15th Annual Bears Picnic

Assuming this is John K et al?

Is this the same location as the festival about 2 weeks ago up there?

Got the same email. Interested to hear who's on the lineup. I'm going to Maine two weeks after this fest and I need a negative test 72 hours before I leave so I'm not sure if it would be wise to try and swing this, but a good line up cures all.

2 weeks out, yea? They must have a lineup! Or this is the most Lockn' festival not named Lockn'

If it were maybe another day longer or a little closer. Still tempted but will have to miss out.

A: It's the end of the world as we know it. Spend like it.

B: How many 10 hour round trips have we endured, and will continue to, to see you cats? (lobster gets a pass for service above and beyond)

C: smosey wales just get your fucking ass up here already.

Now, as far as line-up goes, don't be surprised if it isn't much different from Getdown. Bands ain't exactly touring right now, and we have to make due with what we have. You can poll lobster, newbn and looseankles as to whether that's still a good time or not.

EDIT: 

Friday August 14th

5-7pm Dave Brown & the Dishonest Fiddlers (again, PA's Steve Goodman, in terms of lyrics. Pretty standard grass/acoustic musically)

7:30-9:30 Consider the Source

10-midnight The Blind Owl Band (From WV, I think we all really dug them at Getdown)

12:30-2:30 Yam Yam

Saturday August 15th

12:30-2pm Moonlicker 

2:30-4 The Grizzle (funky, funky, funky. You like Lettuce? Pigeons? You'll dig)

4:30-6 John Welton & the Awakening (all the way from Ohio, and a standard the last few years. Most fun you can have with your clothes on. Being a special occasion, they may take us on a trip underwater. You'll know it when it happens. Fuck YEAH, fuck yeah!)

6:30-8 Willie Jack & the Northern Light (cool covers and originals that will not offend your ear. Drummer is former Zen Trickster)

8-11pm John Kadlecik (never heard of him)

11:30-1:30 T.B.A. (these cats are EVERYWHERE!)

2-3:30 Dee Maple Band (Prankster 2.0. Worth staying up for. Ask newbn)

One sentence review:

Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Stray observations: 

Murphy's Law never felt so good. Everything than could go wrong did, and in the most beautiful, warm, lovely, loving, uproariously belly-laughing way. Even the rain was AMAZING.

Blind Owl Band never showed. So Consider The Source and Yam Yam just played longer sets. No one complained. Newbn's right about CTS, and Yam Yam was like a jammier Steely Dan.

Moonlicker never showed either. A bar band from the same town as Willie Jack opened Saturday, with Willie's guitar player sitting in on the last few numbers. They weren't that great, but they didn't suck. They didn't suck a whole lot more with Jeff. No one complained.

The Grizzle played an extra-long set to help make up for Moonlicker. We were almost deafened by the non-complaints. You're gonna see that bass player. You can't miss him in any case. I'm not even gonna tell you why. You'll know.

John Welton & The Awakening didn't show up. No one noticed, since the only members of the faction that are responsible for them being at this fest were me and Susan. 

Or so it seemed. I actually did run into a couple Lucky Dawgs later.

Willie Jack played an extra long set to make up for J & Awake. No one complained. They played a bunch of jammy covers, many of which I've seen them do other times, places and spaces, but they seemed a little slitherier than usual. Something was slithery, anyway. Highlights included the sexiest version of "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" I've ever heard, and Whipping Post>The Eleven>Whipping Post. They, and we, were playing off each other, just like a good Good Ol Grateful Dead show.I will never simply refer to them as "PA fest mainstays Willie Jack & The Northern Light again.

It was also their 15th anniversary. They and the Picnic. Willie Jack is the only band that played every one. No wonder we love them so.

John showed. Boy did John show. And what a show! I've seen the electicoustic looper thing before, but he could read the room as well or better as WJ&NL. Highlights included Watching The Wheels, Accidentally Like A Martyr (which only I seemed to be familiar with. Seriously, do people only listen to the hits with Zevon? Does he even have any?), and the sweetest (but non-saccharine!) One Tin Soldier I have ever personally heard. And lotsa Dead, including Unbroken Chain and Terrapin. Speaking of accidentally, he hit the "delete all" button with his foot not once but twice, bringing everything to a screeching halt. Not only did no one complain, we went APESHIT with applause, whoops and laughter.

On Friday we got word that the TBA would be Pappy, Jamie and Dylan from Cabinet. Which sounded great! But, to make up for the other bands some more, John stayed, strapped on his electric, and played with Pappy and Jamie and the bass player and rhythm guitarist from Willie Jack and the keyboardist from Yam Yam. Buncha cool covers that I'm having trouble remembering now, thanks to some "moon licker" that did show up. Sounded pretty good for five guys that never played together before. But even Dylan, who kinda got sidelined, did not complain. He's still getting paid after all. 

We had to eat grilled cheese and go to bed during Dee's set, but since I'm such a handsome and charismatic (and humble) guy, we got the same site we had for Getdown. Couldn't be closer to the show field without being on it. Woulda had a direct line of sight if it wasn't for one vendor in the way. Anyways, Dee was solid as usual.

And I bought some cool art from that same vendor, so even that turned out better than expected:


Each finger represents an atom on the LSD molecule, and if you look close, the strings are DNA. Except for the length of Phil's hair, I thought I was at this show, lol.

To sum up: we were Grateful to be able to do this, so we respected each other and treated each other with all the love and kindness we would want for ourselves. It really was a family picnic too: Sunday at FTW compared to Getdown's Saturday - family only. Debts were forgiven, old beefs were squashed, we saw people we haven't seen in a trash Panda's age (he's gotta be pushing 40 by now. Shoulda asked when he sold me the licker...)The music was hot, the beer was cold, the love was warm and the corn was high.

The Music never stopped.