This week – Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the end of the never-ending tour.
43. “Sleep, Eat Food, Have Visions” – Four Tet (June 17, 2008)
Tuesday I left Grand Junction, CO at sunrise to get to KRFC for Live at Lunch. It was a beautiful drive, though sleep-deprivation had me seeing things and making fellow drivers very angry.
The interview and performance lasted for a full hour, so I got to play all of my favorites and I had a blast talking to the host. I’ll post a link as soon as I get a chance to upload the mp3 files. After playing so many shows the past several months it’s really fun to have someone to talk to and to interject in between songs. Maybe the next tour I’ll have an emcee… anyone up for it?
I left the station just as my cousin and her boyfriend arrived in Ft. Collins with my aunt. They just graduated from Auburn University in Alabama and they’re moving here for vet school. The horse trailer was packed to the ceiling and it actually felt good to lug everything upstairs in the 90-degree heat after days of sitting in the car. Fortunately Alan Jackson made the trip:
44. “Another Country” – Tift Merritt (June 18, 2008)
Telluride exceeded all of my expectations. As soon as I arrived Wednesday afternoon I knew it was going to be a great time, though I couldn’t have predicted the magical twists the next few days would take.
I picked up my passes and headed over to the Town Park camping area, which was already packed with campers. I soon discovered my tent poles were broken so I pulled a MacGyver and tied the tent to some nearby trees.
It collapsed several times throughout the weekend before I mastered my technique, but the view couldn’t be beat:
45. “Two of Us” – The Beatles (June 19, 2008)
I met my fellow Troubadours Wednesday night, and then I played two sets Thursday on the Elks Park Stage downtown. The Troubadour Round went really well and afterwards I was swept off my feet by a musician… the sun was shining, the lilacs were in bloom, and I felt higher than the snowy peaks surrounding the town.
I spent the rest of the evening backstage, where I got to watch Ryan Adams and The Cardinals play a stellar set as the full moon rose and the temperature plummeted. It was the best rock and roll show I’ve seen all year.
46. “Most Likely You Go Your Way And I’ll Go Mine” – Bob Dylan (June 20, 2008)
I rode the free gondola through the mountains Friday morning and then I went for a hike with fellow Troubadour Lara Herscovitch. She an extraordinary singer-songwriter and a new friend for life. Not only do we have similar names, but we went to the same high school and, unbelievably, parked next to each other. Out of some 12,000 people, that’s pretty cool.
After we cleared our heads and talked about our respective lovesickness we came back down the mountain in time to see Paolo Nutini from front row.
I was not familiar with his songs aside from “Last Request,” and I was very pleasantly surprised. The band had fantastic energy, the songwriting is tight, and I will most definitely be picking up the new album.
The highlight of Friday was Bruce Hornsby and Ricky Skaggs with Kentucky Thunder. The jam on “The Way It Is” had me laughing out loud with delight and the “Superfreak” encore was very unexpected.
47. “Time to Move On” – Tom Petty (June 21, 2008)
Saturday I began to feel the effects of three days of non-stop excitement. However I still had my main stage set left, and the momentum pushed me through the afternoon. I got to see Tift Merritt, whose newest album, Another Country, is one of my favorites of the year.
After Tift and her band finished I got to play some songs on the main stage, which had the most incredible view, as you can see above. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer crowd.
I headed back over to the Elks Park stage to see Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, aka The Swell Season, before one more walk to “See Forever,” the name of one of the nearby trails.
Saturday night ended with The Frames:
48. “Let It Ride” – Ryan Adams and The Cardinals (June 22, 2008)
Sunday morning I was officially spent. I literally crawled over to a group of friends when I got downtown. Flipping through the local paper while waiting for Between the Covers to open, I was touched by the police reports. Telluride seems like a nice place to live (above).
As I was about to play on KOTO-FM it began drizzling and then snowballing – soft clumps of hail dropped down and the temperature dropped before the sun came back just as quickly.
