one hundred and eight.

degrees that is. the austin city limits music fest, aka dust fest 05 or the dust bowl, was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. so here's my best effort of a recap from my eyes and ears...

Friday (day one)
my weekend started with lucinda williams. and a good start to the weekend it was. then ck and i caught a bit of thievery corporation whos catchy beats and unique sound drew me in. then we heard the last bit of grupo fantasma, a fun jazz/blues group. then i kicked back and relaxed to the allman brothers set. their familiar classic songs rang true and people of all ages were appreciative. as i was heading towards keane, blues traveler was starting up and john popper was welcoming the crowd. keane put on a great show as the sun was setting. then it was time for the nites closing act, the black crowes. hunger pains got the best of me and ck and so we didn't stay for the entire set but at least were able to participate in the sing-a-long of the ever famous 'she talks to angels.'

Saturday (day two)
the day started with aqualung. this picture here is matt hales, the lead singer of the group. i was really looking forward to hearing them live and they didnt dissapoint. my personal favorite, 'easier to lie' was played and he also played an entertaining tribute to austin. meanwhile, the temperature was rising high and the wind started picking up which normally would have been a good thing...but when that wind is carrying dust...you just get REAL dirty. next on the lineup was the famous buddy guy who JAMMED. nobody does the blues like buddy, thats all i gotta say. then we had intentions of checking out the frames but when that meant a long walk into the dirt wind, we turned around and settled for martin sexton who ended up being really good too. so as it was hitting triple digits, ck and i decided to find some shade. we found a sweet little set up outside the sbc tent that not only offered shade but overhead spray misters. we also made friends with this random guy that gave me some gucci sunglasses he had found...i later lost them so i guess designer shades and me weren't meant to be. we were in perfect ear shot range of the next group - robert randolph and the family band. i had high expectations which were easily met. their show was fun and i even entertained the thought of michael jackson coming on stage when they were playing an instrumental version of 'billie jean.' no, he never appeared but hey, would have been cool right? we caught the last song or two of john butler trio so i cant really give an opinion of how that was. then we settled in for jet. another group i was really looking forward to hearing and of course it was great. the upbeat 'are you gonna be my girl' and 'cold hard b****' were equally balanced by the slower 'move on' and 'come around again.' oasis was the ending act of day two but waiting around for 45 minutes until they came on after jet just wasnt appealing for me and ck. if you could have seen how dirty we were though, you would have totally understood.

sunday (the third and final day)
the day started early with eisley. i love their harmonies and the fact that its a brother/sister/best friend band is pretty neat too. did i also mention that it was A HUNDRED AND EIGHT DEGREES on sunday? yeah, 30 minutes into eisley and my already suburnt face was feeling it. jaclyn and doug came in for the day too which was a lot of fun. i tried to warn them about the heat but i dont think anything could have prepared you for how hot it was that day. after eisley we walked around aimlessly for a bit trying to decide where to go. heard some zykos but werent really feeling it so we kept on walking. we went back to the sbc tent where ck and i had set up shop on saturday which had since become a highly coveted space. we camped out there while rilo kiley played and tried to cool off a bit. then jaclyn and i went to ruthie foster and doug and ck checked out the bravery. oh ruthie. this was one of my favorite shows of the entire weekend by far. she sang her heart out, got the crowd movin, and it was awesome. then we heard the last half of mraz who sang a lot of stuff from his new album but didnt leave out the songs that got him famous like 'the remedy.' after he finished everyone started crowding in for franz ferdinand. we were caught in the mob amongst die hard franz fans and tried to pretend like we were too. once they played the only song i knew, 'take me out,' i was satisfied and braved the mob to leave to hear wilco. i almost didnt go and was just going to stay till coldplay bc it seemed quite impossible to get outta the mob but i did and it ended up being the best thing i ever did. i caught the last half of wilco and enjoyed it a lot more than last year. maybe because i didnt really like wilco last year but have since listened to them more and have grown a liking to them. after wilco i met up with jaclyn who was listening to kermit ruffins and the bbq band back at the gospel and blues stage. this was probably my favorite show of the entire weekend. thats a strong statement too. this group was awesome though...they had so much energy and got the whole crowd dancing...you couldnt listen to them and not wanna dance though. something about this weekend - i became a huge jazz and blues fan - i think i could listen to that for days. after that the shows started coming to a close at various stages and everyone headed to the exact same place to hear the exact same band. coldplay. probably the biggest act to come to acl in its four years and so they knew they had a reputation to hold up. and they did just that. an incredible set mixed with old and new and a tribute to the late johnny cash. they finished the show with current favorite, 'fix you,' and the crowd was pleased. chris martin was exceptionally friendly to hot and tired 60,000+ crowd and made sure to make it a performance to remember. it was a perfect close to a weekend of up and coming groups trying to make it big, and groups that have successfully gotten there and keep on rockin.

so yeah, it was hot. record breaking hot. and it was dusty. dusty enough to make everyone wear bandanas around their faces and make an outsider think that a western movie was being shot at zilker park. but was it worth it? absolutely. every second and every rising degree. i guess thats the sacrifice you make for good music.

