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Schweiz (Deutsch)RainFest in Cooperstown
RainFest in Cooperstown
Posted: Thursday, October 6, 2011 - 10:32
OH MY GOLLY, I can't believe noone's posted about the time we had at Ommegang! Absolutely drenched to the bone, full of my favorite beer, terrific food (I'm talking to you - brisket & pulled pork sliders), and ridiculously good music in the beautiful upstate ny countryside. Camping onsight was great. Nothing really special about the set, just an epic experience with good people in the rain & mud!
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Great time in the pouring rain - the BBQ was really good, as was the beer..wish the rain had slowed down or stopped at some point- the parking lot after the show was a mudpit!! Thanks goes out to the folks were helping to selflessly push other folks cars out of the mud...There are some nice videos and photos up on youtube from the show..I thought the setlist had some nice spots...great venue, would love to be back on a nice day!
Rocked my face off!!! What a tremendous evening! My boyfriend got us tickets for my birthday, and could not imagine better music to celebrate to. The openers were great, but the Avett's kicked ass! These guys came out with guitars/banjos/chellos blazing (the bass was blazing too, but Bob was missed). Such a high energy performance from the 1st to last song from both the band and the crowd. Talk of Indolence was my favorite of the evening, definitely a great way to end the show! Drumkick Heart was just amazing with the crowd "pulse" participation. And fireworks at the end to boot! As far as shows go, and I am an avid concert goer, I have yet to see its equal.
Ommegang was a teriffic venue especially with the on site camping. Definitley a plus considering the beer were 7+%. With that said, the mud bath show came after the Avett's left the stage. Not as many people took advantage of the camping as they should have. So following the show a number of "slightly" impared drivers tore up the field trying to get their cars out. We moved ours to safety and watched people play bumper cars with eachother from the safety of our camp chairs with an Ommegang Witte in our hand.
Cheers to Ommegang for winning gold at GABF for the Witte!
It says a lot about the Avetts that a crowd that large and enthusiastic came out under those conditions. Incredible fun evening but I personally couldn't imagine not staying after the show. The camping made it like a one day festival and it was great to be able to set up dry and wake up to a blue sky. Great, great time! Come back to the Northeast ASAP...!
Mud-Stock was an extraordinary event. The rain re-started just before Nicole Atkins was due to take the stage at 7 pm and didn't end until almost 11, a few minutes before TAB finished their set. Both Nicole and Brandi Carlile were great (although someone should tell Brandi not to make the same "unscripted" comments show after show, fans could watch her set at the Austin City Limits music fest live on the computer a few days earlier). My favorite TAB moments were: Scott/Seth duet on Murdered in the City and a rousing HFOD. My only laments: I've still never heard Weight of Lies or 10000 Words live.
Brewery Ommegang has a lot of promise as a venue (not in late September), and Dan Smalls should be congratulated for scheduling good shows there. It was a nightmare getting out of the "parking lot" afterwards, but many fans pitched in to help others whose cars struggled to make headway in the quagmire. I've never been more thankful for AWD.
Cooperstown is a great destination, too, especially in the "off" season. The video of TAB visiting the Baseball HOF was neat to see. Around the village the day after the concert, you could tell at a glance who had been there: muddy shoes or muddy cars.
This was my first time at an Avett concert and it was really magical. Hope you all don't mind if I share my little saga here.
I have been listening to them for a couple years now, and have come to really love them. I had checked out their tour schedule last spring, but couldn't make the one show that was going to be near me. I very randomly, from a stranger, found out about the Cooperstown show only 2 days before it. The timing was perfect...I had Tuesday afternoon off and all day Wednesday. I went ahead and bought myself a ticket online. At such short notice, I didn't find anyone that had the time or money to go with me (although I didn't try too hard, to be honest. I didn't care if it was going to be just me...I was going to see them no matter what!) Oh, and I am a Brandi Carlile fan, so that was just icing on the cake that she was going to be there.
I live about 2 hours east of Cooperstown, and had to get back for my dog, so camping wasn't an option for me. So I get my directions all set, and take off from my house around 5, planning on getting there by 7 or 7:30, so I would have plenty of time to get in and see the openers and get a good spot. It was beautiful and sunshiney, blue sky when I left. About an hour from my house, the sky starts getting pretty dark. Then comes a detour due to a bridge that was damaged from the hurricane. Now my phone is giving me totally useless directions and it's getting dark, and I'm on all these back country roads. Then the lightning starts. Now it's getting really windy, too. After what seemed like forever, I end up at a gas station and ask a guy which way towards Cooperstown. He points me in the right direction, and says I'm about 40 minutes away. So I happily head on my way, and the wind is really picking up now. Now comes the rain. Not like, a drizzle, or a steady rain, or even a hard rain....a TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR. I'm having visions of my little car getting swept off the steep side of the road, but am determined to get there. I start seeing signs for Cooperstown and am getting excited. I recalculate my directions to get to the brewery, and after wondering if I'm lost again on a back road, FINALLY arrive! I pulled into the lot, and my car is skidding sideways in the already-muddy lot. Some friendly parking lot guys get me parked, and I am here. It's about 9pm now.
As I walk into the concert area, go to will call, get my special "star" mark, I hear Brandi Carlile finishing up. I think she was doing Forever Young? She was done and off by the time I was around the stage though, so I never even got to lay eyes on her. Oh well, the best is yet to come. I bought a $3 poncho and headed straight into the crowd. Nestled into a nice spot semi-near the stage, and eagerly waited.
For the next couple of hours, I just had the best time singing and dancing and not even noticing the rain. Also, I think I might never go to another concert with someone else again. I seriously had an amazing time alone....no worrying about losing your friends in the crowd, or waiting for stragglers. Plus, you can get a better view as just one person, and really pay attention to and be absorbed into the music. They were everything I imagined and more (sorry, that was cheesey....but true. They're amazing)
After the encores, I headed straight to the car, and of course got stuck as soon as I backed out. Out of nowhere popped a parking lot helper guy (who turned out to be from Saratoga, where I live) who pushed me right out, and as I was parked near the road from arriving late, I got out with absolutely no problem. I think I might have been like, one of the first 5 cars out of there even. I took a more familiar route back, and as I got closer to home, I saw that it never even rained here. Nuts. Anyway, I was home and in bed by 2. Amazing time, amazing band, just....epic.
This ended up pretty long, sorry, but thought if anyone would sit through a story like this and maybe enjoy it, it would be everyone here.
Backandforthsway,
Glad you made it to the show! Sounds like it was well worth the trouble!
@backandforthsway "they were everything I imagined and more...." i think i used almost the same words to describe my first ( sadly, yet to be followed) avett concert experience. was also prepared to go by myself, but got someone to go with me in the end. I can't stop listening to them- not complaining, though:)
@ AnnapolisAnn, yes, very much so! There needs to be a new word for "well worth the trouble"
@nyavett: Also can't stop listening to them. It took me soooo long to write the previous post, because I kept getting distracted by the music and singing along.