Missoula Rainbow
Sweet rainbow that was outside our front door earlier this week.
Sasquatch Music Festival 2010, Sunday
Highlights from Sunday included LCD Soundsystem, Pavement, Massive Attack, and Booka Shade.
I have been a Pavement fan for a long time and was great to see them play. It was Steven Malkmus’ birthday.
Massive Attack was unreal.
Sasquatch Music Festival 2010, Saturday
Some pictures from the first day. This was my 3rd year spending Memorial Day Weekend at Sasquatch. Highlights from Saturday were many. Brother Ali, Broken Social Scene, The National, Vampire Weekend, and Deadmau5 were all excellent.
Garden City Brewfest
Saturday was the annual Garden City Brewfest in downtown Missoula. The weather was on a 30 minute cycle of sun and rain that seems to be quite popular this time of year. When we got there the band Secret Powers was covering the entire Beatles’ album Abbey Road. I had forgotten how much I enjoy that record.
President Obama on Political Discourse
President Obama speaking today at the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremony. See this article in the New York Times for more information.
If you have 30 minutes I highly recommend listening to the whole thing, it is quite remarkable.
No Sweat Arête, Mill Creek Canyon
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in the Bitterroot Valley. Steve and I made the most of it and went climbing. We did No Sweat Arête, a moderate 4-pitch 5.7 in Mill Creek Canyon.
Symes Hot Springs
For Hilary’s birthday our destination was Symes Hot Springs in Hot Springs, Montana, population 531. We had originally planned to go biking in Yellowstone but poor weather forced us to reschedule at the last minute. We decided to try something new.
We originally booked a room in the actual hotel itself, but were called the following day and told a mistake had been made, our room was double booked, and we were moved to what they said was a cabin outside the hotel.
Hot Springs Montana is not a town that is awash in capital. And Symes seems to be its economic centerpiece. The reasons why our visit to Symes ended up being akin to a weekend spent in a trailer park are too lengthy to discuss here. I will say that there is a low probability we will ever return.
Climbing in Lost Horse Canyon
Sunday we went went with our friends Steve and Ann down the Bitterroot to Lost Horse Canyon for a fine day of climbing. It turned out to be a wee bit chiller than forecasted, but quite reasonable for March in Montana.
Vampire Weekend at the Wilma 3/16/10
We were lucky enough to see Vampire Weekend a few weeks back at the Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula. Scheduled to play 3 shows in a row at Radio City Music Hall in September and with a current tour that has sold out almost every date, they have been gaining popularity rapidly in the last year or so.
The Blow opened, an interesting choice that we spectulated might be local, but turned out to be from Portland.
When Vampire Weekend finally came out the crowd was certainly receptive. Their songs are happy and fun, and the live sound was clear and bright like their records. Playing almost every song off of their new album Contra, and most from their self-titled debut, the energy level in the room was super high from start to finish.
Highlights for me included M79 with the crowd providing the intermittant ‘whoas’ and the choice of one of my favorite songs off their first album, Walcott, to finish their encore. I have listened to their 2 albums countless times and it was a thrill to see the musicians behind the music.
I didn’t take a camera but it looked a lot like this, with the addition of a half-dozen or so chandeliers similar the one on the cover of their first album.
It was their 3rd time in Missoula and their first US show from their current tour.
Cross Country Skiing in Hyalite Canyon
Our last day we were fortunate enough to be escorted by the Parkers.
A Big Sky Birthday
I can’t think of anything I would rather have done on my 30th birthday.
Pre-Birthday @ Bridger Bowl
Saturday, February 27th was my 30th birthday. To lessen the mental trauma of such a milestone in my journey to oldmandom, plans were devised to slide on snow. My brother Davy flew in from San Jose to celebrate the occasion. Jeff drove in from Denver with his friend Robert. Friday, my pre-birthday, was a sunny day in Bozeman and we were all at Bridger.
