Vegoose, Baby, Vegoose!

My wife and I set forth this past Friday, October 27th for our seemingly annual Halloween Week Las Vegas Vacation. Starting Halloween '05, we flew into sin city to attend the 3 day Vegoose music festival which featured acts such as Beck, The Flaming Lips, Primus, Ween, Widespread Panic, Phil Lesh & Friends, Trey Anastasio, The String Cheese Incident, Dave Matthews and more. This years festival highlighted many of the same artists like Phil Lesh (performing with Trey Anastasio), The String Cheese Incident (featuring Keller Williams) and Widespread Panic again but added new talent such as The Killers, The Raconteurs & The Mars Volta. Though we decided the daily festival line-up wasn't anything urging us to leave the casinos, we did decide to catch a few late night shows this year including Keller Williams House of Blues performance in the Mandalay Bay which started a bit late around 1:30am Saturday morning along with Phil Lesh & Trey Anastasio who were joined by special guest John Medeski at the Orleans Arena early Sunday morning which went until nearly 5am. It's Vegas though so you never realize it’s the morning until you start to see the sun coming up.

Early Sunday afternoon, after grabbing a few hours of sleep following the previous mornings concert, we packed our bags and jumped in our rented convertible to drive through the desert in route to California in order to visit with some of our best friends Ben & Marisa who have been house sitting a wealthy relatives million dollar mansion in the incredible mountain views of Rancho Cucamonga. The house had the most amazing pool I've ever swam in for a private property. The hot tub, which overflowed directly into the pool, stayed at a warm 99 degrees while the pool remained a comfortable 80 degrees throughout the sunny day. Directly behind the pool, bordering the property line, sat a private trail used by residents to ride their horses through the beautiful mountain wilderness. At night a gas fire pit could be lit as you enjoy a BBQ on a built-in island watching the changing lights inside the pool and hot tub as fountains danced nearby under the stars of the mild California night sky. Inside the house you could enjoy the amenities of a home movie theatre complete with 107" projection screen and leather theater style chairs or escape to the game room and play shuffle board, darts or Las Vegas style card games. Speaking of Vegas though, we had only 2 days remaining of this vacation so we had to get heading back the next morning if we wanted to see the sites and still have time to strike it rich!

Tuesday morning, rested and ready to topple the town, we began hitting attractions & casinos, rolling the dice and hoping the day would last forever. After battling the Borg Invasion and riding the Klingon Encounter at the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton Hotel & Casino we stopped by the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino to ride the three highest thrill rides in the world, the Big Shot, X-Scream & Insanity. First the Big Shot catapults 16 riders from a 921-foot high platform up the tower's mast to a height of 1,081 feet. Traveling at 45 miles per hour, riders experience 4G's as they reach the very top. Next was Insanity - the Ride which lets thrill seekers experience a centrifugal force of three 'G's' while being spun out 64 feet past the edge of the Stratosphere Tower overlooking the city of Las Vegas more than 900 feet below. Finally there’s X-Scream which is an open coaster vehicle that propels riders head first, 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower and dangles them weightlessly above the Strip before pulling it's riders back and over again for more. I am not too proud to say, I skipped this one though my wife Deb rode as I managed to get some incredible pictures from the safety of the viewing deck.

The evening was concluded by dinner at the Paris Hotel & Casino along with a few final rounds of Craps back at our hotel where we managed to come out right about even after winning several hundred, losing several hundred and finally gaining back all of our losses. We went home the big winners in the respect that we paid for our visit though losers when you take into account how much sleep we lost.

It was great visiting with some many old friends while in Vegas including Al & Heather, Matt & Alexis and Ben & Marissa. Though there were many other friends who’d flown into town too for the concerts and other events, the odds weren’t in our favor for getting together this time but hopefully next year when we come back for our annual Halloween extravaganza we’ll all have an opportunity to see everyone.

Brain Damaged Eggmen ~ August 5th, 2006

What started out on the high seas aboard Jam Cruise 4 featuring members of Umphrey's McGee and the Disco Biscuits performing sets of the Beatles & Pink Floyd covers has once again spawned a late night Lollapalooza showcase that had Chicago jamband fans whistling a familiar tune early Sunday morning as they left the Vic Theatre.

The Brain Damaged Eggmen features Brendan Bayliss, Jake Cinninger, and Kris Myers from Umphrey's McGee along with Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner from the Disco Biscuits.

The concert was a benefit for the Ustorm Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed at raising funds to help needy children and young adults improve their lives by providing access to various music and art educational programs. The Foundation was formed by Umphrey's own Brendan Bayliss, a popular Chicago musician named Barry Brown known to perform in Jack Straw, Mike LeMaistre of Jam Productions & Kevin Kostelecky, owner of The Store, the popular north Halsted bar that's not only a hit after 3 a.m. bars in Lincoln Park close but has also been known to have been frequented regularly by members the Umphrey's McGee.

Set I: Come Together > Baby You're a Rich Man > Norwegian Wood, I've Got a Feeling, Tomorrow Never Knows, Dear Prudence, I am the Walrus, While my Guitar Gently Weeps, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, She Came In Through the Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End

Set II: In the Flesh > Good Buy Blue Sky > Another Brick in the Wall > Have a Cigar, Fearless, Breathe*, Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb, Pigs on the Wing^, Nobody Home#, Brain Damage>Eclipse

E: Hey Jude%

* w/ a dub section
^ w/ only Brendan on acoustic and Jake on vocals
# w/ only Jake and Aron
% w/ Jake on drums, Jon Gutwillig (Disco Biscuits) replacing Jake on guitar

Flatstock 9 / Pitchfork Music Festival ~ July 29th & 30th, 2006

Raawwkkk Posters!

