I awoke yesterday with a pretty bad sore throat. I counted it as a side effect of being around all the cigarette smoke the last couple days. But it lingered and got worse. I had a serious debate about sitting out the last day of the festival. My obsession with Andrew Bird pulled me in to the shower and out the door to the bus. On top of not feeling well, I was quite fatigued, as I’d been unable to let myself sleep in the past 2 mornings after the late night. I was walking about in a bit of a daze, but the warm, sunny day helped keep me awake.

I arrived just after Stars had taken the stage. I listened and they were pretty good, but they didn’t make me fall in love with them. I didn’t even grab any photos. As soon as they wrapped up, I worked my way as close to the stage as possible in anticipation for Andrew Bird. That silly boy has gotten too big of a fan base. I got a spot 1 row back from the front but off far to the right. I didn’t get many awesome photos since I had to zoom so far, which was sad, since I could be paid to walk around taking photos of this man all day. He’s just so interesting to watch. He opened the show as he often does with a solo drawn out, theatrical version of Why?. I was surprised when an extra man appeared on stage alongside Dosh & Jeremy E. Apparently, he added a bass/clarinet player and never told me… The guy was a nice addition, though, especially the clarinet solo during Tables & Chairs (I think…it’s blurring). It made me want to re-cork my clarinet and get the sheet music.

He played a new track off his upcoming album, which was great. I was mainly excited because I’m really in to Tables & Chairs right now, so when he said they had 1 more and played that track, I was in heaven. Overall, it might have been the best Andrew Bird show I’d seen, aside from the venue. He restructured (yet again) so many of the songs, so it was as if I were hearing them for the first time. And of course, he was still a little strange & quirky and I spent most the show fantasizing about how awesome it would be to be his best friend and take walks together on his farm. I haven’t found a full setlist, but I believe he played: Why?, Fiery Crash, Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left, The Happy Birthday Song, Skin is, My (dedicated to Ben, the boy who calls it the balloon song), Tables & Chairs, Imitosis, & Heretics. Plenty of tracks from Mysterious Production, which was lovely. I love you, Andrew Bird. Whenever you want to hang out, you need only to let me know.

I lacked faith that any of the other bands could top my Andrew Bird time, but after another debate, I decided to give them a chance. I meandered over to check out The Cool Kids. I knew nothing about them other than having a few people tell me they were awesome. They turned out to be an entertaining set of gentlemen, really keeping the crowd hyped up with their antics. Personally, my favorite part was their beatboxing. It was a good time, for sure.

I was really tired by this point, so I stuck to the back of the crowd for Broken Social Scene. I’d never heard these guys but several people seemed to think I should be a fan. I liked them a bit more than Stars, but it was still the same deal, where they didn’t really grab me. Granted, being so far from the stage makes it really hard to get in to a show, especially when you don’t know any of their songs. It was pleasant background music, while I sat on the ground with standing people all around me.

I left Broken Social Scene a bit early to walk over for Rogue Wave. I just didn’t feel like sitting in the crowd anymore. I grabbed a spot near the stage and just passed the time staring at the ground. I enjoy the few Rogue Wave songs in my library, so I was hoping it would be a good show. These guys well-surpassed my mid-level expectations. I might go so far as to say they were the most entertaining performance of the festival. They were having a fantastic time on stage and it carried in to their performance. The guitarist on my side of the stage was dancing, running in place, and rocking out with all the other members. I loved them. They played Publish my Love and Bird on a Wire, which was hands-down my favorite song of the show. They went in to an extended jam and carried it straight in to the next song. Pretty amazing. High energy and great music. Highly, highly recommend them.

Honestly, coming off Rogue Wave, Wilco felt like a bit of a downer. I can’t even decide how I feel about this band. I have some of their music, and I enjoy it but never crave to hear it. It’s like I really want to love them but don’t. I had tried screaming at Rogue Wave and what was left of my voice was nearly gone. I was in pain and tired. Luckily, they played Company in my Back as the second song, so I just left after that. I could hear them for blocks as I walked towards the bus, though. So yes, I skipped out on Jack Johnson and half of Wilco, and I have absolutely no regrets about it.

I got home, got some groceries, spent the evening making soup, and sent out my sick notice before crashing. I took some sleep aid because my throat was so bad I could barely swallow without wincing. I slept in and feel a little better. I knew I needed rest or this would just get worse. I’m taking it easy, sipping on my jasmine green tea, and it’s definitely helping. I may not be too far from taking a nap, though. I just really need to be able to get to work tomorrow. It has potential to be a busy work, especially since it’s a short week leading in to a long weekend.

Being sick does indeed suck, but this festival was pretty amazing and it’s likely they can count me in for next year, even if I have to go by myself again. My only request would be that smoking be banned. It was pretty impossible to avoid getting a blast of smoke in my face. My favorite time was when smokers would obviously try to blow it away from their own group of people, literally angling it right at me. Thanks. Thanks, a lot. A girl can only hold her breath so much & so often.

All photos from the festival

Oh, and as a final note, Be Kind, Rewind was not all that good. In fact, it bordered on bad. I can appreciate a mindless comedy, but I’m not sure I ever laughed, not once.