BOTTLE ROCK RECAP CONTINUES…
Friday [Day 2]: Tim and I arrived at the fairgrounds ready to rock n roll! After securing our wristbands we made a beeline to the Miner Stage to catch Blues Traveler.
Oh yes, we were sporting our Highway 29 club tees. Like bosses.
John Popper plays the harmonica like WHOA!
Everyone was dancing and having a great time during their set – they kept it cool. Lots of VIPs that couldn’t get into the VIP section so they hopped the fence – one lady fell backwards and smacked her head on the gates when trying to sneak in! After the rousing set, we headed to the Whole Foods garden for dinner and The Shins.
Tim and I had to take a lap around the tents and try to decide what we should eat! SO MANY GOOD CHOICES. In the end, I went with La Condesa (STREET CORN, PEOPLE! STREET CORN.) and ordered the chicken tacos and street corn. Timmy’s favorite part: free pork tacos. Some yahoo didn’t come back for his tacos they gave them to me – Tim scored big. 
Next year: more seating, please! Took forever to score a spot at a table. Major props, though, on the screen located in the garden – it was streaming the WillPower stage show!
After the grub, we caught the last three songs from The Shins at the WillPower stage. Judging rightly, we headed as close as we could to the front and assumed we could shove closer for The Black Keys.
I’m sorry, Shins fans. They were boring. I like a few of their songs (3, to be exact) and I thought it would be fun to see them. Unfortunately, they were not exciting to watch. There was no show, and even they didn’t seem that thrilled by their set.
At the end of the set, some of the fans wandered away and we were able to scoot forward. 
Even though I heard the wacky and delicious antics of The Flaming Lips, I moved not!
Oh yes. Tim and I went through a bag of these waiting for the Keys!
They killed it. KILLED. When Patrick started on the kick drum – I could literally feel it in my sternum, pumping. It was AWESOME!!
Not so awesome – the two girls having some kind of bad trip behind us. They ended up crying and leaning on Tim. Also, one of them was petting Tim’s back and he was beet red and uncomfortable. It was so awkward. I tried to give them some water and have them sit but they were just too out of it. I worried a little as I am wont to do, but they wandered off before I could seriously behave like a mom.
After the wonderful show, we’re poured out of the fairgrounds and into the streets of Napa. After witnessing a girl lying on the cement swatting at the police officer who was trying to calm her down and a nasty fight, we knew it was time get serious about heading home.
Tim and I walked the 3 1/2 miles and laughed the whole way (except when we were whining about how tired we were, lol).
BOTTLE ROCK RECAP!
Thursday [Day 1]: Originally Tim and I purchased the 3 day pass (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) but when I heard the lineup for Thursday I knew I had to go. I bought tickets for Thursday, so I could take my mom to see Violent Femmes and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts as a Mother’s Day gift.
Heading in to the festival, it was clean, not too crowded, and the event staff were friendly, funny, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Napa Expo looked – the event planners did a good job turning the outdated fairgrounds into a respectable festival!
First thing we did upon arrival was survey the land, then book it to the Citi Stage for Joan Jett!
Citi Stage
That’s my mom
After Joan’s rockin’ set (have to say, shouting the lyrics to ‘Cherry Bomb’ along with your mother is kind of surreal) and a beer, Mom and I wandered into the Free People tent, where they snapped pics (and posted them on their Facebook).
One of the best parts about this festival was the food. A whole section of the fairgrounds were dedicated to food trucks! We ended up at the Ultra Crepes truck, where we partook of the Ajvar savory and a strawberry nutella sweet crepe. Delicious! After snacks, it was time to make our way to the Miner stage for the Violent Femmes. As per my usual routine, I scooted as close to the stage as possible.
Miner Stage
They were awesome!! Since it was the 30th anniversary of their debut album, they came on stage and announced they’d play the album in its entirety!! After they finished, they played some songs from Hallowed Ground, but only one song from The Blind Leading the Naked (was hoping for ‘Old Mother Regan’ or ‘Children of the Revolution’, but at least they played ‘I Held Her in my Arms’).
After, mom and I heard The Avett Brothers playing ‘I and Love and You’. I was bummed that their set time had been changed (Further had to drop out at the last minute), but glad to hear their voices as a closer for the evening.
We left the festival beaming.
Day 2 post tomorrow!
I’m just going to start off just like it hasn’t been a month since I last posted.
Not sure if you are aware, but Jimmy Eat World is releasing their eighth album, ‘Damage’, on June 11th!!
