This is the place where I find peace (FRFF08)
I think I feel sufficiently rejuvenated, so it's time to sit down and make my FR08 report before all of the details have fled my head.
It was definitely a Falcon Ridge to remember! And not only because of the weather, but because of all of the amazing people, on and off stage, who make up this community. I know people throw that word around a lot, but it really fits here. Between the micro-community at Shantytowne and the larger community as a whole all around the place, there's *always* someone around to lend a helping hand or a forgotten item. I am going to try to be accurate but please forgive me if I forget names or do not know LJ usernames where applicable. It's nothing personal!
I arrived at around 4:30 on Wednesday. Seemed to chase the rain all the way down and when I arrived, I was informed that the roads in were closed. Bummah. On the brighter side, I was on the press list again so at least buying all of that film would be worthwhile! So I parked, called up to the Shantytowne and Camp Dar Camp to ascertain location, and commenced with the carrying of gear. It became an excellent lesson in minimalist camping. I was afraid that the roads were never going to be opened so I didn't want to carry up one single extra thing for fear of having to carry it all back down. I climbed the hill to find that there was an excellent spot at the treeline next to Jill, Julius and passive_passion and while sun was not anywhere to be found, was glad to avail myself of it and the potential for shade in the morning. rockradar generously helped me get set up, and then Jill of Kerry and Jill helped me get the rain fly in place. Not a moment too soon, either. Had a nice window without rain in which to set up but it didn't last long! Back at the car, saw Dan Navarro get his minivan stuck trying to get out into the parking area (Janice came to call this the Dan Navarro Memorial Pond since it got rather large with all of the rain). This was not a car friendly environment!
Shantytowne was an impressive complex when set up. jkpolk has a terrific account on her blog which covers it all - as it turned out, I didn't get to spend as much time in there as usual since I was trying to minimize trips back to camp during the festival. While there, shared company with jianantonic & McKenzie, natertots & epheremelda, goob712, wuvmuphin, redstapler (recognized from posts in other journals though we never actually met), Mayor songbill, Trung, beccasketch, Janice & Stuart, Cliff, Lorna & Dave (in addition to those named above in the tent set up portion of the weekend). Once the sun came out later in the weekend and we could get cars up (on Friday), epheremelda and Natertots set up an impressive solar power system for the camp. Camp Dar Camp was conveniently nearby which means I get to see more of my friends without having to travel far: valjean615, onesmallheart, jillycoppercorn and Laura, folktraveler and Tammy, ohcanadagail & Jennifer, jen_tel, Sharon & Jessie, Jim, Susan, Mosh and Dave.
Thursday was the start of the scheduled, "formal" music. This meant the first real opportunity to get down to and wander the Midway. This always means finding more friends throughout the weekend, including amberez, hope_persists, indigocaz & lgbtech, Graham & Becky with Molly, Sheila & Bob with their adorable twins, Joanne, Candy, Alan Rowoth, the ASL interpreters - I know I am spacing out on many people. I'm sorry!
The rain mostly let up for the afternoon and things started drying out. The muddy muck was still pretty intense. Luckily, my feet were tolerating the Tevas well - I've never worn them 4 days - LONG days - before, much less with the added elements of mud and water. I am surprised, though, that I didn't have mud trails up my backside from pulling my feet up for each step. I managed to get my press pass and it was off to "work".
I am not going to summarize each musical bit I saw - this would become truly endless. I didn't spend a lot of time at the workshop stage - they had great stuff billed, but it is very difficult to photograph. For example, the Beatles Forever tribute saw something like 15-20 people or more on stage which means LOADS of mic stands. I saw a few things there but missed many more. It was a treat to see so many "old" favorites at this fest: Patty Larkin, Dar Williams, Eddie From Ohio, Chris Smither, John Gorka and Vance Gilbert as well as newer favorites like the Strangelings, Red Molly, Crooked Still, Tracy Grammer. There's really not a bad note or song to be heard no matter who is up on stage.
Photographically, I was on pace to shoot more film than ever before until the Storm That Ended Falcon Ridge hit. After the Gospel Wake Up Call, I could feel the rain coming (newly nicknamed Storm Cloud Stu warned us in Shantytowne that there was storm predicted for the afternoon) and decided to go back and finish packing up. All that was left was the tent and coolers so luckily not a lot of work. I was also worried that the roads would be closed again since it had also rained pretty hard Saturday night. The muck returns! I got the tent packed and coolers in the car in a light rain and managed to drive off the hill, hoping to go to day parking. But, the exit nearest me was closed off (the Pond returns!) and I simply pulled off. Discovered this was the camp of Joanne who was sitting under her canopy so I parked and got out to visit with her. The thunder was rumbling though we couldn't quite tell in which direction the storm was moving. T he heavy rain started, the wind picked up and Joanne's canopy collapsed. We ran for our cars and sat through the sheets of rain and hail. Rain slowed, Joanne got out to survey and told me that she heard more storms were coming and the staff tent was collapsing. After about another 20 + minutes, the rain mostly stopped. I had left gear backstage while packing up so went to retrieve it. The backpack which was left outside wrapped in a poncho was bone dry. The camera gear backstage had been left under a table and got a little wet, but not damagingly so. I could see the concession tent down as well as the info tent. Since it wasn't clear when/if another storm cell would hit, I headed back to the car. Viewing the various post-storm (and one IN storm) videos on YouTube make me wish I had walked around a little to see things with my own eyes. The damage was impressive. I've heard no reports of injuries which would be just miraculous.
