Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 21:03:45 EDT
From: Daev Brown <FOCingmoeron@AOL.COM>
Subject: Rumble In the Jungle (Costa Rica Story Pt. 1)
Wow. wowowowowowowowowowowowWOW! I don't really know if I should even be talking about Costa Rica. I don't think there's any possible way that I can express my feelings about what happened down there. You just can't put that kind of magic into words. Or I can't at least no matter how I try. But I know that so many people didn't get to go that would love to hear some details about the trip so heres my best attempt at a summary.
Upon arrival I was immediately blown away. The bus trip from the airport to Quepos, though much of it I spent sleeping, was beautiful. You just really were hit right away with the fact that you were a LONG way from home. For someone like me who has never been to anyplace really tropical it was almost overpowering to look out the windows and see jungle all around, local people, rivers, animals, mountains... Just such different terrain than what I'm used to.
My hotel was great and there were already a lot of FOC's milling around, most with the same dazed look in their eyes that I kept seeing when I looked in the mirror. Spent the day in the town of Quepos where we realized that there was really no reason to GO to the town of Quepos unless you had to do some shopping. All our hotels were way uphill from the town, all pretty close together with jungle and beaches all around so we really had everything we needed up there. So that was pretty much what we did the whole time...when we needed supplies we went down into town but other than that we hung around the hotels, the beaches, the bars, the jungle and the pools.
Walked down to the Tulemar Bungalows on the first night because I knew a lot of people that were going to be staying there and that was a great scene. There were somewhere around 20 independent units, little houses all near each other, with a great pool and bar and their own private beach. We ended up spending most our evenings there, hanging out with new and old friends alike. Some of the Tulemar highlights included the poolside hooping and the practice sessions of the Tulemar Synchronized Swimming Team (Sandy got those pictures?). And of course the party there after the first nights show was great fun.
This Incident would not have been nearly the experience it was if not for the locals. They were so kind and generous to us, it really took me by surprise. I knew that nobody could help but let themselves shine when surrounded by the positivity that is our family but the extent of the effect we had on these people was something to behold. The area we were in is a tourist area so these Ticos were quite used to being invaded by Americans but they had never seen a group like us. I'm sure the common attitude of visiting Americans is that the locals are "the help" but we saw them as our hosts and we acted accordingly. Many of them seemed so surprised just to be treated with respect and kindness. Believe me they returned the favor a million times over.
We learned early on that the Ticos were more than happy to accommodate our requests so I started carrying CD's with me. Whenever we'd go into a restaurant or bar I'd immediately hand them a CD and they'd put it on. This was great for us, sitting hanging out and listening to good tunes but it was even better for those just arriving. To just get there and already be amazed with your surroundings and walk into the bar at your hotel with a tremendous view of the jungle and coast below and hear a great Rivertrance or Eyes of the World playing on the house stereo... Well, when my roommate Gabe arrived to this scene he almost burst into tears.
Everywhere you went you saw people you knew and were greeted with hugs. Everywhere you went you met new people and were greeted with hugs. There was magic all around us and nobody could deny it.
The first show was Keller and it was by far the best Keller show I've ever seen. He played many old favorites as well as some new covers I'd never heard him do before like Feel Like a Stranger, a very nice choice. "you know it's gonna get stranger, some things you just know...vamanos" I spent most of the show dancing outside in the pouring rain on top of a stone bench where I could see the whole crowd, watch the smiles on everyone's face, watch Keller and feel the warm Costa Rican rain cleanse me.
The next day was the afternoon benefit show and it was a lot of fun. We finally got our first Cheese fix after being down there for a few days just anticipating the shows. Contrary to what was previously posted it was NOT an acoustic show. The boys were fully plugged in, just with small amps instead of a big sound system. The only thing that WAS acoustic were the vocals, there were no mics so when they were singing we had to be very quiet to hear them (though I was pretty upset to find that many people kept right on talking...I guess this is my one gripe from the trip...you would think that all the people down there were the real fans, and after going thousands of miles to see SCI they would not chat the entire time!!!)
They had the area right in front of the stage roped off for the kids from the school and they all got to sit there and watch the show from the best seats in the house. The band spoke to them between almost every song, Billy first then Travis once Billy realized his Spanish wasn't exactly the best... "esta concierto es "Lester Tienne Un Coconutto" The highlight for me was definitely the All Blues (Todo Azul). And the return of Sunny Skies!! This was a strange coincidence... a few months ago I was trying to figure out what song I should try to get the band to bring back if I had a chance to speak with them in Costa Rica. My first choice was TWLWMYD and then just a few days later they played it. So thinking furthur I decided Sunny Skies would be PERFECT for Costa Rica and I had planned on bringing it up that day. All of a sudden there it is!
