A little more Round Up

There's a little bit out there to comment on . . .

EDGEWATER TOUR
I considered going, but didn't feel like listening to another sales pitch. Apparently Rummel concludes, yes, the huge building will change the views for neighbors (duh, but somebody had to say it) and Maniaci presents a false choice "Alder Bridget Maniaci, a member of the commission, said the group first has to figure out if ordinance language related to neighborhood's historic district is meant to "stop destruction of historic properties" or "stop new development in historic districts." I sat on the commission, I don't think the commission needs to figure that out, generally speaking, it is clear that development is allowed, and we even said many times it shouldn't look faux historic, but should reflect the time in which it is built. I think the ordinance is clear that new development is allowed, the question is, is it compatible? Here's the language about "New Development" in the Historic District:

(e) Guideline Criteria for new Development in the Mansion Hill Historic District.
1. The gross volume of any new structure shall be visually compatible with the
buildings and environment with which it is visually related (visually related
area).
2. In the street elevation(s) of a new building, the proportion between the width and the height in the facade(s) shall be visually compatible with the buildings and the environment with which it is visually related (visually related area).
3. The proportions and relationships between width and height of the doors and
windows in new street facade(s) shall be visually compatible with the buildings
and environment with which it is visually related (visually related area).
4. The rhythm of solids to voids created by openings in the facade of the new
structure should be visually compatible with the buildings and environment with
which it is visually related (visually related area).
5. All new street facades should blend with other buildings via directional
expression. When adjacent buildings have a dominant vertical or horizontal
expression, this expression should be carried over and reflected.

There's other areas of the ordinance that come into play and the commissions job will be to try to balance it all and decide if it should get a certificate of appropriateness and consider:

c. Whether, in the case of any property located in an Historic District
designated pursuant to the terms of Subsection (6)(d) hereunder, the
proposed construction, reconstruction or exterior alteration does not
conform to the objectives and design criteria of the historic preservation
plan for said district as duly adopted by the Common Council.

So, the question becomes, should they get a certificate of appropriateness and does it conform with its plan. My guess is, they won't make a final decision on Monday, but you never know.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING
Hmmm . . . Badger Depot closing causes confusion . . . no kidding, who didn't see that coming.

"CABLE COMPETITION" BILL NOT DELIVERING
Again, who didn't see this coming. Rates are up, union jobs are down, and its the beginning of the end of public cable access as we know it. In the Milwaukee area alone the they've lost 300 union jobs, or 15% of the jobs.

THE SAD STATE OF THE MEDIA
Sometimes, a picture is worth a 1,000 words. This used to be functioning media room at city hall . . . and now . . . its where they store the chairs.

Better yet, or I guess, worse . . .  the other day when I cut through there, one of the computers had a "blue screen of death" on it.

BANDS, PROMOTERS, SOUND GUYS (OR GALS IF THEY EXIST?), ETC, NO DRINKS FOR YOU!
I have the week off, so I was reading the . . .gasp . . . thedailypage forum. Generally, to be avoided as it just devolves into a nasty round of insults, but this discussion is of interest . . . as they note, while its hard to argue that bartenders should be able drink on the job, they bring up some good questions about brewmasters and others. Was the ordinance intended to be that broad? Here's the ordinance proposal in question proposed by Schumacher and the Mayor:

(8) It shall be unlawful for the licensee, agents, officers, directors, partners, members, managers of the licensee, or any employee or independent contractor of a licensed establishment, including members of the licensee’s immediate family, to drink or consume any alcohol beverage or to be under the influence of an intoxicant, or a controlled substance or a combination of an intoxicant and a controlled substance, while working or performing services on the licensed premises.

BURY THE BAD NEWS
Instead of discussing this during the budget, they release it during a slow news week/when no one is paying attention, but the city is facing a deficit for the first time in 20 years. Not by much given we have a $239M operating budget, but $3.4M still hurts when taking it out of our reserve. It's also interesting that when looking at the city budget, you can find 16 fund balances, but not the amount that is in the reserve listed anywhere.

Eh, that's all I got for today . . . Happy Thanksgiving. Read more!