I also took a slightly different approach to some of the photos this year, which had me a tiny bit anxious all weekend. Typically for Night Stage, I take my 1600 and push it to 6400. The stage lighting actually wasn't too bad, so I opted to leave the film at 1600. The biggest positive for this was being able to take all of the film to the same processor and not have to send some off to Boston and await its return (not to mention spend more per roll for the push processing). I have now gotten back about half of the film and I am pleased to say that this approach worked just fine. The exposures are quite good. The sacrifice was in depth of field and shutter speed. Shots with the interpreters "behind" the performer(s) in the frame show the terps as less focused than with the push. And there is some blurring of hands though that doesn't bother me too much. Hopefully the terps won't mind the blurriness too much (I try to give them photos each year).
Musically, there is often a song/performance which really stands out high above all others. While there was a lot of great stuff this year - Friday Night Song Swap and Gospel Wake Up, especially - nothing else really blew me away, no major new discoveries. I missed the entire set of the Farewell Drifters and I know a lot of people were very impressed by them.
This year's Falcon Ridge seemed to go by a lot faster than previous years. I think some of that is in my head. Since there was less sun to bake us, my energy level wasn't as taxed though slopping through the mud came close. And, with the sudden, abrupt end to things, there was not an afternoon of goodbye hugs so in that respect I feel a little shortchanged which is a bit silly. Still, it was a terrific weekend in every respect. It's amazing how people from so many walks of life and locations can come together, set up a little town, and share/visit/hang/play music like it hasn't been a whole year since we saw each other last.
I wish TPTB at FRFF would bring Carrie Newcomer to the fest - she has one song especially which sums up the atmosphere beatifully:
It's a gathering of spirits, it's a festival of friends
And we'll take up where we left off when we all meet again.
It was definitely a Falcon Ridge to remember! And not only because of the weather, but because of all of the amazing people, on and off stage, who make up this community. I know people throw that word around a lot, but it really fits here. Between the micro-community at Shantytowne and the larger community as a whole all around the place, there's *always* someone around to lend a helping hand or a forgotten item. I am going to try to be accurate but please forgive me if I forget names or do not know LJ usernames where applicable. It's nothing personal!
I arrived at around 4:30 on Wednesday. Seemed to chase the rain all the way down and when I arrived, I was informed that the roads in were closed. Bummah. On the brighter side, I was on the press list again so at least buying all of that film would be worthwhile! So I parked, called up to the Shantytowne and Camp Dar Camp to ascertain location, and commenced with the carrying of gear. It became an excellent lesson in minimalist camping. I was afraid that the roads were never going to be opened so I didn't want to carry up one single extra thing for fear of having to carry it all back down. I climbed the hill to find that there was an excellent spot at the treeline next to Jill, Julius and passive_passion and while sun was not anywhere to be found, was glad to avail myself of it and the potential for shade in the morning. rockradar generously helped me get set up, and then Jill of Kerry and Jill helped me get the rain fly in place. Not a moment too soon, either. Had a nice window without rain in which to set up but it didn't last long! Back at the car, saw Dan Navarro get his minivan stuck trying to get out into the parking area (Janice came to call this the Dan Navarro Memorial Pond since it got rather large with all of the rain). This was not a car friendly environment!
Shantytowne was an impressive complex when set up. jkpolk has a terrific account on her blog which covers it all - as it turned out, I didn't get to spend as much time in there as usual since I was trying to minimize trips back to camp during the festival. While there, shared company with jianantonic & McKenzie, natertots & epheremelda, goob712, wuvmuphin, redstapler (recognized from posts in other journals though we never actually met), Mayor songbill, Trung, beccasketch, Janice & Stuart, Cliff, Lorna & Dave (in addition to those named above in the tent set up portion of the weekend). Once the sun came out later in the weekend and we could get cars up (on Friday), epheremelda and Natertots set up an impressive solar power system for the camp. Camp Dar Camp was conveniently nearby which means I get to see more of my friends without having to travel far: valjean615, onesmallheart, jillycoppercorn and Laura, folktraveler and Tammy, ohcanadagail & Jennifer, jen_tel, Sharon & Jessie, Jim, Susan, Mosh and Dave.
