when we were nice guys.

I forgot to tell you about Targhee Fest!

First off, I’m in love with that music festival.  Hoola-hooping with the best of ’em.  Making faces with children.  Hanging with friends I hardly get to see.  Dancing.  Dancing.  Talking with minor rock stars.  Talking with major rock stars.  Dancing with medium rock stars.  Pretending I’m a rock star.  Good times.

Grace Potter looked as worn as the back of her sparkly shorts but she de-livered… as always.  Rocking out so hard and dancing like she’s sex on stage.  People couldn’t help themselves.  We all danced.

Micheal Franti.  Ah-mazing.  And I was even skeptical!  He’s not my favorite favorite… but oh my gosh, so good!  And we danced!  He came down to the audience and danced around.  We had a moment.  Twas grand.

But my favorite acts of the weekend?  Alejandro Escovedo and Los Lobos…

When Alejandro played “Beast of Burden”, I couldn’t have been happier.  SUCH a good show.

And then later, the legendary, Los Lobos.

It all goes back to when I was six-years-old… my first concert.

We saw [you guessed it] Alejandro Escovedo opening for LOS LOBOS:

Los Lobos was my FAVORITE back then.  I had written them a fan letter and everything.

Anywho, my folks took me to the concert and I fell asleep during the fourth song.  Then when they played “La Bamba” I jumped up and went crazy.  Danced like my little six-year-old heart out.  After the show, the fam was leaving and we walked passed backstage.  Dad heard a guy saying…

– Okay, everyone here for the radio contest winners, c’mon backstage.

Dad thought, “Well, why not?”

We went back stage and I was in total awe.  We ate their M&Ms, got autographs and then THEN I saw my fan letter!  They had it!  Backstage!

That’s when I decided I would always live music and the musicians that make it happen.

At Targhee fest, last weekend, it happened again.  I got to go backstage and meet Los Lobos!  [thanks again, jim!]

so happy together.

I was insanely nervous… my childhood heroes!  What would I say??

There were not interested in meeting me… which makes sense… they’ve been touring for, what?  Thirty years?  Anywho, I thought I’d gain their love, their respect, by telling my humble childhood story…

– Wow, so you saw us nineteen years ago?  And met us?

– Yeah!

– Yeah, that’s back when we were nice guys.

Aaaaaand I don’t think he was kidding.

That’s about all I got from them.  Well, that and their new album… which was super nice.

The whole thing was weird.  I remember it being more magical as a kid.  More… chest swelling.

When all backstaging was said and done, I went back to the crowd of happy hippies and waited for “The Wolves” to take the stage.

I danced and danced hard.  I was so tired.  So tired.  So, I sat down after a little bit.  Sat and enjoyed.

Then… all of the sudden…

It was like I was six again.  I danced like I did in front of the TV… pretending I was at the carnival… remembering the concert… running up and down the aisles.

It was magic.