Dinner with Dexter: It's Another Hardly Strictly Weekend

It's a nice time to be with Maria as she took Friday off and we didn't volunteer to take care of multiple recycling+composting areas this year, allowing us the freedom to wander around and enjoy the less crowded
Friday sets, and our mutual company. The park is set up so nicely, organized, and people are calm, the m.c.'s at each stage are friendly and not too wordy, the vibes and feel of the event is just so cool, cool, cool. It's as good as people can behave in crowds of this size. Perhaps because the event is free this removes the attitude of entitlement and brings to the affair a thankful appreciation. It was sunny as previous years have been and the grooves were soothing and the spirit, lively and fun.

Dexter has his crowd now and while Ollie doesn't maintain the spirit for long, even the joy of this community is something more than enough for Maria and I- plus knowing that Dext is somewhere in the park taking in music with his friends.

side of the Swan Stage, Alvin Brothers

thousands! of bikes

when the guy working the kettle corn booth saw Oliver with a chess set, he reached over to one of his shelves to show Ollie that he had a chess set too

Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch (Saturday, photo HSB)

the Mavericks (Friday, photo HSB )

The Brothers Comatose, (Arrow stage, photo HSB: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass)

We seemed to find the best (for us) food carts, a kinship with the coffee truck (pretty good stuff too) and it's always great to discover new groups, new records. Now with Fleet week no longer scheduled on the same dates, the Giants season over, the Niners terrible there was nothing to pull the crowds to other directions so Saturday afternoon (after another beautiful morning) was incredibly crowded with no gaps between the Banjo and Arrow stage, as there always had been- even a small area, in previous years. We decided that we could set up a nice spot at home and stream some of the closing bands on our back porch.

doing the Twist?

a lovely closing night

I even was willing to watch all of Sundays's sets at home but Maria convinced that we should go out in the morning and see some, then leave by 2 or 3p and go home. As always, her brilliance was spot on. Dexter had tried to set up some magnificent speakers/big TV thing in back which didn't quite work but a laptop, speakers, beautiful sky and candles sufficed excellently. Word for next year though- Emmylou Harris does not stream her set so this was the first time in the 15 years, we didn't see her closing set. Which was okay.

Saddened to report that a day or two later that it turned out a young trio with evil and hate in their hearts made this year the first where someone was murdered in the park on the Festival weekend. They didn't stop there either. It began with a gun they found in a car. So many guns in our country, even as San Francisco closes up its last gun shop.

*****
With a friend of ours Maria participated in a thread of "who are you going to see?" and this is what I wrote (not so much who we would go see, but more about the abundance of possibilities and an opportunity for this silly script):

HI everybody,

I like the lists in the thread. Mine will be very random. Used to be I'd try to catch bits of so many sets but now, just some, know that I miss much, but try to mix old favorites with new discoveries.

Friday in no particular order: The Mavericks (almost always playing Austin this week so it's a treat that they're here, and also playing the Great American Music Hall with some of the Flatlanders on Saturday), when I see the listing for the Felice Brothers, I always think of the Pedro Feliz Brothers and imagine seeing a group of.269 hitting third basemans that eventually would win a World Series ring with the Phillies. Also Chris Thile's Punch Brothers for their animated live performances and his excellent mandolin striking ( I just made up that term). We used to drink coffee together and once when I was waiting for Oliver to come into this world, we were sitting side by side- Chris (then of Nickel Creek) imagining being a family man, me imagining being a musician. He stopped imagining much sooner than I did. I like thinking about T Bone Burnett in the real tall elastic plastic man band, maybe with Taylor Swift, Marilyn Manson, Manute Bol, and also the main alien from Close Encounters of The Third Kind. The Big Star grandness sounds like an incredible amalgamation of so many amazing parts.

I enjoy the tiny stages (Porch especially, Bandwagon if one can get in front) and now tend to avoid the beloved Rooster (too much smoke in the hills) and we love to play catch at the back of the Banjo. Amazed how just the two of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings can play so well to large audiences, I've been seeing the Alvin Brothers (Blasters) for over 30 years, there's a band playing from a town I visited, Winnipeg, Manitoba called the Bros Landreth. So I think any band with the name of Brothers, or Sisters is a win (Bros Landreth, the Brothers Comatose from San Francisco!, the Flatlanders are kind of brothers as are Los Lobos, and the Dave and Phil Alvin...I like that Ricky Skaggs is turning into the Chieftains (will play with anybody!) with good results, Hot Riize opening on Sunday is fun and Tim O'Brien who is in that band and others will play on more sets at HSB than anyone not named Buddy Miller. So many great options (not many New Orleans connections this year, and where is John Doe?) but saddened to hear that Ralph Stanley (lifelong Democrat!) can't make it, and so many good bands. Never have seen the Milk Carton Kids and the Monophonics sound like a series of James Bond themes but Lee Ann Womack sounds like Dolly Parton. Ever since Michael Franti did yoga night at AT&T and there was a prolonged close up- 100 foot shot of his dirty feet, I can't listen to Spearhead anymore. Pokey LaFarge and Chicano Batman intrigue as do so many others...Emmylou Harris is a must family ritual.

Have fun!!

Saturday night Dexter and I went to the Great American Music Hall to see the Mavericks, and a very fine and fun show it was. Thank goodness we were able to get seats on the balcony as I was pretty exhausted before the show. I can't think of a more enjoyable band than these guys.