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Sierra Nevada World Music Festival @ Boonville - Drunk Monk - 07-02-2006
6/23-25/6/2006
It was a new venue and a new crew. Rock Med didn't do it this year. The crew from Reggae on the River did. From 11AM 'til about 4, it was 110 degrees. About 5000 people attending, camped out in a cow field with no shade. The main stage was directly in the sun - we nicknamed it the skillet. Medical had the best camping site, the only real shady grove, but there was a huge wasp nest in the middle and in the evenings, swarms of mosquitos rose from the stagnant creek next to the site. It was a medical catastrophy waiting to happen.
All that being said, it was a blast. There was only one chaotic incident, actually three simultaneous ones, that tested our medical system, and that wasn't severe, it was just absurd. Musically, the first night blew me away. I caught the tail end of Baaba Mal, which was delightful. Then I stumbled over to an amazing Dancehall DJed by Jah Shaka. Outside, a ripping drum circle formed and the dancing goddesses emerged. There is nothing like a jamming drum circle and women skilled in African dance. That night turned out to be the climax of the show musically for me. Earlier that day, Luna Angel and Amadou & Mariam were very mediocre, despite good press. Saturday, Mad Professor was amusing but he was late and I got bored waiting. Gregory Isaac's Night Nurse is anthemic for me, so that was fun. I was looking forward to Misty in Roots, but they didn't hit me as hard as they did early this year at the Raggamuffin. Went searching for more Dancehall and drum circles in the wee hours, but it didn't emerge. Sunday was a blur. We left before it was over.
I'm looking forward to next year at that venue.
There goes DM again - King Bob - 07-03-2006
Teasing us by leaving out the best part. And playing it up as well. No wonder Greg changed your name.
Joe Hill R.I.P. - Drunk Monk - 08-29-2006
Joe Hill was the lead singer for Culture. He passed away on August 19th on tour in Europe. The last time I saw him was SNWMF. I was never a big Culture fan. I totally respect their message and their position in the Reggae world but their sound never really got me. It always sounded like the pop Burning Spear. All the local Reggae programs have been playing retrospectives, and I still can't get into his sound. It's good, but it doesn't do it for me. I love his message. Knowing I wasn't that into them, I didn't even check into their performance at all at SNWMF.
As for the 'best part' event that I left out, some clown had placed a cast-iron pot belly stove atop a rickety piece of wood inside his tent and lit a duraflame log in it. The whole place was a fire hazard - super hot dry fields and a lot of lighters. And remember? 110+ degrees. Which means at night it might have got down to the low 90's. That's when you really need to bust out the stove for warmth. Our supervisor was a fire chief. Ever try to put out a duraflame once it gets going? It's basically wood chips held together by glue made of fuel. Took him two fire extinguishers, completely emptied in his tent. He was having a grand time. I think the perp wound up sleeping in that extinguisher-painted tent that night. He had no choice. At the same time, we had a young kid's vitals crash, probably acute etoh. So we had to ship him out to a nearby helicopter pad and fly him to an ER.
Some other points of interest:
- The huge hornet's nest in the middle of our camping area, once we cordoned it off, served as sort of a watchdog keeping outsiders out. Except for this one drunk dude who thought he'd be cool and jump in it. Didn't get stung. Too bad. JAH protects drunks and fools.
- I started calling the skillet the skittle. That went on for a long time until someone called me on it. It was a clear indication of our state of minds at the time.
- Nice real showers, backstage, for crew only.
- Decent food for staff.
- Medical had a large air conditioned facility, big enough that some camped in there, with real toilets, a refrigerator and what we'll convert into a wet bar next year. It's well hidden from the public and provides excellent access for us.
- I probably shouldn't reveal this to the uninitiated, but Mendicino is part of what is called the Emerald Triangle. Reggae on the River happens in Humboldt, another corner. The last corner is Trinity. If we establish a Reggae festival in Trinity, the heavens will open, the angel with the seven seals will come, and Babylon throne burn down.
