epic weekend

Forecastle, part 1:



Last weekend, my band, The March Madness Marching Band, performed at the Forecastle Music Festival in Louisville. It is our second year there and proved to be equally fun as last year, just in a different way. I'm really unsure where to start. I came home sick on Monday and today is the first day I have felt human. We performed a total of 10 times over the three days of the festival. Two of those performances were with Cirque Berzerk, a performing arts group that has been referred to as, "the circus on acid." I feel comfortable saying that our band as a whole has a great reverence for the Cirque. Being asked to play with them was undoubtibly a highlight of the MMMB career. Their opening act involved four men jumping on two trampolines that were separated by a thick wall on which they would land. I have always had a trampoline and it makes me very happy to jump on them. The rest of the performances were great, but I was so thrilled with the trampoline act that everything else paled in comparison. At the end of their show, the MC introduced us as, "Our new friends, The March Madness Marching Band." While we were performing, the entertainers were sitting on the sidelines with absolutely delightful looks on their faces. That was the highlight of all of our performances thus far. That entertainers that amazed me with their talent enjoyed ours, as well.

Saturday began at 9am with a bike ride to the Fall of the Ohios. We started at the Galt House and rode across the bridge, which is a really long bridge on bike and skipped over to the FotO park. Falls is a rather misleading word. I'm sure at some point during the year, the water is falling over the man-made lock, it just was not last Saturday. It was a nice little spot to take a break and sit on a shore with feet in water.


After more performances, it was eventually time to start seeing bands that I wanted to see. Cake was up first and was fun. I didn't get to see the whole show due to some distractions, but what I heard was good and made me wish I had been in the very front of the crowd. Next was DEVO. Wowza. They know how to put on a great show. DEVO did get creepy at the end of the show with a creature dressed in graduation robes and speaking in a strange voice about Michael Jackson. JenMill did not like it at all. It was pointed out to me that it would not be a true DEVO show if they didn't get weird. I have to agree with that. They played everything I wanted to hear, including their new song, What We Do. Be sure to click on the link to watch that video clip. If you don't like it, there is nothing I can do to help.

Bassnectar was next. The DJ, Lorin Ashton (who is unbelievably hot), was a juxtaposition compared to the previous artist. From new wave to drum & bass, it turned out to be an impressive transition. Bassnectar was easily the best show I saw at Forecastle. I had never heard of him before, but I have listened to him everyday since. Half-timed beats with songs that everyone knows created an instant dance party. I had a hard time not doing the robot. A very hard time.

Isn't he hot? I have a thing for guys with one headphone pressed between the ear and shoulder, especially while bent over some sort of electronic equipment. Go figure.




I had the pleasure of being surrounded by really great people that I love dearly and dancing to really excellent music, all the while wearing some mind blowing glasses, courtesy of Sue McKaig.

I should have stolen them. They make everything look happy. They made me feel like Willy Wonka, Johnny Depp style.

Saturday night and Sunday hijinx to be explored in another post.