There's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate...

Ok, So I'm back from Allgood and I have to say... it's wan't all that great. aside from the painful lack of running water and 15 vendors all selling bullshit that nobody wants, there was one big problem that I had with the festival: most of the music was between 10:00pm and 4:00am... which in theory is a great idea, because it's not hot and the music didn't start until 3pm so... you could sleep the day away...

but they forgot one thing.

we were situated at the top of a mountain in mid July with no shade... so your gal Renee was brunt out by 12:00am each night and missed the following:

Widespread Panic
Dark Star
Govm't Mule
Bassnector

BOOOO

I promise (Brian) that I will write performance reviews soon, but for now let's check and see if my predictions for the festival came true:



1. I will find the coffee vendor on site and make BFF's with them the moment we park the car.
it took me about an hour to find them, but I had ZERO coffee this weekend... It was only 2.50 for an iced coffeee, but I took a sip of Ben's and learned why it was so cheap! :(

2. Someone, I don't know who, will cover "The Weight"
haHA!! Susan Tedeschi and Derke Trucks closed their set with it! I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT!!

3. Phil Lesh will tell us about his liver and how you should give away part of yours, or a kidney, or whatever.
Of course he did!

4. Between Phil Lesh and the DSO we will hear: Good Lovin, Uncle John's Band, and Good Lovin again.

Sad to say, I will never know (well, at least not until I check out setlist.com) but I did hear Keller do Eyes of the World, Phil do Jack Straw, and some random cover band start up a 7:00am set in the camping area with a sad and warbily rendition of "Shakedown Street". That moment was a bit bitter-sweet for me, because I have always wante dto hear someone cover that tune.. just someone good.

5. I will get that weird patch of sunburn across my tramp stamp that I can never figure out how it got there.

nope... not this time, instead I have a horrible burn on both of my legs...

6. Someone will get poked in the eye with a glow stick thus ending the awesomeness that is glow stick wars during the first late night set.

you know what... even if someone did get poked in the eye, no one would have stopped anything... there were no cops and the security was so lazy... you could have brought in a thousand guns and some live Bangal tigers and no one would have cared.

7. Kisner and I will get into an argument about trying to cook with a cast iron skillet on a tiny personal grill

well, more like everytime we cooked, or talked about cooking he would bring up the fact that I didn't want to bring it... which really was annoying.

8. Keller Williams will crawl further up Phil Lesh's ass and try to jam with the Friends... uggghh
I was wrong, but he did do a bad-ass cover of "Pepper"

9. John Bell and Dave Schools will compete for the title of 2008's best looking hair blowing in the stage wind machine... Will Dave take it again this year, or with John finally win it for the wavy haired wonders out there?

there was no contest, as teher was no stage wind machine... I missed the set, but I say when it comes to the better hair with no wind, it has to be John... maybe he would let me boing his curls one day!

10. I will take photos of my feet to chronologically display the dirtiness
oh I did, and it's gross!

In addition I would like to offer up two long-shot predictions:

1. Daniela Cotton and Susan Tedeschi will play sing "Piece of My Heart" and my face will melt off
I wish, but they weren't on the same day.. however, Daniela Cotton did a SICK cover of Purple Rain! SICK!!!

2. Mike Gordon will make up for years of sucking by saying these words "Welcome special guest Trey Anastasio to the stage" or better yet "Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, and Page McConnell" after which my head will explode and I will die... a happy... happy woman!

What do you think?

I'm Gonna Tell You How It's Gonna Be...

OK SEXY PEOPLE: I am headed off to Good Ol' Marvin's Mountaintop to check out ALLGOOD 2008!! WHOO HOOO!!
I'm pretty excited, no cell phones, no overlapping sets, no Metallica... it's going to be a big muddy, dirty slice of heaven. Four days of music and no running water... I can grantee it's going to be hot, muddy, and smelly... but because I have not taken any mind altering substances yet, I can't se the future; thus... I have a few predictions:

Almost sure things:

1. I will find the coffee vendor on site and make BFF's with them the moment we park the car.

2. Someone, I don't know who, will cover "The Weight"

3. Phil Lesh will tell us about his liver and how you should give away part of yours, or a kidney, or whatever.

4. Between Phil Lesh and the DSO we will hear: Good Lovin, Uncle John's Band, and Good Lovin again.

5. I will get that weird patch of sunburn across my tramp stamp that I can never figure out how it got there.

6. Someone will get poked in the eye with a glow stick thus ending the awesomeness that is glow stick wars during the first late night set.

7. Kisner and I will get into an argument about trying to cook with a cast iron skillet on a tiny personal grill

8. Keller Williams will crawl further up Phil Lesh's ass and try to jam with the Friends... uggghh

9. John Bell and Dave Schools will compete for the title of 2008's best looking hair blowing in the stage wind machine... Will Dave take it again this year, or with John finally win it for the wavy haired wonders out there?

10. I will take photos of my feet to chronologically display the dirtiness

In addition I would like to offer up two long-shot predictions:

1. Daniela Cotton and Susan Tedeschi will play sing "Piece of My Heart" and my face will melt off

2. Mike Gordon will make up for years of sucking by saying these words "Welcome special guest Trey Anastasio to the stage" or better yet "Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, and Page McConnell" after which my head will explode and I will die... a happy... happy woman!

Maybe I'm Too Young to Keep Good Love From Going Wrong...

Clearly I enjoy my music to be little on the sad side, full of self doubt, heart break, men crying, the whole thing...
but there are times when I fancy myself a bit of an optimist, when the universe seems almost like it's not out to get me and that maybe, just maybe... life is fabulous.

In times like these, I cannot subject myself to the horrifying song stylings of someone like... I don't know... someone perky... "bubbly blond teenager". So what's a girl to do, when all she wants to hear is misery and teardrops in the vocals but finds herself in a good mood for a change?

Oh Oh Oh! I Know!! I Know!!!

....MASON JENNINGS....

For all of those who wondered when we would see another Paul Simon, or maybe Cat Stevens, or maybe dare I say it... Jeff Buckley, look no further than my newest pal M J.
His deceptively haphazard melodies create what seems like, on the surface, one warbally-yet-annoyingly-catchy cutsie love song after another. However, if you look closely what you will find is a series of skillfully crafted folk songs that offer multiple layers of sweetly simple phrasing supporting engaging lyrics that are just hopeful enough that you almost believe that it won't end in tears... almost.

Check out these two tunes to brighten up your day without giving you an ice cream headache:

Be Here Now
from the album Boneclouds.

Adorable lyrics:

"Be here now no other place to be this whole world keeps changing come change with me. Everything that’s happened, all that’s yet to come, is here inside this moment it’s the only one. You are the love of my life. You are the love of my life. Yeah you know you are."

And

Fighter Girl
From the album If You Need a Reason

Adorable lyrics:

Hey little fighter girl
Its you and me up against this whole wide world
Sleeping together in the lions den
Got your earrings in my pocket till I see you again
Yeah yeah yeah yeah...Come on kissing me


So sweet... but of course... so fleeting...