Today my beloved band posted this video on YouTube:
YES YES YES YES YES!
On Monday, a giant music, wine and foodie festival was announced…one that takes place in my very own town of Napa!!! Not only is it local, but the festival dates coincide with the epic 10 year dating anniversary (Tim and I will have been together an entire decade – WHOA), and Mother’s Day, which you know is the best holiday ever. I am basically dying of happiness.
The promoters are announcing just a few acts each day, with the full line up available (supposedly) this weekend. So far, the list includes:
The Black Keys
Alabama Shakes
The Flaming Lips
Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite
The Shins
Bad Religion
Iron and Wine
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Mavis Staples
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Cake
Michael Franti & Spearhead
The Wallflowers
Blues Traveler
Brandi Carlile
Donovan Frankenreiter
Group Love
Please God don’t let this be a dream.
I wasn’t kidding about making this a weekly – I have a million of these. Give me any ideas you have
GEORGIA
Gladys Knight & The Pips ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’
Iron & Wine ‘Sodom, South GA’
Ray Charles ‘Georgia on My Mind’
The Charlie Daniels Band ‘Devil Went Down to Georgia’
and here’s another I love, which mentions Georgia in the lyrics
Otis Redding ‘Sittin on the Dock of the Bay’
One of my favorite little brain games to play when I am alone in my car is to take whatever song is currently playing on the radio, and try to think of three other songs that have a common theme. I listen to a lot of music so I can usually come up with plenty.
Today’s topic is RAIN.
Blind Melon – No Rain
Garbage – Only Happy When it Rains
Missy Elliott – The Rain
Eurythmics – Here Comes the Rain Again
I think I’ll make this a weekly post on my blog…
You might remember me gushing about Haim after the Gentlemen of the Road tour…one hopes you took my excellent music advice and downloaded their EP faster than you can say ‘jupiter julep’, which I just made up and will shortly turning into a best selling cocktail at my local bar. I guess.
Anyway, if you haven’t, here’s some more incentive: they’ve released two more singles! Get thee to iTunes and download the ‘Forever’ EP and their new singles ‘Send Me Down’ and ‘Don’t Save Me’. DO IT NOW.
‘Forever’ by Haim (Official music video)
‘Go Slow’ by Haim
However you feel, whatever you stand for, just make sure to get out there and vote today.
Read part 1 HERE
This part is a little rambling.
After much dancing/bouncing, our group practically ran over to the mainstage to snag a good spot for Mumford & Sons. Unfortunately, because we got there a bit early, we were forced to stand through Gogol Bordello’s ridiculous set. There was nowhere to run. It was the worst junk I’ve heard in a very long time. All I could do was stand there, with a tall, large gentlemen’s backpack smashed into my face (seriously – one of the many drawbacks to being short). All we could do was wait.
In the interim, we played ‘I’m going to the picnic and I’m bringing…’ all the way through the alphabet, took silly pictures, and took turns getting smashed, pushed, grabbed at, and elbowed by every drunk person in the 100 yard radius.
But then… the delicious sounds of Mumford & Sons…
They were beautiful, and I might or might not have teared up during “Lover of the Light”.
After, we headed to Denny’s for horrible late night food. Adan ordered a coconut flavor drink that looked like Windex. We were so achy, cold, and tired (the walking, dancing, sitting, standing, and then more standing for three hours with no room to move AND a full bladder will DEFINITELY do that) that everything was funny, so anything goes! And it did.
After trying to win stuffed animals from the Claw machine (RIGGED, DAMN IT!). we hugged it out and parted ways. Tim and I were not ready to go back to the hotel, so we hit up Cannery Row to check out the after parties and see if we spotted anyone (I saw Este again, getting out of a cab. I did not see Marcus Mumford, but we did spot Ben Lovett!). Cannery Row at night is so beautiful. After listening to the Mumford & Sons brass section play for awhile, we decided to go back to the hotel to rest.
The next morning, we slept in again (!), packed up, and headed right for Cannery Row. Our hunger brought us straight to the Trailside Cafe, where we feasted on beignets, coffee, and omelettes. The biegnets were served with a fresh side of jam, and SO FLIPPING TASTY. A musician played guitar and sang tunes I knew, and the morning was so bright, warm, and beautiful. I imagined a life spent here and now, sipping lattes, reading the paper, not picking up food crumbs and wiping up spilled milk, and never needing to be anything to anyone. And then, I thought of Marco’s perfect little baby feet, and how I would wiggle his tiny infant legs in time to Mumford & Sons songs, and how THAT is precisely when the music meant something to me. Yes, I love the Shakespeare and the Steinbeck, I love the banjos and the kick drum keeping time, but I also love that feeling…knowing here is nothing more than that moment, and you and me and baby makes three because this is my life, and together we can see what we will find, and goddamn it, I will wait for you.
and that’s why I listen.
