It has been widely circulated that Danny Glover was only 41 years old when he played the role of 50-year-old Roger Murtaugh in the movie Lethal Weapon, where he made famous the phrase, "I'm too old for this sh!t." (Forgive the lengthy parenthetical, but when I first said this to someone they thought I was talking about Donald Glover/Childish Gambino. I think this solidifies that I am in fact too old for all the things.).
Well I'm not doing any cop stuff, but I'm 46 and going to my very first all-day music festival. There will be greater than 10 hours of live music, food and drink vendors, and whatever elements Mother Nature wants to send our way. Kate and I were also blessed with very nice tickets that will include access to shelter, shade, air conditioning, and the amenities that the peasants will be wishing for in the mid-afternoon sun/rain/mud/conditions unknown. I still might be too old for this sh!t.
So, what happened? We went to Railbird! We showed up early, with refillable water bottles, sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, Liquid IV packs. We immediately scoped out our VIP lounging and viewing area, got an initial round of beverages, and went to the Elkhorn stage to see Kashus Culpepper. He was great (and will be the subject of the Album of the Week this week). He through in a couple of Bill Withers covers, which is always a fast track to my heart. There was the briefest sprinkle of rain, and then it was delightfully cloudy. We enjoyed the end of the set, and then returned to the VIP area. So far, not too old.
We wandered around a bit from there, looking at the food vendor options and some of the merch. Caught a little bit of Carter Faith from a distance at the Limestone stage (main stage). At one point she did a cover of Oops I Did It Again, which made me chuckle. The VIP lounge had a large covered seating area with tables and some couches, which were generally occupied throughout the day. We scored a table early on before departing to see Margo Price, but most of the rest of the day was spent either standing in front of a stage or sitting on grass. Railbird was held at The Red Mile, which is predominantly a horse track. What that means is there are no trees or other obvious sources of shade, so when the sun came out (basically from this point until it gave up and set several hours later), it was relentless and hot. Still not too old, but definitely needed another layer of sunblock and some hydration.
I really like Margo Price. I've never really sought her out individually, but this is the 3rd time I've seen her perform, and I've always enjoyed it. She's firmly on the end of music with a message and purpose. Whether you agree with her perspective or not, she is not bland. Oh, also I think she puts real effort into her live shows and is not just there to collect a check. Good times all around. Not remotely too old for this sh!t
Okay, but it's hot. Here's one of the pros/cons of one of these festivals. Someone is always playing music. The minute Margo quit playing the Limestone stage, Shakey Graves started back over at the Elkhorn. So either you run from place to place because FOMO, or you take your opportunities to rest and relax and pick your battles (musical acts in this scenario are battles). We tried to do both. Went over to Shakey Graves for a couple of songs, realized the sun was not likely to quit, and went back for shade and refreshments. He was fine. Sounded an awful lot like he does in the car, which is fine. Not too old, but also not sitting around in the heat for just anyone.
Given that this was peak heat of the day, we spent the next hour or so hunkered in the shade. We got some food and drink, and made some friends. One couple from New Orleans seemed to be regular festival goers. They also both had the whitest teeth I've ever seen on a person in my life. I'm glad we were in the shade because I think if the sun had reflected off of them I would have gone blind. Nice folks. Another couple we sat with a bit later came from Kansas. He was an estate attorney and the fact that I know about that while attending a music festival says a lot. But it was pleasant enough chit chat and we avoided direct sunlight for awhile. Muscadine Bloodline was playing on the Limestone stage kinda behind us, with a volume consistent with a backyard barbecue. Pleasant, not intrusive, and not memorable. I have zero opinion of them, and that is not their fault.
Thankfully, by the time Shane Smith and The Saints kicked things off a little after 6, the heat had begun to relent and we got our second wind. Whether it was the band or the conditions (or the growing number of attendees), the energy picked way up with this act and stayed up for the rest of the night. For the audience at large I mean. We stuck around for the end of The Saints, and then took one last break to fuel up for the home stretch.
We got back to the Elkhorn stage to see Ella Langley come on. She was the subject of last weeks' album, so I won't go terribly deep on the performance. She seems fun. She definitely had plenty of fans who clearly came explicitly to see her, and she put on a good show. As I said before, she's a little too down-the-middle country for me, but in a way that doesn't feel excessively produced or inauthentic. I think I'm just not the target audience, and that's fine. Besides, we had to go stake a claim to our plot of land for the main attraction, Mr. Tyler Childers.
This was also my 3rd time seeing Tyler, but the first since the pandemic had come and gone. He has a lot of new material, and some would say a new freedom of expression. As a huge fan of his most recent album, I was excited to hear those live performances, especially his mildly unhinged preamble to Bitin' List. But he played a lot of old favorites too, and let his band shine. He did a very cool thing and brought out one of his old collaborators to sing a couple of songs with him, including the recently revived Jersey Giant and a stirring rendition of My Rifle, My Pony, and Me. He fittingly closed the show with Lady May, and I've since read that they have welcomed a new child into the family...speaking of things I'm too old for. Anyway, it was a lovely time, a very enthusiastic but polite crowd, and all-in-all a day that I would do again. The verdict: I am not yet too old for this sh!t.
Postscript: Getting Home
So the thing about a big outdoor all-day event, is that eventually day turns to night and you have to sleep somewhere. We had secured such a place, about 5 miles from the event. To avoid $100 parking and the risk of driving intoxicated, we planned to rideshare. Getting there was easy. Getting home was...something. We went to the rideshare area and called for a couple of vehicles, only to have the app reject our request. So we decided instead to walk away from the venue, in hopes of better luck. About a mile away, we stopped in a Holiday Inn parking lot and tried again. After a few minutes, we were able to secure a $50 ride back to the hotel, where we were finally deposited early Monday morning. We ate some leftover mac and cheese from the previous night's dinner, had a glass of wine, and promptly fell asleep by...what time is it? 2:00?!?! I'm definitely too old for this sh!t.
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