Manchester Madness
Randy Ray
2007-05-23
Peaches En Randalia #15 déjà vu – the art of doing something until you get it right—twice, if necessary. Well, here we are again, aren’t we? Festival season is upon us and I have a choice to make as I follow the thought process of David Steinberg for the second month in a row— albeit, in my own order of doing things. After reading his March column, I realized that David—also known as the Timer and zzyzx of Phish statistics fame—had read my mind and echoed a similar sentiment like he has done so many times in the past. For a man who only writes once a month for this site, he sure gets it right with direct profound insight. I suppose I’m in really good company with my thought process. Which brings us to Bonnaroo and the feelings I had last year (and spoken about in a subtle way—which is more my style—in last month’s Peaches En Randalia). After months of back-to-back columns following the same theme in a weird, symbolic fashion, I decided to come clean with my thoughts. Literally. I had spent the latter part of last year re-assessing my daily habits and—for the most part—I succeeded in changing my life. I no longer need to block out the massive information overload that appears addicted to my mental radar. I embrace the moment and live with the consequences—a bloody hard thing to do when you’ve had four fingers of straight whiskey once too often. Actually, to end this little plain-spoken tale of personal redemption, I was pulled over a month before Trey Anastasio’s arrest for my own little dance with a DUI. I was fortunate as I was under the legal limit but I did get tagged with the shame of a few hours in a holding cell and a reckless driving ticket. After my experiences at the Warfield in which I saw a longtime friend and guitar icon appear to fall back into some dangerous and old habits, I decided to finally mend my ways. I suppose I’m in good company—part II. Which brings us to Bonnaroo and the feelings I had last year (and spoken about in a subtle way—which is more my style—in last month’s Peaches En Randalia #14). I will not go into the details about why I chose to return to Manchester for the festival this year but suffice to say that our site editor once again—déjà vu, part II—knew how to speak to me in terms which would allow me to make the right decision. After all, if a tree falls in the forest creating a beautiful melody reminiscent of a distant star entering a supernova state, who will carry the heady news to the rest of the galaxy? Or something like that. I return to Manchester in June with a wide open mind that has for the first time in ages been cleared of the baggage of the past. I hope that I can continue to see what it is that got me so interested in festivals in the first place—community, warm people, good vibes and, perhaps, most importantly, that great music which temporarily unites us all under the large Tennessee sky in a pre-summer moment of bliss. Randy Ray stores his work at www.rmrcompany.blogspot. He continues his quest to find that ethereal diamond in the rough in Manchester on June 14 while writing for Dean Budnick and the Bonnaroo Beacon.
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