All in all that afternoon set was a great way to get things started. The view from the Si Como No? was breathtaking. And when they closed the set with Smile Billy introduced it by saying that it was written for Jillian and then proceeded to sing the whole song directly to her. She was dancing about 3 feet away from me and you could tell that she was in heaven. It was just about the sweetest thing I've ever seen :)
Love and Light,
Daev
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 21:11:18 EDT
From: Daev Brown <FOCingmoeron@AOL.COM>
Subject: Waiting For the Sun to Shine (Costa Rica Story Pt. 2)
So I skipped Jerry Joseph preferring to spend more time on the beach and hanging out at the Tulemar, finally meeting up that night with a few people who I'd been looking for for days. One of the greatest things was partying at the Tulemar and then walking back to my hotel at about 3 am ... only to pass by the Hotel Byblos and hear Land's End BLASTING from the bar. I went up to investigate and found a full on dance party going on. People just jumpin in the air, freakin out to the fullest extent. So of course I jumped right in and freaked out too :)
Next day and finally time for the long awaited Incidents! It was decided that we should stay out of the sun for the most part that day. Personally I felt if I got any more of a sunburn dancing that night would have been out of the question. So it was a mellow day at the bar listening to CD's, drinking monkey drinks and eating. Oh! The monkeys! Let me tell you about them.
We were at the Costa Verde Hotel where the motto is "Still More Monkeys Than People." The monkeys stay hidden almost all day then right around 5 or 5:30 they rush out of the jungle and take over for a little while. This time of day quickly became known as "The Monkey Show." My ever inquisitive roommate Mulehead found that the best place to see the monkey show was from the pool. We would go and get into the pool at 5 o'clock with drinks in hand and wait quietly for the show to begin. Suddenly and without warning 80 monkeys swinging through the trees all around us, dropping down to the edge of the pool giving us a little Wrestlemania action. It was such a great thing to see. One day we even got the X-Rated Monkey Show, the story of which i disgusted many people with at the shows.
So early afternoon rolled around and we walked down to the beach which was the first pickup stop for the shuttle going to the show. Jennga, Gabe and myself were the first ones on the shuttle as we'd hoped to be because we knew ahead of time that there were only 100 batiks made. When we got to the venue a lot of people had jumped the gun and come down there on there own steam but there were far less than 100 so we weren't worried. Once the doors opened we waited in line for batiks while others got in line to get into the actual field where the show was and listened to Jerry Joseph's soundcheck.
The show was a monster, exactly what we'd been hoping for. I was on the rail in front of Kyle the whole night (my regular spot in front of Billy was taken when I got in) and unfortunately the sound was WHEY too loud there which caused me to choose a spot farther back the next night. The thing about these shows is...I often think that people label "jam" a little too much in their setlists. But for these shows the word "jam" wasn't labeled nearly enough. Almost every song, ESPECIALLY the second night, was jammed out to it's fullest and then ended only to go into another completely improvisational jam. I'll have to listen to the tapes again and come up with my own setlists but trust me these shows had some crazy ass jams. I turned to Jen during Little Hands and said "Is this only the second song?!" I just couldn't believe it, it seemed like they'd been jamming for an hour already!
The first night was all about the jungle funk. I think it was the jam out of Little Hands that I first noticed it. The jams were so dense I felt I needed a machete to get through them. During this first jam we were all looking at each other and thinking the same kinds of things. You could hear everyone saying things like "jungle jam" "thick" "sultry". I told someone "my god it's just so WET! Can you feel how moist it is?" This went on throughout the entire show. I kept expecting to open my eyes and be on a riverboat floating down the Conga.
Miss Browns was the perfect opener. Everyone had been trying to guess what it would be and when they came out with that the communal feeling was "Yesssss! Thats exactly right!" Little Hands was monstrous, the jam leading us deep into the jungle before coming out into St Thomas which I had never heard before. It sounded VERY much like Suntan. Different chords but the timing and structure were exactly the same (it seemed to me). Good Times was beautiful as always, and in this magical atmosphere the uplifting message meant that much more.
I had been hoping to hear Black and White. When it was debuted I didn't like it much at all but now it's one of my favorite songs! The intro was long and bassy, Keith just tearing it up getting us ready for a hardcore jungle funkfest. I was at the Warfield the first time Kang added the scat part to the middle of the jam and I thought it was just about the sickest thing I'd ever heard. Boy is it great to see that this has become a regular part of the song. So the jam was huge, the Latinismo afterward was huge, and Round the Wheel was SO HUGE! There wasn't a single moment when the energy dropped below ON FIRE. RTW might have actually been one of the best I've ever heard with another one of those crazy long jungle jams before suddenly returning to the song. Billy at the last second it seemed decided to do something fun and as stepping up to the mic to start the song signalled to the rest of the boys that there was a change. He sang "I've been waiting for the sun to shine..." three times instead of "waiting for the snow to fall". It was a nice touch but it seemed he didn't plan far enough ahead because at the next point where it would have gone "and cover us all" Billy looked panic and stepped AWAY from the mic. Luckily Kang was ready and stepped up to finish with "and make me feel fine" Good save Mike ;-)
As always this has taken much longer than I was planning and I have to go to work now. I'll have to finish up later tonight!