Thursday was the start of the scheduled, "formal" music. This meant the first real opportunity to get down to and wander the Midway. This always means finding more friends throughout the weekend, including amberez, hope_persists, indigocaz & lgbtech, Graham & Becky with Molly, Sheila & Bob with their adorable twins, Joanne, Candy, Alan Rowoth, the ASL interpreters - I know I am spacing out on many people. I'm sorry!
The rain mostly let up for the afternoon and things started drying out. The muddy muck was still pretty intense. Luckily, my feet were tolerating the Tevas well - I've never worn them 4 days - LONG days - before, much less with the added elements of mud and water. I am surprised, though, that I didn't have mud trails up my backside from pulling my feet up for each step. I managed to get my press pass and it was off to "work".
I am not going to summarize each musical bit I saw - this would become truly endless. I didn't spend a lot of time at the workshop stage - they had great stuff billed, but it is very difficult to photograph. For example, the Beatles Forever tribute saw something like 15-20 people or more on stage which means LOADS of mic stands. I saw a few things there but missed many more. It was a treat to see so many "old" favorites at this fest: Patty Larkin, Dar Williams, Eddie From Ohio, Chris Smither, John Gorka and Vance Gilbert as well as newer favorites like the Strangelings, Red Molly, Crooked Still, Tracy Grammer. There's really not a bad note or song to be heard no matter who is up on stage.
Photographically, I was on pace to shoot more film than ever before until the Storm That Ended Falcon Ridge hit. After the Gospel Wake Up Call, I could feel the rain coming (newly nicknamed Storm Cloud Stu warned us in Shantytowne that there was storm predicted for the afternoon) and decided to go back and finish packing up. All that was left was the tent and coolers so luckily not a lot of work. I was also worried that the roads would be closed again since it had also rained pretty hard Saturday night. The muck returns! I got the tent packed and coolers in the car in a light rain and managed to drive off the hill, hoping to go to day parking. But, the exit nearest me was closed off (the Pond returns!) and I simply pulled off. Discovered this was the camp of Joanne who was sitting under her canopy so I parked and got out to visit with her. The thunder was rumbling though we couldn't quite tell in which direction the storm was moving. T he heavy rain started, the wind picked up and Joanne's canopy collapsed. We ran for our cars and sat through the sheets of rain and hail. Rain slowed, Joanne got out to survey and told me that she heard more storms were coming and the staff tent was collapsing. After about another 20 + minutes, the rain mostly stopped. I had left gear backstage while packing up so went to retrieve it. The backpack which was left outside wrapped in a poncho was bone dry. The camera gear backstage had been left under a table and got a little wet, but not damagingly so. I could see the concession tent down as well as the info tent. Since it wasn't clear when/if another storm cell would hit, I headed back to the car. Viewing the various post-storm (and one IN storm) videos on YouTube make me wish I had walked around a little to see things with my own eyes. The damage was impressive. I've heard no reports of injuries which would be just miraculous.
I also took a slightly different approach to some of the photos this year, which had me a tiny bit anxious all weekend. Typically for Night Stage, I take my 1600 and push it to 6400. The stage lighting actually wasn't too bad, so I opted to leave the film at 1600. The biggest positive for this was being able to take all of the film to the same processor and not have to send some off to Boston and await its return (not to mention spend more per roll for the push processing). I have now gotten back about half of the film and I am pleased to say that this approach worked just fine. The exposures are quite good. The sacrifice was in depth of field and shutter speed. Shots with the interpreters "behind" the performer(s) in the frame show the terps as less focused than with the push. And there is some blurring of hands though that doesn't bother me too much. Hopefully the terps won't mind the blurriness too much (I try to give them photos each year).
Musically, there is often a song/performance which really stands out high above all others. While there was a lot of great stuff this year - Friday Night Song Swap and Gospel Wake Up, especially - nothing else really blew me away, no major new discoveries. I missed the entire set of the Farewell Drifters and I know a lot of people were very impressed by them.
This year's Falcon Ridge seemed to go by a lot faster than previous years. I think some of that is in my head. Since there was less sun to bake us, my energy level wasn't as taxed though slopping through the mud came close. And, with the sudden, abrupt end to things, there was not an afternoon of goodbye hugs so in that respect I feel a little shortchanged which is a bit silly. Still, it was a terrific weekend in every respect. It's amazing how people from so many walks of life and locations can come together, set up a little town, and share/visit/hang/play music like it hasn't been a whole year since we saw each other last.
I wish TPTB at FRFF would bring Carrie Newcomer to the fest - she has one song especially which sums up the atmosphere beatifully:
It's a gathering of spirits, it's a festival of friends
And we'll take up where we left off when we all meet again.