From: owner-edheads-digest@efohio.com (edheads-digest) To: edheads-digest@smoe.org Subject: edheads-digest V5 #65 Reply-To: edheads@efohio.com Sender: owner-edheads-digest@efohio.com Errors-To: owner-edheads-digest@efohio.com Precedence: bulk edheads-digest Tuesday, April 16 2002 Volume 05 : Number 065 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: FRFF question [Mark Lindeman ] Review of Bowery Ballroom 4/11/01{at long last :) } [Shellyus@aol.com] Re: EFO Friday review + FRFF [Nicole Carlson ] Re: FRFF question [nichole ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 11:46:05 -0400 From: Mark Lindeman Subject: Re: FRFF question Jim, >The only problem is, we're due to have a baby any day now. Whee! We've been to FRFF several times with kids ranging from three months to seven years.... (We've attended maybe seven times, dating back to 1989 or so.) >Is it possible to get in and out easily? Relatively, yes. FRFF has good road crews; I've been stuck in line for maybe 10-15 minutes, but certainly not hours. >Is the campground relativly clean or is it a mud bowl? Low camping floods out in rain. Your best bet IMHO is to get there early and camp high. (High camping should still be available if you get there only on time, but it will tend to be far away and/or very steep. Low camping will fill quickly.) Other people will have other perspectives. >Is it a big smoke-filled hippie fest? There may be some of those around, but it's very kid-friendly. >How crowded is it? Would we be able to find a place on the grass to watch >the show or would we be jammed in with a huge mob? The main stage is a natural amphitheater (a ridge). You never have to be jammed in with a mob (and with a baby, you don't want to be front and center). Of course, you may be pretty far from the stage. The sound is generally very good [_too_ good if you're near and in front of a speaker!], but you won't get to see EFO's facial expressions unless you have good binos. The most popular acts tend to be late Friday and Saturday nights, so consider your stamina. >Am I just being stupid for even considering this? No, although you definitely want to consider the downsides. IMHO the biggest problem is one you haven't mentioned: the heat can be oppressive -- _really_ oppressive. (There's a little bit of shade _between_ the main and workshop stages, if you don't mind hearing two shows at once!) But the family and activity tents offer some respite, and it's important to know about the state park down the road from Hillsdale. (FRFF has good water, free.) (There are some great shows in the family tent -- the Storycrafters are one of my personal favorite acts on any stage -- although I don't suppose your baby will care much at this point!) BTW, the dance tent can also be a fun place to be with a kid, even a baby, during the family dances. >Do people often bring babies? I can't cite statistics, but it seems pretty common. >I assume it's a folk concert so people would be friendly and easy going >but it's also >a pretty big event. Yeah, but it's nice. >Also, how quickly does the campground get sold out? We wouldn't buy tickets >until we had an idea that we could even do this. AFAIK "selling out" is not really the issue; actually getting there and pitching your tent is. FRFF can be a really wonderful place for kids. As with other activities with young kids, you have to let go of your music agenda and go with the flow. (And, as you say, it's good to be prepared to "bail" if it really isn't working out.) Mark Lindeman ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 12:10:09 EDT From: Shellyus@aol.com Subject: Review of Bowery Ballroom 4/11/01{at long last :) } Greetings Edheads!!! Ok..I wasn't gonna post a review of the Bowery show since 1} others have and 2} I am -late- doing it. But one of my friends who was at the concert with me who posted a review said "I only gave them an appetizer--knowing -you'd- give them the full course. So...well..ok....... Three of my friends and I met early in The Village for dinner and then headed to the venue, dropping 2 friends off in front to get online. What can I say; we're Fr|Heads; we're used to arriving , like -way- early to insure front-of-stage placement. After getting 'Hollywood parking' a street away-o from the venue, my friend and I walked over to join our friends and Robbie, Jon Carroll, and Eddie were standing on the corner{ o/' wat-chin' all the girls go by o/' ??} We stopped and talked to Eddie for a spell and he asked me if I knew of anywhere to get sushi in the area. Though my friend is a NYC native, he doesn't do sushi, so we couldn't help them. Luckily Julie had gone into the venue to ask employees. When she passed us after we were done talking to the guys, I asked her if she had 'found sushi'. She said they thought there was some 5 blocks away, so they were gonna venture. Anyhoo, we wait in line..bla bla bla...they start letting us in....they eventually let us upstairs to the stage area and we get our primo spots up front. I am putting my backpack under the stage and my friend says "It's Mike Clem!!", who was on the stage behind us. He said "Where??" I asked "Man, who let -him- in here??" Said hi to him before he made an 'exit stage left' and then we sat and waited for Ellis Paul to take the stage. Ok...I was -very- excited, coz though I have known his music for -years- and LOVE his voice, I had never seen him live before, -and- I was at the concert with my good friend who had introduced me to his music, so we were -very- excited! He also had with him Christopher Williams playing the