This weekend was the Bluegrass Festival. It was really fun, with some good music but a little of the sheen wore off for me this year. It was just SO crowded. People, people everywhere you turned and you couldn't get anywhere near the stages. I guess that's the price you pay for an amazing, absolutely free concert.
There are six stages at the Festival - Porch, Banjo, Arrow, Rooster, Star and Gold. The stages are clustered in one area of Golden Gate Park, around Speedway Meadow, in little knolls and valleys. It really is a terrific setting. The Banjo stage is where the big names play, and it's nearly impossible to get a seat for shows there, atleast anywhere near the stage. So unless you come early in the morning, park your blanket right in front of the stage, and don't move all day, you're probably not going to get to "see" a show at that stage. Unfortunately, this year, the acts that we wanted to see were all spread out between the stages, so we couldn't just park a blanket. Which meant that we ended up being really far away from most of the shows. In fact, we watched Aimee Mann from way to the side of the Arrow stage, and didn't actually see any of the show. It's weird sitting in a giant crowd of people, listening to music when you can't see the performer. It kind of feels like you've plunked yourself down in the middle of a million people for no good reason. Live music, for me, is all about watching the performance, and if you can't see it, then...yeah. So. The Rooster stage is set in the nicest little valley, but unforunately, the valley is a dog-leg, so if you're at the back, you most definitely can't see the stage. We "saw" Billy Bragg from at the back of the valley, so again, another show that we couldn't actually see.
So anyway, for the complete rundown: Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day, but with ridiculous amounts of wind that made it quite chilly. We got to the festival a little late, but in time to hear the second half of Okkerville River at the Gold stage, and the crowds hadn't arrived yet, so we actually had a really nice little patch of grass. We sat and listened to the good music, and ate our sandwiches and sipped a cold beer. This part of the festival, before everyone and their mother arrived, was really the best part. Then, we headed to Boz Scaggs at the Rooster stage, which I mentioned above is the dog-leg. We couldn't get anywhere close to actually seeing the stage, so we just sat to the side in a relatively uncrowded area and listened. Then it was time for Billy Joe Shaver at the Arrow stage. This stage is kind of out in the open, and the wind was really starting to pick up, so it got kind of chilly. And Billy Joe Shaver is getting a little old, so his set wasn't my favorite - his voice was a little shaky. I laid down and took a little nap, which was nice.
At this point, the crowds had arrived en masse, and getting anywhere was kind of a pain in the ass. We stood and listened to a couple of songs from The Duhks and then headed to the Banjo stage for a couple songs from Gillian Welch, and then we were just kind of over it. The wind was pretty much howling at this point, and I was getting pretty chilled to the bone. By the time we got home, the wind was literally howling, and rattling the windows. I've never heard it blow so hard in San Francisco, and the wind is always blowing here. It was pretty crazy.
Sunday, we had good intentions to get to the park early for Dr. Dog, but we ended up late again and only caught the last two songs of the act. Which was really a shame because this was the main show that we wanted to see, it was early, so it wasn't crowded at all and the two songs we heard were amazing. :( Well, you win some you lose some. The rest of the day was just one big mob of people. We listened to Billy Bragg without being able to see the stage, we listened to Aimee Mann without being able to see the stage, and at the end of the day, we headed to see Neko Case. We were with one of Neil's friends and she pushed us right into the middle of the crowd, pretty close to the stage, which should have been great, but with everyone standing up, we still couldn't see anything. I absolutely love Neko Case and was really looking forward to seeing the show. Well, the music was great but I didn't see anything. And I was just so over the crowds at this point. There was this guy next to me that just had no sense of his personal space, he kept crowding me and crowding me and finally I had to just completely relinquish my spot to him. He was actually standing on our blanket, right next to Neil. So, after three shows where I didn't actually see the performers at any point during the show, I called it quits. I guess crowds like that are just not my cup of tea. I must getting crotchety in my old age. :) I headed home to a nice, warm house and a big bowl of potato-leek soup and homemade rolls. Neil stuck around for the last show of the night.
Overall, there was still good music to be heard, and I still think the festival is amazing and cannot believe that it is offered free. But the lineup wasn't quite as strong as last year, and I really didn't feel like I actually got to "see" many shows. So overall, this year it was kind of a meh... alright, but not outstanding. One final but, though: but October in San Francisco is really a lovely time to be outdoors enjoying good music. If you're looking for a time to plan a trip down to the City, I would encourage you to come at this time of year.
I also don't think I updated you on the doggies and our session with the trainer. It went really well, it was very informational, and it really encouraged me that I'm on the right track with the doggies. The one thing she told me that I thought was good was that this "treating" as we walk is not really a training mechanism, it's more of a management tool and we will probably have to walk like that forever. There's not really a good way to train dogs not to be reactive on the leash - it's their instinct. However, with good management and lots of treats, we can make it okay. And we've continued to have successes and failures, but their failures are a little bit more mellow now. I can usually distract them pretty quickly with a treat, now.
In another new, exciting development, the dogs have developed allergies to something. Swarley is so itchy, he just can't stop scratching himself - he's almost tortured by it. I feel so bad for the little guy. And Lola scratches a lot too, but doesn't seem quite as tortured by it as Swarley. This morning, though, she had a little rash all over her belly. So I'm going to pick up some Benadryl and we've changed their food to grain-free, fish-based, to try to address most of the food allergies that doggies have. Poor little dears.
I have a three day weekend, with the Columbus Day holiday on Monday that no one else in the working world recognizes but, here at the Foundation, we get it off! :) YAY! What to do, though? Although this is supposed to be a blog about our life in a new city, I've really fallen off on exploring the city and reporting on it to you. Maybe I'll try to find something new in the City that I haven't seen/experienced yet, and try to actually blog about something interesting. Don't hold your breaths, though, I will most likely end up sleeping in and being ridiculously lazy instead.
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