beleaguering ennui

So sorta last minute I decided to join some of my new friends on a trip to the Eugene area. the reason was a concert with this singer-songwriter who I don’t recall, Hot Buttered Rum, Mofro, Blackalicious and lastly, Michael Frianti & Spearhead.

I decided to go in part because the people who I was going with (Jeff, Steph, Dave and RP-R), whom RP-R and I met at Pickathon, were working with Harmony Event Medicine and so if we went together, I would be allowed to camp the night with that group. So, Jeff and I drove down that afternoon got our tickets and entered. It was a fairly intimate space despite being outdoors. Essentially it is a vinyard owned by a woman who decided it would be fun to host such shows. Little did I know, that being involved with HEM, comes with perks, the most thrilling of which had to be the “backstage” access.

So the second band, Hot Buttered Rum, a string band from the bay area, spent some time between talking about their Straight Veggie Oil (SVO) bus, and after they finished, RP-R, Dave and I decided to make our way backstage to ask questions about it (considering my latest educational-track choice, I thought it appropriate).

So we talked at length with Bryan Horne (the basest) when a tall (apparently 6′6″) man with dreadlocks and a voice lower than he is tall, walked up with a woman (who I later learned was his girlfriend—as well as a birthday girl) and started asking questions of the four of us about the bus.

-are you the guys who are runnin’ on veggie oil?
-yeah that’s us, you want to see it?
Bryan spoke up.
-yeah
RP-R introduced herself, and Michael responded.
-What’s up sista’

With an arm around the shoulder, sideways-hug. We all got some of the spiel again, this time a little more refined, as it was now the second time. We discussed the benefits, mileage, systems, spearhead’s rental bus, and then migrated onto the HBR’s bus eventually Michael and friend left

This ride was tite in multiple senses of the word. But also plush. We were invited atop the roof, crawling out vent holes, where we were greeted by Nat Keefe (who plays guitar, I believe) tossing a frisbee. So as we caught it threw it back and caught it again I couldn’t help but think. “I love how playful these guys are—they must get really starved for company aside from eachother—it’s so cute!”

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 11th, 2005 at 2:32 pm and is filed under music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.