7.29.03 - Novelty Act...

Was this really FOUR years ago? Easily one of the BEST times I ever had at a show, and after traversing the country, felt as if the boys delivered everything I had been chasing...for years!

"Goin downtown to the disco, gotta do it right away. Gotta funky thing to get into, gonna blow your blues away...we're talkin' CAMEL WALK...dun dun dun!..."

07/29/03 Post Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA

Set I: Daniel1, Camel Walk, Gotta Jibboo, Cool it Down, Scent of a Mule, Fee> Timber> When the Circus Comes to Town, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Golgi Apparatus

Set II: Crosseyed and Painless> Thunderhead, Brother, Harpua2> Bittersweet Motel, Harpua2, I Fooled Around and Fell in Love3 4 5> HYHU> Harpua2, David Bowie
Encore: Farmhouse

1 Not played since 2/23/97 or 281 shows
2 Not played since 11/2/98 or 167 shows
3 First time played
4 Fishman on vocals
5 with vacuum solo

String Cheese: Good to the Last Bite...

Until I drop dead, I will always refer to The String Cheese Incident as "the band I really liked when Phish wasn't around." Not that that's a bad thing, but rather an honest fact. I will always love and respect them, but never hold them as "the next big thing" ever again. For a while, I thought they could, but haven't felt that way for the last few years.

Anyway, this past week kicked off their "final" tour ever at NYC's Beacon Theatre. I caught 2 of 4 nights with Morgan's wedding sandwiched in between. (Talk about a trip down memory lane). Fun, yes. Historic, maybe. Best ever, no. But, I still said goodbye to one of the bands that helped define me for a little bit.

Here's my Jambase review of the run:

JAMBASE.COM-"String Cheese Incident| Beacon Theater, NYC | 7.12,14.07

The Phourth: Phireworks, Phreaks, and Phamiliar Phun

My first memories of our nation's celebration of Independence Day bring me back to my family's days at our old beach club, Davenport. As the sun sank down, and all of parents fired up the Bar-B-Q grills, I remember setting up those cheesy, red tables that folded up into briefcases, in between watermelons off the diving board, and swatting home runs with a stick ball bat into the tennis courts down the right field line.

Lately, I've been itching for simpler times like those again.

As I grew a little older, the 4th (or Phourth as I guess i should call it), seemed to revolve around a certain band--as everything did for my formative years. Atlanta '99, Philly's scenic skyline and fireworks show while at Camden in '00, man, I've missed those guys as of late. Hell, I even caught myself thinking about Trey and Page more than Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut when the TV flashed to Coney Island for Nathan's annual Hot Dog eating contest. (For the record, Chestnut ate 66 in twelve minutes...those dogs are awesome, but 66 is insane).

Maybe that sense of nostalgia was why last night was such a fun time...even if I was only out for a few hours. A bunch of old friends--and many newer ones--thanks to Erin, helped me ring in, and salvage what up to around 8 P.M. had been a rather uneventful (and WORK filled) day. However, when the party of probably 50 or so moved to the roof around 9, the overcast skies lit up--both to the east and west of us. Ari, a very gracious host cranked up his stereo, and for a half an hour, I felt at ease, remembering the times with my favorite phans, phriends, and band still made life simpler (and a hell of a lot more fun!), as "Frankenstein," "YEM," and "AC/DC Bag" filled the air in between the usual "BOOM's!" and "POW's!" that are customary on the 4th of July.

Unfortunately, things flipped back to reality quickly when the alarm blared this morning. Work. Ugh. At least I managed to waste half of my day today reliving my best stick ball homers, hot dog showdowns, and firework showcases--with a hint of "PH" on the side.

Welcome to B is For Boogie...

Well Gang,

It's been a long time coming. I've finally changed my address from Upper Page Side/Page.Side.High./Page's Corner, to the electronic street corner known as "B is For Boogie."

This will now be my place for all things BAVOSA--rants, ramblings, writing, reviews, and I'm sure, a whole lot of the Bullsh*t I've become known to spew from time to time.

So sit back, grab a frosty brew, crank Phall '97, and let's embark on this journey together, where it's always Happy Hour, always Page Side, and most certainly, where B always stands for Boogie.

-Bavosa "Super Space Phunk"