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY ROB!!!

Come join us tonight at 9:00 at the High Noon Saloon to hear Little Marsh Overflow, Baghdad Scuba Review and Yokanizu Project. ($5 cover.) And wish my very old boyfriend a happy 40th! Read more!

NIght of the Dead!

Halloween is over, but tonight is the Night of the Dead! Rob (my sweetie!) and Baghdad Scuba Review will be playing at the Barrymore tonight with Run Side Down! Show starts at 7:30 and is only $11. CDs (Isthmus Review) and t-shirts will be for sale and it is . . . ugh, a costume party. Personally, you won't find me in one, but if that's your thing . . . feel free to use that costume one more time! I'm going for the music! Check here for some a tasty treat of what they sound like!



Read more!

3 bands, 2 days, 4 shows

When and how did this happen? When I ask Rob "what are you doing tonight?" the answer is almost always "band practice". These days, I have to ask, "Which one?" Here's the shows he's got coming up tonight and over the weekend.

Thursday, October 4th - FIRST SHOW OF THE NIGHT
Benefit for Hurricane Felix Victims in Nicaragua
Where: The Crystal Corner, 1302 Willy St, Madison
When: Thursday, October 4 at 7:30 pm
Cost: Donation at the door ($5 suggested).
7 bands in 5 hours.

Rob will be playing with Gene Therapy

Please join the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua, WORT
and Isthmus at a benefit concert for the 200,000 Nicaraguans
left homeless by the storm.

Thursday, October 4th - SECOND SHOW OF THE NIGHT
Baghdad Scuba Review CD Release Party
In the following order:
Minglewood (special reunion show!!)
Baghdad SCUBA Review
Run Side Down

High Nooon Saloon
701 E. Washington Ave

Cost: $5 at the door / $15 for admission + new CD
CD's, stickers and T-shirts will be available during and after the show
A free color poster of the album cover art is yours with your CD purchase

Click below to read reviews about TESTING THE WATERS (Courtesy of Madison's Isthmus Magazine):
REVIEW 1
REVIEW 2 (10 ^th paragraph down)

Saturday, October 6th
Rob will be playing with the Special Dank Midnights between shows at Harvestfest on Library Mall. He's also playing with Baghdad Scuba Review at 4:00.

37th Annual Midwest Marijuana Harvest Fest
Saturday Oct 6th - Library Mall

12:00 Logarhythm (rock)
1:00 Pistols at Dawn w/ Harissimo (surf rock)
2:00 Elf Lettuce (jam rock)
3:00 Tate and the 008 Band (blues)
4:00 Baghdad Scuba Review (progressive rock)
5:00 Nama Rupa (reggae, dub)

Between bands & speakers:
Special Dank Midnights (acoustic pot songs)

I'd particularly recommend the High Noon Saloon tonight! As the band has been saying for weeks now "10-4 Good Buddy"!
Read more!

Quick Vacation: ACL

This week has been such a blur, Rob and I went to the Austin City Limits Music Festival last Friday - Monday, here's the highlights, written on Monday and I'm first getting the photos together to blog it.


Rob and I spent the last three days in Austin Texas! Where even they want to impeach the president! We got to see all kinds of great music, some of it planned, some of it, a pleasant surprise. On Friday we got into town around 1:30, took a taxi to our hotel and headed down to the festival. We waited for a taxi for about 45 minutes, then we gave up and took the bus for 50 cents! (Unfortunately, Rob heard on the news that they may be raising it to $1, but still a bargain by Madison standards!) Some nice locals let us know where the best place to get off the bus was and we got to walk a bit through downtown Austin on the way to the free shuttles to Zilker Park. We were able to see:

JJ Grey and Mofro – These guys actually were in the same hotel as us. As we were waiting for the cab that never came, we saw them load up their instruments and jump in a van to the festival. When we got there and walked over to the stage we both realized that we had just been in the same parking lot with them. They rocked and I was very excited that they played Lochloosa – which is my favorite song they do. They almost didn’t do the last song because the “soundsystem” was too loud, but the crowd made them come back.


