California Roots Festival @ Monterey Fairgrounds

[Drunk Monk]

meh so far.

Bedouin Soundclash sounds fun but I don't know a thing about them. I just like that band name.

Skip Marley is Bob's grandson. He's 29 already. 

Tara graduates that Friday so my tentative plans are to lay down a tent on Thursday to hold space, skip Friday, and go in Saturday morning. Not sure what Tara wants to do. We shall see...

[Drunk Monk]

TTT42026

I am packed, but my phone charger is not recharging and my old liePhone barely holds a charge nowadays. My phone only charges when the charging cord is bent at a certain angle and it only likes some cords, not all of them. I need a new damn liePhone.

[Drunk Monk]

Charger charged! Yay. 

I guess it just needed to wake up.

[Greg]

Charger charged! Yay. 

I guess it just needed to wake up.

Put on a little make-up?

[Drunk Monk]

Loaded in. Checked in. Got wristband & nachos. Back home now where it’s warm.

[Drunk Monk]

Watching Ice T on the simulcast from the warmth of my bungalow. Gotta get up in the morning and go.

[Drunk Monk]

Cali roots #15 was truly irie. But my phone died so I didn’t take notes and only recorded until Saturday night. Right now my memory is surprisingly sharp so I’ll fill this year’s episode out later today, when o need a break.

[Drunk Monk]

My trepidations about a Saturday morning entry were complete unfounded. CR15 had dangerously low attendance, so low that there were many rumors floating around that this might be the last time. The staff camping area was wide open and I got premium parking right across from the med camp. 

Our crew got in cleanly. Everyone was in good spirits and excited to reunite. Lorri, who manages our kitchen, was officially retiring. I had eaten a lite breakfast before heading out, but she had prepared my fav - biscuits and gravy - freshly made biscuits and homemade gravy - so I had a 2nd breakfast. Then a third. I ate well, perhaps too well. 

With Tara absent deep in Bar prep, DM was unleashed. There were many iris sessions, including a snow toot, something DM hasn't indulged in for maybe over a decade. With only two days and so close to home, DM could go harder than ever. 

I'm kinda sore. 

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Clear blue skies, then some scattered clouds, but overall sunny and warm. With less attendance, it was easy to navigate. Everything came smoothly. So many free samples - too many. DM overdosed on ginger - lots of ginger drinks and chews. Not to mention the professional rollers (what a job!) 

The first act we checked out was Zion Marley, the son of Bob's son Rohan and Lauren Hill. It was just him and a female DJ. It was ok. He could do a serviceable homage to his granddad, but didn't really have a sound of his own. He should've done some of his mom's stuff - that would have been good contrast.

[Drunk Monk]

All the action on Saturday was on the Cali Roots stage, not the main stage. The 3rd subsidiary stage wasn't on. It was a cutback. along with the dispensary/art area and there were less vendors. There were only a few moments when it felt full. 

Barrington Levy was next on the Cali Roots stage. I always remember a show in Berkeley that he was headlining. The promoters forgot one key thing - the sound system. It finally got set up at the end of the day and Levy came on saying "Are you ready?" Sure. We'd been ready for hours. The show was supposed to be all day and in the end, we only got like a half hour of Levy saying "Are you ready?" Levy has a ton of classics. He's been singing since the 70s. And he's got that old stool style. But he lingered on his riffs way too long, milking his songs for far more than they were worth. It got tedious. Towards the end, he started singing that he would sing a new track. He got us to chant 'Run the Track!' over and over and over again, so many times that he went over time and they cut his power. He threw down the mike in anger and walked off, then came back for a moment saying that cutting his mike was disrespectful but thanks for coming everyone. It was weird at the time and got funnier and funnier the farther we got from it. 

Caught a bit of Fortunate Youth in the main bowl. They were typical Cali Reggae. I was more impressed by a family that had secured a box on stage right towards the front, and lined the wall with bubble machines. They put out an impressive wall of bubbles, much to the delight of their kids, who were armed with bubble guns.

