Another labor day and another trip to Aspen and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival. This marks our third festival, having gone previously in 2005 and 2008.
First off, I love Aspen, I can’t afford Aspen, but I love it. Despite it’s popularity, I’ve never found it to be crowded. Perhaps because, like us, no one can afford it. I would love to retire in Aspen were it not for a few key factors. First, I can’t afford it (sensing a theme?) and secondly, it gets cold. Oh, and I hear it snows like hell in the winter 
I’ve never been to Aspen in the winter. It’s cold and snows. Here are some of the reasons I love Aspen.
- Gellato at the Paradise Bakery.
- The pedestrian shopping mall
- The Saturday Farmers Market
To name just three.
Previous years, we stayed at the Hotel Jerome and Mountain Chalet. They represent both end of the lodging spectrum in Aspen. The Jerome is a classy, elegant hotel that pampers it’s guests and sends them on their way much lighter in their wallet and with much morein their credit card’s frequent flyer milage account, if you get my drift.
The Mountain Chalet is basic lodging and much cheaper. I have no problems recommending them as they, at least in 2008, offered decent value. We were looking for something in between.
This year we stayed in the (almost) brand new Limelight Lodge. Like the Chalet, it borders Wagner Park. The Limelight fits a niche between the Jerome and Chalet. The service was friendly and efficient. The rooms were nicely appointed. I choose a 4th floor room with a balcony overlooking the park with beautiful views of both Aspen Mountain and Independence pass. 
The room was quiet and equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, fireplace, great bath robes and most importantly, a cork screw. While the price at $259 a night is about in the middle, they try to make a bit more on some extra’s like a split of wine for $30, ouch. Did I mention they supply a cork screw? Yeah, there are plenty of places within a few blocks to buy wine at more reasonable prices.
Now to the concert. We bought a three day pass but sold day one on Craigslist – We’re getting old. We had no clue who Michael Franti was and put the tickets for sale never thinking they would sell. I probably had a dozen offers and sold them for face value. They actually offered 25% above face, I turned them down, in hindsight I could have used the extra cash to buy that split But it’s just wrong.
Day two featured Umphrey’s McGee, Elvis Costello and headliners Black Eyed Peas. I really wanted to see UM and was pleasantly surprised when they added Elvis Costello. The UM set was pretty consistent with the concerts I’ve purchased from the UM site, although as third on the bill, much shorter. I really had no idea what to expect from Elvis Costello. 
While I was familiar with his “hits”, I wasn’t prepared for how hard he rocked the grounds. Even his softer ballads came across with power and intensity. We left before the Black Eyed Peas. Judging from the audience that was pushing front during the Costello set, I was thinking maybe Kermit and Miss Piggy were sitting in with the “Peas”.
The second day featured Drive By Truckers, The Doobie Brothers and the Allman Brothers. Drive By Truckers were a hard driving country rock band that wants to appeal to 20 something males. Specifically those that love to drink, feel wronged by others and love to drink more and feel more wronged by others. At some point, they might realize the two are often mutually exclusive.
They were followed by The Doobie Brothers. I’m usually good about taking pictures and for events like this, use my phone. Unfortunately, my battery was run down and without a charger was out of luck. I “saved” my battery for the Allman Brothers, but it died. So, no Doobie Brothers pictures. Anyway, the Doobie Brothers were excellent. Naturally, they went through all of their hits and were really well received by the crowd. Tom Johnston was all over the stage urging the crowd to get engaged. I felt a bit guilty when I mentioned to my wife the uncanny resemblance between Pat Simmons and Grandma from the Addams Family. Lots of power and rocking from a band whose members even I can call my elders.
Finally, it was time for the Allman Brothers. Before I go there, a few words about people who go to concerts. First, as a self professed curmudgeon and someone who has a reputation for hating people, or least 99% of them, going to a festival like this seems more like an intervention or shock therapy then a festive experience. Here are some helpful tips to members of an audience in which I am also a member:
- I am there to see the artist. I’m not there to hear YOU sing. Nor am I there to hear YOU scream, cackle, yodel, or otherwise drown out the performance. A great guitar solo cannot be enjoyed by either of us if YOU are screaming like a freaking moron. The show is about the artist, not YOU.
- At a general admission event, when I’m standing here, you are not to walk directly in front of me and stand. If you wanted to be in front of me, you should have gotten there earlier then I did.
- I am there to see the artist. I’m not interested in what you did last night nor with whom you did it. I don’t give a rats behind how drunk you were….ever… If you want to gab non-stop with someone, do it like normal people your age, use text messaging and do it outside the event.
- If you decide to drink to much, please be kind and pass out before you come anywhere near me.
Okay, this next one is a bit touchy, so if I offend, to bad, remember the title of this blog. Put simply, if you’re my age, act it.
I came “of age” a bit after flower power. I didn’t make it to San Francisco age 20 in 1973 when Height Ashbury was more pan handlers and pick pockets than love children. That was 36 years ago. I’ve always thought the best way to age, was to do so gracefully. Groovy, cool, right on, righteous, far out and “man”, are all words and phrases which still might find there way into a sentence of mine. But not all in the same sentence. One can maintain their views, aspirations and ideals but they need to do so in the context that time moves on. Showing up at a concert in 2009, looking and acting like it’s 1969 is, how can I put this sensitively, okay, it’s just plain dumb.
I took this picture with my wife’s phone, yuck, but here it is: 
As you can see, we ended up pretty close to the stage. This picture doesn’t do justice to exactly how close. I was a huge Allman Brothers fan since their debut album in 1969. Their epic, Live at Fillmore East (1971), is one of my favorite records of all time. I saw the original band play at least twice. The Allman’s started their 40th anniversary tour in August and I’ve followed their sets closely to see what I could expect. I love the intricacies of guitar playing. I loved to hear the interplay between Duane and Dicky. While I saw them a couple times, it’s only on the afore mentioned Live at Fillmore East release where I could appreciate their playing. I came away last night wishing I could return to my hotel, stick my iTouch into the dock in the hotel room and replay the concert. I think I’ve finally gotten over the fact that Duane and Dicky are no longer in the band so maybe now I may be able to enjoy Warren and Derek as much as Duane and Dicky.
I was looking forward, based on the set lists of the current tour, to see what surprise guests would sit in as in each city, there were multiple guests. I was surprised as no one sat in. Check out the setlists page of the Allman’s site to get a feel for what I was looking forward to. Disappointed, a little, but not enough to ruin a wonderful concert and even better (albeit short) vacation.
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