LCD Soundsystem - After JJ Grey and Mofro were done, we had to go see the “soundsystem” that was so loud. Turns out, they were fun to listen to and we enjoyed them very much when they weren’t competing with the other band.

The Mighty Clouds of Joy – The best way to describe these guys would be gospel rock and soul. They played under the tent and the shade would have been a real welcome thing because the sun was so hot, but it was just muggy and sweaty under the tent and it was better outside.

Reverend Horton Heat – Rob finally got me to listen to him live. I actually kinda liked it, but not as much as Rob. He pl.ayed a music through time section and it really showed the variety of music he could do well. The crowd loved it, from age 2 or 3 to those with gray hairs.


Bjork – Well, we kind of listened on our way out . . . .

After a long day of traveling and music we went downtown to 6th street to check it out then we found a cab with the help of a dude pedaling a rickshaw and then made it back to our hotel for some much needed sleep.

Saturday we slept in, went back to the bus to get us back downtown, ate some lunch on 6th street and then went to the festival grounds saw:

Railroad Earth – We found a spot in the shade next to the tent and were able to enjoy the bluegrass/funk/rock but we didn’t go into the tent because as the guy behind us said in a southern drawl “that’s gotta be swampy in there.”

Steve Earle – He played acoustic guitar with a DJ scratching on stage with him which was a unique sound.

Stephen Marley – Reggae!

Zap Mama – This was one of the pleasant surprises for us. This woman had a ton of enthusiasm that the crowd couldn’t help catching. Although the Texas sun was beating down hard, you couldn’t help dancing.


Damien Rice – Time for some mello rock so we could sit down and relax for a bit after dancing to Zap Mama. He played a couple of songs we recognized from the radio but nothing outstanding.

Indigo Girls – We listened to a few songs but we really wanted to go see Cross Candian Ragweed, so after a few tunes, we grabbed another beer and went on our merry way.


Cross Canadian Ragweed – We listened for a while, but it was a little too country pop for us, so we headed back downtown.

We ate at the Speaghetti Warehouse – we had some good food and gave our feet a small rest before we headed back to 6th street where we spent some time listening to the Mizzbehaving Band and back to the hotel.

By Sunday, we had the routine down, city bus, walk, shuttle bus, walk, beer, music, beer, music, sun, sun and more sun! Sunday we got there a little earlier and we saw:

STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9) – We enjoyed this band a lot. We did a little dancing, a little people watching and got some more sun.


Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – After dancing to STS9 we went back over to the tent and found a bleacher to sit on and listened to this band, however, we didn’t stay sitting for long. She had us quickly on our feet watching her play her flying V guitar, organ


and a little drums and listening to her great voice. This was another of the pleasant surprises.


DeVotchKa – We went and saw them cuz of the name and they were a unique blend of Russian music and pop with a dude playing the fiddle and a chick playing a pink and black tuba as well as the cello.

Charlie Musselwhite – Never disappoints.

Lucinda Williams – Unfortunately, the last sounds of the festival was that irritating song . . . you took my joy . . . . bummer.

Unfortunately we missed Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ziggy Marley and Bob Dylan, but we went out to a fantastic dinner with Rob’s cousin and her husband. It was nice to see them as we only see them once every few years, so it was well worth it.

We’ll be back in Madison soon, to read hundreds of emails, answer phone calls, let the blisters on my feet heal and get back to work, but it was a great little get-away. Read more!

Voila! And now the Mayor Agrees to Try to Add 30 Police Officers

That didn't take long. I wonder what the "sacrifice and cuts" are going to be?

To: Chief Noble Wray
From: Mayor Dave Cieslewicz
cc: Members of the Common Council
Date: September 8th, 2007

Thank you for your memo regarding your adjusted budget request for the Madison Police Department. Like you, I have and will continue to listen closely to the comments and concerns of Madisonians at neighborhood meetings throughout the city. In response to what you and I have heard, it is my intention to add an additional 12 new officers to your original request of 18, for a total of 30. Because I have been building my budget on your original request, this will require sacrifice and cuts from other parts of the city budget. However, I believe that Madisonians are willing to accept these costs to make their neighborhoods safer.

