At the close of my fourth decade of outdoor festivals, I don’t mind confessing that at my first festival – the Buffalo Party in Washington, July 1970, I went topless like all the hippie girls. This year I have sore knees.
Favorite Set: The Decemberists Love at First Sound: Blitzen Trapper These Guys are AWESOME: Q Brothers Don’t Get Them: Grizzly Bear The Sharon Jones Ass-Kicking-Women-Over-50: Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of the B-52’s Really Sorry I Missed: Jonathan Tyler Excellent as Expected: Levon Helm even though he didn’t sing
Best Leap from Mid-Size Stage to Big Stage: Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears Overheard in Waterloo Records Tent: “Where’s Roky this year?”
Ooh, That Smell: The saturated ground by the port-a-potties
Ahhh…: Viva Day Spa offered mini manicures and 10-minute massages in The Grove
Thank You, Masked Man: A man in full Batman costume roamed the grounds Friday
Best Backstage Perk: The Dell Stage where the Decemberists played offered phone charge and bag check plus computers
Best Press Perk Besides Free Coca-Cola: Cannoli Joe’s pasta
But She Won’t Do That Again: A woman wearing muddy high heel sandals fussed about having to take them off when they kept sinking in and tripping her
Me Too: “I’ll take the rain over 107 degrees.”
This article appears in October 2 • 2009.