Buffalo Creek was more of a frat-boy tailgating party than a music festival. Armies of half-naked dudes with Buds. The music pounding from legions of truck stereos should had been Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." The FBs were scheduled for 6:30 p.m., first band of three on the Friday night. At the door of the Winnebago, parked behind the rustic, corrugated metal shed that housed the stage, we gave Farley our offering of home-made chocolate chip cookies and something to wash them down. We then wandered into the FB's soundcheck, along with two women who had traveled down from New Palz for the show and got to hear "Slow Down Little John." Searcher had fun welcoming people to the Felice Brothers sound check. By 6:30 there were only a handful of people waiting for the music to start. The FB's came on around 7, to a small but enthusiastic crowd. The guys were on fire from the start, and all were in fine voice after the couple of weeks off. In "Big Surprise," Ian sang "grab your partner let's get to it; there's no one way how to do it" to encourage us all to dance. We got to hear Christmas' awesome new song "Step-Dad" for the first time. Christmas introduced it by asking "do any of you have a step-dad named Ron? Well I sure as hell do." Down-home highlight was the appearance of an old man on the stage in the middle of the set yelling something in Ian's ear. Ian then announced that sausage and and eggs would be available at the food truck from 9 to 10 p.m. The sound technician, Bill, pushed through the crowd during "Let me come home" to indicated to Ian that they could sing only one more song, so they moved right to "Penn Station" and ended despite the audience's screams for one more song. We took away our third drum head of destruction!!! After the set, we caught up with Jimmy Buffalo creek-side by an impossibly huge bonfire, one of dozens raging around the field. We returned to our tent, politely declining the STRANGERS' offers of ganjia rice krispie treats and sex in the back of trucks not belonging to the people who offered it. Not much possibility for actual sleep in our tent, as the carousing and truck-stereo music went on all night. A brisk business in jumper cables was going on in the morning. On to the National in Richmond, VA tonight, and then to the Garage in Winston-Salem tomorrow night!
Asterisk indicates they did NOT perform the song:
Intro
Cypruss Grove
Helen Frye
Greatest Show
Run Chicken Run
Big Surprise
Whisky
Slow Down Little John (new song!!!)
Farley
Carrier
Love me Tenderly
Chicken Wire
Goddamn you, Jim (Jim is crossed out and "Kai" is written instead)
White Limo
Step-dad (Christmas' song)
Let me come home
* Marlboro Man
*Take this Bread
* F-gun
*O Marie
*Cooperstown
*Two Hands
-- submitted by Suzanne and Miryam
Penn Station
