July 4th Weekend with SCI
by Teresa Draughon
barefootingalong@yahoo.com

[Note: This month, we have a guest writer with a story about a String Cheese Incident Roadtrip. If you are interested in contributing a Roadtrip story, please let me know before you take your trip, to give me time to get you on the schedule. Even if you just have questions about what is involved, feel free to email me at ira@jambands.com. And, I'd love any feedback on this or past Roadtrips! Thanks, Ira]

I went to two different schools this summer to fit my trip to New Mexico and Colorado to see String Cheese Incident (SCI) into my scholastic schedule. I got my tickets the day they went on sale. I reserved my rental car a month in advance. I was ready for this trip.

I left for the airport at 9 am on June 29 to fly into Santa Fe. I had 25 minutes to make a connection and I got there, as it turns out, in plenty of time since we had an hour and a half delay. They didn't even get the bathroom fixed by the time we took off, and the pilot promised we'd "make up some time" which just sounded dangerous to me.

But we arrived all right. I picked up my rental car, and hit the road. I stopped to buy Kleenex for the nosebleed I was sure I would have (but didn't) but didn't get water for the dehydration I didn't think of but should have. At dinner at Maria’s with John, my friend, and a friend of his’ friend and her boyfriend (still with me?), the waiter did not ever refill my water and my mouth was on FIRE from Huevos Rancheros. I got a bad headache that went away when I drank four glasses of water at the house.

The next morning, I headed to Denver after saying see you later to Jimmy the Cat and John, who I'd meet up with in Telluride. The drive was a pretty straight shot- I-25 to Denver, then loop 470 to the Morrison exit. As soon as I crossed the Colorado border, the change oil light went on in my rental car. I called the agency and they told me to check the oil and take it to Jiffy Lube if need be since I was far away from an Avis. This agitated me because maintaining their car was not on the schedule. The oil looked fine and the car only had 12000 miles, so I rolled on.

Passing through Colorado Springs, I hit stop and go traffic followed by a rainstorm. I saw the storm from afar and took a picture so people would understand how bad it was. Black Clouds. I couldn't see anything except the white line on the side of the road and I was frightened because the last time I was in heavy rain the car next to me lost control and hit the cement divider median, and then just after I passed a truck it jackknifed and if I hadn't passed it...

You get the idea. I was scared. Add to that the fact that there was about a 5 foot drop off the side of the road. I was praying that the rain would clear up soon and I'd get past it and then I did. Just as suddenly as we were deluged, we were in the sun.

I made it to Red Rocks and walked around for a bit in the lots. All the signals were there for a big scene, and as soon as I stepped out of the car I was offered some nugs. I politely declined and headed up the hill. The altitude was getting to me so I ran into another friend, John, and we went into the venue. I sat down to rest a little and write some notes when a fellow walked up and said that gee, I looked sad and asked if I'd like to sit in the VIP section. I told him I wasn't sad at all but that I'd take him up on the offer so that’s where I was for the show. It was a large sectioned off piece of seating about ¼ of the way up and right in front of the stage.

I was already thinking Restless Wind opener, and as we finished worshipping the almighty JAH with Bunny Wailer, the pinwheels we received cemented my notion. I turned around to look at the crowd and the place was packed. String Cheese Incident, the band I used to see in bars with stages in the corner, had filled up Red Rocks.

Restless Wind started out what was a pretty solid show- we got a Search, one of my favorites. It’s not the jammiest song, but it has such a cool groove and it’s happy and very danceable. Rivertrance is always phenomenal, Rhythm of the Road was a great pick for the start of what was, for thousands of us, a phat road trip, and Texas always has the crowd cheering when "he didn't know what it was and let [them] go minus eighty bucks in cash." I hadn't heard it live in over a year, so it was fun.

I saw some hoopers in the far distance, and it made me miss when one could hoop right where you can see the band. Now you'd almost need binoculars or be willing to take an obstructed view.

When the show was over I found Sather and Asa, whose house I was staying at. The drive to Boulder went all right, with some Ani DiFranco playing to keep me peppy. The night before I left mom and I watched a Dateline about sleepy driving, so I was nervous enough to ask Sather if it'd be all right if I rode with him up to his house in the mountains. It was twisty and curvy and I was very grateful when the bus stopped at the house.

There was talk of leaving around 10 the next morning so my internal clock woke me at 9:30. I didn't hear anyone else around, so I hopped in the shower and then went downstairs to work on some homework. Around noon, I heard stirring and down came Riley and Sather. We had a delicious breakfast of eggs, toast, and strawberries, and we started getting ready to go. Around 2:00 we headed down to Boulder to run some errands and we were on the road for Telluride around 4:00. I had wanted to go to a party at a friend’s ranch, but icksnay on that since I wouldn't get there in time to make the rest of the drive to Telluride. Ryan joined our caravan, and while I don't know where he came from I was glad he did because he gave me a pillow form my back since the lumbar support in the seat was horrid.

Climbing one of the bigger mountains, it began to rain. I was especially nervous about this after passing a runaway truck ramp at the bottom. It seemed that if they needed a ramp, runaway trucks must be somewhat common? Being from flat straight roaded Texas, I had no knowledge of this. But as I was beginning to fret, a rainbow appeared. Not just a little stripe in the sky, a full arch and I could see the beginning and end. It was gorgeous enough, but then above it appeared another rainbow. I've only ever seen double rainbows in Colorado, and it really helped me forget about my worries and just drive.

