germination 2022
As always on the day, I got up at the crack. Though I had loaded heavy stuff in the truck the day before, there were still a lot of details to hassle with. What shall I wear? All week long the outlook had been fair weather for today, but it was foggy and wet. At the quick stop I put in $100 of regular, and it did not even fill the tank. Yow! In town, Harrison loaded amplifiers and we hit the road. Soon it was just plain raining. That did not bode well for an outdoor concert. On the way we picked up percussionist Mike the Hammer, and headed north. Over country roads we were truckin’ in Rhythm, following Melody Lane over to Harmony, Maine. No kidding! Arriving at Freedom Field we saw a lot of activity, many vendors, plenty of colorful, cool freaky folk milling about grooving on the scene. Wayfarer was finishing their set as we backed to the loading dock behind the stage. We breathed a sigh of relief when drummer Russell Bisbee arrived minutes later. After the usual fussing over connections and sound check, we began our set with Testify. His first onstage rock ‘n roll performance ever, Kam was warmed up, and from the first note he was off the hook! He was not at all bashful about getting in their face – I can’t hear you! he blared. I could never do that.. So I was very thankful Kam took the lead roll. One regular festival goer remarked I heard your band play, but I did not recognize the singing! Thank Yog! Honestly, I don’t want to do the singing, though I improved my singing skills. With Kam leading the show, I can focus on my bass playing and over all it sounds much better. Plus I could never even try those amazing moves. He is really agile! And so energetic! Killer Cookie, Country Girl, Cold Chillum, Quick Stop. Kahuna, Shopping At The Mall, Bisbee classics all, Make It Happen, a more recent composition, Timeless, a Harrison/Kam collaboration, Back Burner; Kam killed them all! For a break he let me sing I Remember Quaaludes - they still loved it. The fog generator kicked in and for a moment I thought the drums had caught fire. Rasta Sunset, another recent addition by Harrison, Hit The Road, and Be Thankful There’s Rock ‘n Roll to end our set with a paean of gratitude for Scotty, staff, and supporters of Freedom Field Park, the free and freaky family of friendly folks, the sudden clement weather – clouds broke during our set, flooding Freedom Field with warm sunshine. Pile of Dogs was unloading their gear as we moved our stuff back aboard the Bismobile. As at all our Freedom Field shows, we selected a spot to park with a view of the stage. Unloading camp stuff, we set up a cozy harem with oriental rugs and cushy futon under a big tent-like sunbrella, with blankets and pillows. I lit a pile of birch and cedar, soon we were warmed with a snapping fire in the brazier – outdoor festival deluxe seating! I made the rounds with a basket of free fruit: apples and oranges. Don’t try to add them! Later I brought out a basket of peanuts and pistachios, shared them around. Feel like a nut? It’s a smooth opening to offer a gift and ask folks their names. There was Stephan, Tara, Emilee, Nick, Crystal, Forrest, Jennifer, Chimaris, Hannah, Ben, and those were just a few I spoke to. Each in our own way we all make it all happen by sharing what we have for each other. If any one hippie stayed home, it would still happen, but if everyone stayed home, not. That’s natural community participation. I spoke to Kam’s lovely wife Danni to suggest she sing Rio Bisbee songs as a duet with her hubby. She said she would love to! Wow! That will be fabulous to look forward to at future Rio Bisbee events! Sunset the sky darkened; a turgid line squall moved over us from the west. The wind began to switch, the tent to twitch. We scrambled to put things under cover. Bright jagged curlicues of lightning flashed across the clouds as a dramatic riposte to the far-out light show onstage. Geez! That fog generator really works! Soon the entire grounds were shrouded in fog that captured colorful beams of light. Luckily we had only a brief sprinkle of rain, which did nothing to dampen the spirits of freedom lovers. Folks visited our little camp, many strolled by saying I love you! Cool! It’s rare you hear that out on the street. Of course, every Tom, Dick and Hairy had a jar of dank budules for trade or sale. A wide variety of colorful T-shirts, flags, paintings and glassware were on display. Two food booths served freshly prepared organic vegetarian fare. I had stir-fry noodles and deep fried zucchini sticks, Delicious! Then I had a hankering for some chocolate. I tried the food booths, but all they had was jimmies, and drizzle. Not what I had in mind. Harrison found a booth that offered chocolate with magic mushrooms. Perfect! The rain stopped, folks gathered at the stage again and things got really wierd with Jabberwocky. The rainbow strobe hula twirling was hallucinatory. How does it do that?? Someone had a bundle of green luminescent something that writhed like a bizarre alien life-form in the murk. In a momentary perspective shift, it seemed foolish to be sitting in the fog out in a field at midnight. Ordinarily it is not something I do on my own. However the set and setting of Germination made it an eminently sensible thing to do. A very high time was had by one and all. It’s great that a half a million kids (well, almost..) can have three days of fun and music and nothing but fun and music. It is a rare privilege and sublime joy to bring rock ‘n roll to people who love to share, and share the Love. Thank you! Thank you!
Yo Bisbee
