earlyinthemorning

"Old Joy" has gotten pretty much unanimously positive reviews. It's about 2 old friends who've drifted apart somewhat and attempt to reconnect on a hiking trip in the Oregon woods. It's pretty short (around an hour) and has been described as a cinematic short story.

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http://youtube.com/watch?v=_rbXU1diaGw

Just saw Thile all weekend at the Northwest string Summit. He was a special guest throughout the weekend, sitting in w/ numerous bands. Man, can he play that mando. He played a set w/ his new bluegrass band as well. Great stuff, including a sweet IATTBYH.

Headed up to the Gorge on Saturdau am for 1 day of the Sasquatch festival. I'll start by saying that the Gorge is probably the most beautiful venue I've ever seen. Amazing vistas and a pretty good setup within the ampitheater as well. First act we saw was Sufjan. First time seeing him and I was definitely impressed. Crowd was still sparse that early and we got pretty close to the stage as a result. Highlights included Chicago and jacksonville. Next up was Band of Horses on a smaller stage. Played a few off their album, one new song and a leftfield cover of a Hall & Oates song (You make my dreams come true). Short and sweet set, ending just as the rain started. It had been a beautiful, sunny day up to this point and a little shower was welcome to cool everyone off a bit. However, within 15-20 minutes the shower had turned into a full on hail storm. We were watching Neko on the mainstage when it started. At first it was just a few hailstones here and there but it quickly became a pretty violent storm. Neko had to leave the stage and attendees were huddling under blankets and tarps. Fortunately, the hail and rain stopped after about a half hour. Unfortunately the music was delayed for about an hour and a half.

We skipped the tragically hip so the next band we saw was the Shins. They played a tight but abbreviated set due to weather situation, featuring mostly stuff from Chutes Too Narrow. Scheduled next were the Flaming Lips. I was really excited for their set, not having seen them in about 2 years. Unfortunately, after a long wait, someone comes on stage and announces that due to the weather Ben Harper is coming on next and the Lips will close. I was very pissed as it had been a long, cold , and wet day and I really just wanted to see the Lips and maybe a little of Ben before retreating to the tent for some dry clothes and a warm sleeping bag. Instead had to sit through 2 hours of Ben Harper. He was decent, but imo was better when he just had the 3 piece band. I could also do w/out the pop garbage he mixes in, ie Steal My Kisses. After what, to me was an interminable encore, Harper finally left the stage. 30 or so minutes later the Lips finally hit the stage. Wayne was his usual magnanimous self, apologizing profusely for the delay. We didn't stay for their whole set as its was so late (they came on at 12:15 when the whole show was originally scheduled to end at 12.) but were treated to Yoshimi, Bohemian Rhapsody, Vein of Stars and a few more.

All in all, it was a fun day that would have been phenomenal were it not for the freak hail storm. Sorry for the length of the review but it corresponds to the length of the day. If anyone went Sunday I'd love to hear how it was.