Manny the hippie - Drunk Monk - 09-15-2006
It was just after Jerry died and Letterman was making fun of hippies, when Manny got his more than 15 minutes of fame. I met Manny through Rock Med. Here we are at a SNWMF in '96. Manny is in the blue tie-dye, 2nd from the left. I'm in the lower right hand corner. Not sure why I'm posting this here now...some sort of weird flashback on my behalf perhaps...
![[Image: manny01.jpg]](http://www.rockmed.org/lsd/manny01.jpg)
For more on Manny, see http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1524199
Sierra Nevada World Music Festival @ Boonville - Drunk Monk - 06-28-2007
6/22-24/007
It wasn't 110 this year. In fact, it barely got into the 90's and the nights were quite chilly. We only worked hard on Sunday morn, but that sounds like a bad joke "a parrot, a seal and a cutter/biter walk in SNWMF and..."
So DM got to hear a lot of music - almost entire sets. Here's some reviews.
Clinton Fearon: Surprisingly good. Roots chanting. A lot of people were really into when he stripped down to acoustic solo guitar, but I didn't think his voice was that great and couldn't hold it. But the rest of the set was solid and groovy.
Toots & the Maytals: I'm is a huge Toots fan having seen him dozens of times over the past two decades. He's still got it, although he didn't blow me away this round. Opened with Do the Reggay - the song that first coined the term. In the first six songs, Toots nailed the three I wanted to hear: Time Tough, Bam Bam and...oh man, there was another, but it escapes me now. Anyway, I decided to man medical instead of wait out the set, knowing that many other volunteers really wanted to see Toots and for them, this would be a first time.
Downbeat the Ruler: A dancehall sound system. The mix was dissonant and there were too many pull-ups, especially with a Marley jam in the middle. If they just let Marley play, that would have been great - everyone would have loved that. Sugar Minott toasted in for a few tunes - that was the highlight.
Turbulence: Been wanted to see him since Notorious has been such a huge hit. He's good, like a young Anthony B, blending dancehall and roots rasta messages. Nice tune about vegetarianism. He closed with Notorious - great bass line on that song.
Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars: A show stealer. They blend traditional reggae and African music, but with an authentic soulful sound. Great dancers. Great music. Now a band to watch for me. They were the subject of a highly regarded documentary. I'll have to check that out.
Bunny Wailer: He came out in this outrageous mylar rainbow suit, with a RG&G scarf and went straight for the jugular, calling down the gospel of Bob, as well as his own. He turned 60 this year - looks (and skanks) better than ever. Great show close for me. He got me with almost every tune.
Stone Love: Good solid dancehall, as always. Totally redeemed Downbeat's Friday night dancehall. I love my dancehall, when done properly.
Got a good sleep cycle in on Friday night and was hoping for the same on Saturday, but then the calls came Sunday morn. I had to 'hit and run' because I was flying solo and had to go home to pick up my kid from my folk's house - a long drive on little sleep, but very pleasant.
All in all, SNWMF was very satisfying, and a good warm up for Reggae Rising...
6/20-22/8 - Drunk Monk - 06-26-2008
Cloudbursts. Thundershowers. Lightning strikes. Wildfires.
A patron goes postal and stabs 8. No fatalities, thank JAH.
These are just the headlines. A more complete report is pending.
That report doesn't look fun - Greg_phpbb3_import1 - 06-26-2008
Especially juxtaposed against the pom pic.
Re: That report doesn't look fun - thatguy - 06-26-2008
Greg Wrote:Especially juxtaposed against the pom pic.
My eyes are going. That looks like "porn pic". What do they say about your eyesight?
--tg
Easy - Greg_phpbb3_import1 - 06-26-2008
Too much porn. Or is that Pom?
pom porn. LCF & I have already been down this road. - Drunk Monk - 06-27-2008
It gets worse.
