"We'll try to get tickets - THEN we'll worry about how we're gonna do it." Well, we got tickets. And we did it. We had Harvest Fest just a few days after the benefit show, but we knew that this was not a show to miss.
We headed out to Colorado the Friday before the show, where we stayed with our good friend Junkyard. We even got to go with him to his first Cornmeal show at the Aggie that night! (This Cornmeal show was a scorcher, but that's not what this post is about.)
Saturday was the big day and Colin and I headed down to Broomfield at around 1:30. There weren't too many people around quite yet, mostly just the Cheese folks. We got a rock star parking space and found our friends. The line situation wasn't as organized as it could be, and even though we were there plenty early, a LOT of people got in before us. But we still got our rail spots, of course (thanks, John!!!).
Since there were so many bands playing, the show started nice and early at 6 o'clock with Leftover Salmon. I had seen Salmon once in... 2004...? And I don't remember it blowing my mind, but each time we have seen them this year they have done just that. They kicked the benefit off with a bang and got everyone excited for the evening's festivities.
They had Keith Moseley on bass and Andy Thorn on banjo for the entire set, and brought out Billy Nershi, Page McConnell, and Bonnie Paine for most of the set. It was obvious that everyone on stage was having a great time and it was so cool to see the mixture of musicians playing together. This would continue for the entire evening.
Leftover Salmon:
Gold Hill Line, Everything is Round, This is the Time, Mama Boulet*, Muddy Water Home*^, Fire Line*^%, High on a Mountain*^%, Just Keep Walkin*^%, Whatcha Gonna Do*^%
*w/Page McConnell
^w/Billy Nershi
%w/Bonnie Paine
Buy the show here!
After Salmon was Yonder. They came out, did their thing for a few songs, then had Jon Fishman come out and play drums for the rest of their set. I don't like bluegrass with drums (for the most part), but if Yonder has to have drums, I'm glad it's Fishman. Their whole set was a pretty standard festival-type set, spiced up with what may have been the funkiest Girlfriend ever heard.
Yonder Mountain String Band:
Too Late Now, 40 Miles From Denver, Mental Breakdown, Mother's Only Son, Pockets*, Steep Grade Sharp Curves*, Fingerprint*, Catch a Criminal*, Girlfriend is Better*> 2 Hits and the Joint Turned Brown*
*w/Jon Fishman
Buy the show here!
Next was... Big Head Todd and the Monsters. I've never seen them live, and thought I would recognize at least one of their songs (which I didn't), and I thought it would be a fun new thing. Well, I really did not enjoy them. Other than when they covered John Lee Hooker's "Boom! Boom!" (which was really good), all they did was hurt my ears (we were standing right in front of the speakers). Now, I don't want to put them down. They have a pretty big following... it's just not for me. And it felt weird in the middle of these other bands that seem to have much more in common.
There was a big influx of people for Big Head Todd, and right when they were done we felt the crowd lighten... only to be immediately filled by double the Big Head Todd amount. Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon were next. I have yet to see my first Phish show (10/31/10 will be my first), but I saw Trey and Mike do their solo things at Rothbury '08, and this really reminded me of Trey's set. It was a cool thing to see, and I loved the simplicity of it.
Trey & Mike:
Back on the Train, Water in the Sky, Sample in a Jar, Train Song, Waste, Possum>My Friend My Friend> Wilson, Bathtub Gin
Buy the show here!
Finally, it was the longest set break of the night... followed by String Cheese!!! How lucky are we, that we get to go to a show with a handful of our favorite bands? We were so excited, but at the same time, we were so sore and exhausted. But when Cheese came on we forgot all about it and had a fantastic rest of our night.
Trey came out almost right away and played a couple songs with Cheese. Trey's guitar fit in so well with the Cheese sound. And after a few more songs on their own, musicians just started pouring onto the stage. Todd, Drew, Vince, Andy, Bill, Tyler, Bonnie, and Jeff all ended up finishing the set with Cheese. It was great to look at their faces and see that they were having just as much fun as we were.
Drums> Mouna Bowa, Rocky Mountain Way*, Outside and Inside*, Galactic> Round the Wheel, Sometimes a River, Who's That Lady&, Sittin' on Top of the World$, I Know You Rider@, One Love@
*w/Trey Anastasio
&w/Todd Park Mohr
$w/Drew Emmitt, Vince Herman, Andy Thorn, Bill McKay, Tyler Grant, Bonnie Paine, and Todd Park Mohr
@w/Drew Emmitt, Vince Herman, Andy Thorn, Bill McKay, Tyler Grant, Bonnie Paine, Todd Park Mohr, and Jeff Austin
Buy the show here!
This night was just magical. Trey playing with Cheese? I mean, come on. Ridiculous.
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