Things are easier to write about when they’re fresh in your memory. So that means this recollection has been one son of a bitch to get out into the great collective consciousness. Perhaps I should consider some sort of embedded electrode passing a non-lethal current into my brain — a gentle reminder about my posting obligations. Anyway, some of the highlights from the latest blackout period:
The 2005 Jammys
Five years running, four years attended. In baseball terms, my attendance percentage to this jam band extravaganza is .800. Nice! I had been wondered which would give out first: the shows themselves or my desire to attending them religiously. Looks like we’ll have to wait another year to find out the answer to that question. I don’t see the shows (and the supporting scene) losing momentum anytime soon, and so long as I’m in the northeastern U.S. my attendance is all but a certainty.
This year’s event was solid all around if you ask me. It helped that one of my favorite artists from childhood (Huey Lewis) played a few songs with one of my current favorites (Umphrey’s McGee). Add in The Benevento-Russo Duo, Les Claypool, Keller Williams, The Disco Biscuits, Bruce Hornsby, Buddy Guy, John Mayer…the list goes on and on. Mr. Ferdman has a great breakdown of the event and the torrent is still up for grabs over on eTree. Give a listen and see who’s opinion you agree with more.
Co-pilot Ryan had also scored some tickets to the official after-Jammy’s show at BB King’s with Umphrey’s playing, but the looming specter of rush-rush work days for both of us kind of quashed our chances of attending. The down side of buying tickets months in advance, I guess. I did manage to offload the pair to some music fans without the same kind of restrictions on their schedules, so at least they got used. Those tickets probably made their night, and that thought helped dull the depression a bit as I was riding that bus back through the Lincoln Tunnel.
No T-Shirt or poster this year, but I did get a copy of Relix Magazine signed by the three-fourths of the Disco Biscuits. Pretty good schwag, right? ^_^
City driving and moving pictures
Ryan also came into frame this past Friday as I helped him with a portion of his move from the village to the upper west side — my first bit of driving in Manhattan in ages. The trip seemed to go in 40 minute intervals: I was stuck waiting outside of the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel for 40 minutes as they dealt with a car fire in one of the tubes. It took another 40 or so to get to his old place and then another 40 to get a Cavalier’s worth of his possessions to the new apartment. Still I had a good time with the expedition, and helping a friend out is never time badly spent.
Besides, I got to put all those years of playing Poll Position to some practical use.
Sunlit Sunday birthday bashing
This past Sunday happened to be my sister’s Birthday, which also coincided with the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival. About 8 blocks worth Washington Street was packed with all kinds of arts, crafts, food and people of all kinds, book-ended by two stages of live music. Perfect weather — sunny, warm and all that. Lots of people, dogs and oversized, SUV-like strollers as well. Kind of crowded, in fact. I guess word of mouth from last year was pretty good.
Eventually we headed over to the big city to do some wandering around SoHo, my sister trying in vein to find good fitting jeans that didn’t cost $300 — not an easy thing to do in that part of New York. A few drinks later and we called it a successfully spent day.
Missing paychecks, pending road trips and some reenforcement on the writing idea
From celebratory bliss to bank account woes in less that 24 hours, such was the way my week started. Nothing heinous keeping me from my well earned pay, but a simple misunderstanding has left the coffers closer to empty than I’m comfortable with, especially with a weekend road trip to North Carolina quickly approaching. Can’t rightly go on “vacation” with my house of cards a mess, now can I?
The one good thing I can pull from this fiasco would be some more praise for my potential writing career (ha!), all based on my very diplomatically worded email about said missing money. When someone says they can’t wait to read your next email and all you ever send them is stale corporate business type stuff, then maybe you really do have some writing talent.
Either that or I need to introduce this person to a new sources of reading material.
