The Caravan arrived at Randall’s Island on Friday. For three days and nights we stood on aching feet singing and dancing; forgetting the world we came from to make our own. Brandi Carlile, one of the most authentic performers I have EVER heard, made it clear that even the performers that weekend were psyched out about the energy of Randall’s Island. It was enough to hear her live and envisioning what could become of all this singing and songwriting when Dave Matthews came out. Their performance of Angel From Montgomery was a goose bump-inducing moment, one of things you take a mental snapshot of so you’ll never forget. That song shared between those two beautiful souls is as nirvana as it gets. Need I mention Dispatch’s incredible two days of music?
For Sunday, as the pinch-me-I’m-dreaming half hour of Warren Haynes and Tim Reynolds trading choruses on Neil Young’s Cortez the Killer wore off from the night before it was onto the Dave and Tim set. For nearly and hour I was in the very front of the audience for an intimate appearance (thank you Adrienne and Sandy). Dave talked about his late night in New York with Whiskey and Guinness, his cappuccino machine, and sat on stage in wonder while Tim ripped one of his on-the-spot improv solo pieces.
We could see the faces and souls of the performers being so close to the stage throughout the festival; it kind of made the world make sense for a moment (…oh yeah, that’s why I’m in this business). It’s a catharsis for the brothers and sisters that shared the Caravan, all of us on and off the stage.
Onto Liz Longley’s show Wednesday!