Mile High Music Festival

Pretty fried from the Mile High Music Festival this weekend. But there were some really great shows that I'm glad I got to see.

First off I have to say a big huge thanks to my friend who put me on the guest list and got us passes. It was incredibly generous and I greatly appreciate it. He knows who he is.

Saturday Ann and Dino and I drove down to Commerce City to see Hill Country Revue. I was really looking forward to this set and I wasn't disappointed. It was a really solid strong set and the audience went crazy.

We spent a good part of the day sweating you asses off in 95 degree weather in the middle of a field with 50,000 other people. However, I never once threw a hissy fit. Fortunately they granted Artist Guests VIP access so we could get into the VIP air conditioned tents and get free water, beer and food. Honestly, if we hadn't had VIP access it's very likely I would have gotten heat stroke. All day we poured bottles of water over each other. It was VERY Flashdance hahaha.

Steve Winwood did a KILLER set. He played a bunch of Spencer Davis Group hits, Traffic, Blind Faith. Unfortunately we did get Higher Love, but we just ignored that and forgave him for the entirety of the 80's. About half way through I had to go find some cool shady grass to sit in so I just listened but didn’t see the stage. As Dear Mr. Fantasy was being played I thought to myself, “Man, who is playing guitar for Winwood? That guy SHREDS!” Turns out it was Stevie himself!

Later we caught Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers which was also fantastic. Petty never disappoints. I mean, the guy has so many hits that it’s nearly impossible for him to not please any audience. And after all these years he absolutely stands up to all those young hacks. And despite the dorky hair do Mike Campbell KILLS! The guy is so freaking talented it’s ridiculous.

Winwood joined Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage for a few tunes and man was that awesome. I already feel like I’m gushing and don’t know what more to say that in was REALLY freaking AWESOME! I had this big goofy smile on my face the whole time.

Sunday we were in no rush, which was good because it was even hotter out. I admit, I did have a little melt down. After getting screwed around about where to park and where to pick up out tickets and all that crap we found out that the rules had changed overnight and Artist Guests would no longer be allowed into the VIP tents. So we hoofed it about 1/4 of a mile out to the Artist Catering tent just for a bottle of water.

There was no air conditioning, I hadn’t eaten and that’s about when I lost it. Unfortunately, I missed a chunk of the Rodrigo y Gabriella set. But what I caught was really good. A little bit too showy for me. I mean, I get it, you can play cool flamenco music and you can even turn Zeppelin into flamenco. However, I have to admit they are incredibly talented and the lack of excitement at the time could well have been due to my little tantrum.

Thanks to Shelly for sticking with me and holding my hand while I imploded. We hit the big water feature thingy and I got soaking wet. That helped a LOT.

Next up was Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. There have been a few really amazing moments in my life where I first heard a band and it was like an explosion inside of me. These moments that come to mind are the first time I heard Marc Ford, the first time I heard Will Hoge and Sunday night when I heard Grace Potter.

HOLY CRAP!!!! She and her band are phenomenal!!! She totally wails and she plays a Hammond B3 and a Flying V and does this little booty shake and it’s like watching a forest fire. Guitarist Scott Tournet is incredible! The whole thing reminds me a lot of Deep Purple but new and now and sexier.

I don’t think that there is a way to really describe this. You just have to see a GPN show in person. And I’ve listened to her studio music now and there’s no comparison. I was able to download one of her live shows and it’s awesome and I can’t stop listening to it. All I can tell you is if they come to town do NOT miss it.

Ok, enough about my new obsession with Grace Potter and The Nocturnals.

THE BLACK CROWES! The whole reason I wanted to go to this festival in the first place. I normally don’t do festivals or big shows because I don’t like big crowds etc. However, I had not yet seen The Crowes with the addition of Luther Dickinson.

If any of you who haven’t known me very long, I’m a HUGE Black Crowes fan. I was into them a little bit when they first came out, but around college is when I got totally hooked. I became involved in The Black Crowes community and blah blah blah. In any case, I’m a really big fan.

I’ve also gotten to listen to a lot of Luther’s work with Alvin and with his band the North Mississippi Allstars and I’ve really come to enjoy his playing a lot. Also, the Crowes have had past issues with lead guitar players. So, I was very interested and excited to hear Luther play with the Crowes.

They were FANTASTIC! I think that Luther is a really great addition. He has a lot of his own feeling to add. He’s a very passionate player which sooo comes out on stage and he sounds great with Rich Robinson. It appears to me that Rich feels really comfortable with Luther, that he kind of opens up and takes some risks and there is a give and take that I don’t think I’ve seen with Rich before. They traded off solos and really gelled.

Now I’m a pretty die hard Marc Ford fan. For some reason Marc’s playing does something to me that I can’t explain. And having Marc as part of the Crowes has always been awesome. But it will never be 1995 again and I there is no point in dwelling on that. I sort of just prefer to think of it as a different band altogether and not compare apples to oranges.

I think that Luther is a fantastic addition to The Black Crowes and I would make a great effort to see them as much as possible with this lineup.

It was also really cool to see the Crowes and look around me at the people I was with. A lot of them I have been friends with for a long time but originally met because The Black Crowes brought us together in some way or other. It felt really good.

After The Crowes, Dave Mathews played which you couldn’t drag me to for all the whiskey in Ireland. We busted out of there as quickly as possible and I have to admit that I did plug my ears because it was just that bad.

All in all I have relatively little sunburn (only in the places on my back and Ann didn’t get but lied and said she did!). My feet weren’t too swollen and I didn’t have a panic attack.

Thanks for all my friends for being there with me and sharing the love and the vibes and all that. And thanks to the musicians for putting up with the same heat AND working to bring us some great tunes.

P.S. I know that was a lot of words without any pictures but I promise I'll add pictures when I get them. -Em