i need a date like i need a new job..

just kidding...although i wouldnt be opposed to getting either one of those...

i just paid more money for some concert tickets than i think ive ever paid before...not counting ACL - but that doesnt count since youre really getting 20 concerts in one ticket. i wont say how much i spent but i would say it falls in the 'too much' category. at least for someone like myself who doesnt have money coming out of their ears. so you ask, who might this wonderful artist be that you would pay such a ridiculous amount of money for?

david gray. and the weirdest thing is this - im not even a die hard david gray fan..i wouldnt even say im a huge fan...but i might be getting there. im decently familiar with all his popular songs from earlier albums ie. babylon, this years love, sail away, be mine etc. but it wasnt until i heard his new album, life in slow motion, that i decided this guy is good. and then i find out he's coming to austin in november and well, im known to make impulsive purchases (not something im real proud of) and before you know it ive bought two tickets. oops. but i dont regret it. but he better put on a dang good performance, thats all im sayin.

so back to my date. like i said, i bought two tickets. i always do this b/c the way i see it, if it ends up that you cant go its just as easy to sell a pair as it is to sell a single ticket, maybe easier. or, a more common scenario being that there's always someone who wants to go last minute and doesnt have a ticket so then you can help a person out. nice of me, huh? always looking out for other people.. :) so anyways...i now have a pair of david gray tickets so from now until nov. 3rd i will be screening tall, attractive, single men who would like to accompany me. KIDDING. who do you people think i am? but seriously, if you wanna go lemme know - and you dont have to be a tall, attractive single guy bc lets be honest - how many of those are there really around? ;)

good friends, good food, good times

it was another weekend of driving and wedding fun. here are the happy married couple, jennifer and joe baker! the wedding and reception were at a beautiful country club and the weather couldn't have been better. the ceremony itself made the trip worth it and was easily the most entertaining ceremony ive ever witnessed. maybe it was abby, the dog, who yes, was a part of the wedding refusing to walk down the aisle and was running in the opposite direction. or maybe it was all of the plants and flowers falling from the wind and the best man and maid of honor doing a stellar job of catching them before they hit the ground - great reaction times, guys! or maybe it was when someone sitting behind us farted real loud during the vows. yep, id say that wins. suddenly our row of 6 college graduates became 4th graders and could NOT stop laughing. however we were at a wedding so we had to try and be real quiet. so it was about 2 minutes straight of that laughing where your whole body is shaking and your eyes are tearing up and the last thing you want to do is look at someone else otherwise you completely lose it all over again. i would almost have myself composed and then look over at jeff and patin who were definitely still laughing real hard and then i would lose it again. oh man...i know it doesnt sound as funny as i make it seem but it was one of those had to be there moments i guess. so anyways, the reception was fun...the food was good, the cakes were great, and the dancing was of course fun! and now they're somewhere in mexico that i cant pronounce having a real good time im sure ;)


now as far as this picture goes..theres a little more explaining to do. if you look closely you'll see a dog kennel in the bushes and yes, inside was a real cute little puppy that jeff and kristen got for her brothers birthday. this was looking outside of the window at olive garden where we were eating lunch. they couldnt leave the poor pooch in the car so jeff strategically put the dog in the bushes where we could keep an eye on him. of course the puppy was barking and whimpering a lot like puppies do - probably bc it thought it was being abandoned and was going to die in that kennel in the bushes - and people would hear it and like the good people that they were would be concerned and stop. however at that point, jeff would knock on the window to get their attention, tell them "it's ours! it's ok!", give them the thumbs up, and they would keep on walkin. needless to say this happened many times during lunch and for some reason it was funny every single time.. lets talk about lunch though. we went to olive garden bc right now they have the neverending bowl of pasta deal which is a seasonal thing so you gotta jump on that when it comes around. to put it nicely, the girls ate real well and getting that second bowl (and maybe 3rd for someone ;)) was no problem. the guys ate enough...or hid enough..that they got their second bowls too. in the end i think the 7 of us ate enough for about 15 people but hey, we're poor college students right? oh wait..we arent anymore...we're just poor. you gotta take advantage of those all you can eat opportunities!!

so...another 700 miles put on my car...another friend gettin hitched...but as always - well worth every second.

devastating...

i watch hours and hours of coverage from the tragedy known as hurricane katrina. and as much as i watch the tv specials, the news, see graphic pictures etc...i still will never be able to completely understand what those people must be going through. im overcome with grief and guilt knowing that my life is absolutely fine while other people have lost absolutely everything they have and don't even know whether their family members are alive. and i think its different when something like this occurs halfway around the world bc its easier to disconnect yourself from the problem and not think its happening when its hundreds of miles away...although im not saying that other disasters in other places arent as tragic. i guess what im saying is that its a lot more real when its happening a state and two states and three states away and those victims are coming into your city for food and shelter and work. the problem is a lot more tangible in a way. and i think its impossible for anyone to know of what's going on and not have a desire to help them...at least i would hope so...and they say that the best way to help is to give money. so...if you have some extra money, which im sure you do, donate it. these people need it a lot more than you do.

www.redcross.org