This extraordinary increase of officers is contingent upon passage of a state budget which contains the state Senate provisions related to municipal levy limits and Payments for Municipal Services. Adoption of the Assembly provisions for these two items would result in $15 million in cuts to the city budget, so public safety literally hinges upon the Senate language in this regard. Moreover, I will ask the legislature to exempt police and fire expenses from state spending limits under the Expenditure Restraint Program.

In addition to this historic increase in police resources, I am proposing a broader Mayor's Public Safety Initiative which has six parts:

1. Increase police resources

As noted above, I will work hard to find the resources to add 30 new police officers and fund an accelerated police academy when I introduce my budget in October. I will also work with you to add new resources for Community Policing Teams, gang prevention and suppression, enforcement of quality of life concerns, stepped up traffic enforcement and more. I will continue the successful $100,000 Downtown Safety Initiative (DSI). In addition, because I know that we have particularly acute needs in the West Police District, I will ask the Common Council to provide an additional $50,000 for policing in that area for 2007. Along with these resources will come the opportunity for greater accountability to the public through specific measures of on-the-ground neighborhood safety through my Madison Measures program.

This commitment represents the largest increase in support for the Madison Police Department of any mayoral administration in recent history. The attached chart shows the historic growth in the size of the MPD.

2. Target bad landlords

In our neighborhood listening sessions, the two most common concerns we heard were the need for more police and the need to address landlords who do not maintain their property or adequately screen their tenants. I am committed passing the nuisance abatement ordinance at the next Council meeting. In addition, we are working with a city team comprised of the Police Department, Building Inspection, and the City Attorney's office to develop consistent, long-term inspections of problematic properties with consequences for landlords who do not show improvement.

3. Strengthen Neighborhoods

I will work to form a Westside Planning Council to give westside neighborhoods greater resources, coordination, information sharing and access to their city government. We will also work to expand and strengthen neighborhood watch programs.

4. Give young people positive alternatives

My 2008 capital budget contains support for the Urban League of Greater Madison, helping them to expand their youth mentoring program. We will also add resources yet this year for after school programs on the southwest side, and I will work to expand after school programs citywide in my 2008 budget. In addition, we will closely review the recommendations of the City-County Enhanced Gang Task Force with the intention of partnering with Dane County on gang prevention activities.

5. Lobby the federal, state and county governments to partner with us

The City of Madison can do a great deal, but we can't do it alone. I will work with the state legislators to head off cuts to local aid programs and levy limit proposals that would prohibit the City from investing what it needs to address our public safety concerns. I will also ask the state to fund an adequate number of Assistant District Attorneys to pursue quality of life crimes. Finally, I will work with our federal delegation to reinstate the COPS program to help us hire more officers.

6. Take a citywide approach

While much of the recent focus has been on the challenges faced by southwest Madison neighborhoods, we need a citywide approach that looks at all aspects of public safety. I will work to pass the Alcohol Density Plan this fall, as a means of stopping the flow of police resources to the downtown. We will continue to improve the Allied Drive neighborhood, to stem flow of police resources there (especially from the West Police District). Finally, to create a coordinated approach to all of these issues, I will be designating one of my aides to a new Safe Neighborhoods position in the mayor's office.

In addition to these six initiatives, I will work with all community leaders to raise our expectations with regard to behavior in every Madison neighborhood. Every Madisonian deserves to feel and to be safe in their own neighborhood and throughout the city.

Madison is fortunate to enjoy a reputation as a safe community with a high quality of life. These initiatives will help it to stay that way. I appreciate your commitment to protecting Madison neighborhoods and families. Read more!

BSR: High Noon Saloon & Grateful Garcia Gathering

In fact, they're playing at the High Noon Saloon right now! Well, tonight! Tonight Baghdad Scuba Review is playing with Yokanizu Project (Madison) and Downer's Grove (Eau Claire) at the Grateful Garcia Gathering Pre-Party.

