Wakarusa preview

Vachel Lindsay? Wow, whoever posted that comment and quote gets props in my book. First of all, it is an awesome quote. Second of all, I had to go diving into google to find out exactly who Vachel Lindsay was (a poet from Illinois, of all things). As someone who at least likes to consider himself moderately well read (or at least “decently well read for someone with an engineering degree”) anyone that has me searching for the source of a quote has done a good job. Now I’m going to end up spending the entire weekend thinking up other potential slogans. You see the trouble I put myself into…

Well, the big event in Kansas this weekend is the Wakarusa festival out in Lawrence. They’ve got a great lineup of bands, or at least several acts that I am dying to see. We have personal fave (and number four on my list of perfect mates) Neko Case doing a set. I’ve never seen Neko put on a bad performance and it will be interesting how she works in front of a large crowd (I’ve always just seen her in packed bars).

The big news is that Son Volt is playing on Friday and Wilco is playing on Saturday, which means that there is a slight, almost non-existent, no way in hell it is actually going to happen, possibility of an Uncle Tupelo reunion. Or at least a “both guys from Uncle Tupelo played on the same stage within 36 hours of one another” moment, which is definitely cool. This could turn into one of those mind blowing weekends for me. It is just a slight bit of hyperbole in saying that in the past ten years I have not gone a week without listening to something from Uncle Tupelo or its offshoots but it is a pretty accurate statement. To see Jay and Jeff on consecutive days that is a dream come true.

But since this is an outdoor festival it means that we also have the invasion of the jam bands. And Big Head Todd and the Monsters. It’s not a festival in the Kansas City area without an appearance by Big Head Todd. I don’t get it either. Anyway, you have some of the usual suspects in the String Cheese Incident and the always cool Galactic. You also have your requisite drum circle, which I will never ever understand. This does mean that we will have myself and my alt-country comrades going head to head with the remnants of the Deadheads. I’m not sure what to expect. Let’s just say that there might be more than a few hippie related rants next week.

Until then, have a safe weekend everybody.