Tallstacks Festival

This weekend I went with three dear friends to the Tallstacks festival on the riverfront in Cincinnati. The festival is a big deal in Cincinnati seeing as how it is only offered once every four years. It's a festival for art, music, and heritage. They give riverboat tours, set off fireworks, and people walk around in funny pioneer costumes. I left my costume at home...bummer! Actually we were only drawn to the fectival because two of our favorite bands ever--Over the Rhine and Wilco--were playing concerts there! So that was exciting.

Here are some pics:















We actually broke a couple of the rules of the festival. I was trying to be frugal and hence packed sandwiches, chips, and a cooler full of soda. Found out when we got there that they didn't allow coolers through the gates. But when you have a cooler that looks more like a backpack or a purse, you're in luck! This is us eating our PB&J sandwiches for dinner on the riverfront.















Karin Berquist of Over the Rhine. This woman's voice is hypnotizing. I have secretly wanted to be just like her for the last four years of my life because I wish I was as talented as she is! I have seen them in concert (sometimes for free, sometimes not) at least ten times and each time is a new and exciting treat. Sometimes it's just Karin and Linford doing thier own intimate thing and soemtimes there's backup singers or their band. Sometimes it's jazzy, lounge-style. Sometimes it's fuller and more energetic. This Saturday they were accompanied by various musicians playing the banjo, the mandolin, saxaphone, upright bass, trumpet, violin, the list goes on...My favorite is when Karin plays the pineapple. (It's a like an egg shaker)
















Linford Detweiler (her husband) also of Over the Rhine. He's got a goofy singing voice as can be evidenced by their children's hit "Poop in the Potty" but he is a talented pianist, guitarist, and composer. And he must have good taste if he married Karin. These pictures kinda look like I was really close but it is really all a result of cropping out the bald heads in front of me.
















Wilco was awesome!! Only the second time I had seen them. It was also very different than the last time I saw them. That was before they got really popular. I will have to say that the prvious atmosphere of being able to sit down and see everything clearly was better to the atmosphere this time--packed in like sardines, unable to move my arms around, let alone my legs, and staring at nothing but the backs of people's heads. This picture was managed only by raising my arm over my head and snapping the picture. It turned out surprisingly well. I wish you could see the sweat that was being thrown up in the air from the way Glenn Kochke plays the drums. He really gets into it!















Again...this is Wilco. To be honest, I don't know which ones are in the picture. I am pretty sure the blurry guy on the left playing the guitar is Jeff Tweedy. Like I said, I couldn't see what I was taking a picture of. Old Crow Medicine Show took the stage before Wilco came up. Apparently it's country music for drunk frat boys. There were plenty of entertaining people around us for sure. I think Audrey was about to get asked on a date until she told him she was a Christian. This guy decided not to be a Christian because George Bush is against gay marriage. Apparently George Bush is the national Christian spokesperson. Who knew! I thought that was kind of funny though. I was laughing. That was right before a crowd surfer fell on my head, tore my hat off, and proceeded to stomp around on it. Yeesh!