high sierra snake charmers 7.1
Fran’s Flashback
our second gig at high sierra was an afternoon show in the vaudeville tent. the vaudeville tent looked like what im assuming wavy gravy’s backyard would look like. i havent seen that much tie dye in one place in a very long time. our daytime set was orchestrated brilliantly as we structured it out as one long build. i think it paid off because as we played the tent steadily filled up until it was one jammed mass of sweaty people dancing around getting swept away by our sound. at one point i remember telling the crowd that it felt like a big ocean of love was washing up on stage…i know it sounds cheesy but i couldnt help myself. overall it was a perfect set where crowd and band were one. after the show we went over to the merch tent and signed cds and met some fans….good times man, we even sold out of cds. check out this review of the festival in jambase.
wheat grass thanx to: everyone in the vaudeville tent during our set, the 3 people that ran back to their tents to get me beer when i asked for some (that’s love), and all the folks at camp harry for having us over to their late night party.
dressing room and rider wrap up: a nice man called pooba (pictured) was in charge of the “vibe” for whole tent and was sort of the backstage “host” if you will. he was making mint juleps and they were tasty. as far as the backstage area for the band goes…there was a tent with food and drink and stuff and even a masseuse. there were no private bathrooms and there were tons of people back there. overall it was a cool vibe given that it was a hectic area to begin with. im grading this out as a 5 – not because of the lack of privacy, toilets, or space but purely on pooba’s hospitality, good vibrations and free rub downs. see you at the derby man.
Mariqueen’s Mind
The City: it was a good day to wake up in a city named quincy.
The Venue:today we played at the vaudeville tent. i think that’s high sierra’s secret code name for tie dye explosion.
The Show: i mean, it was what it was. i remember thinking i couldnt hear my voice out in the audience and heard later on from my manager that our sound man messed it up and used the excuse that i wasnt singing loud enough. um. despite incompetence from that side, i thought it was pretty decent. we rolled with the audience and by the end of the set we had them grooving. it was a lot of fun.
What Were You Thinking While Playing: i can’t hear myself. my feet hurt. this beer tastes good…
Interesting Things After The Show: puba, the man behind the magic at the vaudeville tent made us delicious mint juleps. i got a massage. we walked around and soaked up the festival. i ate a lot. i drank a lot. i smoked a lot. i laughed a lot. it was great.
Nathan’s Nonsense
Our Saturday set at High Sierra was probably the closest thing to perfection we managed to achieve on the whole trip, which unfortunately still isn’t saying much. We really had no sound check to speak of, just threw our gear up on stage, plugged everything in, and lunged into our set. Once again, one of the Moogs wasn’t quite in tune, but at least it wasn’t as devastating as some of the aforementioned experiences. After a song or two… or three, our sound issues were completely sorted out and we were in full command of the late afternoon audience. For this show, we started with a healthy sized audience, but they were mostly just relaxing, sprawled out languorously on the grass. By midway through the set, they were all on their feet, dancing away and seriously grooving on the tunes. It really felt good to see that.
Afterwards, we met up with some of the wonderful fans at the merch tent, hung out backstage with our friends from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and My Morning Jacket, cashed in on some much needed free massages for the performers (thanks a million, Ali… that was heavenly), and marveled at the stars which seemed to hang so low and luminescent that you could practically touch them with your tongue. Jesse from the band Lotus joined up with us for a bit, the fire dancers were out in full force, everyone was smiling and seemed to be channeling some universal wellspring of goodness…. Andrew’s trailer was going off late into the night, craziness everywhere, positive energy being shared by everyone. I had a blast. I’ve never been a big fan of festivals, until now. You won’t have to ask me twice to come back again.
josh and ian – team perfect
wig + grace potter +mmj
a rare Q smile caught on film
costa mesa at the merch tent
bo from my morning jacket – good guy
until me meet again high sierra
below are the next batch of shows we have. it will be the first time for us to play in arizona so thats cool. the night before st scene we are going to 94.9 and hanging out with midori on her big sonic chill show. its gonna be totally casual and unplanned. think we’re just gonna hang out, help her host a bit and maybe play a couple acoustic songs…chill and tons of fun. maybe we will give stuff away. then the next afternoon is st scene which should be great – we are playing on the same stage as modest mouse, yeah yeah yeahs, bloc party, and the editors.
