Monday, July 27, 2009

Wanderlust Festival

More photos.
New York Times story.


The Wanderlust Music & Yoga Festival had it's inaugural event this year, and the Dronks were lucky enough to go. It was in Lake Tahoe, high up in Squaw Valley's Gold Coast upper lodge. We went with Jess and Sean, hooking up with my folks and the Berris along the way.

The main stage was at 8,000 feet; you need a gondola ride to get to it. Best stage siting I've ever seen. Squaw Valley was beautiful in July.

Overall, it was a really fun show. A first-time event has it's issues, but the lineup was really refreshing. I love High Sierra and all that, but it was great to see bands we hadn't seen before (SJ/DK excepted). It was mostly indie rock, which led to a low twirler presence. Nobody offered us mushrooms.

In fact, it was sort of like being in an REI catalog: lots of outdoorsy Bay Area money and lots of yoga folks. Regardless, the manners were almost as good as the vibe. Sasha was joyful for the whole event: really cooperative and happy. Weatherwise, "hot" doesn't quite capture it, but it was a dry heat. That's good, right?


Day 1. Sasha went to Reno with Oma and Opa while we saw MC Yogi, Mutaytor, and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. We walked right by SJ/DK on our way in and managed to throw a thumbs-up their way. After hooking up with Jess and Sean, we watched former bus-driver Sharon Jones prove that she is the hottest 53-year-old on Earth.


Day 2. My folks leave, and we drive back up to Squaw Valley. Sara's yoga class left her sore and over it.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings were great, including a "Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby" with Jenny Lewis. Lewis's set was pretty good.

I got a few minutes Gillian Welch after the show for a quick interview. New record underway. What's in the box? "Box stuff."

Spearhead canceled due to Michael Franti's ruptured appendix. Wanderlust pulled a Hail-Mary and got Common to fill in. His set was *awesome,* complete with a Tahoe-specific freestyle. Surprise highlight.

Also nice, a wall-size get-well card for Franti, which fans signed.


Day 3. A quick dip in Lake Tahoe proved fun. No yoga. No way.

The hugely likeable Mates of State, a husband/wife band who tour with their lil' kids, were epic. She plays the keys, he the drums, and they both sing. Belt, more accurately. Another musician helped fill out their shockingly full sound. We were both fans before, but now it's on a whole new level. Sasha, who loves MoS, napped through it.

I had a fun interview with them later, despite some sonic intrusion from a violinist 6 feet away. (Thanks, Andrew Bird.) After criss-crossing their path a while later, it seems that we're "Hi/Bye" friends.

Caught some Broken Social Scene, caught some William Fitzsimmons, caught some Andrew Bird. Also spotted Adrian Grenier (Entourage's Vincent Chase) walking around with a Spearhead man-purse.

We headed out to Yuba City to crash with Chris and Kim Berri. Sasha learned to beatbox ("Like Biz [Markie]!"). The Berris gave us homemade beer and and a bed to sleep in. We watched an extreme-cake show until 1am. Sasha loves Kim. So do we. Chris, too. Also: Shawn who watched Charlie and Eric who gave Casey her meds.


Day 4. Goodbye, Berris! Good people. Rolled out of Yuba after visiting one of the west's best: The Cookie Tree. Respect the CT.
Swam in the Eel. Listened to Mates of State. Came home. We're clean.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Glenn Beck

In the crowded arena of radio shouters, Glenn Beck unearths a new low at 3:00 minutes into the clip. The aftershock at 3:31 is just dessert.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

I'm Not Dead Yet 1.1

(slight revision)

Short story: I have Strep, maybe MRSA, and an ear infection.

Some reports of my condition, while hopefully well-intended, are exaggerated. This has made life complicated, perhaps unnecessarily. Like, if you told someone you had Swine Flu, you'd have to go through that whole explanation about how pedestrian it usually is. Apples and oranges, but you get the idea.

I'm not an expert, but the doctor gave me no reason for alarm. Neither did my mom, who's a nurse. The doctor even said I could go out in public if I felt up to it. I don't, but it's good to know. I don't want to understate the situation, because MRSA can be bad news. But I'm taking the word of my doctor and my mom, who said "People get worked up about it, but you'll be fine in a few days."
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This thing came on pretty quick. I went to Urgent Care this morning because something didn't feel right. Every minute or so when swallowing, it felt like was someone closing their hand around my neck.

"Strep, for sure," said the doctor. "Looks like a truck ran over your throat."

Since I don't know anyone sick right now, it was odd. Halfway through the visit, I rolled up my sleeve and showed him this scab I had from a rugburn last week. "This isn't related, right?"

"Oh my," he said. This mostly-healed abrasion was infected.

So now I'm getting treated for MRSA.

No, it's not confirmed because he couldn't swab the abscess (since it was mostly healed up), but that was his theory. Yes, MRSA is actually treatable.

The doctor said unless you and I press open wounds together, I won't get you sick. Lots of people carry on their skin. It's common, I guess.

But yeah, he seemed unconcerned. My mom was more concerned about the Strep, which kills 400,000 people a year worldwide.

I'm buffing my house to a high gloss with biocide wipes, which may or not be necessary. I'm doing it anyway. Who doesn't like to wipe?

But wait! There's more!

The doctor was checking out my ears for some reason and said I have an outer ear infection. "You like Q-tips, huh?" So now I'm on two separate antibiotics. I'm going to miss Q-tips so much. I'd touch brain if that stupid eardrum wouldn't stop me.

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Sara, as always, is taking great care of me. She's making smoothie runs, buying antiseptic chemicals that we normally wouldn't have in the house, etc. She's healthy today, as is Sasha. Fingers crossed. I take care when sick, and feel strongly about containment. I feel better now than this morning, but I'm still running a fever.

In conclusion, this is a good time to rest, eat healthy, drink lots of water, and watch old Colbert Reports.