Happy Monday, folks! Phish returns to the Gorge this Friday night and me and a full @LiveMusicBlog crew will be there rocking our tweets and having way more fun than any of you will be (unless, of course, you’re there with us or on Couch Tour). It’s the main event for all of us, resulting in a series of countdowns and otherwise over-excited tweeting and anticipation for what the future holds for the band returning to the road for this brief Summer Tour Leg II.
Please follow along with us and we’ll have some updates later this week on who to follow and when. And as always, we can count on the folks at @YEMBlog and @ohkeepahblog (among others) to keep us posted while the rest of us at the show struggle with cell coverage and keeping batteries charged long enough to stay in contact with friends after the show is over. Ahh, the Gorge. I can’t effing wait, even if that stupid tarp is still up and I have to eat my words (kinda) from last year’s discovery around Sasquatch time…
Suddenly I’m not so worried that Phish didn’t announce any dates there this summer. Not like I wouldn’t go, but you get what I mean. What a stupid move.
By the way, I’m fully confident with “Not like I wouldn’t go” as how I’ll refer to all future Phish shows at the Gorge. Mr. Miner has posted a three-point preview to this weekend’s festivities and I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version: improv, jamming, and “Steam” are his predictions. I’m calling a “Party Time” opener (lulz, always!), an epic “Slave to the Traffic Light” somewhere in those two days, and a fun time had by all. Look for me dancing like this dude.
Coventry Blog was the first to remind me that it’s Jerry Garcia’s birthday, or Jerry Day. Today’s @hidden_track conversation (#htconvo) asks us what our favorite Jerry moment ever is, and sadly I can’t say I officially have one. The more I’ve allowed the music of the Dead into my life, though, I can finally understand how powerful their music was in shaping the world of live music we all enjoy today.
Finally, Kings of Leon are in the news again today after a rather public concert fail this past Friday night in Dallas. Lead singer Jared Followill announced that he was going to take a break to head off stage to vomit and come back and play a few more songs. “Just for the record, I’m not drunk…I’m just f***ing hot.” I’m pretty sure that means he was drunk, especially considering the response from his brothers…
Though Caleb Followill has explained that the reason he left the stage was due to heat exhaustion and dehydration, his brother Jared’s comments on Twitter after the incident suggest that Caleb’s behavior may be part of a larger issue in the band. After apologizing again, Jared wrote “there are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to be address” and “I know you guys aren’t stupid. I can’t lie. There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade.”
Yeah, not to bring up the sore subject of Pigeongate but these guys definitely seem to be burning the candle at both ends. Let’s hope they sort it out and focus on the music.