djembe, which was cool coz we knew him from Falcon Ridge the last years and his coming up to our 'Budgie Dome' to jam and do sing-alongs. Though I don't know -all- the titles to Ellis' songs, here's the way his set went: ~song I have -NO- idea what title was ..I could ask ^kat^ ~Maria's Beautiful Mess{ok...we were MOST excited by this coz we LOVE this song, so we were melting} Ellis said 'I feel like I'm gonna spit on these people. This is the first time I've ever played a stand-up place. DO you wanna sit down?" A short while later, -everyone- sat down...like in a huge reverse-wave... but my friends and I. We felt very strange about this, but figured that we were standing by our commitment, so we would -not- sit! As my friend said, "I'm not sitting down...I don't care; let them stare at my pants all night!" He then called Mike, Eddie, and Robbie out to join him. Robbie and Eddie came right out. Mike was a twinge slower. Eventually, Ellis said into the mic "Mike Clem, Mike Clem.....please join us on the stage.." Mike entered to applause and apparently had been waiting for Julie. ~Words ~3,000 miles{ok...my friend and I also -LOVE- this song} The addition of the guys for this part of the program was wonderful. ~Circumstance ~Take Me Down Eddie, Mike, and Robbie exit stage left. ~Ellis does a new song that is only a week old but YUMM!! He calls for Julie to come out to join him. She enters stage left. ~Conversation With a Ghost.{which was -great-. mmmmmharmonies...} Julie exits stage left. He calls for the guys again. They enter stage left. -This- time, Mike is the first one out and we wait for Robbie and Eddie. I say "he's making up for lost time from the first time!" ~yet another song I don't know the name of ~The World Ain't Slowin Down. Ok. When he was saying he could only do one more song, ^kat^ and I were both silently looking at each other and mouthing the title of this song to each other and crossing our fingers coz we LOVE it. We were most thrilled when he did it. And, as always, the addition of Mike, Eddie, and Robbie made it exceptionally wonderful. ~Intermission~ Ok...at the top of intermission, all of the seated throng rose to their feet and, of course, remained so for EFO's -entire- set. Which was as follows: Woman of Faith{with the kick-ass new extended Robbie guitar intro} Loitering in the Lobby Number Six Driver Mike thanked everyone for remembering them after the maternity leave and said "And doesn't Julie look FABULOUS???!!!", which resulted in -huge- applause. Julie-"You did pretty well, too...after that baby." Mike-"I was her focal point.{no response from audience} O....K.....no lamaze attendees here tonight....What else do we have to plug?" Robbie-"With the addition of Jon Carroll, we have been able to dust off some of the old stuff and tweak it and make it even better than before and this is one of them. This next song is by request.We got a few requests for this show...but 'Free Bird' was too damn hard. So, this song is for you, you special person.. It is about an inter-racial relationship and the opposition to it during the second world war.{cheer from audience} I see you're in favor of that.....the song is kinda -anti- that." Minnesota 1945 Continents of Time{which Robbie was introducing about the women and being able to tell instantaneously that they were half-sisters. Mike-"Each of them had one leg each!" Robbie-"No! Not -that- kind of half-sisters. Thank you....it -was- kind of a moving intro." Hey Little Men{Mama's gonna get some sleep to-night!!} Quick Mike dedicated to Pete and Maura Kennedy who were in the audience and have recently relocated to NYC from VA, performing what he called a 'Baltimore exit'; they left in the middle of the night and moved away. He also mentioned something about the difference between NY and the South and no one said anything. Mike-"Well, you yelled for -Robbie's- South song!!! Daddy needs your pity!!!" Fly South Stupid American Mike talked about the songwriting competition that he and Robbie have and the fact that they did battle 'mano a mano' at an elementary school songwriting workshop in Centreville, VA this week in a fight til the death to see whose songs people like the best...and the kids won. Atlantic Step Into The Outside It's Alright{the Curtis Mayfield tune with Mike on lead vocal and Jon Carroll taking a solo verse in the middle} Oh My Brother{Mike talked about the special show at The Knitting Factory last Sept. 21st and all of us who were there cheered} Next in introing Eddie's solo, Mike talked about how at The Knitting Factory show Eddie had to pair-down his stuff and ended up playing bongos made from trash cans and that 'he's BACK, he's pissed, and he's gonna take it out on - -you- people!!" Eddie's solo Robbie-"Wow! I think they like -Eddie's songs the best!!!" Rolling Pin Eddie's Concubine Candido{which they brought Christopher Williams back out for} Encore~~ Old Dominion They then also asked Christopher back out, along with Pete and Maura Kennedy. Take a Load off, Annie. {WHOA!!!!!! -man- was that rockin'!!!