A hot time in Guthrie!

As I mentioned yesterday, it was freakin’ hot at the two-day music festival in Guthrie last weekend. Saturday was the worst but well worth the sacrifice.

We arrived shortly after the gates opened and found a spot that would eventually be in the shade (albeit around 5:00 p.m.).      We gathered our water bottles around us, donned our hats and towels (to keep off the sun), and settled in for some primo entertainment.

It was hot.

LOCAL is a theme of these stopovers. Mustang Brewing Co. canned up a special ale. It was too hot to drink beer. Water was our beverage of choice.

The bands were hotter (figuratively and literally).    They were in the shade on stage but I am sure they were sweating their arses off.

Another British band, Bear’s Den, started off the HOT afternoon.      I really liked them.

Then came Those Darlins.    I think I remember them sounding a bit like early Joan Jett (Runaway era).    At this point, my friend and I were standing in line to complete our passports.    To keep people occupied, you could run around the venue (and downtown Guthrie) searching for  the “official stopover stamping crew” to get your passport stamped.  Some crews were pretty elusive.

We waited in line in the sun.

I got all my stamps but the “secret” one and was directed off to find the secret stamper around “one of the trees.”   I made a half-hearted attempt and returned to the blanket.   My friend, on the other hand, had her passport completed and was now standing in a second line for the “secret reward.”      I, however, had given up. Suddenly, she rushed up to our spot to tell me that she had found the secret stamper for me.     I grabbed our passports and followed her.   (Luckily, we both grabbed water bottles.)    I got the secret stamp, stood in line for the COMPLETED  stamp, and luckily was allowed to cut in the “secret reward” line.     (Do you see a trend here?    Lines were meant to occupy us for the afternoon.   It worked.)

About the time we reached  the reward table, two things happened.

1. We were both about to succumb to the heat
2. We were alerted that they had run out of prizes.

We would only be putting our name and address on a legal pad and would be mailed something later.   (Scam alert.    What mailing list did we end up on?)    While she wrote down her information, I leaned on the table.   Seriously, I was feeling crappy.     I told her I needed to get Gatorade and water and she said she needed to go sit down.

I stumbled over to  the the drink vendor and ordered.   Wouldn’t you know it but a former student found me at this particular moment.     This is one of those kids (I still call them kids even though some of them have to be approaching thirty) that you stay in touch with and have dinner with occasionally.    As she greeted me, all I could do was blurt out that I was having a heat stroke, I needed water, and it was too hot to hug her.     As I stumbled away I made a mental note to email her as soon as possible to tell her I really hadn’t been drinking!  🙂

One Gatorade, two waters, and some shade later, I recovered.    (The Hubs said I turned into a She-Devil there for a while, screeching out, “I need shade!”)

Finally, one heat stroke later, the passport is complete.

Good golly gracious, but it was hot.

We didn’t move the rest of the day and stayed seated or reclined and as hydrated as possible.

I don’t remember a whole lot about Half Moon Run (because I was still recovering) but everyone that played on Friday was awesome.     Haim played next and rocked out.       Some more Brits took the stage, The Vaccines, and we started watching the sun inch down, nearer and nearer to our shade point.

The Vaccines are up there playing somewhere.

Around the time Alabama Shakes took the stage, we were in the shade.   The lead singer was unbelievable.     As one of the local papers stated, she “sent every note past the Highway 33 bridge.”   So true.

Brittany Howard, lead singer of Alabama Shakes, has a set of lungs on her! Wow!

I am ordering a lot of new music now.

When putting this lineup of bands together, Marcus Mumford said that they simply invited who they would like to go see.      Fabulous job.

Tomorrow?

Finally, a review of the Gentlemen.

Did I mention it was hot?