Quote:Sonoma County meningitis death linked to music festival
By Glenda Anderson
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 4:45 p.m.Last Modified: Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 5:28 p.m. A 23-year-old Sonoma County man died Wednesday from a virulent case of meningitis officials believe he contracted over the weekend at the World Music Festival in Boonville. “He probably picked it up at the fair,” said Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Marvin Trotter. The festival was attended by about 6,000 people, most of them from outside of the county. The man had been healthy on Saturday, went to work on Monday, became ill on Tuesday and died Wednesday, he said. “It is a very lethal form of meningitis,” he said. Trotter is concerned others attending the festival may have been infected with the bacteria, which is spread by saliva. “He did share marijuana joints with people,” Trotter said. An estimated 20 percent of the population carries meningitis in their throats without themselves becoming ill, he said. Anyone who becomes sick with severe headaches, fever and a purple rash should immediately seek medical care, Trotter said. The identity of the man was not being released Thursday. Sonoma County Public Health Department officials said Wednesday they had interviewed at least 25 people who had come in contact with the man since his return from Mendocino County. They said they did not believe there is any threat that the disease had been spread to others.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080626/NEWS/958320585/1350&title=Sonoma_County_meningitis_death_linked_to_music_festival
Every once in a while, I work a cursed show. I'm beginning to think this was one of those. I'm still mopping it up.
Nevertheless, I had a pretty good time there. :twisted:
Re: pom porn. LCF & I have already been down this road. - thatguy - 06-27-2008
So if you are at a festival, what's the precautionary action? Don't share saliva with anyone? Anything else?
--tg
In 20+ years, that was my 1st... - Drunk Monk - 06-30-2008
...first death by meningitis, first 8-victim stabbing, not the first wildfire but definitely the most intense, not the first thunderstorm either - actually had a deadhead thunderstruck in vegas.
So back to the show, it was ok. There was no one on the line up calling me, so I wasn't expecting much.
Friday, I didn't catch much music really. Rootz Underground sounded ok (the village stage is right next to JAH med). Heard Namka Rinpoche speak through a translator and was trippin' too hard on the sound of his language to get anything out of his message. There were many fans of Franti (I'm not one, and I've been on stage with the man - I miss Disposable Heroes) so I worked and let others enjoy. The dancehall that night was David Rodigan, and he was awesome. He did a night of classics. It was very enjoyable. SNWMF is often about the dancehall for me, and this year was no exception.
Saturday, I spent most of the day mopping up some staff conflicts. Such is the burden of my role as reluctant supervisor. I caught the opening of Sister Carol, who was off key, as always. Wound up dancing/bumper car-ing some IPR chick for Panjea, which had Michael Kang, but again, failed to move me much. Buju was good. I followed some hot dancehall diva to the front of stage to find someone who passed out. I knew the patient was gone - the main act was just about to take the main stage, so there's no way the patient would still be there. Nevertheless, no one can cut through a crowd like a dancehall diva, and thhis one was particularly striking and long-legged, so I rode her coattails to front of stage, just for the sport of it. Buju was good. Then Stone Love took over the dancehall. I love Stone Love. Didn't make it to the end tho. They wore me out. Besides I had to drive the next day....
Sunday, I caught Prezident Brown's whole set as the last thing I did before leaving. I'm a big fan. It was a decent set, but not extraordinary.
6/19-6/21/2009 - Drunk Monk - 06-18-2009
I leave in about 6 hours and hope to be on site by around 1-2AM tomorrow morning. Riding solo, into the night. Looking forward to Stone Love and Michael Rose on Saturday night. Once again, I'm making the mad run back on Sunday morn to be with the fam for Father's Day. Fortunately, I'll have a rider on the way home to help keep me awake until Bezerkley...
SNWMF Round #4 w/JAH MED. Been ruminating about SNWMF over the last 3 years.
Year 1: The skillet and the cast iron stove
Year 2: Cutter/biter
Year 3: The wildfires, the stabbing, the krew feud and the meningitus. In retrospect, I didn't really describe how insane that got.
This year is squeezed tightly in between Harmony and TCKFMC. I'll try to keep it together enough to punctuate my report. No promises there....
Re: Sierra Nevada World Music Festival @ Boonville - Dr. Ivor Yeti - 06-19-2009
The important thing is to actually make it back. Be safe.
I made it back safely... - Drunk Monk - 06-22-2009
...but sweet JAH, I'm feeling it right now...
Report coming, just not today. And I'll even punctuate it. I promise.