There’s something relaxing about returning to a festival when you have a really good idea of how things are going to go down. This was our second year at Wakarusa in Lawrence, Kansas and things were a whole lot more relaxed because we knew where we were going to be parked and how everything was set up.
On Thursday morning I awoke and headed over to Frosty Treats to pick up the majority of my “novelty” treats. They’ve got quite an operation there and I chatted up a few of the crew as I put my order in for some sandwiches, shortcakes, fudge bars, and Pink Panthers. Once loaded I headed WAY cross town to pick up my favorite fruit bars, Fruitiki. I should have taken the freeway most of the way there but hopped on surface streets and headed east til I found myself at the entrance to a cave which went straight into a mountain. This was completely unexpected. I mean….it does make perfect sense to have cold storage underground and to do it in volume but this was the first time I actually drove Bessie INTO a cave to pick up cream.
Once I loaded up some Pistachio, Cantaloupe, Cucumber with Chili, Watermelon, and a bunch more flavors I checked the time then decided to stop by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum before picking Craig up at the airport. I’ve been interested in Negro League baseball for a long time now and it was great to see some artifacts as well as learn more about the players, the different leagues, and the history of how everything played out throughout the decades before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. Satchel Paige is probably the most recognized name from the era and he was famous as much for his antics, exaggerated windup, and quotes as he was for him impressive stats. He won numerous Negro League World Series Championships with the Kansas City Monarchs and when I was on my way out I brought in a dozen or so treats for the workers and was gifted a Monarchs hat which you’ll see me rockin’ all summer.
Once I picked up Craig and we started heading west, we got stuck in a downpour that slowed traffic to about 25 miles an hour. Both of us hadn’t eaten any lunch yet and we were hoping from some BBQ til we saw a restaurant I ate at last year that was really good, Local Burger. We both had Elk Burgers with cheese and bacon then proceed to hang out with the owner Hillary and the crew til the sunset. We were hoping to get out to the festival that night but decided that having a home to sleep in and a place to take a shower shouldn’t be passed up.
The next day we took our time getting to Wakarusa and were warmly welcomed once we arrived. I was hoping we’d be in the exact same spot as last year and wish was granted. The backstage area is set amongst scattered trees with two tents (one for New Belgium brews and the other for food) and a mix of games all around. We were parked behind all this next to the Bodyworks Massage tent which meant the pace of cream slinging for the weekend was going to be pretty mellow. The only thing I hadn’t completely counted on though is that a lot of people were clued in last year so the word was out that we’d be giving free cream to all the stage, security, drivers, and artists.
I didn’t leave the truck much on Friday because I could hear the main stage performers pretty good from where we were at. Ozomatli is always a good, dancing time and I headed out to the main area to try to find some coffee just as the launched into “Como Ves”. They had the crowd movin’ and eventually, at the end of their set, they hopped off stage and played music in the crowd before returning to their bus. The headliner for the night was Ben Harper which I’m sure a bunch of people were stoked about.
Saturday I woke up in the massage tent and made my way to some breakfast before slowly getting Bessie dialed in for the day’s duties. The word was out and the cream and Fruitiki bars were going fast. I didn’t want to be empty on Sunday so I closed up shop around 8 and headed to the tent with Mary and Willy to rock some Grace Potter. She’s something special and every chance I get to see her I do. The last time was Bonnaroo where I told her “Grace…I think I love you.”
Ozric Tentacles wasn’t able to make it so Mike Relm stepped in and got the dance party going after grace with his video DJ set which mixed Pixies, Vince Guaraldi, and some Jay Z. We danced our arses off then a storm rolled in and I had to make my way back to Bessie to throw all the stuff sitting out back inside the truck. By the time I was done I was nearly soaked and headed under the main backstage tent to relax for a bit and dry out before crashing jumping back into the massage tent. That may sound like a good idea but when all sides of the tent are mesh, the next round of rain gets ya from all sides. By the time the morning rolled around most everything inside was damp and I rolled out with the main intention of finding a GOOD cup of coffee to start the day.
After a half hour walk to the main campground, I was rewarded with a price tag of $5 for a large coffee. F that. I decided to get a latte cuz it was the same price and I figured I might as well make them work a bit. Hindsite I’d rather have a good large cup than a luke warm half filled latte. The caffeine intake was just enough to set the stage for Jesus Christ Superstar which coincidentally happened to be in the Revival Tent. The group performing had it down and I was surprised that I was digging it as much as I was. After a few tracks I made my way back to Bessie to open shop for the day.
It was considerably slower on Sunday, which was good because we were starting to run low. We held in there til around 6 o’clock at night then started packing everything up so we could hit the road early in the morn. My favorite band playing Wakarusa was The Avett Brothers and they were set to close out the fest in the Revival Tent with a midnight show. Everything I did revolved around this. After venturing back to the campground to try to catch some Deep Fried Pickle Project and get a cup of coffee (the $2 small version), I made my way to the Bodyworks Massage tent near Local Burger to get a much needed massage from Chelsea. It was the best massage I’ve ever had and hopefully I’ll be smart enough to make massages a regular occurrence. The Avett’s were getting everything set and I made my way over there to rock out to all kinds of great tracks. In the program there were scheduled to play til 2 but for some reason they were forced to stop playing at 1:15 which was more than a bit frustrating. I guess you have to enjoy what you get and that I did.