Love and Light,
Daev
Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2000 04:35:05 EDT
From: Daev Brown <FOCingmoeron@AOL.COM>
Subject: Tell Me Your Secret Man-Cub (Costa Rica Story Pt. 3)
picking up where I left off....
so at set break we kept the energy REALLY high. James Brown was being played over the PA and we had a crazy little dance circle going on at our spot right in front of the stage.Something about it seemed so intense, I guess because we were all dancing as hard as we had been during the set, feeling the groove, but we could all dance in a circle and pay more attention to each other. It just seemed to me that already, only one set into the shows, we were all taking the circular energy to a new high.
The band came back on and opened the set with I Wanna Be Like You from the Jungle Book. This was one of the highlights for me. I thought they did such a good job with it, it was a great choice of a new song to do, fitting of the surroundings. I think this is a great song to be covered my modern bands, check out the version on the Swinger's soundtrack. The way our boys did it was very interesting. It was pretty slow, immediately fitting right into that dense jungle groove that was going on. At times it was almost scary, like when Billy took a verse. I don't know what it was but it just sounded spooky to me.
The song led into another crazy jam that eventually started giving hints of Restless Wind. In keeping with the insanely long building Restless intro jams of late it kept going at times making you wonder if they actually WERE going into Restless. Freedom Jazz Dance was pretty short, I was a bit dissapointed with this version. But it's a fun tune regardless. Bend Down Low was great. I was there the first time they busted this one out and they've really taken it a long way since then. I love that they can find the right groove for a reggae song like this and just keep it going and going eventually building on it and twisting it. Thats what they did that night twisting it ever so gradually into another jungle funk groove that eventually led into a great version of Rhum n Zouc. As you all know, this a great one for getting everyone back on their feet (if anyone was silly enough to get off of them) and dancin up a storm.
I heard somebody say in an earlier review that the Jellyfish was "standard." Is there such a thing? I guess I see what they meant though. No wacky extensions on the story or anything like that. One thing that deserves mention however is that Alice became Alicia after Alicia something or other who was one of Jennga's roomates in Tulemar. I don't know the whole story behind why she got to be included in the song but needless to say she was pretty damn stoked about it. I actually don't remember anything about the jam out of Jellyfish but I remember the Roll Over being huge and powerful. Like I said before, the energy level was amazing throughout the entire show but I felt it dropped (just as it would the next night) during the encore. Mtn Girls is great for an encore if something else is played AFTER it. But by itself it's just kind of a letdown.
So back on the bus we headed for the long ride back to Quepos. It actually wasn't that bad, maybe 20 minutes but after the show it felt like forever. We went back to the Tulemar where people were absolutely raging. The great folks who run the place decided to keep the bar open WAY late so we could have a littlwe party. The bar manager was a very kind Tico (or is it Tica in the feminine?) who throughout the week was very interested in hooping. When I walked in one of the first nights with a hoop, I guess it was the first one she'd seen. She wanted to know what I was going to do with it so I explained all the aspects of hooping to her. I also used it as leverage in my ongoing battle to always get the music turned up louder than it already is.. "Well I'll show you how it works but I really can't do it unless the music is louder" haha.
So like I was saying, great party there at the Tulemar. People would swim up to you and give you a fat hug THEN ask you what your name was. After awhile at the party I ended up going down to the beach and watching the sun rise from there. Of course by that point I was thinking "wow, this is the greatest night of my life. But I should have known it would only get better....
Love and Light,
Daev
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 04:21:51 EDT
From: Daev Brown <FOCingmoeron@AOL.COM>
Subject: Jungle Boogie (Costa Rica Story Pt.4)
so after finally making it back to my hotel at about 10am on Saturday I proceeded to sleep until about 3. Some people came by the hotel for the daily dose of monkeys and we decided to just take it easy and go to the show a little bit late. Seeing as there were no batiks to get like there were the day before and the sound was way too loud on the rail anywhey there didn't seem much point in rushing down there. So we gathered at the pool and watched the monkeys freak out for a little while.
Eventually we made it down to the Rancho Alegre having missed about 10 minutes of Keller's set. At the beginning of the trip I had been thinking of all the songs Keller HAD to play being in Costa Rica and all... Sloth, No Habla Espanol, Thirsty In the Rain, Kidney In a Cooler (the last having nothing to do with Costa Rica but it's just a kick ass tune). I was a bit surprised at the first Keller show at the Bahia Azul when he didn't play ANY of those songs. He played all of them during his opening set on Saturday night :)
There were even more Tico's at the show that night. I think word had spread quickly among them that maybe all us loco gringos weren't such freaks after all, after being blown away by the Queso the night before. Not too many seemed to really get into Keller but what can you do. I think it was at least better than the night before when Victor the desk guy from our hotel walked up to me during Jerry Joseph's set and asked "Is this....the band?" with a "this is NOT what I expected" look on his face. I assured him that the main reason we were all down there would sound MUCH different than Jerry Joseph (no offense Jerry).
