where the green grass grows: colin hay

Appel was a lot like Bonnaroo, except that there was shade, and I could come home and shower and sit in the A/C after the day was over. These are two HUGE benefits over Bonnaroo. Also, the line-up was a lot more appealing at Appel.

My first band of the day was called Caravan of Thieves, and I think I liked them well enough when I was listening to them, but actually forgot I even saw them until I was just looking though LB's Instagram pictures.

Then came a band that I had never heard of, called Brother Joscephus and the Love Revolution. SO. MUCH. FUN. The are a New Orleans Jazz band straight out of Brooklyn. A few songs into the set, LB and I gave each other the "THIS IS AWESOME" look. It was one of the most fun sets I have seen recently. The band was all about spreading the love, and after their set the led a parade over to the merch area for a meet and greet. seriously, the band came out marching-band style, went through the crowd, collecting people as they went, and paraded through the festival ground over to the merch area. We turned behind us to look at the parade and all that was left to be seen were empty blankets and lawn chairs...as LB put it, "they literally stole the show."

Next up was one of my new favorite bands, Delta Rae. Their debut CD, Carry the Fire, is chock full of killer harmonies and interesting percussion. They are a joy to see perform live. If you haven't heard this band yet, what are you waiting for? Go to YouTube and look them up. If you don't know where to start, you can start where I did, which was Bottom of The River.

Their set at Appel was exactly as awesome as I expected it to be. They do a pretty fantastic cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" in which I always think, upon hearing it, that that song was written for this band to sing. Their harmonies KILL it. (I am a sucker for kick-ass harmonies, if you didn't know.)

After their set, LB and I set out to do some of the festival'y things that one needs to do during the course of the day, such as pee in a Porta John that doesn't lock and find the "misting tent" (which was really just a single fan with a hose attached to it. cool. but it did the trick. We also got to watch a sheep being sheared.

We got some Crab Nachos (which were pretty tasty) and headed back to bake in the sun some more and watch Delta Spirit. I have seen them before, and heard them before, but I just never really got into them. We happened to walk up to catch the one song we knew, and then headed over to find a spot to see Colin Hay.

Guys. Colin Hay. Seriously. I just cant even.

I have been listening to him as far back in my life as I can remember. My parents are fans of Men at Work and their album Business as Usual has been a constant in my life. It is on my top ten of all time, and what makes me really happy is that my nieces are being brought up listening to it, too.

His set was a very good mix of Men at Work stuff as well as his solo stuff. He told a LOT of stories. I fell in love with him as a man and a storyteller today.

I want to express how much I loved every second of seeing him perform, but I cant find the words. There may have been tears in my eyes during "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You." He talked about Zach Braff and talked about growing up in Scotland and moving to Australia. He told us about the time that Paul McCartney came over to his house for dinner and washed his dishes. He has an amazing sense of humor and of comedic timing.

Two dudes decided that it was necessary to get involved in fisticuffs during his set. A few other members of the audience broke it up, but needless to say, the commotion interrupted Colin's song. Once all the dust had settled, Colin said, "That's what I like to see, a self-securing audience. Because we all know on this Saturday in Elmer and its surrounding areas, there is a LOT to fight about."

I love that man.

NPR’s All Songs Considered recently did a piece entitled “Cry Baby Cry:Songs That Make You Weep.” While I admit that some of the songs on their list were touching, there weren’t any that would bring me to my knees like some of the songs that I listen to with any regularity, so I decided that I would compile my own list. I have been toying with this idea for a while anyway, so what better time than now.

I am a terribly emotional girl. I cry at the drop of a hat. I cry when I am happy. I cry when I am sad. I cry when I see a cute puppy or when a little kid does something sweet. I cry like a baby at movies, even when I couldn’t care any less about the outcome. I cry a lot. I am a big baby. I do not deny this. it’s a frustrating trait, mostly, because there are times when the waterworks begin that id rather not deal with them, or more importantly, when id rather not let someone else see that they got to me, but I feel like my natural reaction when faced with anything out of my routine life is to cry.

One might think that because I cry so easily that I could throw ten random songs up here and call it a day, because what the heck, I cry at anything right? But that is not the case, really. There are only a handful of songs that really have what it takes to make me well up, but when they do, dammit, they get me good.

Jimmy Eat World-Drugs or Me