A recent trip to my local St. Vincent shop turned up some interesting jam band CD’s and one from a Festival band from my past.
I have dabbled in jam bands in the past, one summer, the magical free satellite radio leftover from the previous car’s owner summer to be exact, I locked in on the Jam band station. I heard a lot of bands I never heard of before, and I dug it.
Most of those bands shows can be found at the Internet Archive:Â https://archive.org/browse.php?collection=etree&field=creator
That should set you back a few hours browsing.
At any rate, whilst listening to Jam Bands that summer I did hear a band that I thought I hated, and decided that I needed to give them another try. That band:
Rusted Root.
Let me start by saying that my first experience with Rusted Root was at a H.O.R.D.E Fest in 1996. I must say that it took a while to find the info on this show:
http://www.bluestraveler.net/archive/searches/setlist_display.php?show_date=1996-07-07
It was a L O N G day and I was burnt out from caffeinated water and exhausted from being there for hours and hours. Blues Traveller was great, by the way, but that is not the point of this story.
I had never heard of Rusted Root, and I was not prepared for what was to come. I was there for Lenny Kravitz and Blues Traveler. I knew about Natalie Merchant and I thought she was an odd combination, but when Rusted Root came out to start the show I was like… “What?”
The whole drum hippie earth vibe was lost on me in those days. I only wanted to R O C K and I was not impresses. Understand that I don’t really recall the music itself, just that it wasn’t what I wanted. That’s on me. Nonetheless, partway through their set was when I decided that an $8 caffeinated water was what I needed. I missed a good portion of the Rusted Root set getting caffeinated and browsing the H.O.R.D.E merch. I came back to hear the last couple songs, mentally deciding that I hated it and waiting for Natalie Merchant with my arms crossed and looking like grumpy cat.
Present day I came across a Rusted Root CD at St. Vinny’s, and based on the songs I heard from them on Jam Band radio that I surprised myself by liking, I felt it was time to give it a try.
Rusted Root – When I Woke
My impressions now? With head hanging low I have to admit this is really really good. I am fully sorry that I maligned Rusted Root for so long. The track “Send Me On My Way” was familiar to me of course, though I don’t think I really realized that this was Rusted Root when I heard it.
What I heard and saw on stage that day just wasn’t the right time for me. I wasn’t ready. What can I say? I am glad I gave it a try, I like it. If I see any others there, I’ll pick them up.
I also found…
Umphrey’s McGee – Anchor Drops
Now Umphrey’s McGee I am familiar with, and this is the first time I have run across a CD of theirs. After picking up the Rusted Root I was in a Fest/Jam band mood so I grabbed it. I will likely copy this and pass it on. I don’t recall any McGee song titles from my satellite radio days, but I know I liked them. Looking forward to this one. P.S. if you are into Umphrey’s McGee, there are currently 2,927 shows available for download at the Internet Archive site listed above.
The other jam band CD I picked up was…
Phish – Live Phish 6.22.94 Veterans Memorial Auditorium – Columbus Ohio
I picked up a studio album by Phish once and it was good, but this is a live CD and part of series.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Phish_Series
I am very glad to have read this Wiki for one very interesting reason. Inside the slip case is a plastic sleeve that holds the CD’s.
Per the Wiki: “The original plastic fold-out CD pages eventually began leaking a strange chemically reactive liquid goo that often ruined the CDs within the original foil CD covers.”
Yes. That has happened to this set. There is sticky goo all over it. I bet someone regretted this packaging strategy. Hopefully I will be able to get these cleaned up enough to play. We shall see.
It was a good score that day.
Jam on.
The Aural Retentive 