Preparations were made all around during setbreak to insure our heads were all in the right place ;-) I was feeling a huge level of excitement and when the band suddenly walked out on stage it overpowered me. I actually felt very nervous. I turned to Carson and asked him if he was ready and he nodded. I said, "No, you're not. I'm not either. Do you realize that in all likelihood this is going to be the most intense experience of our lives so far? I think we should take a minute and prepare." He wasn't quite sure if I was serious but we all took a moment to breathe and batten down the mental hatches for the storm that was about to hit.
Search was the opener and a very welcome one. When Kang started his first solo the grin on his face was bright enough to lead anyone through the dark jungle. MLT was...maybe the best I've ever seen even though it wasn't really finished. I noticed that it was mislabeled as Pirates on the first setlists that came back to the list and i can understand why. I actually thought it was Pirates for the first few minutes. The intro was very different than the typical one I'm used to. It was completely Kyle led, as it normally is, but Kyle was playing some very different chords repeatedly before breaking right into the main theme of the song.
As I said it wasn't really finished. It led up and up, Kyle just all over the place building to the crescendo but then from there instead of going back to the main theme they went to an entirely new place, with all of us being helplessly (but willingly) taken along for the ride. This jam took on a life of it's own and built to another climax that right at it's peak suddenly showed signs of BOTWP. Within a minute it was clear that was where we were going and I breathed a sigh of relief to at least be in site of familiar shores. We settled in to a nice funky intro jam, not as long as some I've seen recently, but every bit as sweet. Once the song actually started though I noticed something was different but I couldn't place it right away. After a few minutes I realized that it was slowed down ever so slightly. I wonder if it was a conscious decision or just a reflection of how relaxed we were all feeling. One bad thing was that Kang seemed to be having some vocal problems, his voice cracked pretty badly a couple of times.
I figured something slower was coming only because we NEEDED a quick little breather. A quick look around confirmed that everyone nearby was just as sweaty and wide-eyed as myself. Barstool was a perfect oportunity to catch our breaths and drink some water. I have one thing to say about this Barstool... PERFECT. I'm serious, mark this one down in the books as the definition of a perfect Barstool. They should re-release Carnival 99 with this version in place of the one thats on there. I highly doubt it'll ever be played as well again. And if it is, WAHOOOO :)
Lost was a MONSTER. Serious hard playing by everyone on stage. Toward the end Billy stepped out and just started wailing some huge riffs like the rock star he is at heart. When it ended they slowly moved into a transition jam, everyone playing off each other for a few minutes. There was a really great point when Kyle started playing the same ascending notes over and over and inbetween Billy would fire off quick bluegrass riffs. Right when that stopped Kyle started playing the Jungle Boogie theme very quietly and slowly. Everyone else was still kind of space jamming behind him and then all of a sudden-POW! Hardcore jungle funk.
We all kind of expected Jungle Boogie it was just a question of when. But when it did come it took me by surprise anywhey. What we didn't expect (who possibly could have? haha) was the special guest. Kang announced that they were bringing out Jean Forte from the Fugee's who he had met while traveling through southern Costa Rica. I was pretty excited by it because I saw how well a good rapper can mix with SCI at the Spearhead show. Unfortunately during Jean's entire rap in Jungle Boogie his mic wasn't working at all so it was all lost. My first Jungle Boogie though and I have to say they can throw down on this one. It reminded me a little of the Thank You from the Warfield just because they're playing hard funk and Keith was just dropping serious bombs.
The jam that came out of it was led at first by Keith and Keith alone, slappin up and down the bass with a tremendous fury. Soon enough everyone else caught up with him and the jam that ensued can't be described. It was beauitful and rockin at the same time and kept getting better and better until Black Clouds finally broke. I can't say enough about this Black Clouds. My initial impression was that it had to have been 30 minutes long and was probably the best version I'd ever heard. After listening to the tape I think that opinion was partly biased at the time by the surroundings and mood, but it was still an INCREDIBLE version. If I could show you as proof the way people all around were freaking out, totally losing their sh*t, I would. I later heard Stella say that she doesn't usually dance that hard, being pretty concerned about keeping people from bumping Sandy's mics... but she must have been leaping 10 feet in the air :)
Carson immediately grabbed my shoulders and told me "oh my GOD!! You weren't kidding when you said we needed to make sure we were ready!"
Love and Light,
Daev