Burning Spear was next on the Cali Roots stage. I've been a huge fan for so long. His band is still super tight. And he still beats the bongos and skanks well, now in his 80s. But he's slowed down. That powerful spark that drove his fiery delivery is gone. I saw him last year, opening for Ziggy, and felt the same - https://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFo...p?tid=8624

Last up on the Cali Roots stage was Tash Sultana. The stole the show just prior to the pandemic. https://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFo...&pid=33261 They stole it again last Saturday. Their looping, singing, playing - it was all amazing. What a force of music. We saw them soundcheck with a band, which was disappointing, but they did their show solo (non-binary thus the plural), like before and absolutely commanded that stage. After Tash, I was done. That was such a satisfactory moment and as far as I had looked into the line-up. I was done. The rest was icing.

We staged a Doc Lee & Gene Safety Meeting with great success, although Doc Lee had been dubbed Broccoli because an early discussion between the kitchen resulted in the spelchuk tweak 'Should I bring scotch for broccoli?' The night before, no one had Brought any shot glasses. That's DM's thing. Sloppy Joe gave DM props saying 'way to make yourself useful'. 6 whiskys went head to head - two bourbons, two Japanese whiskeys, a triple peat single malt scotch, and a pancake and bacon flavored one. The winner was from Doc Z - Yamazaki. DM shifted gears from his usual Irish offerings to Japanese and brought Fuyu, which was very pleasant with a persimmon start. 

That night Dm suffered wicked heartburn from all the indulgence, and was up for hours trying to find a position of comfort. Some woman was singing poorly late into the night, Redding's Dock of the Bay over and over again badly. Not a good night's sleep at all. But it wasn't cold, so there's that.

[thatguy]

One day we will all have "old stool style"...

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

One day we will all have "old stool style"...

--tg

I’m guessing that someday is today already for some of us.

Only logged 6 miles Saturday. And just over a mile on Sunday. Not much for a fest. I realized later that I never even explore the food court area.

[thatguy]

One day we will all have "old stool style"...

--tg

I’m guessing that someday is today already for some of us.

Only logged 6 miles Saturday. And just over a mile on Sunday. Not much for a fest. I realized later that I never even explore the food court area.

More fiber!

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

After a fair day’s work, a nap, an epiphany shower, Yuki walkies, and food, it’s time for another nap. Tbis might be bedtime even.

[Drunk Monk]

I had no agenda Sunday beyond enjoying myself and packing out. After a rough Saturday night being unable to sleep, the notion of my own bed being only 40 mins away took hold. I packed out leisurely around lunch time. Honestly I'm not sure where the time went. I hung out with my JAH Med family, ate, drank, smoked and shared. It was another surprisingly warm day. 

I bought some MERGE4 socks from the founder, my friend Cindi. She regaled me with the tale of her adventures at Stagecoach, a festival she's attended for years, where a huge gust of wind tore her tent out from it's footlong stakes and scattered her merch all across the land. She used to make Cali Roots socks and we'd get fresh ones every year. This year, I got some Santa Cruz socks with the lighthouse for Tara and some dragon socks for me. That's my only souvenirs beyond the staff shirt.

We caught Skip Marley, another grandson, the son of Cedella. Their arrangement echoed the Melody Makers, particularly with the two back-up singers that stole the show with their dancing. Skip does a better impression of his father than Zion. 

We also went out for the finale - which was supposed to be the Cali Roots All Stars, but that didn't quite come together, so it was Collie Buddz, someone we've seen many times before. Just as it started to get groovy, we were called to work. After a relatively calm weekend, we had a rush of several patients and the Jedi Nite Krew came together mightily, getting everyone safely home. I think we were all happy to work, to do something worthy of the irie weekend, something worthy. It made me proud to see everyone jump in with gusto and be the heroes I know they all are. 

Note that I didn't carry a production radio all weekend. We all had squirrel radios and that was fine for me. A relief from the usual anchor. 

At the end of the festival, despite many doubts, Cali Roots announced the 2027 show was on. See you back here next year...

---

But I have another, a cheap $20 tent that I bought at Raley's that is the color of the JA flag.  It'll die horrifically at some festival, which will force me to find alternate housing, but that'll make an amusing DOOM post for all of ya, and I live for that. 

For the record, I am still using that $20 tent. It's zipper only works in one direction, but beyond that, it's held up well for 14 years now.

[thatguy]

Tell us more about the squirrel radios



--tg