist(hahahah), crazily styled selves. i love all of your musical endeavors and your quirkiness and the thrill that has come with knowledge that there is a community that has formed to me here that has made me feel grounded and rooted and comfortable and able to further all of my dreams. i know it takes a fucking long time to get to know me, and i'm so fucking stoked that you all have joined the ride. seriously. i am just so glad to be home. the rest of the country freaks me the fuck out. the diversity that exists in our little bubble here is beautiful and i would not want to live anywhere else or have anyone else gracing my presence regularly.

i am trying to post a shit load of posts that have not hit this blog yet.

but it hates me.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

shit, bitch, shit.


so i'm leaving for shoreline/tucson in approximately six hours. here's the train of thought repeating through my head:

hm i should pack. damn that pho was good, now i need a nap. if i went through a third interview and they aren't hiring me, i'm going to be confused. hm i should pack. shoreline shoreline shoreline makes me wanna makes me wanna FUCK. dammit it's going to be another weekend o' platonic lovin. hm i should pack. but what do i pack? it's hot in az. why do the thunderstorms on the forecast end the night we should be driving in. speaking of driving in, that drive on sunday between the bay area and tucson is gonna be brutal. not as brutal as the drive back here next weekend. mmmmmmmm that pho was good. god dammit, could i at least make out with someone in the near future? why do i have to have standards? why do i have to have restraint? why is all this perfectly good libido(sp?) going to waste? i wonder if they'll play rapunzel tomorrow night so i can bask in it's epic glory right up front. yay! shoreline! hm i should pack. i wonder if i can find that d&t show where dave talks about girls squirming in their seats...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm






Monday, September 11, 2006

saturday evening in an S.U.V.


i don't have time to write. which means i shouldn't, as i will not be able to adequately babble.

but.

i do wish everyone could experience something like the past few days for me. i am so ridiculously in love with life and energized(though exhausted). yes, gorge was fantastic as always. but this weekend's shoreline adventure was perfect. i don't know how or why, but it was, and i have laughed so much in the past week that it...it...

i don't know. i've just laughed a lot. and i have the most incredible people in my life. period.

or i guess i could just say: same old, same old :)

thanks, though. to everyone who's participated. it started at the gorge, went through a dags show and a motel 5 show, and then on to the bay area. and now i'm in arizona. and it's time to sleep.




Wednesday, September 13, 2006

as i do not live in reality at all...


there was the most amazing color contrast going on yesterday afternoon. dark blue thunderclouds moving against mountains more green than they've ever been, seen through a foreground of bright orange birds of paradise... i'm unable to share because i'm here and you're there and the chord my mom has is not compatible with me...or mine... but you will see them some time, i promise. and the rain...oh, the smell of rain in arizona is unlike anything anywhere else.

slept for 12 hours and woke up with a flight booked to take me straight to the east coast via long wandering hours of red eye... tickets miraculously fell into place for the concerts, and nothing makes sense on paper, but everything makes sense in my head.

it's been a long time since i had that kind of clarity.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

shit, bitch, shit.


so i'm leaving for shoreline/tucson in approximately six hours. here's the train of thought repeating through my head:

hm i should pack. damn that pho was good, now i need a nap. if i went through a third interview and they aren't hiring me, i'm going to be confused. hm i should pack. shoreline shoreline shoreline makes me wanna makes me wanna FUCK. dammit it's going to be another weekend o' platonic lovin. hm i should pack. but what do i pack? it's hot in az. why do the thunderstorms on the forecast end the night we should be driving in. speaking of driving in, that drive on sunday between the bay area and tucson is gonna be brutal. not as brutal as the drive back here next weekend. mmmmmmmm that pho was good. god dammit, could i at least make out with someone in the near future? why do i have to have standards? why do i have to have restraint? why is all this perfectly good libido(sp?) going to waste? i wonder if they'll play rapunzel tomorrow night so i can bask in it's epic glory right up front. yay! shoreline! hm i should pack. i wonder if i can find that d&t show where dave talks about girls squirming in their seats...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm




Monday, September 11, 2006

saturday evening in an S.U.V.


i don't have time to write. which means i shouldn't, as i will not be able to adequately babble.

but.

i do wish everyone could experience something like the past few days for me. i am so ridiculously in love with life and energized(though exhausted). yes, gorge was fantastic as always. but this weekend's shoreline adventure was perfect. i don't know how or why, but it was, and i have laughed so much in the past week that it...it...

i don't know. i've just laughed a lot. and i have the most incredible people in my life. period.

or i guess i could just say: same old, same old :)

thanks, though. to everyone who's participated. it started at the gorge, went through a dags show and a motel 5 show, and then on to the bay area. and now i'm in arizona. and it's time to sleep.