This weekend, they'll be playing at the Grateful Garcia Gathering, otherwise known as the 3Gs festival to celebrate Jerry Garcia's birthday. Rob's running sound on the second stage all weekend and my sister and I will be heading up on Friday to enjoy some camping and music and maybe finally find time to finish my Harry Potter book!. And of course, I can't wait to hear Melvin Seals and the JGB Band again and all the other wonderful things that I do not expect including random music around the camp sites and drum circles or the band's that I haven't yet heard. Any which way, sounds like another summer weekend of sun and fun and music! Read more!

BSR: 4 Shows in 3 Days!

You have four chances to catch Baghdad Scuba Review in the next 3 days.

Mr. Roberts
Thursday, July 26th
2116 Atwood Ave
9:45

Cosmic Railroad Family Gathering Festival
Friday, July 27th
Camp Rotamer 5245 E Rotamer Rd Janesville, WI

Atwood Summerfest
Saturday, July 28th
Maximum Ink / Berghoff Rock Stage
(located in M & M Investments parking lot behind Player’s Bar)
They play 4:15 - 5:15 and open for Canned Heat

Cool Rock Chaos
Saturday, July 28thach Rd. in Cross Plains
You just need to read the details of this event for yourself.
Read more!

10K Lakes Festival - The Final Day

The final day was probably the best of all . . . here's a bit of what we were able to catch:

The Grasshoppers


We caught one song by Kaki King and she was pretty good, but we were on our way to grab some food and catch a bit of Keller Williams.

Little Feat was interesting to see, but then we wanted to go catch


Chinese Fingertrap and I'm glad we did. I really enjoyed their show. They had a great sound and the woman singer was worth catching.


Then we were lucky to hear a few songs by Toubab Krewe, including the drum finale which was worth sticking around for


Then it was finally time for Government Mule. I swear, I could listen to Warren Haynes sing all day long.

We started out up above, but had to make our way down to the dance floor.


I was thrilled to hear him sing Patchwork Quilt and Beautifully Broken. Patchwork Quilt was so good it had me in tears and I'm certain I wasn't the only one.

We were thrilled to see Government Mule joined by Derek Trucks

And the absolute best part of the entire weekend was the encore when they did Soulshine.

Next up, Bob Weir & Ratdog


And more Bob Weir & Ratdog. I was a little weirded out when Bobby started singing Lazy River Road. I just couldn't fathom anyone but Jerry singing the song, and was somewhat offended, but the more I listened, the more he won me over and I was glad he did it so well. Made me miss Jerry even more than the Warren Haynes song.


Speaking of which, Warren Haynes also came out to play a few tunes with Bobby & Ratdog


When the dancing was all over


then there were fireworks.

As if that were not enough The Derek Trucks Band played as we walked back to camp, too tired to walk back up the hill to catch Dumpstaphunk. Overall, it was just a beautiful few days.


In the morning, we packed up camp, drove back to Madison and when I got home I found cake from my sister (her own special recipe)

and flowers (from whom I still have to discover)


And now, back to the grind. Tho, its always great to be back in Madison!

See here for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 10K Lakes reports. Read more!

10K Lakes Festival - The Birthday Edition

So, I couldn't imagine a better place to spend my birthday!

After my shots of tequila to kick off the day, we wandered back to our usual spot to use the electricity and wireless internet. While doing so we were able to catch Cosmic Railroad

Outformation

Some WBPN and then Fancy Bastard which we stayed to watch based on the name alone . . .

I missed the Everyone Orchestra which is always fun to see, Rob caught of little of it.

We then walked back to camp, dropped off our stuff and stopped by the tent in Lake Sallie and caught Pert Near Sandstone on the excellent advice of our neighbors to the south

Then we went back to see Down Lo with MC Deploi

and The String Cheese Incident which sounded the best of the three times I have seen them

And a good time was had by all!

Well, at least everyone I saw seemed to be having a good time! We went back to camp and hung out with our neighbors to the North. We have excellent neighbors on all sides. The neighbors from Minnesota even bought me birthday cupcakes when they went to town! So we hung out, had some beers and birthday cupcakes and called it a night.

The oddest things we saw yesterday: a guy with a kusch ball cut open and put on his head, some guys in hockey helmets, a fully dressed magician, lots of fairies and body paint and just people having fun! Mostly we saw lots of fun and sun and music.

