Trapped in Time

(via staceyjoy)

This cycle definitely speeds up when you’re dripping in sweat most of the daytime hours.

Still don’t know if I’m headed to Rothbury next weekend, but last year was definitely the best music festival I’ve been to.  How can you beat hammocks in the forest?

Remembering (via | view large on black)

Memorial Day usually marks the beginning of summer for most of us, even if it’s in an unofficial capacity.  For me, summer means seeing live music, camping, enjoying the outdoors - all things we often take for granted as Americans.  We owe such wonderful freedoms and past times to those that have given their lives to allow us to continue to live in ways that much of the rest of the world cannot.

I know when I venture across the country to see live music this summer, I’m going to try and capture the experience for what it is: completely American and unique.  This photo was taken last July 3, at the Rothbury Music Festival in Rothbury, Michigan. I can’t think of a better way to spend an American holiday than camping, grilling, dancing, and watching fireworks.  So I urge all of you to do as much of the aforementioned activities as possible.  They’ll keep you smiling and keep you remembering why we live in such an amazing place in some (for better or worse) amazing times.

July 29: Driving from Chicago to Red Rocks
July 30: Phish @ Red Rocks
July 31: Phish @ Red Rocks
Aug 01: Phish @ Red Rocks
Aug 02: Phish @ Red Rocks
Aug 03: Moab & Arches National Parks, Utah
Aug 04: Vegas
Aug 05: Phish @ Shoreline, San Fran
Aug 06: Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
Aug 07: Phish @ The Gorge, George, Washington
Aug 08: Phish @ The Gorge, Geroge, Washington
Aug 09: Driving to Billings, Montana
Aug 10: Driving to Minneapolis, Minnesota
Aug 11: Phish @ Toyota Park in Chicago, sleeping in my own bed

Hotels booked, tickets accounted for, budget created, cameras in hand, dancing shoes ready to go.  Oh yeah, and there’s still next weekend’s trip to Boston, and leg one of summer tour from June 9-21 in the Midwest along with Bonnaroo and Rothbury.  Shaping up to be an incredibly awesome summer.

bja:

From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines,
Going where I list, my own master total and absolute,
listening to others, considering well what they say,
pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,
Gently, but with undeniable will divesting myself of the holds that would hold me

Walt Whitman

The promise of summer, in poem form.

anniehinton:

Is it going to be a Bob Dylan kind of summer? I sure as hell hope so.

Summer of Looooove 2009?

wideeyedhippiechild:indierawk:

Outdoor-Music-Festival Grounds Mistaken For Refugee Camp

“Despite the efforts of crews working around the clock, the festival’s resources were severely stretched by Day Three. Event organizers installed 100 portable toilets on the grounds, but the number proved woefully inadequate. The makeshift toilets were not emptied as scheduled and leaky, overflowing units spilled human waste into ditches. Foot-pump handwashing units were emptied mere minutes after they were refilled, as campers carried the water in buckets back to their living quarters, where no fresh water was available.”

(via The Onion)

Ah, festie season.  Refugees of the road.

Summer Tour Part 2: Chicago > Red Rocks > Shoreline > Gorge > Chicago

4,995 Miles
14 States
13 Days
8 Concerts
4 Cities

3,819 miles, 17 states, 12 shows (oh and Bonnaroo) in 19 days?  Epic indeed.

Phish announced their first summer tour in five years and while I still believe there’s going to be a late summer tour of the west coast, I think in all likelihood I’m going to use this tour to do some traveling, starting with a visit to NYC at the beginning of June.  Further indication 2009 is going to kick some serious ass.

06/04 - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater - Wantagh, NY
06/05 - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater - Wantagh, NY
06/06 - Comcast Center - Mansfield, MA
06/07 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
06/09 - Asheville Civic Center - Asheville, NC
(06/12-13 Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN)
06/16 - Fox Theatre - St. Louis, MO
06/18 - Post Gazette Pavilion - Burgettstown, PA
06/19 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Noblesville, IN
06/20 - Alpine Valley - East Troy, WI
06/21 - Alpine Valley - East Troy, WI

of Californication (great DVD gifting from the bro) and I’m headed to bed.  I wish winter were over in a couple episodes time, or at least when I wake up in the morning.

I could really go for an evening rooftop sesh in the low 70s with an ice cold beer in my hand, my wonderful pup at my feet, and an arm around a beautiful woman.  Shit, just like Hank, I’m always askin for too much.

I think I’m going to head to the Loop and take advantage of some of the free summer events that the fine City of Chicago offers up to poor schmucks like me.  The Art Institute of Chicago has free admission from 5-9 PM on Thursday and Friday until Labor Day.  And since Labor Day happens to be Monday, my calculations show this is the only chance I’ll have to go for free.

Better yet, right next to the Art Institute is Millenium Park, where Sonny Rollins will be kicking off the Chicago Jazz Festival with a free concert at 6:30 PM at Pritzker Pavillion.  This is the first U.S. outdoor venue to feature surround sound (there are hundreds of speakers) that is equally distributed for perfect sound whether you’re in the pavillion seating, or laying on the beautifully manicured lawn.  So what I’m saying is there’s probably not a better place to see a free concert in the country!  It also marks a good opportunity to get back out with my D80 and capture some beautiful architecture and weather.

Rothbury’s Sherwood Forest.

This video give an idea of how out of their minds many people were during the festival… and perhaps the reason why.  As one of my friends said, “That forest is just begging you to try some psychedelics.”  Indeed, it was one of the most visually stunning psychedelic displays I have seen in person.  I’m not even sure the video does it justice.  Within the forest was a hidden stage and a rock garden with a huge wooden buddha and little enclosures to sit in made from sticks. There were hammocks hung all over the forest, and lights were set up throughout to project all kinds of visual displays through the trees.  As one person said, “Don’t fuck with that forest!”

Wilco - “A Shot In The Arm”

From Wilco’s 1999 Album, “Summerteeth”, this song really speaks a lot to me.  Sometimes all we need is that “shot in the arm” to get us back on track.  Sometimes that’s a friend, sometimes it’s a partner.  It could be a job, an opportunity we didn’t forsee, maybe just a change in scenery.  But summer is too beautiful and life is too short to not be happy and comfortable with who we are and what we’re doing with our lives.  So get off the Internet, get away from work, find a way to enjoy your summer and find a new relationship, find a new hobby, find a new you.

The ashtray says
You were up all night
When you went to bed
With your darkest mind

Your pillow wept
You covered your eyes
And you finally slept
While the sun caught fire

You’ve changed