Catskill Mountain Jubilee '21

DaysBetween · August 17, 2021

I knew going in this was going to be good, especially after not doing anything like this in about 2 years. But I did not know it was going to be THIS incredibily good! There were some downers, such as the oppressive heat and humidity on the 1st two days, the rain and lightning, and the low number of port-a-johns and garbage cans (just a few more please, especially out by the campers!), but other than that everything was fantastic. What a GREAT place for a festival! All the stages, the pavillions, the pool, the air conditioned bar, the 13-foot locomotive robot(!!), it really had it all - including lots of trees for shade. I was lucky enough to camp in a horse corral lol, which sounds kinda awful but it was 100% clean and had lots of shade. It was great meeting Jamie, Joannie & her crew, Adore, Candice, Mike, Adam, Mandy and Alex there, and others at the show whose names elude me at the moment (not you Ry - got your texts and will be sending you links to check out soon). Lots of cool art and vendors to check out. Lots of cool scenery as you wander the expansive grounds. A really chill place. Please do this one next year...

Music. The real reason I think we're all there. Lotus' show (esp that 1st set!!) on Thursday goes right up there in the "Top Shows I've Ever Seen Category". Easily. I think a LOT of deadheads who hadn't heard Lotus before became instant fans. I know the people I talked to had minds blown. BTW you can purchase it at nugs.net. One of the first things I did after I drove the 7 hours home yesterday 😄 And a crazy light (and smoke) show to go along with it! Really enjoyed TBD's set (with parts of Lotus) before as well.

Friday I tried to take it easy. I was a little worn out after Night 1 (and Phish in Hershey prior to that) and the killer heat was getting to me. Didn't see every band I thought I would. I was cool seeing Reed Mathis for the first time since his Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey days. Holly brought her eclectic skills, as always. Then I got my 1st DSO show since October of '19. I got a Casey Jones and about 3 minutes of China Cat before it was ripcorded due to the oncoming lightning. 🤪 Just my luck I thought but they literally picked it up where they left off, after the delay. 10/17/70 it ended up being and, yes, it was great, esp Hurts Me Too, Hard To Handle, Cryptical, Cold Rain, and the Set 2 closing rockers set, oh, and THE OTHER ONE. But I still figured that it would be even better the next night.

Great to see John with JGB again (that was actually my last show before covid) Saturday. By the way, give it up to all the musicians playing in immense heat during the day on the main stage. The sun was right in their faces the entire time. Also loved seeing Boombox for the 1st time in over 10 years, I think (I'll have to check). Love what they do! But the surprise band for me was CIA in the bar. Can't really describe them, and it was a little rough around the edges, but what they were doing was jammy, yet modern, and maybe 80's sounding? Like I said, not sure how to describe it. But I definitely dug it.

Which brings me to DSO Saturday. Original setlist, as I predicted they would do - every who asked me: told ya! haha. Anyway, So they open with Corrina. And it's quite good. And then. They smoooothly transition. Into. Morning Dew. WTF. This was the curviest of curveballs that even I, with my powerful prognostication prowess, could not have foreseen in a million years. WHOA. So the show opener is a scorching Corrina into a powerful/beautiful Morning Dew. Stunning. Great Jack Straw to follow. Did Eaton sing "East Burbank Castle Arena" in Minglewood? I couldn't quite get that one substitution. Let It Grow was dedicated to Nancy Griffith, who had passed away the day before 😔 Set 2 was short on actual songs (something I didn't realize until the next day) but it was a perfect set in my opinion. Fire is a song that RAGES every time I've seen it since 2013. A little specific perhaps, but for real. Everyone one of 'em since the Reg Lenna Center '13 show in Jamestown, NY has been amazing. The rare Keep On Growing rocked. Out of space it sounded to me like NFA, which they wouldn't be playing of course (last night), and it took a second to realize it was a bouncy Iko. And then Sing Me Back Home *wipes away yet another tear just thinking about it*... I said aloud at the show as the song began, "What are you doing to me here?!" Dew, AND Sing Me Back Home in the same show? That was just too much to handle lol. Incredible stuff. I thought the "sing-a-long" encore was gonna be Ripple, but in hindsight as I think about it now, Dew, Sing Me, and Ripple might have REALLY been too much to handle So we all enthusiastically sand Rainy Day Women. And that was it.

DSO's Saturday gig obviously goes up in the Top Shows Category along with Lotus' Thursday. And 10/17/70 wasn't too bad either! Great fest. Do it next year. Increase the John's and the grabage cans. Do a not-so-sweltering-hot dance or something a few days before it. Thank you DSO, bands, crews, fans, vendors, campground staff, etc!

Peace!