The crowd is moving slow this morning - tho I'm sure people are saving their energy for Government Mule, Ratdog, Fireworks and then a tough choice between Derek Trucks and Dumpstaphunk. Another beautiful cloudless day, not too hot, and a great breeze. Cheers.

See here for Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 10K Lakes reports..
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10K Lakes Festival Update: Thursday.

The birthday update . . . yes, it's my birthday today and Rob tells me he can see some gray hairs today . . . I don't believe him . . .

So, as you can see from yesterday's report, we woke up, ate breakfast and headed to the Barn and Saloon stages. I found a place where the wireless was working and I could plug in to the electricity and settled in to do a few things on line - sadly, it took me nearly 3 hours! But, if you have to be doing some work and blogging, how much better can it get than doing it while drinking a Guinness and listening to music.

I was able to catch portions of:
Super American Happy Fun Good Time Jamband
Hunab
Green Lemon
Polydypsia

All while working. They were all great bands, Polydypsia and Green Lemon seemed the best to me as they had the most energy. I really enjoyed the long Particle-like jam at the end of Green Lemon's set.

And of course, The Super American Happy Fun Good Time Jamband was just all of that. Tho I will never remember their name. Rob says his favorite band yesterday was Polydypsia, at least that was the band that impressed him the most.

After all that we checked out a little bit of Particle, but Galactic was calling to us from the Field Stage, so we had to go down there and finish listening to their set,

all the while being tortured by the bouncing crowd up at Particle . . .

it seemed so unfair to have two really good bands playing at the same time . . . and interestingly enough, there we met several groups of people from Madison. I was most impressed by the woman with the broken leg that got in a motorcyle accident less than a week ago . . . she was hardcore. I asked her why she was here as she was clearly in pain and she said "Well, I bought the ticket." Made sense to us.

We listened to a little of Zappa Plays Zappa. I was never a Zappa fan, so it wasn't too thrilled by it, but Rob definitely liked it. I think the only song I recognized was Joe's Garage, but I wasn't paying that much attention. We grabbed some food, did some shopping, walked back to the tent, dropped off all the electronics and headed back to festival grounds for Umphrey's McGee.

We listened to most of Umphrey's McGee and then walked back to the tent after a long day of drinking and sun. Tho I have to say, if I would have know that The Disco Biscuits were going to be so good, I would have convinced Rob to stay. They almost made me want to get up and start dancing right there in the tent, almost.

Oddest things we saw yesterday: Santa, the guy that's been wearing the blue bunny ears for two days, the girl with the leopard tail, and the top two favorites were the guy I just can't describe, he was in full white body paint and some weird mask like thing on his face, really, somethings you just have to see to believe. And my favorites, the teenage mutant ninja turtles that were wearing watermelons on their heads. I'm just sorry I wasn't quick enough to get some pictures for you.

The cutest thing I saw . . .

or maybe this



This morning, Rob let me sleep until 11:00 . . .we ate a little lunch and wandered over to the camp of some friends we know from Madison. We hung out with Fee from Yokanizu Project and Cory from Northern Pines Band. They gave me some birthday tequila and a PBR to start the day out right. And we had some great entertainment from Cory playing the guitar with a little improvisation from the woman sitting next to him. Some of the best entertainment to date at the festival. However, we had to leave to go see Cosmic Railroad who at the moment are being drown out by Outformation. I liked Cosmic Railroad, and Baghdad Scuba Review will be playing at their festival coming up soon.

See here for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10K Lakes reports. Read more!

10K Lakes Festival Report: Wednesday!

Well, we made it to Detroit Lakes Minnesota and the 10,000 Lakes Festival around 6:00 yesterday. We didn’t leave Madison as soon as we wanted to, cuz after the Council meeting, I gave someone a ride home and my car finally broke down (alternator) and I didn’t get home until after having my car towed . . . it was after 3:00, so I “slept in” and we didn’t leave town until 9:00. When we got here, we set up camp and were able to find one of the last trees in Lake Sallie that gave us some shade this morning so I could really sleep in. After setting up the tent and the canopy tent, we had a few beers(Guinness for me and Island Wheat for Rob) and then went to check out the bands.