Wednesday, September 13, 2006

as i do not live in reality at all...


there was the most amazing color contrast going on yesterday afternoon. dark blue thunderclouds moving against mountains more green than they've ever been, seen through a foreground of bright orange birds of paradise... i'm unable to share because i'm here and you're there and the chord my mom has is not compatible with me...or mine... but you will see them some time, i promise. and the rain...oh, the smell of rain in arizona is unlike anything anywhere else.

slept for 12 hours and woke up with a flight booked to take me straight to the east coast via long wandering hours of red eye... tickets miraculously fell into place for the concerts, and nothing makes sense on paper, but everything makes sense in my head.

it's been a long time since i had that kind of clarity.


Friday, September 15, 2006

if you give...


current likes.

that should be said with more emphasis, so what i meant was

CURRENT LIKES:

1.) life. liiiiiiiiiiife. ayeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
2.) I HAVE A JOB. i got a job. the only job i applied for and a job that i really really really wanted. it is not emp. it's meaningful. it's doing something fantastic for my community. it's a non-profit. it's afternoons 5 days a week. the pay is great. the benefits are great. it all works out.
3.) how it all works out. it really does.
4.) dmb. dmbdmbdmbdmb. and that does not stand for DUMB, believe it or not. that band and the music and the people i know through it energize my life in the most unbelievable ways. and, you know what? I LOVE ENERGY!
5.) i'll be in charlottesville in one week. because i know the most amazing people and because it all works out.
6.) the fact that in the past two weeks, i have seen so many dear, dear friends.
7.) the fact that in the next week and a half i will be seeing almost every other dear, dear friend i have.
8.) the green, green desert.
9.) did i mention that i really like life?
10.) did i mention that i love meeting new people and that there are so many attractive men everywhere and that every man that i know and meet just makes every man that i know and meet that much better?

p.s. - i also really like the central park dvd. please watch it soon. loud. and dance around.


Monday, September 18, 2006

do not throw balls at her!


hm.

i've been home a combined total of 4 days in september. and i'm leaving again in two. this is weird. i know i've mentioned a lack of reality, but...one week ago i was in cali. in the past 2 days i've been in az, utah, idaho, oregon and washington. landscapes both mental and physical have seen such tremendous upheaval...

i started a new job today. complete with tb test - nothing like a first day at work complete with needles, which i strongly hate. but i think it will be good. very good. money is always good. my supervisor is apparently super organized and most likely anal. she also likes to wear her sweater tied around her neck...which...well, i shouldn't be judgemental. but that has got to be my least favorite clothing position of all time. i'm sure to bring something unique to my 3 person team. yuuuuuuup!

i'm going to be leaving again for a week, and then when i get back i will head to work and then school. because school starts again soon.

as i've said ten thousand times - i have no idea what's going on. and it's good. really really good.

oh, and? with all the places i've gone recently, it sure is good to return to the most beautiful of them all - my home in seattle. this city is beyond inspirational.

oh, and again? let's hear it for cool, cool, semi-dreary weather.




Wednesday, September 20, 2006

lalalalaa


i'm leaving in 15 minutes to catch a red eye to cincy.

i need to pack.

i need to finish this rum and coke.

i need to

um

well

hm

bring something to do so i don't lose it in the airport and planes over night tonight?

and

um

well

hm.

i'm going to charlottesville. it's been 5 long years. the first, oh wait, ONLY time i was there was the FIRST TIME i'd gone to a show with fellow freaks. our love was a new love. now it's old and rugged and weathered and kinda sloppy and squishy yet firm and hard and

what?

right.

let's hear it for the end of tour!

oh, and for school starting one week from right now.

RIGHT.



BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

again.

for the 17th time this month.


Sunday, September 24, 2006

trenchcoat, eh?

apparently it was a weekend made for the dmb myth books. for a few different reasons for a few different people. i wasn't aware, however, that the comical and oh-so-entertaining world of the message boards and what have you would put such different limits on what deserves to be mythical and what does not.

i had so many reactions this weekend that i was just not aware were on tap or really even slightly probable.

at all.

but, alas, i am still in the midst of it all, so i suppose i will update later.

i do miss my west coast, however. while i'm not wishing my time away here, i will be estatic once i am once again safe on west-of-the-cascades soil.