I picked up some Ryan Adams albums for the road at the Telluride Music Company and headed back up to Ft. Collins. My South Dakota plans were canceled so I’m going to be back East by the weekend! It’s been a fantastic tour – thank all of you so much for being a part of it, whether online, at shows, or in spirit – and I’m really looking forward to my writer’s break.
The Ultimate Road Mix So Far…
1. “Escapade” – Janet Jackson (May 6, 2008)
2. “Cars Trucks Buses” – Phish (May 7, 2008)
3. “Heart of the Country” – Paul & Linda McCartney (May 8, 2008)
4. “Why Georgia” – John Mayer (May 9, 2008)
5. “Runnin Down A Dream” – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (May 10, 2008)
6. “Sweet Home Alabama” – Lynyrd Skynyrd (May 11, 2008)
7. “I’m So Tired” – The Beatles (May 12, 2008)
8. “Tennessee Jed” – The Grateful Dead (May 13, 2008)
9. “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?” – The Beatles (May 14, 2008)
10. “Tennessee Blues” – Steve Earle (May 15, 2008)
11. “Consolers of the Lonely” – The Raconteurs (May 16, 2008)
12. “Midwest” – Sound Tribe Sector Nine (May 17, 2008)
13. “The Big Country” – Talking Heads (May 18. 2008)
14. “Everyday Is A Winding Road” – Sheryl Crow (May 19, 2008)
15. “Omaha (1994 – Live at Elysee Montmartre) – Counting Crows (May 20, 2008)
16. “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You” – Bob Dylan (May 21, 2008)
17. “Bandits” – Buck 65 (May 22, 2008)
18. “Is There Anybody Here That Love My Jesus” – Medeski, Martin, & Wood (May 23, 2008)
19. “Highway 61 Revisited” – Bob Dylan (May 24, 2008)
20. “Girl From the North Country” – Bob Dylan (May 25, 2008)
21. “Texas Flood” – Stevie Ray Vaughan (May 26, 2008)
22. “Hard Sun” – Eddie Vedder (May 27, 2008)
23. “Take Me To the River” – Talking Heads (May 28, 2008)
24. “Down South” – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (May 29, 2008)
25. “Southern Man” – Neil Young (May 30, 2008)
26. “Southern Cross” – Crosby, Stills & Nash (May 31, 2008)
27. “She’s Leaving Home” – The Beatles (June 1, 2008 – Sgt. Pepper anniversary!)
28. “Road to Nowhere” – Talking Heads (June 2, 2008)
29. “Road Rage Breakdown” – Blockhead (June 3, 2008)
30. “Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo” – Ennio Morricone (June 4, 2008)
31. “Going to California” – Led Zeppelin (June 5, 2008)
32. “Aeroplane” – Red Hot Chili Peppers (June 6, 2008)
33. “Coast to Coast” – Elliot Smith (June 7, 2008)
34. “Crosstown Traffic” – Jimi Hendrix (June 8, 2008)
35. “Slave to the Traffic Light” – Phish (June 9, 2008)
36. “California” – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (June 10, 2008)
37. “West Coast” – Coconut Records (June 11, 2008)
38. “Going up the Country” – Canned Heat (June 12, 2008)
39. “San Francisco Bay Blues” – Richie Havens (June 13, 2008)
40. “California” – Joni Mitchell (June 14, 2008)
41. “Cowgirl in the Sand” – Neil Young (June 15, 2008)
42. “I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)” – The White Stripes (June 16, 2008)
43. “Sleep, Eat Food, Have Visions” – Four Tet (June 17, 2008)
44. “Another Country” – Tift Merritt (June 18, 2008)
45. “Two of Us” – The Beatles (June 19, 2008)
46. “Most Likely You Go Your Way And I’ll Go Mine” – Bob Dylan (June 20, 2008)
47. “Time to Move On” – Tom Petty (June 21, 2008)
48. “Let It Ride” – Ryan Adams and The Cardinals (June 22, 2008)