Flatstock 9 occured July 29th and 30th, 2006 during the Pitchfork Music Festival. Poster artists from around the world pitched tents in Union Park for the world famous convention sponsored by the American Poster Institute.

Jim Pollock displayed never before seen pieces and sold many older rare prints for unbelievable prices to appease hardcore collectors who'd driven from as far west as California to as far east as Washington D.C. to meet Pollock in Chicago for his first Flatstock appearance and only second public art show ever.

Sales were brisk but the weather was HOT! The heat index reached over 100 degrees in the windy city over the two day event. The humidity hung so dense in the air that as some artists left their booths set-up overnight, when they returned in the morning, many found their posters damp with condensation or their make-shift gallery walls crumpled over limp from the sweltering humidity absorbing into the oversized cardboard backing boards.

Over 60 acts performed on three stages throughout the 2 day independant music festival. Here's a look at the descending line-up:

Saturday, 7/29/06

Aluminum Stage

9:10 - Silver Jews

7:10 - The Walkmen

5:10 - Art Brut

3:30 - Mountain Goats

2:00 - Man Man

1:00 - Hot Machines

Connector Stage

8:10 - The Futureheads

6:10 - Ted Leo & Rx

4:20 - Destroyer

2:35 - Band of Horses

1:30 - Chin Up Chin Up

Biz 3 Stage

8:40 - A-Trak

7:40 - Matthew Dear

6:45 - Matmos

5:25 - Spank Rock

4:30 - Ghislain Poirier

3:45 - Tyondai Braxton

2:50 - Chicago Underground Duo

1:50 - Flosstradamus

1:00 - 8 Bold Souls

Sunday, 7/30/06

Aluminum Stage

7:10 - Yo La Tengo

5:10 - Mission of Burma

3:30 - Liars

2:00 - Jens Lekman

1:00 - Tapes 'n Tapes

Connector Stage

8:10 - Spoon

6:10 - Devendra Banhart

4:20 - Aesop Rock/Mr. Lif

2:35 - The National

1:30 - Danielson

Biz 3 Stage

8:10 - Diplo

7:10 - Dominik Eulberg

6:10 - Glenn Kotche

5:20 - Ada

4:30 - Tarantula A.D.

3:40 - Cage

2:50 - CSS

1:55 - Bonde Do Role

1:00 - Jeff Parker / Nels Cline Quartet

(above: Jim Pollock signs & numbers his stack of Flatstock posters)

(above/below: Jim Pollock's art on display at Flatstock 9)

Thanks to Jay Ryan, the A.P.I. and all who volunteed to help pull this amazing event off!

Jim Pollock's 10,000 Lakes Festival Posters

Jason Kaczorowski © 2006

I had the honor of capturing linoleum block concert poster artist Jim Pollock producing this year’s 10,000 Lakes Festival run of four, limited edition posters. Each piece was produced by Pollock carving 5 separate linoleum blocks that were later run through a Heidelberg press at Bruno Rohner’s Letterpress in Chicago, Illinois.

As in the past, Jim hand signed and numbered each piece. This edition is somewhat unique however in that the artist chose to implement polymer plates - created using film and light - hammered directly into the linoleum blocks, a process he's never worked with prior.

Pollock has been kind enough to donate two rare, signed, uncut artist's proof sheets containing all four posters to Headcount, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization devoted to voter registration and participation in democracy. These pieces will be raffled off for FREE at 10,000 Lakes, giving everyone a chance to visit their booth (fill out their voter registration, they haven't previously and wish to do so) and enter to win these special posters*.

In 2004 Headcount registered 48,500 voters – more than any all-volunteer group in the country. This year Headcount is staging the "Midterms Matter Tour," bringing voter registration and education to about 30 festivals and amphitheater concerts around the country. The organization believes that music, expression and freedom are all intrinsically intertwined. Many artists and fans have strong convictions and a deep personal belief in democracy which is why Headcount created an organizational structure to channel those beliefs into action.

* - Due to various voting enticement acts, these posters are available to anyone who wishes to stop by the Headcount booth at the 10,000 Lakes Festival and sign-up for the free raffle only. This raffle is not intended to sway your vote in favor of any political party or affiliation. Headcount is strictly a nonpartisan organization merely interested in registering folks to vote. If you're not registered to vote yet and you wish to participate in a democratic society, why not sign up?

Jason Kaczorowski © 2006

You may not reproduce any information or pictures
presented here without prior written consent.

Pearl Jam ~ May 17th, 2006

I just got back from the first Pearl Jam concert I've seen in over 11 years. The first time I saw the band was in 1992 and the last time before tonights performance was at Soldier Field just days after the Grateful Dead had played their final performance on the same stage in 1995.

It's just past 2:20am CST and I've only had a chance to grab the over 700 photos I shot tonight off the cards. Here are a few that jumped out at me immediately though. Check back Friday, May 19th, and I'll try to have some more up.

---

United Center
May 17th, 2006

Set 1 Severed Hand, World Wide Suicide, Life Wasted, Animal, Marker In The Sand, Do The Evolution, Whipping, 1/2 Full, I Am Mine, Even Flow, Gone, Insignificance, Better Man, Save it for Later, Down, Garden, Inside Job, Lukin, Why Go

Encore 1 Wasted Reprise, Man Of The Hour, Footsteps, Once, Alive

Encore 2 Last Kiss*, Last Exit, Glorified G, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Crown Of Thorns, Rockin' In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter

* - Eddie sang Last Kiss from the soundboard