Ellington

The following account may or may not be a truthful re-telling of my day at Sneaky Fest Aug. 27, 2011.

Noon: I arrive at Sneaky Fest in search of something, some kind of experience, some kind of answers, even though I don't know the questions. My plan is to play mental Jeopardy and see where the day goes. There was madness in any direction, at any hour.

12:49 p.m.: This heat may eventually be a problem. The newly engaged duo of Cody and Caitlin, aka Liver Mousse, play a song about coffee and pie. Several of us agree that Caitlin's laugh is the third instrument in the band. Sneaky Fest has started, this much I am sure of. Is beer being served, yet?

12:56 p.m.: Yes, it is.

1:36 p.m.: I find myself on stage with James Crow and 5th Child, performing my duties as hypeman. The heat is melting records and shutting down MacBooks. Luckily, Taylor Hildebrand and Earl Brown, father of Crow and 5th, are here to hold a canopy over the DJ for us, and the show goes on. We are impressed by daniel johnson's dance moves. Beer is still being served.

2:37 p.m.: I watch the Strange Pilgrims and then the Bailey Brothers from a distance under the shade of our merchandise tent. The heat is becoming a factor.

5:52 p.m.: Do you think they will allow us to get inside the bouncy castle? Is it worth trying to force my way in? Don't go near that thing! That's just what they want us to do ... trap us in a steel box and take us down to the basement. I go get a beer and check it out.

6:22 p.m.: Have ventured out of the shade to watch DJ Young Venom scratch records with Spacewolf. Murph is a madman on the drums—one of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high-powered mutant never even considered for mass production.

7 p.m.: Turn around to face the other stage to watch my all-time favorite Jackson band, Nekisopya. The free-form funky jazz grooves help block the tiredness from my head.

7:47 p.m.: I need another beer. I know that all I need to do is simply hand this free-drink ticket to the guy in the white Sneaky Fest T-shirt, and he will give me a beer. Yet, when I get there, everything goes horribly wrong. After mumbling incoherently about nothing, I hand the man the ticket and walk away with no beer. Turns out, there are several guys with white Sneaky Fest T-shirts on and not all of them have beer for me.
7:49 p.m.: Defeated, I go to the car and sneak a few beers in. I am not remorseful. I know it was wrong, and I do it anyway.

7:50 p.m.: 7even:thirty's set starts late, but everything feels right. The sun is almost gone, things are starting to get a little strange, and there is no place else to be. There I am... Mother of God, there I am!

8:48 p.m.: After listening to the first few songs of the Furrows set, it is time to leave Sneaky Fest and ride with Young Venom to the after party. I never find my answers, or my questions. But I do know this about the Jackson music scene: There is a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing is right, that we are winning. And that, I think, is the handle. Our energy will simply prevail. We have all the momentum; we are riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. Thank you, Sneaky Fest.

Shout out to Hunter S. Thompson for the quotes.