i had some revelations about dmb fans this weekend. i choose not to dwell on the one that dubs a large proportion of them "tools," as it clearly is not true for all of us, though still very true(tools tools tools! dmb fans are tools! do you hear me? i admit and accept it!). instead, i would like to say that the music and the scene is definitely not for those who don't like to be uncomfortable. the music can make you uncomfortable...either because you can't see a jam through because you get bored or because you don't understand what they're doing or because you're "too good for this shit..." or because dave fucks something up, or because the horns are wailing at ear-piercing decibles, or maybe just because everyone around you is lost in movement and you don't quite like the way your body feels(or maybe the way your brain is telling you you'll look like a dork if you do that too, and what could be worse than looking like a dork?)... these shows and this community are a haven for the awkward...for those who have found acceptance and community in the music...and that can make outsiders uncomfortable. for the seattle scene, it could be highly uncomfortable to be partaking in ANYTHING dave matthews related, for he is in fact the ultimate faux paus. faux pas? faux peep? fuck if i know. in any case - he's the guy who wrote those 3 horrible songs they play on the radio all the time and he has absolutely no musical integrity whatsoever and is totally worth shunning because he is just LAME. (yes, i've yet to figure out why seattle actually hates the man so much - for the love of god, he was raised quaker, his wife is a naturopath, and they live in WALLINGFORD, for god sakes, despite the fact that he makes 55 trillion dollars a year. he's humble and he's a DAMN fine guitar player - he's advanced so much in the 15 years of his career. yeah. there's a lot to hate there. stupid fucking seattle and your scenester snobbery. get over yourself. er...i mean...i love you :) ).

i'd be uncomfortable too if any of those things got to me.

luckily...very very luckily, i see it my way instead. i see a community of uncomfortable people made comfortable by something so open and intricate and complex. i love moving my body non-stop through the entire 3 hours of a show and i love the absolute incapacitation and exhaustion that follows and my need to just be lead around as i break into random episodes of laughter. i adore looking around and seeing people who just cannot dance not caring about it and letting loose anyway. i dig jams. i like it when they get lost...when they get intense and when they explode right back on the track they started from. i love the energy exchange between audience and band. i love cringing when boyd goes out of tune or when roi's chosen note is about to break my ear drum.

i like being uncomfortable. because resolution is inevitable, and just improves my "style." and i'm just so fucking lucky that i do see it this way and that i am part of this, because it has opened my mind to all other kinds of music and life and expression...

yeah.

The first half of the following was supposed to be an email to jessi about the weekend. It spawned into the second half which was sent to a group of fellow freaks who understand all the abreviations and everything. Take from it what you will... I was unable to get everything in my head about the past weekend down, but I'm happy with the effort. :)



Friday, September 1

Everyday *
Proudest Monkey *
Satellite *
Say Goodbye *
What Would You Say *
The Idea Of You *
Big Eyed Fish *
Bartender *
Hunger For The Great Light *
Dream Girl *
Loving Wings *
Warehouse *
Stolen Away On 55th & 3rd *
Cant Stop
You Might Die Trying *
Louisiana Bayou *
__________________

Sister [Dave Solo]
So Right *
Stay [Wasting Time]



Saturday, September 2

One Sweet World *
Crash Into Me
Seek Up *
Grace Is Gone
When The World Ends *
Shotgun *
Don’t Drink the Water *
If I Had It All *
Dancing Nancies *
So Much To Say *
Too Much *
Break Free *
Pig *
Ants Marching *
__________________

Butterfly
American Baby Intro *
Pantala Naga Pampa *
Rapunzel *



Sunday, September 3

Granny *
Typical Situation *
Grey Street *
Where Are You Going
The Idea Of You *
Lie In Our Graves *
JTR *
Crush *
Dreaming Tree *
Last Stop *
Digging a Ditch *
Cant Stop
Jimi Thing *
Tripping Billies *

__________________

Loving Wings *
All Along The Watchtower *



Oh, the gorge.



Oh, automatic capitalization, how I hate thee.



Well, first things first – my camera decided to die about 8 pictures into the weekend, so there is no visual representation to speak of, aside from some pictures of camping chairs, and portrait shots of me, greg and mel individually. Have you ever been to central Washington? I was astounded several times this weekend at the difference having a whole new color palette to work with makes on virtually every thought I think. These dry, dry ashy blues that fit so nonchalantly into browns and greens that just wreak of desert life. It all blends so softly into a terrain that features this enormously vast sky and sweeping plains and ridges and it is so refreshingly different from our lovely bustling seattle. There’s this one spot just off of the exit we take to get to camping and the venue where these deliciously violet flowers are cropped around a small pool of water, and they literally sing in this cliché way about the merits of water in such a dry land. It makes my heart zing in an equally cliché way every time we pass it in the morning on the way to the park. And driving into our campsite at sunset literally makes my hips grind just a little bit involuntarily – this massive gorge that looks like it was so violently carved out of the desert seems to catch these little particles of light, making it all surreal and blurred during the late day yellow sun. Found a new waterfall this year, too. V. cool.



