Summer shows... so far

So many. Where to begin? Of course there was there was Wakarusa. What can I say? Team Stellar and the rest of the Waka-crew made it an amazing time. The music was fantastic, and mostly because of groups/DJs/people we had never seen or heard of before. Of course the headliners were good, but the second acts stole the show. After getting a serious groove on at Pretty Lights, it was kinda hard to sit through a Yonder show, which seemed to have more banter and talking than it had music. Of course, they hadn't played together for a while, and they were maybe just warming up, but come on guys, it's fucking Waka, you've got to bring it! And they should know better, it isn't their first rodeo.

Sound Tribe sort of brought it, but never got quite as dirty as we were waiting for. But no worries, our dirtiness was fulfilled by The Egg, 20/20 Soundsystem, and Boombox, all of who brought the tents down! The surprise of the weekend for me? Black Crowes, who I hadn't realized are now playing with Luther from North Mississippi Allstars. They rocked. Sure, we didn't see the whole show, but I was definitely impressed.

Also a standout on the backwoods stage, Elephant Revival, who continues to amaze and amaze. Our first excursion out after returning to reality was an Elephant show at the Fox. They were, unbeknownst to us until show time, the opener for Ukelele Douchbag or something or other. There was another opener, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, who was lovely! Elephant then brought their wonderful positive aura onto the fox, and everyone had a blast. Hula girl was on stage for several songs, prompting us all to wonder why she isn't in a traveling circus? Absolutely amazing. Like, seriously unreal hula-hooping!

When Elephant finally had to make way for the headlining Ukele Loki and his Something or Other Orchestra, it was to the dismay of the crowd, about half of whom decided not to stick around. Ukelele had some potential, but I couldn't get over the feeling that Loki (the namesake and frontman) was a total jackass. I also got the distinct feeling that the rest of the band agreed with me. The girls hanging from the ceiling spinning around didn't help, either. I couldn't stop thinking about them falling and cracking a neck on the edge of the stage, which they were positioned directly on top of. It made me long for a nice. safe, beautiful hula girl. I also couldn't help but notice the attention one of the lovely ladies from Elephant got when she joined the crowd. Even during another band's performance, people were still captivated by Elephant Revival. In my opinion, the most refreshing, genuine and amazingly talented group in the area. These kids are gonna be huge!

What was next.... hmm. David Byrne? Pretty incredible. Long story, but our party bus ended up being the transport for his guitar, which was accidentally left in Teluride, and made its was to Red Rocks through the Mountain Sun and by way of Disco Dan (complements of the real guardian of the guitar, who shall remain nameless). No, we didn't play it. We didn't even take it out of the case to look at it. But we knew it was there! And we got it safely to Mr. Byrne, and all was well.

The show was a Talking Heads dance party, pretty much. An identical setlist to one I saw last fall at the Buelle Theater, but completely different in the context of Red Rocks. Awesome.

Then came a completely unexpected surprise show... a 'private' String Cheese Incident 'soundcheck' at the Ogden. The 'private' show was completely packed, and a little too hot. After spending the last month at festivals or outdoors performances, the rave-like sweatbox of the Ogden in June was a bit of a shock. Nevertheless, the boys threw down an amazing show. I swore I kept hearing Kyle tease 'Burning Down the House' but it was never played, and may have just been my imagination.

Last weekend we didn't make it to any live shows, but caught Darkside of the Rainbow at the Boulder Theater, a completely different experience than in a dorm room! It still blows me away. Of course, most of the second and third times that Darkside plays, it kinda loses it a bit, but is SO worth it for the ending...

Up next: STS9 at Red Rocks....

They're back....

boy.....
and not back where they left off. either.
man....
back like they were at their absolute best.
musically, i don't think i've heard a performance as technically beautiful as that in ages and ages, if ever. have they secretly been practicing for the past 5 years? the energy infused in every song, from waste to possum, was unparalleled.
now, i didn't get to see the show, so i'm going on sound alone here (which should be plenty to go on) but i could hear the smiles of each member of the band at times.
"Play it, Leo" was shouted with such joy, as if Trey had been waiting and waiting to get the chance to trumpet one more time that miraculous call, and couldn't be happier to have been blessed with the opportunity to do so.
the shouts of the audience clued me in to the visuals i was missing. i can only assume by the roar of the crowd that something was bouncin' round the room with the music.
for all the anxious fans wondering if this would be the show, weekend or tour we my get to experience a much awaited fluffhead, well, that anxiety was put to rest with the first note emerging from trey's guitar.

god...

i endured a real trial in patience last night. i resisted all temptations at viewing the setlist. see, this era of phish is the era of twitter, blackberries and iphones. from the first note of fluffhead, every detail of the performance was available online to those that chose to look.

i waited. mr. miners phishthoughts.com was so kind to post a "no-spoilers" page, where the show was available almast immediately after it was fiished, without the setliset anywhere near the page. i listened with the same awe, suprise and amazement that those in the mothership had. i sat hear laughing my ass off in joy as the first notes of divided sky let out, thinking 'holy shit, holy shit!" of course nothing could compare to the collective elation that must have been felt in that arena, but, for not having been there, i got to experience it with the same mystery and anticipation. for that, i say "thank you, mr. miner".

they seemed to pull out every trick in the book. like this was their one shot to amaze us once again. one last chance to let fly with everything left in the bag. but it's not! this is just the beginning. and the glimpse of the new future is ridiculous! if this is what the latest chapter is going to hold, get ready! phish is back, and they've returned to rock our universe.

the mothership is back in orbit.

shit...

hampton..

still waiting. for now, hampton comes alive. w. o. w. forget sometimes what a piece of magic this is. is what's happening now close? (and, although i know it appears that i am, i'm not talking about the show with rerun) surpassing? greatly surpassing?
i took a few glimpses at a post. all i allowed myself to see was "holy shit! holy shit! they're back!"
hmm....
holy shit. they're back.

Valentine's Dinner

A delicious Valentine's Dinner. We made acorn squash, baked with brown sugar and maple syrup. It came out juicy and tender, and sweet and awesome.

I also fried some eggplant, very lightly breaded in flour mixed with garlic and nutmeg. The fried eggplant was layered with tomatoes which had been marinated in white wine, olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley. Each layer was smothered in a fresh parmigiana spread that Kelly made with garlic, basil, and roasted peppers. The eggplant tomato stack was topped with a red wine reduction.

The main course was scallops, simply marinated in white wine and lemon juice, with some herbs. They were sauteed with scallions until the scallions melted away! I topped the scallops with s & p, and a bit of chili powder for a kick!