First up – Blueground Undergrass. At first, all I heard was pretty straight up rock and I asked Rob if they were going to play bluegrass. He said, well, it may sound like rock but they are playing a banjo and a fiddle. And sure enough, after listening for a while, the blue grass started to come out. My favorite song they did was Midnight Moonlight which I think is a Peter Rowan tune. I was amazed that at 9:22 in the evening it was still light out. (I'll try to add photos later)



Next – we checked out That 1 Guy and I’m glad we did. I expected some weird Art Paul Schlosser thing to be going on based on the description in the pamphlet: A magnificently insane one-man show, That 1 guy performs on the unwieldy homemade instrument “The Magic Pipe". And not only did he play the magic pipe which was some kind of harp/drum/slide guitar. He also played the electric boot and electric saw. It really reminded me of seeing Rob Wasserman playing his electric stick bass on the same stage a few years ago and it sounded a little like Les Claypool. And it reminded me even more of Les Claypool as the crowd caved in to the bounce - the whole crowd, bounding up and down in unison. I said the music was funky, tho Rob corrected me and said it was ultra-funky. That 1 guy was as fascinating to watch as he was to listen to. He had pointy porkchop sideburns and his amish/hasidic jew/cowboy hat and curly hair.



I was really impressed by all the sound coming from the stage until I saw the DJ off to the side and then I couldn’t figure out which sounds were coming from the magic pipe and the looping machine and which were the DJ. However, it was well worth the trip up the hill, not only for the music, but for the Guinness. Most of his songs were orginal, however he did do a version of “Word Up” by Cameo which was a little surprising.

So far, the festival was like so many festivals, hippies, glowing things that are cool the first time you see them and annoying by the end of the summer. It was as crowded as it was on Friday and Saturday night last time I was here, so I suspect this festival has grown more than I realized. And as far as festival grounds, this place is hooked up, complete with “taxis”, showers, flush toilets, internet access (obviously) and just about everything you could need. The only annoying thing so far, is the pebbles that keep getting caught in my shoes But I digress . . .

On to Wookiefoot! The soul reason we made sure we were here by Wednesday night – I even had my Board of Directors reschedule the meeting so I could be here for this! And they did not disappoint. They kicked it off with bagpipe solo and went into Mushroom Jazz. The stage was filled with dancers. The second song they kicked it up a notch and the dancers were fire dancing to Get Out of My Way. The third song was one of my absolute favorites The Frog and the Scorpion. The fourth song was All You Can Eat Buffet (Go USA!) and then, I just stopped keeping track and enjoyed the rest of the show and as always, with Wookiefoot, it was a show, not just on stage, but all around. The fans are as much of the show as the band. Well, ok, there’d be no show without the band, but the fans are one of a kind.

I'm not sure if you can see this, but the big guy in the black t-shirt has a tree branch duct taped - er, majorly duct taped - to his head.

The evening was full of random weirdness, like the girl who insisted that I “put em up” for a hug attack, and the obligatory things like getting hit by at least one flying glo stick and the hippies cleaning up the garbage after the show, most likely looking for groundscores as much as worrying about the environment and being kind. Over all, a great way to kick off the festival and I hope the sign that the rest of the weekend is going to be wonderful.

So far this morning, I slept in, Rob made breakfast and we grabbed the computer and wandered up to the Saloon Stage to hear the Super American Happy Fun Good Time Jamband and the Saloon is packed and hardly a place to sit outside. They’re a good jam band, and its great to be blogging, drinking a Guinness (with ice in it! Ick.) and sitting in the shade. Next up Green Lemon on the Saloon Stage. More to come.

See here for Thursday , Friday and Saturday 10K Lakes reports.

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Belated Summerfest Report - Music & Politics!

So, people keep asking me, "How was Summerfest?" Here's the belated rundown.

Baghdad Scuba Review rocked! (What else did you expect me to say? My boyfriend is the percussionist!)