The camping experience, as always, was quite a riot. I will say that I got far more rest than usual this year, so there aren’t quite as many shenanigans to report, but that’s not saying much. The first night after the show, I was lying in my tent, staring up at this sky that was so dark and so starry, listening to people singing songs around the camp fire, totally spent from night 1’s show…and it was literally one of the best post-orgasmic moments of my life. No trees or mountains to block the view – star gazing out there is just phenomenal.



As Dave has said – the scenery out there just can’t fit into a camera.



The shows? Well, they were fantastic. Awe-inspiring even. That band always plays some of their best shows there, and I will say that this year was probably the best crowd I’ve experienced out there. Everyone was so ridiculously into it and the singing along that went on…good fucking god. It’s not like dave sings all pretty-like all of the time, either. The man screams. And we just scream right along with him. Second night, we were sitting on the edge of the lawn, except…it felt like the edge of the world. The lawn is really steep and overlooks the Columbia river gorge, so at night, all you see is empty sky with stars, and these winds come up and sweep over you and almost make you feel like you’ll go floating off into oblivion… or, as the line goes, “I feel as small as dust lying down here.” In any case, though, the energy in the crowds was ridiculous. And the sound is LOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUD this year. And people were shaking their asses in the best of ways. OOOOOH, the energy. Mmmmm mmm good.



The park this year rules. It’s this grassy state park on the river(where we DO swim, despite glacial run-off temperatures.). We played crazy-8’s and layed in the grass and there was a REAL BOAT involved for a Sunday morning jaunt on said river, and we had our yearly kickball tournament that ended in whiskey shots all around.



Oh yeah, the drunkenness. And the pot-laced cookies and other treats. And I’m pretty sure we ran across random jello shots in the parking lot one night too. I saw a boy I once thought was my soul mate. I danced in more uncomfortable positions than I thought possible. I heard Dave tell more stories than I EVER have at a full-band show. I saw these men on stage who I swear to god I’ve grown up with, and who return that same love right back to me when they have as much fun on stage as they did this weekend. It was like one big orgy where everyone was ok that there wasn’t any sex because it would’ve taken away from the dancing and the physical high that comes from knowing music that well.



Wait, though. This isn’t to say I wouldn’t have had sex had it come my way. But this brings us to our next point – I SURVIVED THE GORGE WITH MY PERIOD. Yes, 3 nights of camping with blood. It is doable!



Speaking of doable, there were lots of doable men wandering around. Holy god. The first day, after we’d set up our tents in The Crater That God Forgot, I was little miss social, nosy, just –approach-everyone. I tried to help our neighbors with some random things, like when they drove their car over a spot with big rocks and got stuck. And when the Stupid Park Rangers(SPRs) came to cause trouble with said neighbors, I was the first to walk over to the SPRs and ask if I could ask what was going on…to which the egomaniacal driver told me I couldn’t…to which I asked if there were any “rules” I needed to know about…



Stoopid stooped stooped SPRs.



And, oh – the amount of laughing that went on this weekend!!! Seriously! We laughed and laughed and laughed at nothing for no reason a good 35% of the weekend.



The shows…Night one… night one saw a LOT of giggling. A lot. And those of you who know me know that when I say a lot of giggling, there was a LOT. Ahem. I was amazed at how well everyone knew songs like P-monkey. I mean, it’s hard to sing along to because dave doesn’t usually know where the hell he is(in that song or any song – he was lost a lot this weekend), but we were doing a pretty good job! And it also occurred to me, as I watched a crowd who 2 years ago would have sat in defiance of “Satellite”, that that song is the definitive modern pop song. I mean…it’s bad. But it’s so good! Holy “Bartender” jam, batman. And it was good and didn’t put me to sleep and ended the fight Butch and I were having!!! “Idea of You” was when the show really clicked. That song has PROGRESSED since I last heart it at Nissan. It is perfection and I adore it. And the lyrics didn’t sound quite as horrible as the version I have at home. Carter’s intro into Say Goodbye was epic. For a second there, I actually thought it would be plausible to just make it a Halloween intro instead – it was intense and had to be brought down a few times. I wouldn’t normally mention Dreamgirl, but the intro was gone! So it was totally bearable, and in no way long enough to get a beer and go to the bathroom! Yay for that! “Stolen Away…” ooooooooooooooooooh god. Mel left, he says to “give me a moment.” I almost cried. I just adore that song. It hit me in all the right spaces, even as I knew a few were cringing. He wasn’t sitting, but I guess I can let that slide. I’m sorry, but I love “Can’t stop.” And yes, it is mainly because I get off on Dave doing whatever it is he’s doing during that song. Oh, holy god, the boy just CROONING, holding his mic like he does…oooooooh god.



