Tug On This
Monday, June 20, 2005
  Everything I Hoped It Could Be

Brad, Tug and Chris bask in the Jam.
Originally uploaded by Tug.
I spent the weekend basking in the sunny, cloudless skies of Lawrence, Kansas at the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival.

That's right, kids. A big, fat, long jam laden, hippie music fest.

It was bliss.

First (and best) I got to hang the whole weekend with my two younger brothers, Brad and Chris, a feat that in our busy adult lives is harder than I ever thought it would be.

Second, I got to indoctrinate two of my close friends Rob and JJ into the fray. They passed with flying colors and sometime during Mofro's set on Saturday, JJ -- who never really got what I liked about the jam scene -- looked at me and simply said, "I get it."

And Rob, well, old hard rock guy Rob got two killer bands --Gov't Mule and Rosehill Drive and two killer old school rock covers. Mule did Zep's "No Quarter" and Rosehill took on Sabbath's "Faeries in Boots." You're not gonna hear either of those songs at a Matchbox 20 show, kids.

All in all, it was the music that brought us together and we got the sun and the beers and the camping as ancillary gifts. It was me, Rob, JJ, Brad, Chris and Kristy -- and approximately 50,000 people who spent an entire weekend sharing the groove.

And, in my life, at 35, I'd rather have someone to share the groove with than to listen to my iPod all by myself.

Tug's Waka 5:
1. Gov't Mule -- 2 1/2 hour set of face-melting blues rock. Thanks Warren.

2. MOFRO -- Florida swamp (whatever that is) that took us all up a tree, threw rocks at us for a hour and then helped us down and gave us a pull off their whiskey bottle.

3. North Mississippi All-Stars -- I heard their record a few years ago and wasn't down. After this, I am. Go see live music, people. All the time.

4. Moonshine Still -- Thought they were acoustic bluegrass. Was I wrong. That 9-minute "Bullet the Blue Sky" was shocking. So much so that I bought the CD of the set right after the show.

5. Rosehill Drive -- a trio of early 20s lads that were the toast of the festival. For very good reason. They have a hard-rocking sound that brings 70s era Rush to mind. They're the ones that covered Sabbath.

Honorable Mention -- Particle. A ton of energy in their instrumental jams. And Axel F? Who would have ever thought someone would cover Harold Faltermeyer's Axel F?

Approximately 360 days till next year's fest. Wonder when tickets go on sale?
 
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
  Today I feel sorry for Brad Pitt.

Today I feel sorry for Brad Pitt.
Originally uploaded by Tug.
Rest of the story on the next photo.
 
  Here's why.

Here's why.
Originally uploaded by Tug.
Saw yet another post Jennifer interview with the Pittster last night -- part of it anyway -- and the old cliche that money can't buy you happiness has never struck a truer chord with me. Even though, by most people's accounts, Brad has EVERYTHING, all he wants is what he doesn't have. All this guy wants is kids. There's a hole in his life. He's missing something guys, he's missing something big. You know it and I know it. And guess what, he knows it, too. So even if we don't have the hot cars, the hot mansions and the hot chicks, according to the man himself, we are all better -- much better -- off than he is.

For even though Brad Pitt is the guy who has it all, he has absolutely nothing at exactly the same time.

And that's why, today, I feel sorry for Brad Pitt.

(Just look at those two boys of mine, I could eat them both up like a steak.)
 
Friday, June 03, 2005
  Water AND Sand, Daddy

Water AND Sand, Daddy
Originally uploaded by Tug.
My wife Sarah and our two boys are in Colorado this week with her folks and her best friend, Paula. Sarah sent me this picture of Sean and Paula from her phone. They are at the Great Sand Dunes National Monument in Southern Colorado.

There is so much beauty in the world, and I'm glad I have discovered Colorado. Damn glad.

Here's some info about the dunes:

Make sure you don't break your coxyxx.

Great Sand Dunes National Monument – There is plenty of sandy desert in Arizona and California, but nothing quite like the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado. Seeming totally out of place at the edge of the snow-covered Rocky Mountains, these dunes of pure golden sand cover an area about 7 by 5 miles and reach heights of 700 feet above the floor of the flat San Luis Valley, making them the tallest in the US. The valley, which is over 7,500 feet in elevation at this point, extends for over 100 miles south into New Mexico and is bordered by the San Juan Mountains to the west and the lower Sangre de Cristo range to the east - these hills mark the edge of the Rockies and continue southwards towards Santa Fe. The Valley is also notable for having some of the longest stretches of straight road in the US, including a 35 mile section of CO 285 between Monte Vista and Saguache.
 
Mainly I've been driving. Alfa Romeo. First to four in under sixty. Seconds. Gears. Dig it.

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Location: Kansas City, Missouri, United States
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