OK, seriously, in my humble opinion, Baghdad Scuba Review was awesome. If you don't believe me, you can check out a little of my shaky video/camera audio of one of their originals here, a less biased review here, and here's some pics . . .


John Schneider in front, Rob "the everything guy" Bloch (that's my sweetie!) hiding behind the congas and John.


Here's my attempt to get the whole band in a picture. It's alot harder when they're on such a big stage, a little different than being squished in to Mr. Robert's! (Note the Scuba Team T-shirts in the crowd.)


Chad Thompson.

I wish I had pictures of them in the t-shirts they had on for their 2nd set, you can see some of them here. Their white t-shirts had a variety of messages on them, some of them only numbers (as of July 5th 585 = days that Bush had left in office, 3588 = the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq).

If you want to hear more about how they mix politics and music, Maximum Ink has a nice article (print only at the moment) on the band in their July 6 issue.

And if you want to check them out for yourself, they will be playing at Mr. Roberts tonight (more info below) and the rest of the schedule is here.

Beyond that, Summerfest was, well, Summerfest. Lots of cement. Few places to get a good beer (This year, I went with the Oktoberfest, which was better than the Capital Amber in cans and PBRs on the bus.) A little bit of rain. Bob Weir was better than expected (I haven't seen him and Ratdog for a while), he pulled out some good less played tunes and I didn't have to complain about him doing too many womanizing songs. (I still miss Jerry!)

Overall, I'd prefer a good outdoor festival where you park your car, hump your camping gear to a shady spot where you can hear the stage but not too loud, camp for a few days, listen to a bunch of bands, drink some beer, relax, dance, laugh, stare at the fire, sleep some, then pack up your gear and return to the real world. But Summerfest was still a blast for a Thursday in Milwaukee.

As for me, next big music events are 10K Lakes Festival, then 3Gs (Grateful Garcia Gathering), then Austin City Limits. Someday, I'll hopefully convince Rob to do this!

Meanwhile, I'm sure you will catch me around town at a few local places as well. It was nice to meet several people who just figured out that I was "Brenda Konkel" at JT Whitney's last Saturday when I signed the email list for Logarhythm. They were playing with Yokanizu Project and Little Marsh Overflow. It's interesting that so many people either know me from the music world or politics world, but few overlap. If you ask me, music and politics should mix more often. Tho its nice to be somewhat anonymous and blend in to the music scene from time to time as well.

Cheers! And here's the band's latest email with their thoughts on Summerfest and a description of what they'll be playing tonight.

"I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass in my lake." --George W. Bush, on his best moment in office, interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, May 7, 2006

Catch this!

Yes, yes....

We're BACK! We are overwhelmed by the amount of people who attended this year to show their support at Summerfest '07! We expected a great crowd, but not like last Thursdays! Just as well, we had great success for our BuSRide to Summerfest last Thursday... (A HUGE THANKS to Fee for helping us out! ;) We ended up being in a position where we were short the number of seats available verses the number of seats demanded!!! Because of this, next year we plan on having TWO buses to cart your shakin' a$$es down to Summerfest! So be on the lookout for news next summer on this! First come, first serve!!! BSR would personally like to thank each and every one of the "SCUBA CREW" for being part of this years adventure!!!

Now, we all know it's short notice but we're trying something new... this Tuesday we're playing an "unbuttoned" version of our regular show at Mr. Roberts. Ladies and gentlemen; BSR at it's finest: Uncut and uncensored! (No, no we will not be performing in the nude.) We're simply trying something new! We're giving our fans something that we have never given them before -- unconstrained jams. Yes. We will be at our best behavior letting the music speak with intentions that will set you unrestrained. Off the cuff, taking requests and performing in protrusion...

Baghdad SCUBA Review
LIVE
Tuesday, July 10th
Mr. Roberts Bar
2116 Atwood Ave
Madison, WI

Be well, be free and at best: just be. See you tomorrow night!

--
Sincerely,
Baghdad Scuba Review
www.baghdadscubareview.com
www.myspace.com/baghdadscubareview
For upcoming Shows:
Please visit www.jambase.com & search for "Baghdad Scuba Review"

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