California Roots Festival @ Monterey Fairgrounds

[Greg]

Wherever you go, there you are.

[Drunk Monk]

Def feel post-reggae…

[Drunk Monk]

Got my YMAA heavy lifting for today done. 

Now it’s time for a nap…

Still got some writing due tonight for an early deadline tomorrow.

[Drunk Monk]

Writing deadline met. Article submitted. 

I got a nice nap in and Stacy is giving me ample space to be blurry. And I'm hella blurry. I can't even focus my eyes that well. But I'm satisfied. It was a great weekend. 

Mike Love was great. He did a fun version of Pink Floyd's Money, but only one loop track. Nevertheless very enjoyable and those who watched with me from JM agreed heartily.

The sun came out Sunday. I got my Iaido sensei in, using the wristband that would've gone to Dirty HOel's mom if she didn't poison herself just before the show (she mixed the wrong cleaning agents and broke out in a horrible rash - Hoel says she's starting to have some memory issues). My sensei had a blast, as did my nooB from yoga. 

We caught Sensory Tribe first, an international group. The lead was from Peru. They were delightful and I bumped into the bass player backstage and took a selfie with him. Gave him major props and he was very flattered and grateful. 

Missed Matishyahu and only caught the beginning of Steel Pulse (the Rally round the flag song) when we headed over for dinner. SP is still solid. 

Listened to Eli-Mac over dinner. She didn't do much for me. 

Caught a bit of Common Kings, which was better than I remember.

Caught some of T-Pain, which was loud and sort of silly. He has a great stage presence but not many of his own songs. He mostly appears on other tracks. I didn't put together who he was until I heard him and was then like, oh I know that song. But they only did his parts, which are small. It was odd.

Finished with Dirty Heads. They were better than I remembered them too. They are definitely kings of the Cali reggae sound, but both Tara and I agreed that it only goes so far until all the tracks sound the same. 

We cut out about a half hour before they ended. We were home before midnight.

It was another irie weekend at Cali Roots. How good and how pleasant it was to spend time with my JAH Med family and my daughter, who has grown up in this scene. It's like coming home for us.

I assisted a C-spine to Dirty Heads "Lay me down" which struck me as funny, even though it wasn't.  Poor girl.  She wasn't even drunk or high.  She just slipped and hit her head - LOC so we had to roll.  

When Dirty Heads went into this song, I flashed back on this moment and all the amazing moments I've had at Cali Roots, most of which are documented on this thread. So grateful for my reggae life. JAH Med 4EVA!

[Drunk Monk]

Just gotta remember to pack my new camping chair & stickers to tag it. 

The new chair is the heaviest piece of gear I have now. It's very throne-like, which was Tara's goal in giving it to me. It got a few nice stickers over the weekend. It's built tough so we'll see how it does in the festivals to come...

I feel pretty good, all in all. Only my lips are a bit chapped. I must get some better chapstick because the one in my kit is as solid as a candle. Not too sore, no unexplained cuts or bruises, my tinnitus is just a notch higher than usual. All good. 

I'm still not quite back to the default world with a screener tonight and a concert tomorrow night. Then things should chill out a bit. I don't have any more big weekends until July.

[Drunk Monk]

I sunburned my nose a bit. Doesn't hurt but now it's starting to flake & peel.

[Drunk Monk]

I finally cut my CR 25 wristband yesterday. It was a cool one, black cloth with a gold Good Vibes logo (GV is the promoter). It paired well with a black rubber Shaolin Temple wristband the abbot gave me last year. I would’ve worn it longer but ID bands have these one-way clasps that act like a lobster trap, so they slowly tighten over time and this one was getting to the point where it might’ve cut off my circulation had I kept it longer. 

Good memories.