Best line from Night 1 was when Dave said… “Just remember – no means no. And yes? Yes means come the fuck on!” I fucking loved it.



Night 2 was, as usual, a lawn debacle. We tried so hard to get their early. Oh, wait, no we didn’t at all. Needless to say, we ended up on the way far left on the way far top on the way steep slant. And after the round of intoxicants in the parking lot, I didn’t know that it was in fact safe to stand up, so that was interesting. I was told a few stories about people toppling…in any case, though, the show! Loved it, loved it, can’t wait to listen again. I am somewhat weirded out to say that my eyes actually welled up with tears multiple times during the show. Seek, though, it seems has gotten some surge of power and passion it was lacking a tad in recent years. Translation: yeah Dave wailing! Way to go for it with your all again! “shotgun” is super. Mid-set DDTW…mmmmmm yeah. Before WTWE, Dave said, “We were gonna release this as a single…but then the world ended…” Dug that. “Break Free” is far more sultry than anything they’ve written lately. The version I have from june is really good…until the end, at which point the jam just sucks. I was delighted to find they’ve trimmed it down and stepped it up and made it perfect-ish. “Pig” that far into the set really surprised me, but the gorge is the perfect place to hear it, so of course it was loverly. And the rest of the show, as the set tells you straight up, was pretty fucking high energy. I love few things as much as I do “Rapunzel.”



Ok, night 3. Yeah. Yeah, it was good. “Granny” of course sets the tone for the whole show perfectly, but Typical two songs in? Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze. That is truly one of my favorite jams. MMMM. And Rashawn bumps it up a notch. I really do like him, by the way. I was kinda indifferent after Red Rocks and Nissan, but now that he knows the material, he’s jiving with them as if he’s always been there. And that high trumpet timbre is seriously a perfect addition to so many of the songs. And he and Roi play with eachother!!! And WHAT was Roi wearing night one? FIND A PICTURE.



Back to the point…



I actually liked ALL of LIOG! I was starting to become a hater(or at least my version, which is very vanilla) of it, because the jam puts me to sleep, but it was good. And I shall now refer to LIOG instead as “Boyd’s Orgasm.” Boyd is really funny. I like him. But this brings us to my favorite 8 minutes of the entire weekend: JTR. Seeing this song again was so much better than I already knew it would be. And IT SOUNDS SO GOOD. So much better than it ever was! I was just…fantastically ridiculously happy. And on top of that, at that point in the show I one hundred per cent thought it was the closer. I assumed it was. I was ready for them walk off stage because the show that far had been SO high energy. But I was quite wrong! Because then we got a BTCS streak to end all BTCS streaks. Crush, ok, fine. But then Dreaming Tree? Dreaming Tree followed by Last Stop? What? What? I mean, there’s this moment of hand-clasped wonder when you hear those first notes of DT. And there’s that longing that somewhat encompasses the need to have everyone around you be perfectly silent so you can fully absorb just what it is that is happening on the stage. And there’s that relaxation when you realize they’re playing That Song For You, because they know you as a fan just really really find it a special, amazing treat to hear and see it performed live. And then there’s that laughter when Dave gets more lost than you’ve ever seen him and cannot find his way, and realized that everyone knows it, and then leads into this huge jam that totally makes up for his misguidance. And then there’s said jam, so totally and utterly caressed with every ounce of Carter’s unimaginable talent… and THEN? THEN? Then they start tooling around with an intro that you know sounds like Last Stop, but also sounds like What You Are. And even though you know he uses the electric for WYA, you know that you should definitely not totally get your hopes up because they can trick you, they have before. But how can you not get excited when you really know that it has to be last stop they’re playing, and that you’re about to be completely blown all the way away because the power of that song is just unprecedented? And then the girl in front of you pukes, and you feel bad because this is just the intro, and the real song is about to start, and it will not at all help her puking needs?



Last Stop was real good.



And yes, the rest of the show. The rest of the show…well, you guys know. It was a perfect close to another perfect weekend at the gorge. And yes, it did feel GOOD to have a dose of Watchtower. Nothing like knowing the end is coming, and stomping your feet and shaking your ass harder than you have all night, just because it’s that song, and because it’s the end, and because it’s been so good, and because…



Well, because you get to do it again next weekend. J



Yes, gorge weekend was good. We seriously had a good group of people out there, too. I totally enjoyed everyone’s company. Yeah.