The things I think about over a good donut, am I right?
After breakfast, we snagged bags of saltwater taffy from a candy store, and a stack of used books from BookBuyers (<3! discovered a few years ago when we were in town for a wedding, and I’ve been dying to go back ever since).
Of course, we still had the drive home and the boy to pick up. It was lovely to enjoy some grown-up time, and even lovelier to see Marco’s face light up when he saw Tim and I. He came back to us a little tired (Tim’s parents watched him the 1st night and 1st day, my mom had him on the 2nd night and day, and didn’t make him take a nap), but, if possible, even more handsome.
Play me out, Marcus…
xoxo
Tim and I have been meaning to take a few days together, away from the little man. We’ve been meaning to since Marco was about 6 months. Now, he’s 2 years old. I have taken a couple of days in Vegas with my friends, and Tim has taken numerous business trips. We’ve had date nights, but never a full night away. Two weekends ago, we finally took a weekend trip, and Marco had time with his grandparents.
We drove down to Monterey for the Gentlemen of the Road tour, headlined by Mumford & Sons! Friday night we spent the evening driving, dropping off Marco, and trying to figure out where to eat. We had to turn back home after 20 minutes on the road to get the tickets (my fault, whoops!) and then had to stop in San Jose to drop the car seat off at my mom’s (after Tim forgot to leave it in Livermore with his parents). So, we didn’t get to Pacific Grove until almost midnight. We watched some television and slept in blissfully, not waking until 9am. No little feet pounding the floors, loud shouts of ‘Mama!! Mama! Morning! Mama!’…yep. We stopped for coffee at a cool spot called East Village. Very good coffee, and yummy breakfast sandwiches
We finally met up with our pal Adan and a couple of his buddies, and Micaela at the entrance of the Monterey Fairgrounds, where the awesome tour took place.
First stop, we went into the Steinbeck museum’s booth. Books for sale, all the movies made based on those books playing on multiple screens, props for fun photos, and a bar with two special drinks made for the tour: a beer milkshake (made with Guiness, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce) and a Stopover cocktail (Wild Turkey, ginger beer, rhubarb bitters, lime, and mint). We all decided to go for the stopover cocktails and we were NOT disappointed. SO GOOD.
We moved onto the food stations, where I loaded up on a veggie corn dog and garlic fries. Fried food mmmm. While the rest of the crew headed to check out Slow Club, I waited in the epic line for merch, and snagged a Mumford & Sons tee, a Gentlemen of the Road pullover and the official tour poster. After the set, we grabbed some Sierra Nevada beers and headed to the front to check out Haim. I’d never heard them before, and was extremely surprised by how much I loved their set. This group is so talented (also funny)! As it turns out, they are all sisters. I was suitably impressed by their guitar and bass skills – more often than not, women are up on stage strumming a couple of chords – its not bad, just not very exciting. They actually played the heck out of their instruments. When I got back to our hotel room that night, I downloaded their EP Forever and I’ve listened to it constantly – but it’s only 3 songs!! I can’t wait for their full length album!
Haim’s last song of their set – Mumford & Sons joins the stage!!
Ukulele ooohh oooohhhh oohhhh
Gentlemen
We checked out The Apache Relay (just ok, nothing exciting) and decided to bounce after a couple of Two Gallants‘ songs (definite mehh). I grabbed a couple more Stopover cocktails, and on the way back to the group, ran into Este Haim, the bassist of Haim!!
Note: she is very tall. Also, very funny. She was cool enough to take a picture with me, and spent a good 20 minutes chatting up other fans.
I made my way back to my friends, and we got a little silly while waiting for Grouplove to come onstage.
We are in love. And we like Stopover cocktails. Yep we do.
*shakes head* They’re dorks, but I love them.
Grouplove, rockin’ the stage! Such a fun mix of sounds, great to dance to!
Already starting to mist/rain – probably ocean spray. Who cares when you’re involved a dance party with like 1000 people?!
Part 2 coming tomorrow!