We came through the pass and before us was a beautiful meadow with an even more beautiful long straight road. No white knuckles for a while. We reached Gunnison around 7:00 and stopped to stretch. As we talked about how much longer we had a swarm of mosquitoes gathered around my head and started to attack. We got back in the cars and as night fell, we drove along a lake. We couldn't see the lake but I was assured that it was lovely. It was just scary to me as we wound up and down the mountain in the pitch-black virtually moonless night. Telluride was a welcome sight when we arrived around midnight.

We found the condo and a few of us decided to go to the Fly Me to the Moon to see Liza, Billy Nershi's former duet partner in Telluride. The show was just full of energy for the last three songs, which were all I saw. I think that’s part of what goes away as a band gets big- the intensity of a small room with nowhere for the excitement to go except around the room.

We left the show and went back to the condo for some much-needed sleep. Boy, I was tired. Boy, did I only get six hours because people came into the room where I slept and started rummaging around. Oh well. I got up and went to the store to buy food.

Our condo was three minutes away from Baked in Telluride and they had one of my favorite things- chocolate croissants. All the healthy eating people who didn't like coffee would probably have some things to say to me about that, but I eat what I want. And they were SO good. I spent the rest of the day trying to find a copier and ended up at the office right next to our condo.

We went to get wristbands so we could avoid later lines and set up camp at 4:00. Town Park is just that- a town park with swings and jungle gyms and basketball courts and a stage at one end of a big field. Telluride is in the middle of mountains with a waterfall in sight of the venue. It didn't feel business-y at all, I didn't feel like there were promoters there to make money, just that there was going to be some music and some people and some happy time.

The Experience Music Project was interviewing so I went over to talk. It was eye opening to me to talk to someone about why I go. Last year on the way home from a show, I was hit by a drunk driver and went off the road into a tree. I also go to Texas A&M University and everyone knows about the bonfire collapse... To me, those both have a lot in common. They were both horrible things that happened as a result of wanting to have a good time, sobering consequences for things that in the big scheme aren't that important. A show. A football game. So talking about why I had traveled all this way to see a show really made me think about things... I didn't get that wild excitement anticipation feeling as I talked about it that I used to get. That bothered me, and I went to the show wondering how much I really wanted to be there and how much I was there because I felt like I should go if I could.

I found some friends up front and got ready to boogie down. John from Santa Fe was there and we moved around the crowd seeing friends. I was amazed that people were actually staying off of each other’s blankets. I saw people try to do that at Jazzfest and it ended one time in a fistfight, in which I (an innocent observer, standing on the grass) was hit in the crossfire. The vibe of the crowd was great and sharing, everyone being very pleasant to everyone.

John and I eventually made it up to the front and as Liza joined the band for Bigger Isn't Better, we realized there was room to hoop and coincidentally, right in front of us was a hoop. I realized this might be the last time I'd be able to hoop in front of the stage so I grabbed it and hooped away. No one knocked my hoop down, which always (accidentally) happens. No one leered. I just hooped, and as the song ended, I thought, that’s going to be the best thing that happens on this trip.

So, maybe I set myself up for it, but the next show wasn't nearly as hot as the night before. Again, I only got about six hours of sleep due to rummagers, so I took a nap instead of going to the "Save the Land from Development" rally. I wanted to go my body just didn't want me to move.

I wore the "hotpants" a pair of John from Santa Fe’s pants that are black with flames all over them. I love those pants, and I feel like fun when I have them on, but even they didn't help me get down. It was a good show, with good songs, and the people were just as nice, there was just something gone.

We decided to leave at six the next morning to avoid traffic and get back to Santa Fe early. We went to the bakery one last time and stopped for gas. We planned to stop in Durango after two hours and then Pagosa Springs two hours after that. Two stops in a six-hour trip sounded good. But instead that ballooned to seven stops and the trip took almost two more hours. Some of the delay came from the Pagosa Springs parade. We rode alongside the parade for a while, beside the Trout Worm float that carried a woman in a blue gown.

We got to Santa Fe and I wasn't feeling too great. The show began with Search, the song I wanted but was sure I wouldn't hear. Asa gave me a glowstick, and my friends’ children Riley and Dylan were very sweet, but I was getting a migraine and had to wake up early to get to the airport the next morning. After the set (including I've Just Seen a Face, Smile, Pirates, and a funny Indian Creek) ended, I left the show.

I was sort of looking for something to tell me to go back. A kid in the lot gave me a hug and a bottle of water, but when I got to my car, I saw that someone had tied a pit bull to the car next to me. It was on a very long leash and it was snarling and barking at me. When I went to open my car door it lunged and bit at me. The show was several hours long, with no in and outs, and it was extremely hot in the parking lot and this dog had no water, so I don't blame it for being pissy. But as it barked, other dogs in the lot began to bark. There were several loose dogs that started towards my car and I concluded that I needed to go for it. So I counted to three and went for it, jumping in my car in some sort of inspired choreographic motion that prevented the dog from getting that arm of mine he had his eye on. I tried to leave the lot. It was a maze. I was afraid of hitting a dog. In short, I was looking for something positive and I encountered, instead, confusion and negativity.

Back at John’s house I looked up at the sky and I could see all the stars. It was like a planetarium and I could even see the clouds of the galaxies. It was breathtaking and a little time outside calmed me down and I went inside and to sleep.

The next day as I flew home I decided that this might have been my last String Cheese trip. No promises, but something just seems gone.

My boyfriend says that it’s ok, that now there’s going to be room for something else in my life, and I guess that’s true. But I still feel sad for that awesome connection and magic that didn't seem to be there anymore.