} Second Encore ~~ Down to the River to Pray What a GREAT show!!!! Talked with them a teeny bit after the show, but it was back to drivin again and trekkin to MA for the weekend shows to get Harvey back in shape after his LONG rest!! Seeeooooo... go catch them, people!! Harvey's BACK in action!!! Shelly {who can now spend most of her time stressing about the cruise} ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 11:39:09 -0700 (PDT) From: Nicole Carlson Subject: Re: EFO Friday review + FRFF > This is from the local newspaper in Springfield, MA. > group. Nickle Creek had the added pressure of following a brilliant opening > act. That you may not have heard of folk group Eddie From Ohio only proves > there is no justice in the music business. :D That rocks! >Is it possible to get in and out easily? This is probably my main >concern. >We'd have to leave if anything came up, such as rain or the sudden >realization we're in over our heads and I'd hate to have to sit in a >parking >lot for hours trying to leave. I suggest getting 3-day with camping. That lets you park up by your campsite on the hill. Since nobody gets camping passes only to leave early (ok, relatively few people), you should have a clear road if you need to bail. Conversely, if you stay until Sunday evening, expect a bit of a line getting off the hill. I see babies all the time. I wouldn't worry, myself. And congrats! >Is the campground relativly clean or is it a mud bowl? It's on a hill, so water drains away before it has a chance to form swamps or anything. That said, it wouldn't be Falcon Ridge if it didn't rain, so plan accordingly. >Is it a big smoke-filled hippie fest? I wouldn't want any young >whippersnappers hopped up on goofballs or high on the maryjane to be >bothering us. I've heard the ecstasy causes people to eat babies. Personally, I've never seen anything stronger than weed being used, and the partakers are a tiny minority. It's a mellow, friendly scene, and there's families aplenty. I'd get there early and find a cluster of other friendly families. And here I don't even know if I'm going this year... - --nicole twn *** "First you prove the problem is impossible, and then you solve it."--cryptography professor Visit Nicolopolis! http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~carlsonn nmcarlson@ucdavis.edu ana.ng@tmbg.org carlsonn@seclab.cs.ucdavis.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 11:58:17 -0700 (PDT) From: nichole Subject: Re: FRFF question Jim Merullo wrote: I've never been. Definitely go! it is soooo worth it. I've only been two years (last year and the year before, but I will go until I die . . . :) My wife and I are avid campers as well as folk music fans. We've always wanted to go to the fest and at the EFO show the other night we saw the lineup and we got interested even further. The only problem is, we're due to have a baby any day now. Perhaps we're niave but we were hoping to take him/her camping sometime this summer. We thought the fest might be a good way to do it. I have some questions for those of you who have been to the fest, even if you don't have children: Is it possible to get in and out easily? This is probably my main concern. From what I've seen, yes it's easy to get in and out. This will be my first year driving myself, so I'll have more experience. I certianly have waited much longer leaving from other concerts though. Is the campground relativly clean or is it a mud bowl? Last year it was really clean. I remember I got up really early (or rather didn't go to bed) to put my blanket on the hill, and the volunteers made everybody help clean up the mess from the night before, before we could lay down our blankets and stuff. Is it a big smoke-filled hippie fest? I wouldn't want any young whippersnappers hopped up on goofballs or high on the maryjane to be bothering us. I've heard the ecstasy causes people to eat babies. lol . . . it's not bad during the day at all. At night you can smell the smoke in the air, but unless you stay up really really late, you don't see drunk/high people stumbling around. How crowded is it? Would we be able to find a place on the grass to watch the show or would we be jammed in with a huge mob? There's lots of people there, but wherever you sit on the hill, from my experience, you can hear just fine. I personally like to sit as close as humanly possible, but that's just me. :) Am I just being stupid for even considering this? nah, FRFF is definitely worth it, even if you end up having to leave. Lots of people bring kids. Do people often bring babies? I've seen more kids than babies, but there are babies there. My English teacher is coming, and his baby will only be 7 months old. I don't think it will be a problem. I've never been to a big folk fest. My concert experience ranges from Metallica to Phish to EFO to some god-awful Pete Seger tribute. I assume it's a folk concert so people would be friendly and easy going but it's also a pretty big event. the nicest people I've ever met in my life are from Falcon Ridge. I have never met up with anybody mean or unfriendly. Everybody shares and gets along, it's really great. Last year I sat next to a whle bunch of volunteers at the SUnday morning wake up call, and encouraged them all to buy efo cd's. lol Also, how quickly does the campground get sold out? We wouldn't buy tickets until we had an idea that we could even do this. Like Mark said, you have to worry about the heat! It was sooooo hot last year. They have big pipe-y things where you can get as much water as you want, and my friend and I kept getting out shirts wet and then putting them on to cool off, but without even realizing it, we ended up like lobsters. I was soooo burnt. It gets really really warm. But I hope you go anyways, b/c it is so much fun! I hope this helps! nichole AIM: Poetrygrl8 "Capitalism is the devil's wet dream." "Take away our playstations and we are just a third world nation." ani d. Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax ------------------------------ End of edheads-digest V5 #65 ****************************