Yup yup! We are about up to here with bluegrass!
This week (Thurs-Sun), the County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley hosted the 33rd Annual Father's Day Bluegrass Festival. Last year, Francine and I attended on Sunday, the morning of which features Gospel music. This year, Tom and I followed the same pattern. However, since a local radio station, KVMR carries the whole Festival live, bluegrass was vibrating through the house for three days before we even set foot on the fairgrounds. Tom, in fact, had ODd, already. No matter--I dragged him along, anyway (although he took puzzle books just in case).
Going to hear any live music is fun. The beautiful venue and the relaxed but totally smokin' musical energy of good bluegrass makes this event very hard to beat. Looks like most folks bring their monster RVs from who-knows-where to camp amongst the trees, but there were a few drive-ins like us.
It was warm--high eighties, with a light breeze--so in the shade, it was very comfortable. And there was shade. The only downside to pine trees, even very tall ones like these, is that the shadows they cast (especially near the summer solstice) are very skinny. From 10 to 5, we sat in 5 different spots to stay out of the direct sun. And so did everyone else.
Everyone watches the stage with one eye, the other eye hungrily scanning for the next move into (the holy grail) the leading edge of the moving shade. We all become expert triangulators, calculating the course of the sun and which tree would cast the best-located shaded area and when--that is, with decent visuals and not behind a tree trunk or the sound booth. Trickier than it sounds. But most of us got the hang of it pretty quickly. It's a system that favors multi-taskers.The most well-known group we saw and heard was Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. He looks like the grandfather amongst his grandchildren, but they just cooked. Amazing dobro played by a guy who looks like an overgrown ninth-grader. We heard two sets from them. We also greatly enjoyed the other groups.
A couple of observations (drawn also from the previous three days, yea, lo these many years of bluegrass-listening): a. Somewhere, there is a bottomless pit filled with sappy sad bluegrass/country songs. I'd like to find that pit and cap it off for all time and eternity. b. Bluegrass groups have no business opening their mouths unless it's to sing or introduce the band. No bad jokes, no stupid stories. It's just embarrassing. Zip it, people. Seriously. 3. Who can believe the infinite variety of portable chairs that folks bring to these events? I swear, some of them are tube-and-canvas sofas with cupholders, foot rests, snack tables, rockers and canopies. Amazing! Where was I when this happened?And who is the guy, dressed in a loose tank top and baggies, with a bright green towel over his shoulders who danced by himself (you know, that Western-style two-step kind of dance) all day over at the side? All day.
Of course, we had to indulge in our favorite locally-made ice cream treats from Lazy Dog. We first gobbled their lovely dipped bars (light or dark over about 500 flavors) well before we moved up here. Huge drumsticks (made that morning). Mine was rootbeer float-flavored. Ahhh.
Hey, and Tom bought a fiddle! I scouted out a dealer amongst the different booths and sent him over. Tom took violin lessons for several years, when Dylan was also learning to play. The teacher passed on, unfortunately, just as Tom was feeling like he was getting somewhere. Dylan, then, took off with the fiddle (which he still plays) when he left home. So, Tom's been talkin' about getting another one, and now he has. This will be interesting. Stay tuned...:o)
All in all, a fine day, indeed! Perhaps next year, two days.
